TELE-PILOT VIDEO SERIES ' RE-VISIT 2020 '

For those who might like to actually sail our Fisher Acquisition craft 'Little Mallard', this page might well be worth looking into.

After you scroll down through the various headings you will discover how you might win a free run out to sea aboard this sturdy craft.

Here the pictures are of the Tele-Pilot Motor Sailer and shoot platform, Producer Gary has navigated throughout to bring almost all of the DVD footage to make possible all the information contained within... This unique DVD Pilotage, Navigation and Seamanship Series.

This page contains new information we felt worth adding according to the current times of a difficult 2020, including a current look on into the near future of 2021 and beyond.

Those looking perhaps for work and had not considered work in a marine environment may also find items within this page provokes some interesting thoughts

Little Mallard Fisher Northeaster Close off Shoreham Harbour Piers, Sussex, UK

If you find the following page rather stationary and heavy and would rather see up to FOUR HOURS of FREE TELE-PILOT BOAT ACTION CLICK HERE ON YOUTUBE. You can come back here later after you have discovered much more about this Great Series.

Hello again to existing customers and a welcome aboard to those that may find the following reading, and watching, of interest.

Tele-Pilot RE-VISIT 2020 just might inspire many who already have boats and perhaps have been unable to use them recently. Or maybe you have been hit by job cuts and are seeking a new direction in life.

Either way, Tele-Pilot can teach you all you need to know to enjoy boating with confidence. It will give you a thorough knowledge and understanding of navigation and seamanship.

It could even give you the edge when applying for maritime jobs. There are more fields of work in this area than you might think. Marina works have been expanding lately and will likely continue to do so, owing to the increased interest in wind and water to assist our failing planet - but that's another subject. Other water-related professions include boat building, repairs and delivery; water sports; tourist boating; fishing; coastguard; dredging; wind and tidal stream associated work and electricity production.

We present our series in DVD FORMAT because we believe it's the best format for the purpose. It requires no internet connection so you can study it any time, anywhere. It also allows us to include printed material in the presentation cases to supplement the video content. Plus our box sets contain not only extra information in print, but also a Skipper's Handbook.

Tele-Pilot DVDs are a constructive alternative to films, video games and reality TV. Watch Tele-Pilot Re-Visit 2020 and make your spare time count.

NEWS 2020

We have updated our website and made some of our content available FREE on YouTube.

Here you will find a super collection of FREE to watch serious video series action out-takes, where you will experience maritime education in the making via the camera of this mostly single-handed series instructor.

In addition, on YouTube only, just for fun, we've included a full length video of Cataranga, one of the two boats used in making this series. This particular film is not an original part of the series, but it's worth watching to see her reaching 30 knots in extremely confined waters. Fury in action! Just click here.

OK, back to reality. You can now decide the worth Tele-Pilot will have for you, by simply watching the FREE promotional action on YouTube.

Achieve Your Dream / The Good Life is seen on the opening website pages. This is a complete 40-minute. two-part Tele-Pilot promotional video. It's a great insight to the series for those with little or no knowledge of the Tele-Pilot series. It will provide you with a fast overview and show what to expect from the series right up to recent times. Whether you're already involved, or quite new to this exciting life, this video opportunity demonstrates clearly why you should get your marine education in hand before spending any money on a new or second-hand boat. You can watch it right now online, or complete the form for the FREE DVD.

The Telephone Test, again seen at our opening pages, is an inclusion for the serious and sensible safety-conscious students. Passing it will increase your confidence in your ability to take a leisure, power or sailing craft to sea. (Of course you may be politely advised of a fail, in which case you'd be wise to study further before attempting to skipper a boat at sea.) How soon you are ready to take the test will obviously depend on how much time, effort and enthusiasm you put into it.

Welcome aboard to this unique method of becoming safe and efficient at navigating the seas, rivers and tides.

 

Four NEW 2020 ' MONEY SAVING ' CRUISE PACKS

Four NEW 2020 money-saving Cruise Packs are now available in addition to our very successful existing Super 7 and Top 12 box sets.

Cruise Packs are intended as a stepping stone up to our box sets. They contain a huge variety of action and events for the locations that they cover. Tele-Pilot is known particularly for this excellent visual step-by-step pilotage, taking you through all the important action even before leaving home or the port of departure. When on the passage and when approaching the Marks or port entrances your confidence will surely be boosted. "That's it! It's just like I saw it on the Tele-Pilot video!" It really is almost as good as having been there before.

Producer Gary has assembled these new packs from the existing large range of Tele-Pilot videos, providing another range of purchase options within the series. And the most expensive DVD within each pack comes FREE!

Click here for prices and further information on our Thames and English Channel Cruise Packs.

