[Ted Davisson]

Greetings From New Orleans ,
To this day , I remember being in the Pilot House of the Str. Delta Queen and listening to Capt. Howard Tate , tell me that the worst thing that the company ever did was to install a radar in the Pilot House of the Delta Queen . To my amazement , I asked Capt. Tate why he felt this way and his answer was both short and to the point , " Well , H_ _ L , Ted , now the company will now expect us to now run in the fog ! " Unfortunately , he was right and that has become an issue that many a mariner and pilot has had to come to terms with over hte years ! For those of you that seldom if ever make it into the Pilot House of really any type of vessel , be it an excursion boat or a steamboat or any type of work boat , the vessel's radar has its own perspective of what lies on the water in the vicinity of the vessel that it is loated on . Without going into the somewhat boreing details and evolutionary history of the different types and specifications of a vessel's surface radar , think of the radar's perspective as you would if you were in an airplane and simply looking down on the river and the different objects that are in the river . In the pictures I am enclosing the ship or vessel that has the radar is in the center of the picture and all other objects including the shore line and bridges show up on the radar's monitor as well . Be assured that all working pilots have their own methods and tricks with working the radar to their own advantage but if you ever have the opporunity to make it into the pilot house of a vessel , make it a point to check out the radar and what it will show the navigator or pilot as he works his trade . You'd be amazed with what these " Aids To Navigation " can do if used properly and to their full potential !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson