How do large ship traverses a narrow waterway? “What does the Pilot look at? How do you do it?”, I am occasionally asked. “Oh, the answer is simple,” I respond! “You need about 10 years of practice on this tiny waterway and a complete understanding of hydrodynamic interactions… and then you’ll know.”
For two years, I sketched the various legs of Wrangell Narrows practicing drawings to decide what renderings worked and what did not. After the two years of pondering 
various styles of drawings, I began creating the renderings that have been made into images in my book, Wrangell Narrows at a Glance. The original drawings were drawn on a larger scale and required another year to produce the 51 drawings. The manuscript and research took an extra three years. In the end, the product is a professional book that I hope will stand the test of time.
My 43 years of seatime did not begin in Alaska or Wrangell Narrows, but in Florida and the Caribbean. I patrolled many years in the Northern and Southern Caribbean. I’ve sailed the Antarctic and Arctic, and covered every ocean in between. I spent nearly 15 years in the Alaska fishing industry and the Bering Sea and Research vessels occupied roughly another five years.
I was raised in Europe, the Southern United States and lived in two commonwealths in the Caribbean.
In my spare time (ha!), I enjoy family, art, building classic mustangs and swimming. I am a competition swimmer and record holder as a US Masters swimmer.
Lou
Master Of Oceans, Unlimited
Alaska and her countless maritime dangers... 