 

SAFELY ABOARD A CRAFT AND ' AHEAD OF THE PROBLEMS ' BEFORE THEY HAPPEN

We have been marketing the Tele-Pilot series since 1988, though most of it was produced in the 1990s. The content, however, is as relevant now as it was then.

The produced age of a Tele-Pilot DVD really doesn't matter. All good navigators know it is essential to navigate with up-to-date and corrected charts. All this unique instruction is produced expressly to put you more SAFELY aboard a craft and AHEAD of the problems BEFORE THEY HAPPEN.

  • A gale in the English Channel in 1988 is no different to a gale in the Channel Islands in 2020.
  • A rope round a propeller is the same problem whether it happens in the Isles of Scilly or in the Mediterranean.
  • A Man Overboard recovery, wherever, whenever - no different.
  • A Group Flash four every 10 seconds light buoy in Scottish waters is just like one in the Thames Estuary.
  • Fog and bad visibility can happen anywhere.

Dates of production and warnings are included within the videos. Information is clearly displayed, making the viewer aware of a possible change expected over time or even at a different time of the tide, wherever this is applicable.

Whatever, simply watch, enjoy and learn some great seamanship and methods of navigation. Click on Thames Three, one of our three Thames Estuary videos. It's our 'chart-work special' video and is recommended as an early purchase for all those who are new to boat navigation.

Do simply click on YouTube. There you can start to view some of our specially selected FREE promotional Tele-Pilots, you can then begin to discover if your purchases really will be of good value to you in the 2020s.

 

DO DECIDE NOW ' TO GET YOUR TUITION ' IN HAND

There are so many people who take craft to sea with very little idea of all the things that can go wrong and what to do if they happen.

There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages with different tuition options. Our opinion, if you have a boat already but little or no boating experience, is that conventional boat tuition is far too slow. You are very likely to encounter problems before you have even made contact with a tuition provider.

Whatever, when making your comparison, the speed of learning offered by Tele-Pilot deserves special consideration, as you will discover when viewing the samples. We are confident you will realise what great value this series remains to be, even now in the 2020s.

Still in doubt? Click back on YouTube and view the Achieve Your Dream video. You really do have plenty of information there to compare what you may feel is available via other options. Note the features unique to Tele-Pilot. For example, you will actually see the action and hear the sound signals. You are actually there on board with Gary your instructor, experiencing all as it happens.

You can also click here to a PDF file, which we have purposely left visible for those wanting to compare our current prices with those in the 1990s. On average you get a 20% price advantage on a 2020s purchase, yet have lost nothing in the value of the actual product.

 

LET'S RELAX AND CHANGE THE SUBJECT SOMWEHAT

This section is for our existing and regular customers. Probably like Producer Gary, just a little older. Anyway something for the younger ones too. We will include a little about marine employment in these great islands of ours.

Cataranga has GONE

It was a very sad day in summer 2019, walking back from Sussex Marina slipway where we had just delivered Cataranga. After more than 30 years of great service, she was to be transported away back to the River Medway. Which, oddly enough, was where she had originally come from at the inception of Tele-Pilot in 1988.

As we walked back to our moorings at Emerald Quay, suddenly my lady Linda, who had helped on the day, turned to me and exclaimed, "you're crying!" I turned away, "No, no I'm not. Just got something in my eye". She smiled and we continued walking again back towards our marina. It was a sad time. I had earlier in the year made up my mind that Cataranga should go. She was sending the wrong message in this age of global warming, by being a twin engine petrol guzzler, with consumption as low as 2mpg and speeds of up to 30 knots.

I'm considering acquiring a second acquisition craft in addition to Little Mallard for the series. I do have another yacht in mind. Like Little Mallard (Fisher Northeaster), with two-door accessibility for necessary camera work, I have an eye for a Nauticat 33. The Nauticat is expected to be a little faster than the Northeaster and also more comfortable for this ageing producer. So while upgrading my website here, it's perhaps worth a mention that I would love to hear from anyone who knows of a bargain fairly recent Nauticat 33!

I believe my Tele-Pilot 2020 RE-VISIT is very worthwhile. My prediction is that many more video series will enter circulation, inspiring marine education more positively and offering skills that could lead to the meaningful employment that sadly, many may soon need. We are surrounded by water and often give work away abroad which could provide livelihoods here in Britain.

It's also worth watching for the miles of superb river and coastline scenery, especially when viewing from seaward at sunset on a balmy evening, at a time when many people have lately rediscovered and reconnected with our wonderful natural land- and seascapes.

 

WELL I SHOULD BE RATHER CAREFUL WHAT I SAY

I have recently sold my gas-guzzling acquisition boat Cataranga.

This is quite a surprise outcome for me and perhaps many followers of Tele-Pilot. If you haven't already discovered the recent Project Fury video series on YouTube, may I suggest you go there.

