A HARBOUR pilot has retired after 35 years of service.
Captain Stanley Richard-dit-Leschery completed his final act of “pilotage” – guiding vessels in and out of St Helier Harbour – last year but officially retired on Friday last week.
Better known as “Captain Stan”, the Jerseyman started out as a deck cadet with the Cunard Line shipping company in 1977, before obtaining his “certificate of competency” as a Ship’s Captain, which he used to rise to the rank of Second Officer.
He then embarked on a near three-decade career with Condor Ferries, before joining Jersey Harbours in 2018.
Alongside his busy day job, “Captain Stan” also dedicated 26 years to the Royal Naval Reserve, which he joined in 1980.
During his service, he became one of 3,000 in the civilian Merchant Navy crew of the Falkland Islands task force in 1982, serving on MV Saxonia, and was called up for service in the Royal Navy as Lieutenant-Commander during the second Gulf War in 2003, to command on a vessel as part of an amphibious taskforce under the codename “Operation Telic”.
“Captain Stan” has held several roles at Ports of Jersey and of his time piloting in St Helier Harbour, he said: “Piloting a vessel is a very different experience from captaining one. You have to board different types of vessels by ladder, from a pilot boat, and learn to cope with their different characteristics and crews. Piloting in different weather conditions can be a real challenge and has given me some exciting moments.”
Harbourmaster, Captain Bill Sadler, said: “[Stan] can now put his feet up in the knowledge that he has safely piloted vessels into St Helier for 35 years, and during that time has passed his extensive knowledge on to many other pilots.”
The retiring pilot is looking forward to spending more time with his wife’s family in France, and with his daughter in Wales. He also plans to volunteer with Jersey Heritage.