riverboat pilot

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How to become a riverboat pilot.

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is responsible for maintaining the safety and public accessibility of U.S. waterways. This includes promulgating the standards and licenses for the crews of all river and maritime vehicles, including pilots. While there are many additional specific subrequirements including a written exam, the basic qualification to become a riverboat pilot is a three-year apprenticeship on a similar boat with at least one year of experience on the waterways where you plan to work.

Determine the type and size of riverboat that you want to pilot. It is very important to make up your mind ahead of time; all riverboat pilot licenses are based on apprenticeships and experience with types and sizes of boats, and experience on a smaller boat will not count toward the experience requirements on a larger boat.

Join the crew of the type of riverboat you chose as a third mate. During your three-year apprenticeship you will need to work for at least 18 months on the deck of the boat or as a quartermaster. You are also required to have at least one year's experience working on the waterways where you will be piloting.

Contact the USCG National Maritime Center (NMC) when you have completed your apprenticeship and are ready to schedule your written exam for a first-class pilot's license.

Take and pass your written exam. You will thereby earn your first-class pilot's license and are ready to work as a riverboat captain.

It is possible to become an "acting as" boat pilot if you meet the requirements of the the local USCG Officer In Charge of Marine Inspection for round-trip experience on that local waterway.

Note that you must have a Certificate of Registration from the Director of Great Lakes Pilotage to serve as a boat pilot on the Great Lakes.

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Clayton Browne has been writing professionally since 1994. He has written and edited everything from science fiction to semiconductor patents to dissertations in linguistics, having worked for Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Steck-Vaughn and The Psychological Corp. Browne has a Master of Science in linguistic anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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What is a River Pilot

To start your career as a river pilot, you may need a bachelor’s degree in maritime transportation. You must then complete a three-year apprenticeship on the type of boat you would like to operate. What is a River Pilot?

A river pilot steers boats on inland waterways. As a river pilot, your duties focus on guiding a vessel up and down rivers. Some pilots drive a riverboat or tugboat, while others take over for captains on ocean-going vessels when they enter river systems.

“A pilot, in those days, was the only unfettered and entirely independent human being that lived in the earth”

Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi , 1883

Table of Contents

Introduction:

Have you ever wondered who navigates gigantic cargo ships through the sinuous paths of rivers? These unsung heroes are known as River Pilots. They perform an incredibly pivotal role, in ensuring smooth, secure, and efficient journeys on these winding waterways. This article will explain questions that surround work River Pilots perform, by offering information about their roles, responsibilities, and the requisite skills they need to command the waters. Get set to dive into the intriguing world of River Pilots.

Understanding the Role and Responsibilities of a River Pilot

A question typically raised in the maritime world is, “What is a river pilot?” For individuals seeking jobs in the industry, understanding the role and responsibilities of these specially-trained mariners who guide vessels through congested or hazardous waters can be fascinating. As the title suggests, a river pilot, distinct from their counterparts in the air, navigates ships through navigable rivers and waters, playing an indispensable role in maintaining the smooth operation of the maritime industry.

So, what exactly does a river pilot do? They’re responsible for steering boats on inland waterways, ensuring their successful journey from one point to another. Given the unpredictable nature of waterways, their job extends beyond merely piloting the ship. Their intricate understanding of the river’s currents, depths, and hazards enables them to make informed judgments, mitigating potential risks and ensuring the safety of both the crew and the vessel. There’s much information about their role, but in a nutshell: they are the ship’s primary navigators.

Being a river pilot is more than being a mere employee; it’s a profession imbued with responsibility and accountability. This job, like many others, requires dedication, attention to detail, and aptitude.

However, unlike typical jobs, it often demands extended hours of work in a highly challenging environment. It’s not a job for the faint-hearted, as handling a ship, especially in hazardous waters, requires composure and quick decision-making skills.

• A river pilot steers boats on inland waterways.
• As a river pilot, your duties focus on guiding a vessel up and down rivers.
• Some pilots drive a riverboat or tugboat, while others take over for captains on ocean-going vessels when they enter river systems. In these cases, you stay onshore and travel to each ship as it sits at the mouth of the river. Sometimes, your responsibilities involve taking a boat into a harbor that is on a river near the ocean. While piloting any ship, you are in charge of all crew members and must work to ensure their safety.

The portrayal of river pilots in popular culture might romanticize the profession somewhat, making it seem like an adventurous job. However, one must understand that it’s a role with immense responsibility since the safety of the ship, its crew, and cargo extensively depends on their expertise and guidance.

This portrayal, while appealing, shouldn’t overshadow the fact that River Pilots are trained professionals, not thrill-seekers on the high seas.

Over the years, the importance of a river pilot’s role has gained recognition in the maritime industry. On a global platform, the significance of their job resonates with the continuous need for safe and efficient transportation of goods via rivers across the world. The need for river pilots is, therefore, not confined to one region or country; their demand is worldwide, making it a lucrative and fulfilling profession for those who have a passion for the sea.

The information about a river pilot’s role reveals a demanding but rewarding career. A river pilot indeed symbolizes the essence of the maritime industry, guiding ships through the world’s rivers, leading them safely to their destinations, and playing a crucial role in the world’s economy.

To start your career as a river pilot, also called a riverboat pilot, you may need a bachelor’s degree in maritime transportation. You must then complete a three-year apprenticeship on the type of boat you would like to operate.

During your apprenticeship, you must be quartermaster or working on the deck for at least 18 months, and you need a minimum of one year of experience in the waterways in which you wish to pilot. After completing your apprenticeship, you need to earn official qualifications from the United States Coast Guard National Maritime Center (USCG NMC ).

You need to pass the NMC’s written exam to demonstrate your understanding of the duties and responsibilities of being a riverboat pilot to get your first-class pilot license.

The Difference between a Ship Captain and a River Pilot

A ship captain is responsible for the overall command and navigation of a vessel, making decisions related to its safety, navigation, and crew management. On the other hand, a river pilot is an expert navigator who assists ship captains in navigating through challenging river channels, ports, or waterways, leveraging their specialized knowledge of local conditions.

While a ship captain has a broader scope of responsibilities for the entire voyage, a river pilot provides specific expertise in navigating confined and complex river environments.

A river pilot steers boats on inland waterways. As a river pilot, your duties focus on guiding a vessel up and down rivers. Some pilots drive a riverboat or tugboat, while others take over for captains on ocean-going vessels when they enter river systems. In these cases, you stay onshore and travel to each ship as it sits at the mouth of the river.

Sometimes, your responsibilities involve taking a boat into a harbor that is on a river near the ocean. While piloting any ship, you are in charge of all crew members and must work to ensure their safety.

The contrast between a ship captain and a river pilot is an intriguing aspect of maritime careers, offering two distinctively different views of the sea. Although they both take positions of authority on a ship, their roles, responsibilities, and paths toward their careers greatly differ. So, what’s the fundamental difference between the two?

Typically, a ship captain, often regarded as the ‘master’ of the ship, holds the primary responsibility for the ship’s navigation, safety, and crew. A captain’s duty becomes even more crucial when the ship is at sea, crossing the vast, often unpredictable waters. A ship captain’s career can be immensely rewarding, yet it carries a significant burden of obligations, often requiring stern decision-making.

On the contrary, a River Pilot navigates vessels through the narrower, often more hazardous river environments. Unlike the boundless sea, rivers pose various distinct challenges such as fast currents, changing water levels, obstructions in water, and narrow passages.

Falling back on the old saying that ‘ steamboat pilots learned from experience’, river pilots, li ke their early steamboat counterparts, often gather their skills through hands-on experiences. This real-world exposure enhances their ability to maneuver through these complex river landscapes, efficiently and safely guiding the river vessels.

So, while both ship captains and river pilots operate vessels, their roles are far from interchangeable. The latter gain intimate knowledge of specific river segments, often complemented by technically sound maritime education or training.

However, it’s worth noting that river pilots do not replace the ship’s captain. Instead, they serve to provide the local experience and knowledge crucial for navigating specific river passages. Therefore, the relationship between a ship captain and a river pilot is more collaborative than competitive.

I mportantly, the career opportunity as a river pilot can be quite attractive for those with a passion for river navigation . Those willing to frame their maritime career around river-based navigation may find the river pilot’s role exceptionally fulfilling. As a riverboat pilot, one can appreciate a close view of the river’s changing dynamics, offering a potentially exciting maritime career option, distinct from a ship captain’s role primarily centered around sea voyages.

The difference between a ship captain and a river pilot lies not only in the nature of their tasks but also in their career paths, required skill sets, and the environmental challenges they deal with. Maritime industry enthusiasts should clearly understand these distinctions to make an informed decision when contemplating their maritime career options.

Pilot Accidents and Safety Measures

Accidents involving river pilots aren’t unheard of. The nature of their job tells us that pilot accidents can result from many factors, including unexpected changes in river conditions, equipment failure, or even human error.

Despite these challenges, it’s critical that safety measures are diligently practiced to reduce the risk of accidents. Let’s approach this critical topic comprehensively, drawing attention to potential hazards, and the precautions river pilots take every day.

