[Jaxter]

In a former life I was a coal miner. It was sometime around 1980 I went with some fellow miners to a bar back in the hills east of New Martinsville, West Virginia. There was supposed to be a big party in honor of the Edmund Fitzgerald, The pilot of the Edmund Fitzgerald was supposed to be there. The story was that he was sick (appendicitus?) and in the hospital (Chicago? Detroit?) when the ship went down. There was even rumors that Gordon Lightfoot was going to show up.

After we were there (drinking heavily) for a couple of hours a guy showed up in a uniform and claimed to be the pilot. He was from somewhere in that area of WVa. He said (after getting pretty drunk himself) that he felt responsible for the wreck ofthe ship because they had to have a less experienced pilot on the ship because of his illness.

I never did find out if he was legitimate or not but we all got pretty drunk on Blue Ribbon beer. And, no Gordon Lightfoot didn't show up.

[SolutionsOnly]

I never did find out if he was legitimate or not but we all got pretty drunk on Blue Ribbon beer. And, no Gordon Lightfoot didn't show up

Blue Ribbon beer might have been why. :-)

[Eric in the Ozarks]

There are harbor pilots who work the Great Lakes but they are reserved for the "salties" that come into the lake system from the St. Lawrence Seaway. I knew one of these guys who made a great living on merchant ships from all over the world, bring them into Duluth/Superior, usually for grain. The American and Canadian boats do not have to have harbor pilots since its assumed they know how to get in and out.