Odd sights

Jacksonville, FL Public Library
December 15, 2005

Odd sights: We wrote some about the interesting characters we meet along the way. We also see interesting things. One such sight we saw on the night we headed south from Cape Fear. As we passed Charleston, South Carolina around 0400 I saw a lot of boat lights up ahead. I assumed that it was a fishing fleet. As we got closer though I realized that they were all big ships, including some cruise ships. Cruise ships are lit up at night like Times Square.

All the ships were just sitting there. I checked the charts and sure enough we were just outside the outermost buoy for the Charleston entrance. Then I understood. The ships were waiting for river pilots. The pilots are necessary to navigate big ships on the rivers. It was the weekend after Thanksgiving. I presume that the holiday weekend meant that most pilots had the holiday off, thus causing a traffic jam at the entrance. Perhaps not. Perhaps the jams are there all the time.

The next night we saw another traffic jam of ships outside the entrance to Savannah River Georgia. Many of these ships were actually anchored in 50 feet of water. Landlubbers never get to see these sights, and since the jams happen out of sight from the shore, the never suspect what's going on over the horizon.

It reminded me of Lands Ort, the place in Sweden where the pilots live and where the pilot boats all leave from. I wonder how long the ships there have to wait for a pilot if they arrive in July during the national vacation period?