The work of pilots goes hand in hand with certain dangers. Imagine guiding a ship, potentially an oil tanker, down a river. It’s not a regular day job; it’s a daunting task. The varying currents and depth of the river present danger at every turn. Thus, accidents are indeed a real concern. But how do the pilots deal with such circumstances?

This is where safety measures come into play. River pilots are rigorously trained to operate the pilot boat with utmost efficiency, adhering to stringent safety measures that seek to prevent pilot accidents.

River Pilots deal with distinct challenges every day, taking on tasks such as guiding large cargo ships or oil tankers through complex navigational paths on the river, all while shifting weather conditions have the potential to up the ante instantly.

A river pilot’s tool of trade, the pilot boat, is packed full of safety instruments, from radar to depth sensors and absolutely every technology you can think of to avoid ship collisions and groundings. Their responsibility to the ship and the river environment is heavy. Successfully navigating the day’s challenges is a testament to their dedication and mastery, and fewer pilot accidents are a clear result of that.

River pilots employ various safety measures to navigate through challenging river conditions. They carefully assess factors such as water depth, currents, and visibility to make informed decisions.

Additionally, communication with the ship’s crew and coordination with port authorities are crucial for implementing safety protocols, and the use of specialized navigational equipment further enhances their ability to ensure a safe passage through rivers and waterways.

Pilots also have another important safety measure to stick to – recurrent training. This includes r egular drills, simulations, and workshops designed to boost their skill levels. They adopt day-to-day techniques that aid in navigating ships safely, even in the most challenging of elements.

Lastly, like a knight trusting his sword implicitly, a pilot should have absolute faith in his pilot boat. Regular maintenance and checks of the ship are another critical safety measure. It is only when one is familiar with every nook and cranny of their vessel, that can they steer it correctly, and safely, and deal with any unwarranted situation swiftly and efficiently. This deep understanding of the ship results in fewer pilot accidents.

The life of a river pilot is far from an average day job. However, by practicing and adhering to safety measures, they reduce the occurrence of pilot accidents, making their way down the river safely.

Are There Any Precautions and Safety Measures that River Pilots Adhere To

Yes, river pilots adhere to a range of precautions and safety measures to ensure the safe navigation of vessels in rivers and waterways. These may include:

• Thorough Knowledge of Local Conditions: River pilots have an in-depth understanding of the specific challenges posed by the local geography, such as changing currents, water depths, and potential hazards like sandbanks or submerged structures.
• Effective Communication: Clear communication with the ship’s crew, as well as with port authorities and other vessels, is crucial. River pilots provide guidance and instructions to the crew to navigate safely through the waterway.
• Use of Specialized Equipment: River pilots often utilize specialized navigation equipment, such as radar and sonar, to assess the surroundings and detect obstacles. This technology aids in making informed decisions during navigation.
• Continuous Monitoring: Vigilant monitoring of weather conditions, traffic in the waterway, and any changes in the river’s depth are essential. This ongoing assessment helps pilots adjust their navigation strategies accordingly.
• Collaboration with Tugboats: River pilots may work closely with tugboat operators to assist in the safe maneuvering of large vessels, especially in confined spaces or challenging conditions.
• Simulation Training: Many river pilots undergo simulation training to simulate various scenarios they might encounter, allowing them to practice responses to emergency situations without real-world risks.
• Adherence to Regulations: River pilots follow maritime regulations and guidelines to ensure compliance with safety standards. This includes maintaining the required distances from other vessels, obeying speed limits, and adhering to any specific rules governing the waterway.

By combining their expertise, effective communication, and the use of advanced technology, river pilots aim to mitigate risks and navigate vessels safely through intricate river systems.

Insider’s Look into the Life of a Port Pilot

The life of a port pilot involves high levels of expertise and adaptability as they guide vessels safely through complex and congested harbor environments. Port pilots typically board incoming ships using specialized pilot boats and assume navigational control during critical phases, such as entering or leaving the port. Their work demands constant vigilance, effective communication, and a deep understanding of local maritime conditions to ensure the safe and efficient movement of vessels within the port.

Getting an insider’s look into the life of a port pilot isn’t something that just happens every day. It’s a specialized job, one that demands an unerring sense of responsibility and a deep understanding of the river. Whether that’s the great American Mississippi River, the meandering Willamette rivers, or any other river, these maritime pilots have a job unlike any other.

A bar pilot, also known as a port pilot, handles the navigation of ships through dangerous or congested waters – like river s. You may wonder, isn’t that what the ship’s captain is for? Well, the difference between the two roles is vast and intricate. The captain manages the general operations of the ship, while the port pilot takes over when they approach challenging areas, effectively guiding the ship safely to port.

Integral to pilot jobs is working in groups. This is not a job you can undertake solo. Instead, close cooperation and communication are the lifeblood of a successful operation. Long shifts and unpredictable hours mean that sharing a day with a port pilot often includes witnessing a camaraderie and brotherhood forged in the crucible of adversity.

Ideally, career progression might look something like this:

• Start as an apprentice, work hard
• Learn the ropes (or in this case, presumably, the rudders)
• Eventually, became a fully-fledged port pilot

However, let’s not downplay the intensity of the job. This isn’t a walk in the park. The challenges that need to be overcome throughout their career are monumental.

Port Pilots handle vast ships with precision and care, operating with a focus and determination that is nothing short of admirable. It’s essential to note that pilot accidents do occur.

However, stringent safety measures are implemented, ensuring that all parties involved are protected as much as possible. It’s not just the river or job at stake – it’s the lives of the crew and the safety of the ship.

Conclusion:

A River Pilot is an indispensable figure in the maritime industry, guaranteeing safety and precision in ship navigation. These skilled professionals deftly navigate vessels through dangerous and complex waterways, using specialist knowledge and experience. A profound understanding of currents, tides, and specific water topographies is key to their success. With this crucial role in the safety of global shipping and commerce, the profession of a River Pilot truly deserves our appreciation and respect.

JimGalloway  Author/Editor

References:

United States Coast Guard- River Pilots

National Museum of American History- River Pilots

Q: What is a river pilot and what are their roles? A: A river pilot is a specialized mariner who navigates ships through congested or hazardous waters, mainly rivers. They play a crucial role in the maritime industry, efficiently guiding vessels from one point to another. Their responsibilities also extend to mitigating risks and ensuring the safety of the crew and the vessel by using their deep understanding of the river’s currents, depths, and hazards. Q: How does a river pilot’s job differ from other professions? A: Apart from the technical skills, river pilots require dedication, attention to detail, and the ability to make quick decisions. The work demands extended hours in a challenging environment, often navigating hazardous waters which makes it a job not for the faint-hearted. Additionally, their role carries immense responsibility as the safety of the ship, crew, and cargo extensively depends on their expertise and guidance. Q: What is the demand for river pilots in the global maritime industry? A: River pilots play a pivotal part in the safe and efficient transportation of goods via rivers across the world. Therefore, their need is worldwide and is recognized in the maritime industry, making it a lucrative and fulfilling profession for those who have a passion for the sea. Q: What’s the difference between a ship captain and a river pilot? A: A ship captain holds the primary responsibility for the ship’s navigation, safety, and crew, especially when the ship is at sea. On the other hand, a river pilot navigates vessels through narrower, more hazardous river environments. Ship captains and river pilots serve different functions and their roles are not interchangeable. Both possess intimate knowledge of particular marine environments, assisted by a sound maritime education or hands-on experiences.

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The Boat Latin Market expands with hopes of offering customers larger selection of hard-to-get items

John F. Russell   

[email protected]

Sahara Estrada, Karina Arias and Keyla Villa opened The Boat Latin Market in October 2022 with hopes of bringing hard-to-get items and ingredients from Mexico and Central America to customers in Steamboat Springs.

For nearly two years, the three friends have watched their business grow to a point where they are now opening a new location at 675 S. Lincoln Ave. The owners said the new location, The Boat Latin Market 2, will be in addition to the store they operate at 130 Ninth St., Unit D.

“We plan to offer pretty much the same as we have in the other store,” Villa said. “But we will have more inventory and more products at this location. It will allow us to offer more to the customers because we have more space.”

The new store also offers more parking and better access to bus service, which Villa said is important to many of the store’s regular customers. She said it is also nice that it is located between the Flour Mill and the Ski Town apartments so that customers in those locations can walk to the nearby store, while those living in the south part of town will also have easier access.

“Everything is going really good at our other store,” Estrada said.  “We started thinking about opening a new one because there was a lot of people that were supporting us from the community.”

Estrada said The Boat Latin Market is appealing to those who come from communities in Mexico, Central America, Peru and Venezuela because it offers the authentic Latin products her customers are searching for, as well as the authentic ingredients needed to make dishes from these areas.

“Our customers come from Mexico, Central America and America,” Estrada said. “American people come to look for tamales or fresh tortillas or for specific ingredient for their recipe to make different types of food.”

Villa said the owners will make trips to Denver to pick up the items and bring them back to Steamboat Springs to sell. Most of those items are imported from Mexico, Central America and South America. The new space will allow families to bring in more inventory and more items to Steamboat Springs.

She said the store will also offer services that allow customers to send money, cash pay checks, fill out tax forms and even purchase car insurance.

