100 years of the Panama Canal Pilots Association, the passing on of a legacy

100 years of the PCPA (a family concept), and the passing on of a legacy.

I never thought that by 2020 we would still have Captains Welch, Robbins, ( Robbins admitted the same too) or any other of the U.S. pilots with us. Neither did I think that Captain Jeremías De León, the first Panamanian Canal Pilot would be "sitting" next to them, patiently listening and ready to answer whatever we wanted to ask him. 

I said "sitting" (in quotation marks) since the Pandemic prevents us from gathering at the Union hall, or anywhere else for that matter. It was a "Zoom" meeting, a virtual version of a real meeting. A collateral cause of the Pandemic.

Thanks to technology I was able to enjoy the meeting from the comfort of the driver's seat of my vehicle, while parked in front of one of Felipe Motta's wine stores. The place could not have been more appropriate for the occasion given the current circumstances; this wasn't a regular meeting, it was the first event towards celebrating the Panama Canal Pilots Association 100 years. 

I wish I could have uncorked a bottle right there, pour some wine in a glass, and watch the whole thing while sipping from it.

We were honored with the virtual presence of three gentlemen whose experience as Pilots, as witnesses of the evolution of our profession, and of that of the canal itself, can't be taken lightly.  Three pilots who have seen more than most of us.

The first,  Captain Jeremías De León,  though I never had the chance to work with him, looked  to me as familiar as the other two. Very little I can say about his character or personality, however. He sat there, quiet most of the time, listening, and barely speaking, as if he belonged to a very different era than that of Robbins and Welch, one that was even more foreign and unknown to me. 

But being the very first Panamanian Panama Canal Pilot is a fact which makes him an icon, not only in the history of the Panama Canal Pilots, but in the history of the Republic of Panama. I would have loved to ask him so many questions and be carried by his answers in a  time travel back to his first days in the Big Ditch. How was it then? How were you treated by the other pilots? Was it tough, as anyone might imagine, to be the first Panamanian pilot? Who did let you work the ships, who told you that you could only watch, who did not even acknowledge your presence?

I did not dare to ask those questions. They would have not made much sense in the context of the meeting. Remember, we were celebrating and  not digging possible conflicts of the past.  However, by the few sentences that my ears were able to grab from Captain Jeremias, I have no doubts that it must have been difficult days for him. How difficult, our generation will never know for sure. 

All I can say to you is thank you, gracias un millón, Captain De León for paving the road, for all of us (along with Captain Moyo Herrera, may he rest in peace, and many others that followed, including, I am willing to believe, many U.S. pilots who accepted the change).  

As for Captain Jeff Robbins, I can talk about him from my own experience. He was at MTU when my group ( Pilot Understudy Program, PUP 18) was selected. In fact, and he might not remember this, when I was asked why should I be picked for the program instead of anyone else, the only thing that came into my head was " because I am very easy to train." He must have stared at me as if I was a pet, one that could be trained, like a pup perhaps.

 I doubt that the answer added anything in my favor, though I am sure it did become a good reason for laughter once the door was shut behind me. Or maybe not, maybe I was selected on that premise.

Captain Robbins gave me the check ride for  Step 1 years later. I suffered, ( nerve shredding) but managed to pass, and he was able to find out that my "easy to train" statement wasn't that accurate after all.

From Capt Robbins I learned of the formalities involving the performance of our duties. Like the importance of "command presence", which for him included wearing a good tie, even though he never said that se should wear one. 

When we were at MTU, he would insist that, when stepping inside the bridge, we should properly introduce ourselves to the ship's Captain, provide him with relevant information, and gain his confidence to the point that by the time we'd arrive at first lock, we'd have him "in our pocket'. I figured the idea was to have the old man so pleased of having you aboard that he would overlook any minor "bump" you'd do to the ship. In other words, you'd be saved from writing a report, or worst, having to sit at the "green table" (the table at the Board of BLI, where accidents are investigated is green) Now, Robbins has always been very critical to the fact that some of the pilots act as if nothing had happened after bumping the ship on the wall. Even if there wouldn't be any damage, the pilot should display a dose of regret, say "sorry Captain", or at least pretend to feel some guilt.

I normally go like "damn, oh damn" when making a crappy approach to the blocks, even if there is no contact with the walls, just to have the Captain say "don't worry Mr. Pilot", "it's ok" or eve "you did a wonderful job!." 

