JaxPilots - St. Johns Bar Pilot Association

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JaxPilots - St. Johns Bar Pilot Association

An elite group of carefully chosen mariners, demonstrating exceptional qualities of skill, dedication and commitment to service to the maritime industry.
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All St. Johns Bar Pilots are licensed unlimited Master Mariners and hold licenses as First Class Pilots from the U.S. Coast Guard and the State of Florida, Department of Professional Regulation and State Board of Pilot Commissioners. HISTORY:
St. Johns Bar Pilot Association – In the early 1800′s as the commercial ports along the St Johns River began to develop, a select group of brave and skilled

seafarers would row to sea to meet arriving cargo sailing ships. These daring individuals would use their extensive local knowledge to safely guide the sailing ships across the treacherous sand bars that guarded the river entrance. This was the origin of the St. Johns Bar Pilots. Initially it was a bit of a free-for-all as competition was keen among these pilots to be first to “call for the ship” and claim the right to pilot the ships in and out of port. In 1890, an enterprising pilot, Captain George Spaulding, purchased a former America’s Cup contender, the schooner “META”. Understandably very fast, Captain Spaulding and the META were soon winning the majority of “Calls” for the St. Johns River. At the urging of the other pilots, Captain Spaulding sold shares in the META and created the St. Johns Bar Pilot Association in the fall of 1890. The META became the first official St. Johns Pilot Boat. The daily assigned pilot would board META at dawn and take station outside the mouth of the river. After a day of working on the river, the pilots would return to the river mouth just before sunset. In 1931, a Richfield Oil Tanker was the first vessel to navigate the river at night, thereby ushering in a new era of commercial service for arrivals and departures. The first real pilot station was a pair of wooden buildings built on a low spit of land that formed Ribault Bay. That land is now under the carrier piers at Naval Station Mayport, and Ribault Bay is now known as the Naval basin. The station was moved to its current location with the construction of the Navy base in the 1940s. For more than 120 years, the traditions of safety and excellence in service have been passed from one Pilot to the next. All of the modern St. Johns Bar Pilots hold unlimited endorsements as First Class Pilot and have extensive leadership experience from their prior service at sea. Pilots are available at anytime, day or night, and often board and pilot vessels in the most frightening conditions of wind, seas, rain and fog. They are among the most intensely trained and experienced mariners in the world.

08/20/2024

Wild weather tonight! Pilot Boat St John’s is always ready ⚓️

08/14/2024

Night ops ⚓️

St John’s River

07/11/2024

06/29/2024

The mighty Monte Tamaro departing on her way to Port Everglades before heading to South America ⚓️

06/29/2024

Algoma Vision, self unloader at Dames Point ⚓️

06/27/2024

Weather line in Mile Point ⚓️ Seroja Lima

06/06/2024

Pilot Boat St John’s pulling up alongside the M/V Paradero with a spectacular sunset in the background ⚓️

06/02/2024

Pilot ladder action⚓️

05/27/2024

Happy Memorial Day from the St John’s Bar Pilots. Honoring all of the brave and courageous men and women who have fallen while serving in the line of duty🫡🇺🇸

05/17/2024

Monte Verde ready to continue her voyage towards South America ⚓️

05/14/2024

It’s always impressive to see all the different cargo carried by vessels around the world. Here are huge tanks to be delivered to the brewery. Currently on their way to Veracruz.

04/14/2024

Welcome to Jacksonville MSC Anisha R. ⚓️

01/24/2024

Two ships passing in the night ⚓️

DYK? Jacksonville’s shipping channel is wide enough for two ships to pass at the same time, providing fast and efficient access to JAXPORT.

📸 Thank you to our partners JaxPilots - St. Johns Bar Pilot Association for working 24/7 to help these vessels safely navigate to and from port terminals.

01/22/2024

Passing in the night is a critical part of the full logistics system ⚓️ St Johns River is the entry and exit point of cargo coming in and out of North Florida on these giant ships.

01/21/2024

Wind chill advisory ⚓️

01/15/2024

Mayport golden hour

12/14/2023

SSA Marine reaches the halfway point in a $72 million modernization project at JAXPORT 👷

The company recently completed the first four phases of an eight-phase project at Blount Island to include:
• Upgraded terminal lighting
• A redesigned terminal gate system
• Paving nearly 40 acres with heavy-duty asphalt

Six new outbound truck lanes are also under construction and scheduled to open in February 2024, with improvements to the terminal’s six inbound lanes planned for completion in late 2024.

“This partnership has created tremendous opportunities for us to not only invest in the future of JAXPORT, but also to service the growing needs of our customers in the region,” said Lauren Offenbecher, president of SSA Marine’s conventional division.

“As cargo volumes in the Southeast US continue to grow, the SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal provides a modern and efficient facility that will benefit our customers and community well into the future,” said JAXPORT CEO Eric Green.

Learn more about the recent investments at the terminal, featuring newly rebuilt berths, a 47-foot deepwater shipping channel, and three new 100-foot gauge electric container cranes: https://bit.ly/471Kppb

12/14/2023

Did you know JaxPilots - St. Johns Bar Pilot Association is an elite group of carefully chosen mariners who have demonstrated exceptional qualities of skill, dedication and commitment to service to the maritime industry?

is grateful for The St. Johns Bar Pilot Association's support of our mission.