Tele-Pilot customers will soon realise that I actually knew rather well the boat that stars in Project Fury and yes, it's Cataranga.

I promise that I had nothing to do with it, except that I sold Cataranga to the other two stars of Project Fury. I had no clue of what they had in mind for the boat, other than sprucing it up to use for the rest of 2019 on the River Medway. I think I understood they wouldn't start any more serious work on Cataranga until the 2019 season had drawn to a close.

However if you watch even a small part of their video project, you will see Cataranga is in for another treat within its life span. It had a major machinery re-fit in 2010-12 here at Emerald Quay, Shoreham. Now the lucky lady is in for some very specialist and serious re-fitting. I for one am delighted that this superb high-speed Fairline is going to be around for some years to come. I do wish this industrious couple good luck with their project.

Click on FURY where you will see Cataranga when she was only four years old. I have often said, she goes astern faster than many boats will go ahead!

 

An observation. Especially in the case of the UK and with regard to the thousands of boats filling marinas and yacht club moorings, it has always seemed to me that there are far too many boats tied up and apparently rarely going anywhere.

Boats and money tied up are great for marinas and for those renting out berths, but a bad investment for boat owners who aren't using their craft as much as they had expected. It could be that they haven't found the time to improve their navigation and seamanship skills.

Skippering a boat isn't quite as easy as driving a car. After the initial excitement of owning the boat has passed, many realise that it isn't all fun and excitement but requires skills and knowledge, and for lack of these the boat becomes somewhat neglected.

The Tele-Pilot DVD series is an invaluable tool to get more boats out on the water more often. Through studying, the owner is equipped to embark on bigger adventures, providing them with regained interest and enthusiasm, leading to more use and far better value for money.

Global warming may well create a much increased demand for sailing craft ownership. Yacht Charter will also be in greater demand. Those unsure whether to go for motor or sail, should consider that a future boat purchase ought to be a sailing boat.

The use of cars and aeroplanes is likely to reduce considerably. Tropical holidays abroad may increasingly become an impossible luxury. The demand for holidays here in Britain will continue to escalate and soon there will be boats on the sea rather than cars on the roads and filling the car parks.

Wind is free and comes with much greater exercise and improved health. So yes, the cruising yacht has a great future and so, we expect, has Tele-Pilot, providing fast marine education and boat safety in the sea, the rivers and the marinas.

The Tele-Pilot DVD format is ideal for study at home, or if the boat is sizeable enough for a chart table, on board, when in a marina or when sheltering. (presumably at anchor). Finding things to do when weather-bound can be quite a problem - unless you have a Tele-Pilot or two on the book shelf! Much better still if you were in a location covered by a Cruise Pack and had purchased one prior to the cruise. The pack will be great viewing for all aboard. Once back on passage, you will be surprised how much extra interest your crew take in the navigation of the boat. Go to Tele-Pilot Cruise Packs and discover more.

Yes, the world must change, and we in Britain must understand we need to adapt. We believe that change will include more people taking their holidays in the UK, some of whom will turn to our waters and to the boating scene.

To set up yacht schools with trained instructors, and fast, may not be a practical idea. Tele-Pilot is already set up and needs only to be duplicated and distributed. Sounds to me a much better idea and really needs to continue.

You may ask who is this chap that seems to have set himself up and reckons to have all answers to boat safety at sea? This is an extremely good question. If you want value for money for instruction and advice, always try to discover the actual track record of your instructor.

I am a retired Master Mariner and have spent much of my lifetime in shipping world wide. Until last year I owned an offshore twin-engine 30-knot Fairline Fury motor cruiser and I still sail a ketch-rigged Fisher Northeaster diesel motor sailer.

I have only sailed small boats in and near to the English Channel, but almost entirely single-handed, visiting scores of locations in conjunction with this my Tele-Pilot series. During this time I chose the locations, shot the videos, conducted interviews and performed the navigation and seamanship. Thereafter I edited the material into over 30 videos and produced about 60 hours of marine tuition viewing. I have also been responsible for marketing the series since its inception in1988. What more could you want than to learn from a sailor that navigates single handed from A to B SAFELY the miles covered to produce the series so far.

I believe that 2020 is the right time to relaunch my series and reintroduce it on this website now, with no less than a total of almost 4 hrs of FREE to watch Tele-Pilots, showing clearly what you can expect before committing to the purchase of my unique PAYABLE Tele-Pilot videos. Click on Pilotage or click on Tuition.

