Tugboat Pilot's Great Grandfather Worked on First Memorial Bridge

Seeing the South Span of the new Memorial Bridge guided into place with the help of the Portsmouth Pilots tugboats had very special meaning for Chris Holt and other members of his family.

From the vantage point of the Cape Cod barge that successfully moved the South Span to the Scott Avenue approach on Tuesday morning, Holt realized that he, his brother, Steven Holt, and his cousin, Richard Holt Jr., all Portsmouth Pilots, were helping to build the new Memorial Bridge the way his great grandfather, Shirley Holt Sr., had done as a Portsmouth Pilot when the first bridge was constructed in 1923.

"We're fourth generation as far as we know on this river here," said Chris Holt inside the Portsmouth Pilots office at Moran Towing on Ceres Street.

Four generations of the Holt family have proudly served as tugboat pilots on the Piscataqua River and can now claim that they helped with the construction of the first Memorial Bridge 90 years ago and the new Memorial Bridge.

While he was on the barge directing two other Portsmouth Pilots to help them maneuver the South Span into place, Chris Holt said he was focusing solely on that task. But before he boarded the barge at the New Hampshire State Pier, the significance of his family's history dawned on him.

"I was thinking about how my great grandfather did it originally and what an honor it is to be doing the same thing 90 years later," he said.

Chris Holt, who has served as a Portsmouth Pilot since 1999, also knows that his great grandfather had a much tougher time with the first Memorial Bridge project in 1923. He said his great grandfather's tugboat had a steam engine with 900 horsepower compared to today's tugboats that use diesel engines and have up to 3,000 horsepower.

His great grandfather had to rely solely on whistles and megaphones to communicate with his fellow Portsmouth Pilots and ship captains when they guided their vessels in and out of Portsmouth Harbor.

"We still use whistles today in this port," he said said. "The current hasn't changed at all in the river."

Chris Holt said he and his cousin, Richard Holt, helped save the Miss Stacy tugboat when it nearly capsized near the Memorial Bridge in February 2012. Like his great grandfather, Chris Holt said he, his brother and his cousin are doing many of the same tasks every day on the river, including the Memorial Bridge project.

The life of a tugboat pilot has plenty of rewarding moments and is often a very demanding job. Chris Holt said the Portsmouth Pilots are often called on to guide ships up and down the river at all hours of the day in good and bad weather. He said it takes many years to become a proficient tugboat captain.

For instance, the New Hampshire Port Authority requires a six-year tugboat apprenticeship program. Chris Holt said he attended the Maine Maritime Academy and worked as a tugboat pilot in Staten Island, N.Y., for a few years before coming to Portsmouth. Even when he made his first runs on the river, he said it was difficult.

"It takes many runs up and down the river to build up your confidence," he said.

Chris Holt said his father, Shirley Holt III, was a Portsmouth Pilot for 38 years, and his uncle, Richard Holt Sr., did it for 43 years. He isn't sure how many years his great grandfather and grandfather served as Portsmouth Pilots, but both worked the river for many years.

All of them had to adopt the same philosophy when it comes to successfully guiding LPG tankers, oil tankers and large-scale vessels in and out of Portsmouth Harbor.

"We pretend we are leaving an egg right on the edge and leave it there when we dock," he said.

If his great grandfather were alive today, Chris Holt believes "he would be pretty proud that a legacy has continued on by doing the exact same things he did. I think he would be very proud of his son and his grandson and great grandson and what we've done to carry on that legacy."

Chris Holt, a New Castle resident, is not sure if there will be a fifth generation of Portsmouth Pilots from his family. He said his two daughters could do it if they wanted, but don't seem interested in doing the work. He is not sure if any of his brother's or cousin's children will one day become tugboat pilots.

"It could end at four, we don't know," he said.