Long-serving Master Pilot retires

A long-serving pilot who has guided vessels safely into St Helier Harbour for 35 years retires this week (28 February 2025). Captain Stanley Richard-dit-Leschery joined Jersey Harbours in January 2018 after working for Condor Ferries for 27 years. He retired as Master Pilot on 31 December 2024, having acted as ‘standby’ pilot since his last pilotage act on 16th June 2024 on Condor Liberation, which was also his last seagoing command.

Harbour Master Captain Bill Sadler said: “Stan has served Ports of Jersey not only as a general pilot, but also as Pilot Exemption Certificate (PEC) holder over the years and as an active member of the Navigational Advisory Panel. He 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.”

Stan said: “I officially completed my last ever Act of Pilotage and ceased to be a General Pilot at midnight on 31 December. I am grateful to have been formally appointed as Master Pilot for my last 10 days and would like to thank everyone who has so ably supported me in my pilotage duties since 2018 (and as a PEC holder since 1990).

“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. I still hold an ENG-1 and therefore a valid master’s Certificate of Competency until April 2025, but I have climbed and descended a pilot ladder for the very last time. I hope to be invited back, from time to time, as part of a Navigational Advisory Panel for PEC and Pilot exams as long as my knowledge and experience remains relevant.”

Stan has also been Ports of Jersey’s Maritime Standards Manager for the last five years and Senior Maritime Standards Manager for the last 18 months. His main responsibility was to implement and advise the Harbour Master on maritime legislation. He worked closely with the Jersey Shipping Registry and the Principal Surveyor of Jersey Ships; also acting as Jersey’s representative on the Red Ensign Group (REG) of British shipping registers and, through them, the International Maritime Organisation.

Stan is a qualified Port State Control inspector and was Jersey’s Marine Accident Investigator. He helped the Harbour Master run the Territorial Seas Coordination and Advisory Group (TSCAG), which includes government representatives and constitutes the Jersey Maritime Administration, overseeing the Island’s obligations as a Port State, a Coastal State and a Flag State.

Stan’s early career

Following ‘A’ levels at Victoria College, Stan started as a Deck Cadet with Cunard in 1977 and remained with the company for 13 years. He obtained his Certificate of Competency as a Ship’s Captain and rose to the rank of Second Officer. During this period, he served worldwide on different types of cargo vessels (container vessels, RO-RO, refrigerated and general cargo and product tankers), had two spells on the QE2 as a navigator, and served on MV Saxonia at the very end of the Falklands War in 1982.

Royal Naval Reserve

Stan joined the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) as an officer in 1980 and served for 26 years, the last fifteen as an Amphibious Warfare Officer. In addition to courses and seagoing appointments, he was called up for service in the Royal Navy as Lieutenant Commander during the second Gulf War in 2003 (‘Operation Telic’) where he commanded the Naval Party on a vessel which formed part of the Amphibious Task Group.

He was also one of the 3,000 civilian Merchant Navy crew who formed part of the Falkland Islands task force in 1982, and which claimed the lives of 17 merchant navy sailors. He said: “I was then a Third Officer with Cunard (and Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve) and I knew several of those lost on MV Atlantic Conveyor, having served on the sister ship Atlantic Causeway. I finally got to the Falklands at the end of the war, on MV Saxonia, once the shooting had finished.  My maternal Grandfather was an Engineer Officer in the Second World War, and survived the sinking of his vessel, a Canadian Pacific oil tanker, so Remembrance Sunday is a big thing in our family.”

Stan’s last role in the RNR was on Commodore Millar’s staff planning the naval contribution to Jersey’s ‘Liberation 60’ celebrations in 2005.

Condor

Stan was appointed to his first command, Condor 8, on 1^st July 1990 and obtained his Pilot Exemption Certificate for Jersey that winter. That meant he could pilot his own ship into St Helier Harbour. In December 2001 he was appointed Condor’s Marine Manager. He was their ‘Designated Person’ for the International Safety Management ISM Code and the line manager for the company’s Captains. He continued to sail as master on their High-Speed Craft (HSC) when required and maintained his Pilot Exemption certificates (including for Jersey).

Stan was asked to join the Jersey Pilotage Board in 2005, which included sitting on the exam board.

Hobbies

Stan enjoys swimming in Havre des Pas Pool (when the water temperature is above 16C), where he first learned to swim 60 years ago. He also enjoys reading, especially historical and naval matters, writing fiction, and listening to music.

Stan is a member of the Jersey Gilbert and Sullivan Society and has performed in Pirates of Penzance, All Hale Great Judge/Trial by Jury, Yeomen of the Guard, Princess Ida, and Phantom of the Opera.  He is currently rehearsing for his first named role, as Lord Boxington in My Fair Lady in May 2025

He is looking forward to spending more time with his wife’s family in France, and with his daughter in Wales as well as to volunteering with Jersey Heritage.