European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 28, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Ferguson with microphone on Board the two Jima during Docking procedures. He had piloted the snip before so i held no surprises for him. L3yj, Mediterranean Bureau Moses Ferguson is a member of a endangered species and he does t Likit. One of Only a dozen Navy Harbor Pilosin the world and the Only one Salt once in Europe. Ferguson guides . Naval vessels in and Oul us porn of naval station Rola. Spain. The 49-year-old senior Chiel Pelly officer believes 1he Navy does t properly stress its Harbor Pilot program the Navy does t realize what an asset it has in its Harbor pilots. In about five years they the Navy Are going to gel Down to nothing. Then they will have a problem and it will Cost them big Bucks to hire civilians to do he piloting said Iho Little Rock ark., native. Ferguson said civilian pilots snarl Oul earning $65,000 to $70,000 annually and he is looking Forward to getting those big Bucks when i get out i m Only slaying in because i like the  Ferguson receives neither sea pay nor professional pay Tor his work. You have to really want to do this Job said the 2b year Navy Veteran. Any skipper can drive his ship in and out of port but we Are the specialists when it comes to tides currents prevailing winds and the use of tugboats Rota is a Nice easy Harbor with Low currents. The Only thing we have to Deal with Here Are the leva Les ? High winds that can come up out of nowhere and Hil a knots 46 Mph. Thai s when you  technically when Ferguson boards a ship he s an adviser to its Caplain in practice. The skipper usually gives Ferguson the Conn putting him in charge of the ship s engines steering and movements. Like the Resl of the Navy s Harbor pilots Ferguson is a former tugboat master. You have to know what lugs can do and where to place them thai s Why we Slart out As lug masters said Ferguson who received his Harbor master training and Pilot s License six years ago at the Busy port of Philadelphia he then went to Diogo Garcia an Island in the Indian Ocean. Two years ago he came to Rota an Allan tic port on the Bay of Cadiz and the 6lh Fleet s Maior Supply Conler. The Pilot i relieved at Rutila gave to Iho local knowledge but most of whal we need to know we pick up by experience. Normally to got a Hrco month turnover period Wilt the outgoing Pilot then you Are on your  when the amphibious assault ship iwo Jima recently came into Rota Cap Bill Hayden turned the Conn Over to Ferguson. Although the Sun had yet to Rise Over the Bay Ferguson had been Al work for a couple of hours and already had Laken the Dock Landing ship Hermitage out of the port. Ferguson had piloted the two Jima before and it held no surprises for him. All right it s going to be like the last Lime is did it. Except Hal the Harbor is full of ships this time Ferguson told it. Keven Mckinley the officer of the deck through whom he relayed All his instructions. Three tugs set about pushing and pulling the iwo Jima into position. Ferguson could t see them from his position on the ship s Bridge but stayed in radio Contact with them and always knew where they were and what they were doing. One of the tugs had a problem lying up to the iwo Jima and the situation forced Ferguson to quickly change his Docking plan. Captain Here we need to make a  Ferguson informed Hayden and outlined the problem f a Feguson suggested solving in by bringing the ship straight into ils berth rather than backing in in As had been tha game plan. You Are the Guy driving in now. And i want you to be  Hayden told Ferguson Asho agreed to the new plan. There was no wind to make things difficult Tor Ferguson and to slowly slipped the 602 foot Long ship Inlo an 800-Ioomong pier space Between iwo other vessels. Hrs made the relatively Tricky Man Euver seem like a pier of cake. Ferguson said All single screw propeller ships handle the same Way and All win screw propeller ships react Tho same although the two kinds Are markedly different. Whenever i gel a ship i Haven t handled before. I look up its displacement and then i compare it to similar ships i be piloted. K anything