The store will is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day.

“We really love to have these places because people like them and they support us,” Villa said. “I think it’s awesome to have places where our customers can find maybe the cookies, or the tortillas or stuff that comes from places like from Mexico, Honduras or Nicaragua and find that in here. It makes us happy because we can help people.”

John F. Russell is the business reporter at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach him, call 970-871-4209, email [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.

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Mark Twain: A Good Riverboat Pilot and a Great Writer…

His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he’s best known by his pen name: Mark Twain.  

Sam Clemons grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which is a town located along the Mississippi River. So, it’s no surprise that as a young boy, Sam dreamed of becoming the captain a riverboat. He accomplished his dream by earning his pilot’s license, and he drove boats for a few years. But eventually he became a writer. Writing became the career that made him famous.  He  wrote funny stories and serious books. And, many of his stories were about life on the Mississippi.

Young Sam Clemons achieved one big dream (to become a riverboat pilot) and then achieved a different dream that was even bigger. So, don’t stop dreaming…and don’t be afraid to change dreams in mid-stream if you discover something better!

Quotes by Mark Twain

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not the absence of fear.”  

“Kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”

“Give every day the chance to be the most beautiful day of your life.”

“Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.”

“Courage is the foundation of integrity.”

About the Mississippi River

It’s a Fact:  Mark Twain (1835-1910) earned his riverboat pilot’s license in 1859 and spent two years on the job before the Civil War halted steamboat traffic on the river.

It’s a Fact: The name Mississippi comes from the Ojibway Indian tribe. Mississippi means “big river” in their language.

It’s a Fact:  10 states border the Mississippi River. They are:  Minnesota , Wisconsin , Iowa , Illinois , Missouri , Kentucky , Tennessee , Arkansas , Mississippi , and Louisiana .

It’s a Fact:  A single drop of water takes about 90 days to flow from Lake Itasca, where the Mississippi River begins, to the Gulf of Mexico, where the river ends.

It’s a Fact : The Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico, which a large body of water that borders several southern states and Mexico.

Fun Fact : Mark Twain grew up along the Mississippi River. His lived in a town called Hannibal, Missouri. Today, his boyhood home is a museum. Next time you’re in Hannibal, be sure to drop by!

Fun Fact :  When Sam Clemens published a story in 1861, he signed it using the pen name “Mark Twain” which was a riverboat term that meant that the water was at least 12 feet deep. Water that was 12 feet deep was safe for a riverboat to pass through without hitting bottom.

Fun Fact : At its widest point, the Mississippi River is about 7 miles wide.

Fun Fact : At its deepest point, the Mississippi River is about 200 feet deep.

Just for fun,

Does the mississippi river empty into the atlantic ocean, the pacific ocean, or the gulf of mexico, about how long does it take water to flow from the beginning of the mississippi river to the gulf of mexico is it approximately 10 days, 30 days, or 90 days, did the word "mississippi" come from an american indian name or was it the name of a famous european explorer, did mark twain grow up in hannibal, missouri or in hannibal, mississippi.

If you have time, you can write a story of your own.

Here are a couple of story ideas you can choose from..

Story Idea #1: You could write a story about the amazing life of Mark Twain.

Story Idea #2: You could write a story about being a riverboat captain (like Mark Twain). What would you see? Do you think it would be scary to drive your boat?

You help you write a great story, we have some timely tips and helpful hints.

Check out “10 Tips for Writing Better Essays.”

Here's a riddle for you:

Why does the mississippi river see better than the ohio river.

For fun-to-read books about a girl detective who homeschools on a train... check out  The Mystery Ryders , a series from the creators of the Homeschool Express.

Thanks for stopping by... have a great homeschool day!

Old Times on the Mississippi (Part IV)

The fourth installment in a seven-part series about the author’s youthful training as a riverboat pilot

IV. The “Cub” Pilot’s Education Nearly Completed.

Whosoever has done me the Courtesy to read my Chapters which have preceded this may possibly wonder that I deal so minutely with piloting as a science. It was the prime purpose of these articles; and I am not quite done yet. I wish to show, in the most patient and painstaking way, what a wonderful science it is. Ship channels are buoyed and lighted, and therefore it is a comparatively easy undertaking to learn to run them; clear-water rivers, with gravel bottoms, change their channels very gradually, and therefore one needs to learn them but once; but piloting becomes another matter when you apply it to vast streams like the Mississippi and the Missouri, whose alluvial banks cave and change constantly, whose snags are always hunting up new quarters, whose sand-bars are never at rest, whose channels are forever dodging and shirking, and whose obstructions must be confronted in all nights and all weathers without the aid of a single light-house or a single buoy; for there is neither light nor buoy to be found anywhere in all this three or four thousand miles of villainous river. I feel justified in enlarging upon this great science for the reason that I feel sure no one has ever yet written a paragraph about it who had piloted a steamboat himself, and so had a practical knowledge of the subject. If the theme were hackneyed, I should be obliged to deal gently with the reader; but since it is wholly new, I have felt at liberty to take up a considerable degree of room with it.

When I had learned the name and position of every visible feature of the river; when I had so mastered its shape that I could shut my eyes and trace it from St. Louis to New Orleans; when I had learned to read the face of the water as one would cull the news from the morning paper; and finally, when I had trained my dull memory to treasure up an endless array of soundings and crossing-marks, and keep fast hold of them, I judged that my education was complete: so I got to tilting my cap to the side of my head, and wearing a tooth-pick in my mouth at the wheel. Mr. B—— had his eye on these airs. One day he said, —

“What is the height of that bank yonder, at Burgess’s?”

“How can I tell, sir? It is three quarters of a mile away.”

“Very poor eye—very poor. Take the glass.”

I took the glass, and presently said, —

“I can’t tell. I suppose that that bank is about a foot and a half high.”

“Foot and a half! That’s a six-foot bank. How high was the bank along here last trip?”

“I don’t know; I never noticed.”

“You didn’t? Well, you must always do it hereafter.”

“Because you’ll have to know a good many things that it tells you. For one thing, it tells you the stage of the river—tells you whether there’s more water or less in the river along here than there was last trip.”

“The leads tell me that.” I rather thought I had the advantage of him there.

“Yes, but suppose the leads lie? The bank would tell you so, and then you’d stir those leadsmen up a bit. There was a ten-foot bank here last trip, and there is only a six-foot bank now. What does that signify?”

“That the river is four feet higher than it was last trip.”

“Very good. Is the river rising or falling?”

“No it ain’t.”

“I guess I am right, sir. Yonder is some drift-wood floating down the stream.”

“A rise starts the drift-wood, but then it keeps on floating a while after the river is done rising. Now the bank will tell you about this. Wait till you come to a place where it shelves a little. Now here; do you see this narrow belt of fine sediment? That was deposited while the water was higher. You see the drift-wood begins to strand, too. The bank helps in other ways. Do you see that stump on the false point?”

“Ay, ay, sir.”

“Well, the water is just up to the roots of it. You must make a note of that.”

“Because that means that there’s seven feet in the chute of 103.”

“But 103 is a long way up the river yet.”

“That’s where the benefit of the bank comes in. There is water enough in 103 now, yet there may not be by the time we get there; but the bank will keep us posted all along. You don’t run close chutes on a falling river, up-stream, and there are precious few of them that you are allowed to run at all down-stream. There’s a law of the United States against it. The river may be rising by the time we get to 103, and in that case we’ll run it. We are drawing—how much?”

“Six feet aft, — six and a half forward.”

“Well, you do seem to know something.”

“But what I particularly want to know is, if I have got to keep up an everlasting measuring of the banks of this river, twelve hundred miles, month in and month out?”

“Of course!”

My emotions were too deep for words for a while. Presently I said, —

“And how about these chutes? Are there many of them?”

“I should say so. I fancy we shan’t run any of the river this trip as you ye ever seen it run before—so to speak. If the river begins to rise again, we’ll go up behind bars that you’ve always seen standing out of the river, high and dry like the roof of a house; we’ll cut across low places that you ye never noticed at all, right through the middle of bars that cover fifty acres of river; we’ll creep through cracks where you’ve always thought was solid land; we’ll dart through the woods and leave twenty-five miles of river off to one side; we’ll see the hind-side of every island between New Orleans and Cairo.”

“Then I’ve got to go to work and learn just as much more river as I already know.”

“Just about twice as much more, as near as you can come at it.”

“Well, one lives to find out. I think I was a fool when I went into this business.”

“Yes, that is true. And you are yet. But you’ll not be when you’ve learned it.”

“Ah, I never can learn it.”

“I will see that you do .”

By and by I ventured again: —

“Have I got to learn all this thing just as I know the rest of the river—shapes and all—and so I can run it at night?”

“Yes. And you’ve got to have good fair marks from one end of the river to the other, that will help the bank tell you when there is water enough in each of these countless places, — like that stump, you know. When the river first begins to rise, you can run half a dozen of the deepest of them; when it rises a foot more you can run another dozen; the next foot will add a couple of dozen, and so on: so you see you have to know your banks and marks to a dead moral certainty, and never get them mixed; for when you start through one of those cracks, there’s no backing out again, as there is in the big river; you’ve got to go through, or stay there six months if you get caught on a falling river. There are about fifty of these cracks which you can’t run at all except when the river is brim full and over the banks.”