Click YouTube to check out the 12 complete or out-take sampler videos. If you want a fun start, our Cataranga is very popular. After a general boat inspection, she moves gradually into some rather high speed action in very narrow waters. Click Fury, Great fun - but not an educational video! Unlike the remaining 11 videos, including our two-part Achieve Your Dream / The Good Life (my series information video). Those under the title All You Need For Safe Boating will provide you with free maritime educational out-takes in locations such as in London, Burnham (Essex), Calais, Cherbourg, the Channel Islands and the Scillies.

 

WHEN YOU HAVE SAMPLED OUR YOUTUBE VIDEOS START BROWSING MORE

When you have sampled our YouTube videos, start browsing more within our website. You could be well on your way to skippering or crewing for others out on the ocean waves.

We are living on a super group of islands in Britain and especially Scotland. Those really serious about skippering a boat and making a good living out of it, do especially check out my Tele-Pilot Top 12 and Super 7 tuition box sets. Click on Tuition.

My apologies to the Scots and to sailors in all locations not included in the Tele-Pilot series. The South Coast is my local patch and offered the full variety of situations and events that I wanted to include. Contrasts are what I wanted and contrasts are what I have. To name a few. Stunning weather (at times), steep cliffs, bags of traffic (shipping and leisure craft), fast tides, low contours of sand and shingle, steep rocks, estuaries (often littered with buoys), transit lights, rivers (with bridges), sand banks, over-falls, fog, gales, ports and marinas large and small, locks and weirs. You name it I probably have it.

In short, the English Channel is the perfect location for my purposes. I know all you Scots will say otherwise and you have so often done so when meeting with me on the Boat Show stands. I have always said, I can't do it all, get yourselves together and do something similar yourselves. A Top 12 will get you off to a great start. Most would have said it would be unwise to have started my project anywhere other than the South, especially with the bulk of population and a marginally better climate down this end of Britain.

I do predict that there will soon be quite a demand for professional leisure skippers and navigators, a great opportunity for men and for women with maritime knowledge and experience. The hire almost on demand of a cruising yacht will become a great attraction for a family or a group of friends. This will be in addition to yacht charter as we know it at the moment. This type of hire will come with the skipper to show the family etc, the ropes and navigate them safely, be it just a day trip out or over one or several nights, and of course much much more.

So get your Super 7 or Top 12, then pass your Telephone Test, make a deal with an owner of one of these yachts not going anywhere, and all of a sudden you have the makings of a self-employed 'Good Life' freelance. If anyone ever questions these qualifications you have rightly obtained via our telephone test, just put them in touch with our office and we will of course assist and put them well into the picture regarding your qualifications.

Remember we can all see how screens have suddenly burst into greater life for educational purposes. If you're going to look at a screen, go to our website selection of navigation menu's at the top of our website pages and work through a few Tele-Pilot promotion videos to see what's on offer, right here within my comprehensive educational marine screen. You could enter yourself into a profitable and very healthy profession perhaps never before imagined. High-class self employment is going to be the name of the game for you classy school and university leavers.

By the way I really can vouch for the benefits of this healthy outdoor life. I'm now in my 80s and looking to buy another yacht, so do buy my Tele-Pilots, I'm still short of a few bob for my new / part-used Nauticat yacht. I don't have a PA so please excuse any grammar or spelling bloopers (my spell checker is on the blink)!

Last but definitely not least. A huge Thank You for those who have assisted me so far in a project that I have thoroughly enjoyed and am still intending to continue with. Click on Testimonials and just see what my customers have said.

Thank you to all those who assisted and chatted in my interviews, some out at sea and some aboard their craft. You were really great. You may not realise how difficult it is sometimes to edit interviews. However I can tell you all, that I always enjoy myself when the interviews come round. I'm saying this to both private individuals, the many super helpful Harbour Masters and the officials at ports and in the marinas etc., thank you.

My thanks to all the chandleries that have assisted with retail sales, including WHS and especially Force 4 and Kelvin Hughes, plus many others providing me with a great platform to personally meet both their and my customers and for me to promote my series at the London and Southampton International Boat Shows.

Thanks also to the Admiralty and other major chart suppliers who have supplied charts, also marine equipment suppliers, and not forgetting the marinas and boat yards often providing convenient berthing, either free or at advantageous prices.

A thank you especially to the irreplaceable Colette, who assisted me in the busy Thames location videos. (Where are you, Colette? I'd love to hear from you.) Another really great lady friend to thank: Little Mallard my Fisher Northeaster, another star. She only got mad at me once and blew a gasket during the Medway video. Otherwise she was, and still is, there tirelessly looking after me in, at times, very inclement weather. Cataranga a great boat too but she has had plenty of praise already in her high speed video on YouTube. I thank both designers and manufacturers of these craft, both magnificent boats.

There are probably many more I should have specially mentioned not included here. I do send my sincere thanks to all.

Gary Williams
Producer, Tele-Pilot
(Master Mariner Home Trade. Retired)

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