In the early 1800′s as the commercial ports along the St Johns River began to develop, a select group of brave and skilled seafarers would row to sea to meet arriving cargo sailing ships. These daring individuals would use their extensive local knowledge to safely guide the sailing ships across the treacherous sand bars that guarded the river entrance. This was the origin of the St. Johns Bar Pilots.

Currently, there are 13 full pilots in the St. Johns Bar Pilot Association. The actual number of pilots is determined by the Board of Pilot Commissioners based on the supply and demand for piloting services and the public interest in supporting this number.

Learn more about The St. Johns Bar Pilot Association at https://jaxpilots.com/

To learn how your business can become a Corporate Member visit www.propclubjax.com.

12/14/2023

ONE Eagle outbound in Mile Point on a stormy cold night, utilizing the es**rt tug Jimmy T Moran⚓️

12/07/2023

Norway Pearl 🇳🇴 Looking very mysterious ⚓️

11/26/2023

Overseas Longbeach 📸

11/23/2023

Great night shot by ⚓️📸

10/15/2023

M/V Bahama Spirit leaving the jetties ⚓️☀️

10/13/2023

Lake Wanaka passing the Frontier Ace at golden hour on the Bar Cut. ⚓️

09/13/2023

CSL Tarantau under clear skies ⚓️

Florida Harbor Pilots Association

07/29/2023

Some great shots of the Zhen Hua 28 bringing the new gantry cranes into Blount Island for the SSA Terminal How’s that view from the navigation bridge 👀

07/21/2023

Evening lighting 📸

Pilot Boat Mayport 🤩

07/17/2023

One Swan in Jacksonville ⚓️ She’s a big ship!

06/14/2023

Pilot Town ⛈️⚓️

06/11/2023

🌑🌒🌓🌔⚓️ Work flow

Address

4910 Ocean Street
Atlantic Beach, FL
32233

Website

http://www.jaxpilots.com/

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Videos

A beautiful morning at Jacksonville Port Authority Blount Island, passing under the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge⚓️ More commonly known as the Dames Point bridge. Both names steeped in our rich maritime tradition we have in Jacksonville. Using the words of Visit Jacksonville Officially it’s the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward (1857-1910) Bridge, named after the local river pilot who went on to become Governor of Florida 🍊🐊WJXT4 The Local Station / News4JAX Weather update for the day ☀️

A beautiful evening to sail ⚓️ Monte Verde departing the St John’s River @maersk_official @jax_port

It’s always impressive to see all the different cargo carried by vessels around the world. Here are huge tanks to be delivered to the @dosequis brewery. Currently on their way to Veracruz.

Disembarking the @msccargo Celine at pilot boarding ground Bravo ⚓️ @jax_port @propclubjax

Bult for action 🌊 #pilotboat

ONE Apus arriving St John’s River #ships

ONE Apus arriving at the St John’s River #ships @jax_port @flharborpilots

Timelapse of the Energy Afrodite transiting Dames Point☀️ Jacksonville Port Authority Florida Harbor Pilots Association

One Swan sailing from Jacksonville passing the pilot station. The section of the river known as Pilot Town Cut⚓️ A great looking ship on a beautiful day Jacksonville Port Authority

The ONE STORK departing Jacksonville⚓️ If you saw this very large container ship arrive, you probably noticed the forward navigation bridge. This helps the navigation team and especially the pilot have an increased field of vision while maneuvering the vessel. It decreases the blind spot in front of the vessel. Here is a Timelapse looking aft (backwards) for the outbound transit. It’s a lot of ship back there to keep in mind while maneuvering😬 Especially cool is watching the escort tug helping the vessel through turns, and of course who doesn’t love watching Timelapse weather☁️ Have a safe voyage ONE STORK @one_north_america and we’ll see you next time⚓️ @jax_port @flharborpilots

ONE Stork arriving at Jax. Largest so far! Loa 1196ftx beam 166 ft x draft41.4 ft c 172ft air draft 14k TEU

M/V Monte Azul⚓️ Beautiful offshore conditions following thick mid morning fog

Early morning magic conditions ⚓️ Watch until the end and see the sun come up☀️ @jax_port @flharborpilots #harborpilot

Two generations meeting at the entrance to the St. Johns River. The outbound Steam Ship the Chemical Pioneer meeting inbound LNG powered container vessel the El Coqui @crowleymaritime ⚓️ The Chemical Pioneer is a work horse from another Era. This will be her last transit crossing the bar on the St. Johns River as she is headed to her final discharge port and from there crossing oceans to India where she will be beached and scrapped. Fairwinds and following seas to this proud vessel, she has a rich history. @flharborpilots @promarinermag @dotmarad @propclubjax

A beautiful morning on the St Johns River⚓️ The tanker Clear-ocean Maria outbound from Trout River to Blount Island @flharborpilots @jax_port @propclubjax

An amazing day on board the Azoresborg inbound to Fernandina ☀️⚓️ @flharborpilots #fernandina

The Northern Majestic outbound in Mayport Cut⚓️ #ships @jax_port

Depending on the configuration of the pilot ladder, sometimes we board off the bow verses the top boarding platform. ⚓️ here’s a GoPro view of some action⚓️ #harborpilot #pilotladder @flharborpilots