A great deal of my generation was tutored by Captain Robbins. And of course, by many others, such as Captains: Constable, Gotti, Cooper, who happened to be at MTU, and by all of those with whom we ride. To name them will take this whole piece.

In the case of Captain Welch, I have had the pleasure to watch him work a few times. A great shiphandler. Who I am to judge anyway? I can't tell whether he still does it or not, but he used to bring some of his humor aboard ships.  In one such moment, during a night transit, in the gloom inside the bridge, all of the sudden and out of nowhere, he put on a witch mask. It was one of those costumes that comes with a large nose, a  long hair wig attached to a pointy tall hat, and a very large pair of black glasses. 

 With the mask on, he kept giving rudder and engine orders. The Master did not notice the change in his outfit. He was busy watching his ship. It was dark. When we stopped inside the chamber and the bridge lights were turned on, leaving Captain Welch, with his mask on, exposed for all to see,  the ship's Captain couldn't hold his laughter. Capt Welch said "what are you laughing at Captain? Don't laugh, I take my job very seriously". 

From him I also learned that it was ok ok ok, to come to work wearing a comfortable pair of bermuda pants. I tried  once to leave the house wearing a tie and bermudas to come to work, but damn, my wife wouldn't let me. She accused me of not taking my job "very seriously." That wasn't ok.

Of course these are MY memories, and they are not necessarily registered by any of those two pilots the same way I registered them. Maybe I am the type of person who creates his own mythology. 

The fact is that each one of us has been, in one way or the other, consciously or not, influenced by one or more individuals with whom we have interacted throughout our lives. The same applies to our career. 

Piloting the Panama Canal is part of our lives, and for some of us it is almost OUR entire life. We think that what we achieve is solely the product of our own effort and hard work. In reality, what we achieve is the sum of many things, and what we learn is the result of many teachers. 

Just as  I claim having learned something from Capt Robbins and Welch, and being influenced by Capt Jeremias (something he might not even aware off), I am sure they too learned or were influenced by others. Somebody else, during their first years taught them something. Or they learned something from somebody else.

As pilots we learn from other pilots.  It does not have to be from someone with more seniority than us.  Sometimes we learn from other pilots what NOT to do. That would be the case with the majority of trainees that ride with me. With me, they learned what not to do. ( That must be the only reason SIDMAR sends them to me)

 We also unlearn what we have learned because we realized that we had it all wrong. The fact is that by the time you become a senior pilot your skills are made of tons of information from others and just a tiny bit of that info is truly yours. The information is passed on amongst pilots in many ways, and it evolves and then pilots adapt as the scenario changes. 

Think of all the changes and adaptations that the Panama Canal Pilots have gone through since the time that the Ancon, with Captain Constantine in charge, made the inaugural transit through the canal back in 1914, to the time the Cosco Panama made it through the new locks, with Captains Segismond and Cockburn aboard in 2016.

What was like when the first 965 footers started to loom in the horizon to transit the canal? 

And now they look small when compared to the new mega containers.

What made all this possible? Simple, the passing on of information throughout time from one generation of pilots to the next. That information is our legacy, and that is how its dynamics operates. 

At the core of all this transfer of information lies the idea of group, the idea of belonging to a group. This idea, when well executed, is enough to create bonds strong enough as those that exist in a family. In our case that family became a well organized Association in 1921. 

 None of us witnessed the creation of the PCPA. None of us met any of the pilots who did their homework for the creation of the PCPA. But here we are, next to celebrate the 100 years of an association who survived not only time, but many significant changes throughout time.

We are definitely not family (except for the Burgos, Fabregas, Morenos, Porras, etc) however the Panama Canal Pilots Association still exists, and will prevail for as long as we perceive each other as being a large family.

Very much the  same way Captain Robbins suggested when asked how it was when they had to work those "4 man jobs" back in the old days. His answer was "we used to do it  as if we were family".  It is definitely what brought us, as a group, to where we are today, and it is undoubtedly, what will keep us together, strong, into the future. 

Cabal

PN:

There are groups within the group. (the King Pointers, the guys from Massachusetts, the Chiricanos, the Colon boys, the Nauticos, the ones who came up the "hose pipe", etc) But it is that heterogeneity that has made us what we are, and gentlemen, we are a unique group.One that proves that when it comes to a achieving a common goal, differences are irrelevant. Too bad humanity itself has not become a group, a family- like group.

I feel like showing up to work wearing a guayabera from now on, that could be my legacy.