"As I sat on the side of Hamnafield on Foula in the Shetland Islands, looking down at my 'enormous' 38-foot ferry stowed in its cradle on the quay in Ham Voe, over 1,000 feet below me, I reflected on a moderately successful career to date, and wondered how on Earth I had ended up driving what was, in effect, a floating dust cart" After 42 years at or connected with the sea, Jeremy Walker ended up on the Shetland Island of Foula commanding and running a small ferry to the mainland of Shetland. Throughout the course of his career, firstly as a seagoing deck officer with a large, but now defunct, British shipping company, then as a Hovercraft Commander for four years, returning to sea for a brief period as Master of two small coastal tankers and then for the majority of his career as a Pilot on the River Humber, he encountered many amusing situations. In this book he attempts to relate these stories and to illustrate the lighter side of what was a very difficult, responsible and, at times, incredibly stressful job. And little did he know that his career was far from over and new opportunities and challenges would take him on for a further 13 years to eventual retirement.

About the Author
Jeremy Walker was born in Kingston upon Hull in 1945. He attended local schools before starting at the Boulevard Nautical College in 1958 prior to going to sea in 1961 as an Indentured Midshipman with Alfred Holt and Company's Blue Funnel Line. He remained with that company until he obtained his Masters Foreign Going Certificate in early 1971, rising to Senior Second Officer with Blue Funnel and Glen Lines trading to the Far East. He married his wife Christine in Bristol in 1968, and they recently celebrated their Golden Wedding. Jeremy 'came ashore' in 1971, joining the fledgling SeaSpeed - British Rail Hovercraft Ltd. - and trained firstly as a Hovercraft Commander on cross-Solent routes, and then as a First Officer on the giant cross-Channel hovercraft living with his family in West Cowes, Isle of Wight. After several fruitless applications to the Humber Pilot Service, he returned to sea as Master of two 5,000-ton tankers, from whence comes his courtesy title of 'Captain'. Jeremy joined the Humber Pilot Service in 1975, where he remained until 2002 when his licence to Pilot on the Humber was - along with all his other 120 colleagues - revoked and taken away from him by the Port Authority. He rose through the ranks on the Humber becoming a Very Large Ship Pilot, a Pilot Instructor and a Simulator Instructor for his colleagues at a large facility in Wageningen, Holland. Following this disruption to his working life, he then went to work on the Waverley, plying the Clyde and surrounding areas. Later operating and commanding a small ferry in the Shetland Islands for a short while, he was then 'head hunted' to become a Pilot once again in Peterhead, Scotland. At the culmination of that 'short-term, temporary, 12-week contract', which lasted for 2 years in Peterhead, he was then offered work with Deep Sea and Coastal Pilots working as a freelance Pilot in Campbeltown and Loch Ewe. He also carried out some consultancy work for several companies, before spending his last 7 years working worldwide as a Ship to Ship Mooring Master and Pilot. After re-locating from the Isle of Wight to Swanland in East Yorkshire when he became a Pilot in 1975, he later moved with his wife Christine, son Alastair, and daughter Hannah to Welton in 1980, and has lived there ever since. He is an active member of the church community, being a Church Warden for several years in the 1970s and '80s, and is now Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Welton in Need Charities. He retired completely in 2016 and spends his time writing, walking the dog and generally enjoying life with his wife, their five grandchildren and all his friends in the village of Welton - and nationwide!


Book Information
ISBN 9781739120603
Author Jeremy Walker
Format Paperback
Page Count 262
Imprint Welton Marine Publishing
Publisher Welton Marine Publishing
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 138mm * 15mm