Transcription: "The St. Lawrence pilots, virtuosos of river navigation"

This page includes the written transcript of this podcast, translated into English.

That's right! The captains who cross the St. Lawrence estuary have to entrust the piloting of their ship to these specialists. This is true regardless of their origin or destination and regardless of the purpose of their voyage. This practice ensures the safety of navigation on one of the most difficult maritime routes in the world: the St. Lawrence River. Because if the river seems quite wide at first glance, its navigable waterway is much less so. Take for example Lac Saint-Pierre, just upstream from Trois-Rivières, which is 14 kilometres wide. You'd think there would be plenty of room for boats! But no! It's not that simple, since the average depth of this lake is only three metres. The pilot has to line up the ship in the navigation channel, which is only 244 metres wide and 11 metres deep. Navigating there is like shooting an arrow in the middle of a target.

They also need a lot of experience as a captain or as a first officer. Then, they follow a training program of more than two years in order to become experts in one, and only one, of the three segments of the river concerned. The first segment is located between Les Escoumins and Quebec City, the second goes from Quebec City to Trois-Rivières, and the third is between Trois-Rivières and Montreal. The Corporation des pilotes du Bas Saint-Laurent (corporation of lower St. Lawrence pilots) includes the experts of the first segment, while the Corporation des pilotes du Saint-Laurent Central (corporation of central St. Lawrence pilots) includes the other two segments. There’s much more to say on the subject, but I’ll stop here. I want to give the floor to a few St. Lawrence pilots who’ll tell you about their job in vignettes produced by the Société québécoise d'ethnologie. I must admit that the anecdote of the pleasure boaters told by the pilot St-Aubin is particularly funny!