Fort Schuyler Magazine

FEATURE

CAPT. TIMOTHY FERRIE ’78 A VISION FOR LEADERSHIP, A HEART FOR SERVICE

BY DON GALE

M any of us have found our career paths experimentally. For Captain Timothy Ferrie ’78 of the Port of New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Association, his occupation was all but predetermined. Fourth generation among his family in the piloting business, Captain Tim has for 42 years safely guided ships of all sizes into and out of New York Harbor. Following in the footsteps of his older brother, Bill, back through his great-grandfather who partnered on the pilot schooner J. F. Loubat in 1895, Tim supports an organization founded in 1694, as does his nephew, Tom, a Class of 1998 graduate. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do from the time I was a young boy,” says Tim of his career choice. As a Pilot Apprentice, Tim’s father and a second Apprentice would row the Pilot to the ship in a yole, a small rowboat similar to a surfboat or a miniaturized Monomoy boat such as used in our annual Monomoy Races, before Pilots used powered launches. Summering at the Jersey Shore as a boy, Tim learned from his father the intricacies of rowing and of feathering the oars on a yole. Graduating SUNY Maritime College in 1978, with studies in Business Management and Marine

26 Fall 2022 Fort Schuyler