“This new lesson is a cheerful prospect.”

“Cheerful enough. And mind what I’ve just told you; when you start into one of those places you’ve got to go through. They are too narrow to turn around in, too crooked to back out of, and the shoal water is always up at the head ; never elsewhere. And the head of them is always likely to be filling up, little by little, so that the marks you reckon their depth by, this season, may not answer for next.”

“Learn a new set, then, every year?”

“Exactly. Cramp her up to the bar! What are you standing up through the middle of the river for?”

The next few months showed me strange things. On the same day that we held the conversation above narrated, we met a great rise coming down the river. The whole vast face of the stream was black with drifting dead logs, broken boughs, and great trees that had caved in and been washed away. It required the nicest steering to pick one’s way through this rushing raft, even in the day-time, when crossing from point to point; and at night the difficulty was mightily increased; every now and then a huge log, lying deep in the water, would suddenly appear right under our bows, coming head-on; no use to try to avoid it then; we could only stop the engines, and one wheel would walk over that log from one end to the other, keeping up a thundering racket and careening the boat in a way that was very uncomfortable to passengers. Now and then we would hit one of these sunken logs a rattling bang, dead in the centre; with a full head of steam, and it would stun the boat as if she had hit a continent. Sometimes this log would lodge and stay right across our nose, and back the Mississippi up before it; we would have to do a little craw-fishing, then, to get away from the obstruction. We often hit white logs, in the dark, for we could not see them till we were right on them; but a black log is a pretty distinct object at night. A white snag is an ugly customer when the daylight is gone.

Of course, on the great rise, down came a swarm of prodigious timber-rafts from the head waters of the Mississippi, coal barges from Pittsburgh, little trailing scows from everywhere, and broad-horns from “Posey County,” Indiana, freighted with “fruit and furniture”—the usual term for describing it, though in plain English the freight thus aggrandized was hoop-poles and pumpkins. Pilots bore a mortal hatred to these craft; and it was returned with usury. The law required all such helpless traders to keep a light burning, but it was a law that was often broken. All of a sudden, on a murky night, a light would hop up, right under our bows, almost, and an agonized voice, with the back-woods “whang” to it, would wail out: —

“Whar’n the —— you goin’ to! Cain’t you see nothin’, you dash-clashed aig-suckin’, sheep-stealin’, one-eyed son of a stuffed monkey!”

Then for an instant, as we whistled by, the red glare from our furnaces would reveal the scow and the form of the gesticulating orator as if under a lightning-flash, and in that instant our firemen and deck-hands would send and receive a tempest of missiles and profanity, one of our wheels would walk off with the crashing fragments of a steering-oar, and down the dead blackness would shut again. And that flatboatman would be sure to go into New Orleans and sue our boat, swearing stoutly that he had a light burning all the time, when in truth his gang had the lantern down below to sing and lie and drink and gamble by, and no watch on deck. Once, at night, in one of those forest-bordered crevices (behind an island) which steamboatmen intensely describe with the phrase “as dark as the inside of a cow,” we should have eaten up a Posey County family, fruit, furniture, and all, but that they happened to be fiddling down below and we just caught the sound of the music in time to sheer off, doing no serious damage, unfortunately, but coming so near it that we had good hopes for a moment. These people brought up their lantern, then, of course; and as we backed and filled to get away, the precious family stood in the light of it—both sexes and various ages—and cursed us till everything turned blue. Once a coal-boatman sent a bullet through our pilot-house when we borrowed a steering-oar of him, in a very narrow place.

During this big rise these small-fry craft were an intolerable nuisance. We were running chute after chute, — a new world to me, — and if there was a particularly cramped place in a chute, we would be pretty sure to meet a broad-horn there; and if he failed to be there, we would find him in a still worse locality, namely, the head of the chute, on the shoal water. And then there would be no end of profane cordialities exchanged.

Sometimes, in the big river, when we would be feeling our way cautiously along through a fog, the deep hush would suddenly be broken by yells and a clamor of tin pans, and all in an instant a log raft would appear vaguely through the webby veil, close upon us; and then we did not wait to swap knives, but snatched our engine bells out by the roots and piled on all the steam we had, to scramble out of the way! One doesn’t hit a rock or a solid log raft with a steamboat when he can get excused.

You will hardly believe it, but many steamboat clerks always carried a large assortment of religious tracts with them in those old departed steamboating days. Indeed they did. Twenty times a day we would be cramping up around a bar, while a string of these small-fry rascals were drifting down into the head of the bend away above and beyond us a couple of miles. Now a skiff would dart away from one of them and come fighting its laborious way across the desert of water. It would “ease all,” in the shadow of our forecastle, and the panting oarsmen would shout, “Gimme a pa-a-per!” as the skiff drifted swiftly astern. The clerk would throw over a file of New Orleans journals. If these were picked up without comment , you might notice that now a dozen other skiffs had been drifting down upon us without saying anything. You understand, they had been waiting to see how No. 1 was going to fare. No. 1 making no comment, all the rest would bend to their oars and come on, now; and as fast as they came the clerk would heave over neat bundles of religious tracts tied to shingles. The amount of hard swearing which twelve packages of religious literature will command when impartially divided up among twelve raftsmen’s crews, who have pulled a heavy skiff two miles on a hot day to get them, is simply incredible.

As I have said, the big rise brought a new world under my vision. By the time the river was over its banks we had forsaken our old paths and were hourly climbing over bars that had stood ten feet out of water before; we were shaving stumpy shores, like that at the foot of Madrid Bend, which I had always seen avoided before; we were clattering through chutes like that of 82, where the opening at the foot was an unbroken wall of timber till our nose was almost at the very spot. Some of these chutes were utter solitudes. The dense, untouched forest overhung both banks of the crooked little crack, and one could believe that human creatures had never intruded there before. The swinging grape-vines, the grassy nooks and vistas glimpsed as we swept by, the flowering creepers waving their red blossoms from the tops of dead trunks, and all the spendthrift richness of the forest foliage, were wasted and thrown away there. The chutes were lovely places to steer in; they were deep, except at the head; the current was gentle; under the “points” the water was absolutely dead, and the invisible banks so bluff that where the tender willow thickets projected you could bury your boat’s broadside in them as you tore along, and then you seemed fairly to fly.

Behind other islands we found wretched little farms, and wretcheder little log-cabins; there were crazy rail fences sticking a foot or two above the water, with one or two jeans-clad, chills-racked, yellow-faced male miserables roosting on the top-rail, elbows on knees, jaws in hands, grinding tobacco and discharging the result at floating chips through crevices left by lost milk-teeth; while the rest of the family and the few farm-animals were huddled together in an empty wood-flat riding at her moorings close at hand. In this flatboat the family would have to cook and eat and sleep for a lesser or greater number of days (or possibly weeks), until the river should fall two or three feet and let them get back to their log-cabin and their chills again—chills being a merciful provision of an all-wise Providence to enable them to take exercise without exertion. And this sort of watery camping out was a thing which these people were rather liable to be treated to a couple of times a year: by the December rise out of the Ohio, and the June rise out of the Mississippi. And yet these were kindly dispensations, for they at least enabled the poor things to rise from the dead now and then, and look upon life when a steamboat went by. They appreciated the blessing, too, for they spread their mouths and eyes wide open and made the most of these occasions. Now what could these banished creatures find to do to keep from dying of the blues during the low-water season!

Once, in one of these lovely island chutes, we found our course completely bridged by a great fallen tree. This will serve to show how narrow some of the chutes were. The passengers had an hour’s recreation in a virgin wilderness, while the boat-hands chopped the bridge away; for there was no such thing as turning back, you comprehend.

From Cairo to Baton Rouge, when the river is over its banks, you have no particular trouble in the night, for the thousand-mile wall of dense forest that guards the two banks all the way is only gapped with a farm or wood-yard opening at intervals, and so you can’t “get out of the river” much easier than you could get out of a fenced lane; but from Baton Rouge to New Orleans it is a different matter. The river is more than a mile wide, and very deep—as much as two hundred feet, in places. Both banks, for a good deal over a hundred miles, are shorn of their timber and bordered by continuous sugar plantations, with only here and there a scattering sapling or row of ornamental China-trees. The timber is shorn off clear to the rear of the plantations, from two to four miles. When the first frost threatens to come, the planters snatch off their crops in a hurry. When they have finished grinding the cane, they form the refuse of the stalks (which they call bagasse ) into great piles and set fire to them, though in other sugar countries the bagasse is used for fuel in the furnaces of the sugar mills. Now the piles of damp bagasse burn slowly, and smoke like Satan’s own kitchen.

