River pilot cheats death twice - 30 years apart
date of article: 01 / 06 / 2008
Two weeks before his retirement, River Pilot Paul Dunn, 60, plunged from the side of a cargo ship into the freezing cold waters of the North Sea, in the pitch black at 1.45am on 17th April 2008. Paul had been transferring from Pilot Cutter Greatham to cargo ship Karina G bound for Tees Dock.
As Paul climbed the ladder up the side of Karina G he lost his grip at deck height. Paul was in the water for 20 minutes before being winched to the safety of the Pilot Cutter and despite hyperthermia setting in (Paul's body temperature had dropped to 31ºC when it should have been 37.6ºC) he has since made a full recovery.
What makes this story all the more poignant is that Paul had just got his river pilot's licence and was only two weeks into the job in 1979 when, as a crew member aboard the cutter White Force, he fell into the sea off the Tees estuary. On both occasions Paul was wearing a SeaSafe coat with integrated lifejacket – and both times the coat inflated perfectly, almost certainly saving Paul's life.
Paul Dunn comments, "I must be the only river or harbour pilot that has started and ended their careers by falling off the side of a ship – when I fell in that April night it is the first time anybody in the Tees pilot authority has been in the water since 1979 – and that was me.
"I believe I am the only person to survive falling into the North Sea twice and survive – normally when someone goes in, the task is the recovery of a body".
Recalling the moment off Tees Bay when he lost his grip on the handrail on the cargo ship Karina G, spun round and plunged into the choppy, numbingly cold water with a metre high swell, he said: "My first thought was 'Oh no, not again'."
"Then I hit the water – usually the first effect of that at these temperatures is thermal shock and your heart can stop.
"Even though my training automatically kicked, in my body was shutting down but thanks to the skills and quick-thinking of my colleagues on board Greatham, they got me back on board.
"On each of these life threatening incidents I was wearing my SeaSafe coat and both times it worked brilliantly – inflating instantly, giving vital buoyancy and aiding recovery."
Paul added that major safety and training improvements had followed his first episode and every member of the pilot team goes through exercises practising it.
"So, apart from the extraordinary endeavours of my fellow crew members, there is no doubt that I have my SeaSafe jacket to thank for being alive – twice over."
Paul concluded, "My wife Carole and I were counting the hours to my retirement when this happened and it's hard to comprehend that such life threatening incidents marked both the start and end of my working career as a river pilot – I must admit I would rather have gone out with less fuss!"
