The man with the vision and drive to bring cruise ships to Wollongong got a chance to greet the third mega-liner to visit Port Kembla out at sea and be on The Bridge as it sailed in.
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When Voyager of the Seas made her second visit in three weeks #cruisewollongong chair Cr Leigh Colacino was invited to go out on the Pilot Boat and meet her offshore directly east of the lighthouse at Flagstaff Hill. He also employed his art skills to capture what he saw on camera and described it as great experience.
“It was made very clear to me not to touch anything when I was on The Bridge,” he said.
“There were four Pilots on this morning. One who has brought the ship in before, another Pilot and two others being trained up to bring in this class of ship. It was quite an honour for me to be able to watch that happen.”
Cr Colacino was briefed extensively about how to hop from a Pilot Boat onto such a large ship.
“If there was any risk they were not going to let me. They told me what to expect and I literally had a lot of support helping me on and off the rope ladder. My hat goes off to the Pilots who do this 24 hours a day in all sorts of weather. Getting onto a cruise ship is a lot easier than getting onto some of the bulk carriers that come in. There is a lot of pressure on them..and they do it very very well.”