An embankment ten or fifteen feet high guards both banks of the Mississippi all the way down that lower end of the river, and this embankment is set back from the edge of the shore from ten to perhaps a hundred feet, according to circumstances; say thirty or forty feet, as a general thing. Fill that whole region with an impenetrable gloom of smoke from a hundred miles of burning bagasse piles, when the river is over the banks, and turn a steamboat loose along there at midnight and see how she will feel. And see how you will feel, too! You find yourself away out in the midst of a vague dim sea that is shoreless, that fades out and loses itself in the murky distances; for you cannot discern the thin rib of embankment, and you are always imagining you see a straggling tree when you don’t. The plantations themselves are transformed by the smoke and look like a part of the sea. All through your watch you are tortured with the exquisite misery of uncertainty. You hope you are keeping in the river, but you do not know. All that you are sure about is that you are likely to be within six feet of the bank and destruction, when you think you are a good half-mile from shore. And you are sure, also, that if you chance suddenly to fetch up against the embankment and topple your chimneys overboard, you will have the small comfort of knowing that it is about what you were expecting to do. One of the great Vicksburg packets darted out into a sugar plantation one night, at such a time, and had to stay there a week. But there was no novelty about it; it had often been done before.

I thought I had finished this number, but I wish to add a curious thing, while it is in my mind. It is only relevant in that it is connected with piloting. There used to be an excellent pilot on the river, a Mr. X., who was a somnambulist. It was said that if his mind was troubled about a bad piece of river, he was pretty sure to get up and walk in his sleep and do strange things. He was once fellow-pilot for a trip or two with George E——, on a great New Orleans passenger packet. During a considerable part of the first trip George was uneasy, but got over it by and by, as X. seemed content to stay in his bed when asleep. Late one night the boat was approaching Helena, Arkansas; the water was low, and the crossing above the town in a very blind and tangled condition. X. had seen the crossing since E—— had, and as the night was particularly drizzly, sullen, and dark, E—— was considering whether he had not better have X. called to assist in running the place, when the door opened and X. walked in. Now on very dark nights, light is a deadly enemy to piloting; you are aware that if you stand in a lighted room, on such a night, you cannot see things in the street to any purpose; but if you put out the lights and stand in the gloom you can make out objects in the street pretty well. So, on very dark nights, pilots do not smoke; they allow no fire in the pilot-house stove if there is a crack which can allow the least ray to escape; they order the furnaces to be curtained with huge tarpaulins and the sky-lights to be closely blinded. Then no light whatever issues from the boat. The undefinable shape that now entered the pilot-house had Mr. X.’s voice. This said, —

“Let me take her, Mr. E——; I’ve seen this place since you have, and it is so crooked that I reckon I can run it myself easier than I could tell you how to do it.”

“It is kind of you, and I swear I am willing. I haven’t got another drop of perspiration left in me. I have been spinning around and around the wheel like a squirrel. It is so dark I can’t tell which way she is swinging till she is coming around like a whirligig.”

So E—— took a seat on the bench, panting and breathless. The black phantom assumed the wheel without saying anything, steadied the waltzing steamer with a turn or two, and then stood at ease, coaxing her a little to this side and then to that, as gently and as sweetly as if the time had been noonday. When E—— observed this marvel of steering, he wished he had not confessed! He stared, and wondered, and finally said, —

“Well, I thought I knew how to steer a steamboat, but that was another mistake of mine.”

X. said nothing, but went serenely on with his work. He rang for the leads; he rang to slow down the steam; he worked the boat carefully and neatly into invisible marks, then stood at the centre of the wheel and peered blandly out into the blackness, fore and aft, to verify his position; as the leads shoaled more and more, he stopped the engines entirely, and the dead silence and suspense of “drifting” followed; when the shoalest water was struck, he cracked on the steam, carried her handsomely over, and then began to work her warily into the next system of shoal marks; the same patient, heedful use of leads and engines followed, the boat slipped through without touching bottom, and entered upon the third and last intricacy of the crossing; imperceptibly she moved through the gloom, crept by inches into her marks, drifted tediously till the shoalest water was cried, and then, under a tremendous head of steam, went swinging over the reef and away into deep water and safety!

E—— let his long-pent breath pour out in a great, relieving sigh, and said: —

“That’s the sweetest piece of piloting that was ever done on the Mississippi River! I wouldn’t believed it could be done, if I hadn’t seen it.”

There was no reply, and he added: —

“Just hold her five minutes longer, partner, and let me run down and get a cup of coffee.”

A minute later E—— was biting into a pie, down in the “texas,” and comforting himself with coffee. Just then the night watchman happened in, and was about to happen out again, when he noticed E—— and exclaimed, —

“Who is at the wheel, sir?”

“Dart for the pilot-house, quicker than lightning!”

The next moment both men were flying up the pilot-house companion-way, three steps at a jump! Nobody there! The great steamer was whistling down the middle of the river at her own sweet will! The watchman shot out of the place again; E—— seized the wheel, set an engine back with power, and held his breath while the boat reluctantly swung away from a “towhead” which she was about to knock into the middle of the Gulf of Mexico!

By and by the watchman came back and said, —

“Didn’t that lunatic tell you he was asleep, when he first came up here?”

“Well, he was. I found him walking along on top of the railings, just as unconcerned as another man would walk a pavement; and I put him to bed; now just this minute there he was again, away astern, going through that sort of tight-rope deviltry the same as before.”

“Well, I think I’ll stay by, next time he has one of those fits. But I hope he’ll have them often. You just ought to have seen him take this boat through Helena crossing. I never saw anything so gaudy before. And if he can do such gold-leaf, kid-glove, diamond-breastpin piloting when he is sound asleep, what couldn’t he do if he was dead!”

PILOT PERSPECTIVE

"our commitment goes far beyond just being a job.", captain e. michael bopp, crescent pilots face multiple navigational and traffic challenges on the mississippi, booming high rivers, intense fog, and an increasing density of marine vessels. and despite the uncomfortable nature of a pandemic led by covid-19 we continue to climb aboard ships when pilots are needed. we are keeping cargo on schedule in the largest port complex in the world. in true reflection of a pilot’s spirit we put our own safety, health, and welfare second to our mission to serve the state and everything that it holds dear. .

WE CAN'T EXPECT TO LIVE ON OUR OWN SCHEDULE. 

Captain tommy bryan and captain shawn gibbs, with ships coming from all over the  world we are required to  pilot some of the largest vessels in the world. there's no room for mistakes. n early  all consumer goods we need come to us by ship, therefore e ven in the midst of worldwide shutdowns and a historic  pandemic  we keep  moving ships, never  closing ., captain r. scully, captain k. siverd, mrtis, created in 2010 by scully and siverd, is a remarkable tool that brings together multiple sources of information into one interface aiding in the dissemination of information in the maritime industry. mrtis provides users a robust suite of services for vessel tracking, fleet management, traffic interpretation, weather data, visibility monitoring and much more. learn more  http://mrtis.com/about-us/, tall ships in the big easy, honoring the tricentennial celebration of new orleans in 2018 crescent pilots donated their time to help safely guide the fleet of historic tall ships to new orleans. dockside in new orleans the public enjoyed a rare chance to tour and experience the historic ships including the elissa, a 99-foot-long iron-hulled vessel, built in scotland in 1877. .

A FEMALE'S PERSPECTIVE ON BEING A PILOT.

Captain casey crawford, there are not a lot of females in the maritime industry that go down this road in hopes of becoming a pilot. everyday on a ship is different and i truly enjoy that. when i step onto a ship, the crew is definitely taken aback to see that i am a female. i truly embrace the culture of each ship and work hard to gain their trust so that i can do my job to its full potential. , river pilot falls into the river..

Captain Strother Sacra

Reaching for the hanging rope ladder pilots sometimes get tossed up and down.  Captain Sacra's story is quite chilling, he was tossed into the dark, cold, muddy waters of the Mississippi River. 

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Gold, Platinum  Airport transfer / Check-in at centrally located Marriott Aurora***** or Ararat Park Hyatt*****

Imperial : Private airport transfer / Check-in at the luxurious Four Seasons Moscow***** only a minute from the Kremlin and Red Square

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Gold: City Tour / Novodevichy Cemetery Imperial, Platinum:  City tour / Lunch in a Moscow City Skyscraper / Novodevichy Cemetery / Sparrow Hills

Meals: Breakfast

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Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Gold:  Moscow Kremlin / Armory Museum / Red Square / GUM Department Store

Platinum:  Moscow Kremlin / Armory Museum / Red Square / St. Basil’s Cathedral / GUM Department Store / Park Zaryadye

Gold:  Tretyakov Gallery / Moscow Metro Tour.

Platinum:  Leo Tolstoy House-Museum in Hamovniki / Tretyakov Gallery / Moscow Metro Tour.

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Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Russian Dinner with Vodka Tasting

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Volga dream experience: Piano Concert – Compositions by Tchaikovsky and Rakhmaninov

Gold, Platinum:  Svirstroy village / Local resident’s home / Local primary school

Volga dream experience: Farewell Dinner, Captain’s cocktail

Gold:  City Tour / Peter and Paul Fortress

Platinum:  City Tour / St. Isaac’s Cathedral / Canal boat / Yusupov Palace

Gold:  The State Hermitage Museum / Peterhof: Park and a historic Cottage

Platinum:  The State Hermitage Museum (Early Entrance!) / Gold Room / Peterhof: Park and a historic Cottage

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Body of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham found in Trinity River, officials say. What we know

The body of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham was found Tuesday, according to law enforcement officials.

Audrii had been missing for nearly a week after she left to go catch the school bus in her hometown of Livingston. Texas Department of Public Safety, Polk County Sheriff's Office, and several local law enforcement agencies searched extensively, providing updates on a backpack found that was believed to have been Audrii's and arresting a person of interest in the case.

Here's what we know:

Where was Audrii Cunningham's body found?

Audrii's body was found by search crews in Trinity River under U.S. Highway 59 on Tuesday, Polk County officials said in a news conference on Tuesday. The Amber Alert for Audrii will be discontinued.

The Trinity River Authority lowered the river water levels so that divers could reach the area, Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons said.

Polk County officials are preparing an arrest warrant charging Don Steven McDougal of capital murder in Audrii's death, District Attorney Shelly Sitton said.

McDougal is currently in jail on an unrelated felony charge, Sitton said.

Audrii's body was taken to Harris County medical examiner's office, where officials will determine the cause and method of her death, Lyons said.

Law enforcement identified points of interest through cellphone analysis, video and information provided by McDougal about locations where he had gone.

There was no evidence on where Audrii died or whether her body was weighed down, Lyons said, and her body was not visible to the naked eye.

Lyons declined to release information on the condition of Audrii's body. In response to a reporter's question, Lyons also declined to say whether McDougal told officials to lower the water levels of the river.

When did Audrii Cunningham go missing?

Audrii went missing at approximately 6:45 Thursday morning when she did not get on the school bus on FM 3126.

Audrii's home is near bodies of water, most notably Lake Livingston. Lyons explained that areas with water were among the first places the DPS and volunteers searched. Officials feel Audrii's disappearance did not involve these areas.

Also read: Texas Amber Alert issued for 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham from Livingston

DPS officials asked the public for any video taken of FM 3126, with the highway in view, on Thursday, Feb. 15, between 6:30 and 8 a.m. local time.

Officers also urge the public to stay away from Scenic Loop FM 3277 unless they have a reasonable need to be there.

Following a public search, a 2003 dark blue Chevrolet Suburban belonging to McDougal is now in police custody.

Who is Don Steve McDougal?

McDougal, 42, has been identified as the main person of interest in the case. He was arrested Friday on an unrelated aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge and booked into the Polk County Jail late that night. McDougal is believed to be the last person to see Audrii.

McDougal lives in a camper behind the home of Audrii and her family. Audrii's family and McDougal have a relationship, and McDougal occasionally took Audrii to the bus stop and drove her to school when she missed the bus.

Texas Amber Alert: 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham still missing, person of interest arrested

In 2008, McDougal was convicted of enticing a child in another county, KBTX reports . According to local authorities, this did not require him to register as a sex offender in Polk County.

"Investigators have given McDougal, who was arrested Friday on an unrelated charge, several opportunities to cooperate," Lt. Bruce Cummings with the Texas Department of Public Safety said Monday. "And we remain hopeful that he will begin helping in this case."

While McDougal has not confessed to anything, he admitted to leaving the house with Audrii on the morning of her disappearance. Officers said he has also taken them to multiple locations that may be related. For the sake of the investigation, those locations are not being disclosed to the public.

Lyons stated that while McDougal has been cooperating by speaking to officials and occasionally taking them to locations of interest, he "uses the word 'cooperate' lightly."

Although McDougal is currently the main person of interest in this case, law enforcement is also looking into other suspects that may be involved.

What charges have been filed?

Lyons explained no specific charges are being filed at this time. Instead, charges would be presented after adequate evidence has been found.

Law enforcement does believe they are pursuing a criminal investigation. When asked about Audrii's safety, Lyons remained cautiously optimistic.

"I'm hoping and praying that she's still alive. I am not giving up hope that we'll be able to bring Audrii home," Lyons stated during Monday's press conference. "So yes, I am hoping that she's still alive. And we're going to work just as hard, to make sure we do everything that we can, to try to bring her home."

In addition to the information provided by McDougal, law enforcement is using a variety of sources to piece together a timeline for his movements.

"We are working with every tool made available to us," Lyons said. "Whether it be cell phones, whether it be video — which has been an awesome tool for us — we have been using every tool made available to us, to try to piece together a picture of where [McDougal] may have gone."

$10,000 reward offered for information

Law enforcement has increased the reward to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the person responsible for Audrii's disappearance.

Where is Livingston, Texas?

Livingston is about 74 miles northeast of Houston in Polk County.

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River’s lady pilots sail pass visiting malvern.

HANNIBAL — River High’s defensive-minded Lady Pilots made quick work of a second straight OHSAA postseason Division IV Sectional opponent, Wednesday night at the R.L. Potts gym.

Forcing 11 first quarter Malvern turnovers with an effective press resulting in a 20-0 lead after one quarter, coach Rick Isaly’s 21-3 crew sailed to an easy 57-14 ‘mercy-rule’ win at the RHS wheelhouse.

For the No. 2 seed Lady Pilots, ranked 10th in the final AP D-4 poll, it sets up a third clash with 7th-seeded Shenandoah at 1 p.m., Saturday a sectional clash on the Pilots’ floor. The Lady Zeps beat Garaway 46-43 in double OT.

“We had our press working early to jump-start us to an early lead, but we didn’t convert on a lot of our opportunities,” said Isaly, despite leading 26-0 with 6:42 left in the first half. “We were a little sloppy in the second half. We had some great efforts up and down the lineup.”

Senior all-Ohioan Kelsey Harlan, who seemingly is all over the floor with her defensive play and playmaking skill, played only the first half and finished with 16 points, including five of River’s first six hoops. She added six steals and four assists.

Junior Reese Hobbs had nine points, four boards and three steals, sophomore Zoey Fox added eight points off the bench, senior Tessa Prim led all rebounders with nine, while classmate Emma Reed had seven points and four caroms.

Kaylee Hagan converted twice underneath to push it to 20-0 after eight minutes and the junior assisted on goals from Harlan and Hobbs to open the second.

Malvern, minus two starters out with foot injuries, used a hoop and a 3-pointer from junior Megan Kuba to make it 26-5, but back-to-back layups by Reed, a converted steal by frosh Maci Isaly, and layups from Harlan and Hobbs made it 36-5.

River closed the half with a flourish to the delight of a large home turnout as Fox and Reed nailed 3’s for a 42-7 halftime cushion.

The second half was played with a running clock according to OHSAA rules. It was 53-14 after three.

The Lady Pilots shot 49 per cent on 26-of-53 with seven turnovers. The Lady Hornets (7-15) had 18 turnovers and shot 6-of-29 for 20 percent.

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• Moscow Boat Tour

Moscow Boat Tour Includes

Moscow boat tour overview.

Want to explore the iconic Moscow city from a different perspective? Go for this thrilling Moscow sightseeing river cruise and enjoy an unforgettable experience on a modern and comfortable yacht. Sail across the stunning Moskva River, and have a pleasurable time with your loved ones through savoring delicious food, appreciating historical views of the city, and relaxing in a cozy ambiance on board.

What To Expect from Moscow boat tour

Enjoy a relaxing cruise through the pristine Moskva River Join this exciting Moscow boat tour and spend a pleasurable time onboard a luxury yacht with your loved ones while enjoying a relaxing sail and appreciating the panoramic views of the city's skyline and landmarks.

Be amazed by the panoramic views of the city The Moscow River boat tours offer the best ways to witness the elegance of the city from the waters either in daylight or in the evening time when the city dazzles with the illuminated LED lights. You can see the stunning views of the city's skyline from either the observation decks or from the huge glass windows.

Witness main landmarks from the water During the boat trip Moscow River you will pass through the city’s main architectural sites like Vorobyovy Hills, Kremlin, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Peter the Great Statue, the Saint Basil's Cathedral, the Vodootvodny Canal and many more.

Join us for premium services Join this exciting Moscow sightseeing river cruise through us to have a memorable sail experience onboard a modern yacht along with excellent service, delightful cuisine, pleasant ambiance, and unforgettable views. 

Know Before You Go

Ticket Variants: Depart from Gorky Park Pier Depart from Pier Hotel Radisson Royal Hotel

Meeting Point : Hotel Radisson Royal Hotel Pier or Gorky Park Pier Meeting Time: Please be at the meeting point 20 minutes before the scheduled departure time

Cruise Departure Time : 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 5:00 pm, 7:00 pm, and 9:00 pm

Address:   Hotel Radisson Royal Hotel Pier, 2/1 Kutuzovskiy Avenue Bld. 1, Moscow, Russia-121248 Gorky Park Pier, Krymsky Val, 9, Moscow, Russia-119049 Getting There: Both locations are easily accessible through metro, taxi, or car

Itineraries of the Moskva River Cruise:

Depart from Pier Hotel Radisson Royal Hotel Pier Hotel Radisson Royal Hotel House of Government Moscow Mayor`s office Kievsky railway station Novodevichy Convent Moscow State University Luzhniki Stadium Vorobyevy (Sparrow) Hills Nyeskuchniy Garden Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure Krymsky Bridge (Crimean Bridge) Cathedral of Christ the Saviour Moscow Kremlin St. Basil’s Cathedral Skyscraper on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Pier Hotel Radisson Royal Hotel

Depart from Gorky Park Pier  Gorky Park Pier Krymsky Bridge (Crimean Bridge) Peter the Great monument Cathedral of Christ the Saviour Moscow Kremlin St. Basil’s Cathedral – Ustinsky Bridge Skyscraper on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Krasnokholmsky bridge Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure Vorobyevy (Sparrow) Hills Kievsky railway station Ukraina Hotel Gorky Park Pier

Child Age is between the age 6 to 12 years old

Insider Tips: You can have more alcoholic drinks at your own expense The enclosed area is a no-smoking zone, whereas, you can smoke in the open area of observation decks The tour is wheelchair and stroller accessible Children under 5 years may join the tour for free with a paying adult

Other Inclusions

• 2-hour cruise along the Moscow River

Things To Carry

• Thrillophilia Voucher
• Valid ID Proof
• Please carry your passport or a valid ID proof for verification
• Dress code is smart casual and closed-toe shoes
• This is a group tour

Moscow Boat Tour: Cancellation Policy

• Free cancellation up to 24 hours before activity starts

Moscow Boat Tour: Refund Policy

• The applicable refund amount will be processed within 15 business days
• All applicable refunds will be done in traveller's thrillophilia wallet as Thrillcash

Moscow Boat Tour: Booking Confirmation Policy

• The customer receives a confirmation voucher via email within 24 hours of successful booking
• In case the preferred slots are unavailable, an alternate schedule of the customer’s preference will be arranged and a new confirmation voucher will be sent via email.
• Alternatively, the customer may choose to cancel their booking before confirmation and a full refund will be processed.

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Pre-Drone Era Aerials: Mid-1990s Majesty – Sky High Moscow, A Soaring Journey Above the Kremlin’

In the mid-1990s, aerial footage of central Moscow and the Kremlin was a rare and unique sight. Capturing such footage required skilled pilots, experienced camera operators, and specialized equipment. The two most common methods for obtaining these shots were through the use of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Both techniques offered their own unique advantages and challenges in capturing the breathtaking views of Moscow’s iconic landmarks. Here we present 10 minutes of Captivating 1990s Moscow Cinematic Aerials.

Helicopters were a popular choice for filming aerial footage of central Moscow and the Kremlin. It gave some stability and manoeuvrability.

With their ability to hover and fly at low speeds, helicopters provided a stable platform for camera operators to film the majestic architecture of the Kremlin, the Moskva River, and the surrounding cityscape. This allowed filmmakers to capture smooth tracking shots, moving slowly over the iconic sites and providing viewers with an intimate and immersive perspective of the Russian capital.

To film using a helicopter, a production team would mount cameras on the exterior of the aircraft. Another way to have a camera operator positioned inside, usually through an open door or window.

This setup required expert coordination between the pilot and camera operator to ensure that the helicopter maintained a safe distance from buildings, monuments, and other obstacles while capturing the desired shots. The result was a unique perspective of Moscow’s historic landmarks that was previously unattainable through other means.

Spellbinding 1990s Moscow: Overhead Perspectives and Cinematic Panoramas of a Vanished Epoch

On the other hand, fixed-wing aircraft offered filmmakers the opportunity to capture aerial footage from higher altitudes and cover greater distances than helicopters. These aircraft were equipped with cameras mounted on the exterior or operated by a camera operator inside the plane. The higher vantage point provided a sweeping view of the Kremlin, the Red Square, and the surrounding cityscape, showcasing the grand scale and intricate design of Moscow’s architectural marvels.

Captivating 1990s Moscow Cinematic Aerials Panoramas

Using fixed-wing aircraft for aerial cinematography required a high level of precision and expertise from both the pilot and camera operator. The pilot maintains a steady flight path and altitude, while the camera operator had to carefully frame the shots and manage camera movements. The unique combination of high altitude and precise camera work allowed filmmakers to create an unparalleled sense of scale and grandeur in their footage.

Captivating 1990s Moscow: Soaring Imagery and Cinematic Tableaus from a Fading Era

In both cases, capturing aerial footage of Moscow and the Kremlin in the 1990s was an extraordinary feat. The use of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft allowed filmmakers to showcase the city’s stunning architecture, rich history, and cultural significance from a perspective that was previously unachievable. This footage not only provided viewers with a unique visual experience, but also served as a testament to the creativity, skill, and determination of the filmmakers and their production teams.

Experience the Magic of Moscow’s Past: Licence Our Exclusive 10-Minute Captivating 1990s Moscow Cinematic Aerials Clip for Worldwide Use!

Elevate your project with these rare and mesmerizing visuals, transporting audiences back in time to a bygone era. In 1999, when Putin became president, central Moscow was declared a military zone, making such flights impossible. This rare footage from TVDATA Aerial collection showcases the breathtaking beauty and historical significance of Moscow. This way, Central Moscow City can no longer be captured. Don’t miss this opportunity to feature these unique aerials in your film, documentary, or advertisement. Click here to secure your worldwide licence today!

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757Teamz Basketball

757teamz basketball | high school scoreboard | indian river pulls off stunner in final seconds to win class 5 region a boys quarterfinal.

Boys basketball

Class 6 Region A semifinals

#1 Oscar Smith 68, #5 Highland Springs 62

#3 Landstown 53, #2 Manchester 52

Landstown: Spellman 15, Stephens 13, Pollard 12, Sepulveda 10, Campos 2, Fletcher 1.

Manchester: Lucas 17, Byerson 12, Freeman 8, Ben 4, Hoffman 4, Scruggs 3, Banks 2, Clark 2.

DeShawn Spellman hit a layup with 3 seconds remaining to lift the Eagles to a victory in Chesterfield County and a state tournament berth. Spellman finished with 15 points, 16 rebounds, six blocks and three steals, while Darell Stephens (13 points), Demeir Polland (12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) and Jayden Sepulveda (10 points) also scored in double figures for Landstown, which will visit Oscar Smith in the region championship game Thursday. Kevin Lucas had 17 points to lead the Lancers.

Class 5 Region A quarterfinals

#6 Indian River 55, #3 Salem 53

Davion Riddick hit a 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds left — after the Braves stole an inbounds pass — to complete a stunning comeback. Salem’s 3-point try at the buzzer glanced off the rim.

#1 Kempsville 78, #8 Deep Creek 51

Deep Creek: Williams-Scott 13, Brackett 13, White 6, Jamison 1, Harper 8, Ricks 3, Williams 1, Z. Smith 3, I. Smith 3.

Kempsville: Sandiford 22, Harrell 5, Angila 16, White 3, Knox 2, Griffin 14, Demiel 7, Burden 10, Harris 2, Sanderson 5, Samuels 2.

Savon Sandiford’s 22 points led the Chiefs, while Emmanuel Angila (16) and Jayon Griffin (14) scored in double figures and Jeremiah White added 15 rebounds. Omari Williams-Scott and Jabari Brackett were the Hornets’ only double-digit scorers.

#5 Cox 55, #4 Kellam 45

Ben Nacey scored 27 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked four shots to lead the Falcons.

#2 Green Run 59, #7 Princess Anne 37

Princess Anne: Clemmons 11, Byrd 2, Neals 6, Askew 9, McKeating 8, Barnes 1.

Green Run: Hymon 2, Gooden 3, Farrar 15, Straker 3, Jackson 7, Miller 12, Harrell 13, Gayden 2, Boral-Williams 2.

The Stallions’ K’Saan Farrar had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Knahlij Harrell added 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

Class 4 Region A semifinals

#2 Churchland 70, #3 Smithfield 59

Sincere Jones paced the Truckers with 21 points and finished with 13 rebounds as Churchland captured a state tournament berth. Aveyon Jordan added 19 points and six assists, while Jahsiah Wilson had 10 points.

#1 Hampton 60, #4 Denbigh 37

The Crabbers were led by Malik Johnson (18 points, five steals), Daron Baugh (14 points, eight assists), Abraham Taft (10 points, 14 rebounds) and Troy Fullwood (nine points) as they ensured a state tourney spot. Denbigh was led by Kevin Parker with 13 points.

Class 3 Region A quarterfinals

#1 Lake Taylor 75, #8 Heritage 48

Elijah Washington had 13 points and 13 rebounds and Shahide Battle chipped in 14 points and five steals for the Titans in Norfolk. Jamari Edwards (11) and Aaron Elliott (10) also scored in double figures.

#12 Lakeland 66, #4 Hopewell 57

The Cavaliers won their second road game against a higher-seeded team in the tournament, defeating the Blue Devils. Lakeland will try to make it three road victories in a row when it faces Lake Taylor with a state berth at stake.

#2 Grafton 77, #7 Colonial Heights 65

Colonial Heights: Freeman 2, Ackerman 4, Spencer 3, Mason 2, Hartsoe 30, Coleman 4, McLeod 2, Lipscombe 5, Grubb 11, Dixon 2.

Grafton: Coffey 1, Roe 21, Brownlee 17, Brown 4, Waddy 7, Coleman 21, Battle 6.

Grafton’s Kyler Coleman and Jeremiah Roe both scored 21 points each, and Jakobe Brownlee chipped in with 17 points for the host Clippers, who next will face Booker T. Washington.

#6 Booker T. Washington 67, #3 Lafayette 64

Zymareon Mitchell poured in 26 points and Antonio Williams added 16 as the visiting Bookers rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit. Mitchell finished with five rebounds and three assists, and Williams added six boards and four assists. Anthony Brown (eight points and 11 rebounds) and Carmello Browne (eight points and five rebounds) also contributed.

Class 2 Region A quarterfinals

#6 Nandua 47, #3 Greensville County 46

#2 Bruton 75, #7 King William 52

Brandon Freeman had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the host Panthers. Kareem Davis added 12 points and eight boards, and Isaiah Randall finished with 17 points and made all five of his 3-point attempts.

#1 John Marshall 105, #8 Nottoway 23

The reigning champion Justices of Richmond, perhaps the best VHSL team in any class, routed the visiting Cougars. JM is 20-3 but unbeaten against VHSL competition.

#4 Amelia 65, #5 Arcadia 62

TCIS quarterfinals

#1 Norfolk Collegiate 95, #8 Norfolk Christian 36

Norfolk Collegiate: Burrough 13, Chatman 16, Roelink 2, Williams 22, Samlal 15, Caple 12, Thomas 2, Harris 5, Mills 8.

Norfolk Christian: Freeman 2, Hutchinson 2, McDonald 2, Holmes 8, McNamara 4, Wool 2, Braemer 3, Baggett 2, Hines 3, Giddens 2, Micah 4, Gomercic 2.

The Oaks’ Rashaad Williams led all scorers with 22 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists. Brennan Chatman added a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards, and Justin Burrough had 13 points and seven rebounds while Savion Samlal scored 15 points. Khalil Caple rounded out all starters in double figures with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

#4 Steward 75, #5 Norfolk Academy 50

The Spartans ousted the Bulldogs in Richmond to advance to a semifinal against Norfolk Collegiate.

#2 Peninsula Catholic 69, #7 Cape Henry 51

The Knights handled the Dolphins in Newport News to reach a semifinal against the Catholic Crusaders. Jaylen Wynn scored 18 points, while Malcolm Velmar and Brayden Mann had 15 each.

#3 Catholic 76, #6 Nansemond-Suffolk Academy 36

Nansemond-Suffolk: Fuhrmann 15, Pidgeon 2, Z. Gilliatt 6, Daughtry 2, J. Gilliatt 8, Cannon 3.

Catholic: Thorne 14, Walker 22, Burnham 8, Lee 3, Pissis 10, Mallette 4, Rickards 15.

Ashton Walker had 22 points and six rebounds for the Crusaders. Brayden Thorne (14 points), Alex Pissis (10 points, 10 reboiunds) and Josiah Rickards (15 points) also scored in double figures. Isaiah Fuhrmann led the Saints with 15 points.

Private-schools regular season

Atlantic Shores 68, Greenbrier Christian 32

Atlantic Shores Christian: Higgins 4, Weir 21, Beasley 9, Brewley 7, Okeke 6, Mudd 8, Woods 2, Hannay 6, Jones 2, Morgan 3.

Greenbrier Christian: Ash 16, Hunter 4, Vencent 8, Bures 2, McDuram1, Trone 1.

The Seahawks’ Zane Weir led all scorers with 21 and netted his 1,000th career point as Atlantic Shores gained a share of the Metro Conference regular-season championship.

Veritas Collegiate Academy 97, Christchurch 73

Marcquell Freeman led all Spartans with 28 points as they beat the Middle Peninsula’s Seahorses. Koren Jones had 26 and Jailon Pinnix had 14.

Metro Conference Tournament schedule

Quarterfinals (Thursday)

#8 Gateway Christian at #1 Hampton Christian, 7 p.m.

#5 Denbigh Baptist at #4 StoneBridge, 4:30 p.m.

#7 Broadwater Academy at #2 Atlantic Shores, 4:30 p.m.

#6 Portsmouth Christian at #3 Greenbrier Christian, 7 p.m.

Semifinals (Friday at Greenbrier Christian)

Upper bracket, 5:30 p.m.

Lower bracket, 7 p.m.

Championship game (Saturday at Atlantic Shores)

Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.

Hampton Christian and Atlantic Shores split with each other during the season and had the same records against other conference opponents. Hampton Christian won the top seed because it defeated St. Michael the Archangel, which beat Atlantic Shores.

Girls basketball

#1 Thomas Dale 75, #5 Glen Allen 46

The Knights dominated the Jaguars in Chester to capture a state tournament berth.

#2 Manchester 71, #3 Highland Springs 29

The Lancers, who beat Princess Anne for third place in the Boo Williams tournament’s top bracket, zoomed past the Springers to clinch a state bid.

#3 Hampton 54, #2 Manor 48

Manor: Clark 15, Lewin 6, Haggins 12, Brown 5, Darden 2, Lau. Williams 8.

Hampton: Bienaime 4, Foster 7, Price 5, Hunter 6, Perry 19, Robinson 6, Ames 7.

#1 Jamestown 79, #4 Warhill 37

Warhill: Walker 10, James 5, Khisa 2, Drakes 16, Hennigan 4.

Jamestown: Kullberg 3, Dallas 2, Pretlow 2, Mayo 13, Moore 8, P. Williams 10, Leach 37, S. Williams 4.

Maddie Leach scored 37 points to lead the Eagles.

#1 Hopewell 50, #8 Tabb 46

The host Blue Devils slipped past the Tigers.

#4 Lafayette 74, #5 Colonial Heights 19

The Rams routed the visiting Colonials to advance to a semifinal versus Hopewell.

#2 Grafton 80, #7 Heritage 30

Heritage: Owens 1, Bailey 1, Scott 2, Raikes 3, Johnson 3, Richardson 5, Washington 7, Highsmith 8.

Grafton: Sweeney 3, DiGiacomo 1, Zaneveld 1, O’Connell 5, Wilson 8, Napoleoni 8, Barnard 10, Wells 21, Ragland 23.

The host Clippers’ Alonni Wells had a triple-double with 21 points, 10 steals and 11 assists, and Taylor Ragland had a double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Grafton will face Lake Taylor for a state tournament spot. Azariah Highsmith led the Hurricanes with eight points.

#3 Lake Taylor 62, #6 Norcom 44

Norcom: Porter 7, D. White 4, J. White 20, Dance 6, Williams 2, Carroll 2, Mizell 3.

Lake Taylor: Budd 29, Miles 3, Harris 2, Washington 10, McDaniel 2, Smith 2, Baxter 14.

Lake Taylor sophomore LaMari Budd led the host Titans with 28 points and collected seven steals, six rebounds and six assists. Freshman Eternity Washington had a double-double (10 points and 11 rebounds), and senior Tanaya Baxter added a double-double (14 points, 21 rebounds, eight steals and four blocks).

#1 John Marshall 84, #8 Lunenburg Central 14

The Justices rolled past the Chargers in Richmond to gain a semifinal berth.

#4 Prince Edward 41, #5 Greensville County 25

#6 Amelia 50, #3 Poquoson 49

#10 Bruton 59, #2 King William 43

#1 Catholic 78, #8 Walsingham Academy 28

The Crusaders’ Jemma Eleby had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Maya Dailey and Zaniyah Williams combined for 24 points and 12 steals. Catholic will take on Hampton Roads Academy in a semifinal.

#4 Hampton Roads Academy 42, #5 Norfolk Academy 39

Norfolk Academy: Delyannis 20, Scott 12, Adams 5, Hennessy 2.

HRA: Sablan 2, Williamson 5, Fiala 5, Cooper 18, Lasley 4, Carter 8.

Kenzie Cooper finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks for the Navigators, while Kate Lasley and Nalani Carter each had 11 boards. The Bulldogs’ Maria Delyannis netted 20 points.

#3 Norfolk Christian 61, #6 Norfolk Collegiate 37

Norfolk Collegiate: Howlett 2, Booth 14, Sullivan 4, Beachy 2, Harris 1, Lorson 10, Roelink 2, Coone 2.

Norfolk Christian: Harris 16, Fellner 2 Hubbard 5, Giddens 15, Brown-Jones 23.

Justice Brown-Jones scored 23 points and had 11 rebounds for the Ambassadors. Christal Harris scored 16 points and collected 10 steals and seven assists. Ellery Giddens scored 15 points. Chloe Booth led the Oaks with 14 points.

#2 Steward 83, #7 Cape Henry 16

The Dolphins were bounced in Richmond by the Spartans.

Wednesday’s schedule

Class 5 Region B Tournament

Semifinals at Norfolk State’s Echols Hall

#5 Norview vs. #1 Woodside, 6 p.m.

#3 Maury vs. #2 King’s Fork, 8 p.m.

Class 5 Region A Tournament

Semifinals at Deep Creek HS

#4 Salem vs. #1 Deep Creek, 5:30 p.m.

#3 Kellam vs. #2 Princess Anne, 7 p.m.

#4 Woodside vs. #1 Menchville, 2 p.m.

#7 King’s Fork vs. #3 Norview, 4 p.m.

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Menchville, Norview girls will play for Class 5 Region B title again, earn state tourney berths

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