He is still in good enough health at the age of 91 to live alone, drive his car and spend time on his 27-foot boat Blanch III...and he probably could still bring one of those large passenger ships through the tricky St. George's channel.

Decades after his retirement George Welch is still regarded as one of Bermuda's top Pilots, helping set the standards for today's current Pilots.

Mr. Welch served as a Pilot for 33 years, was acting Chief Pilot for three years and held the position officially for four, the first Black Chief Pilot in Bermuda just prior to his retirement in the early 1970s.

He has had a love of the water all his life, a passion which developed as a young boy growing up on the Island of St. Vincent in the West Indies, with roots tracing back to Barbados. He always knew he wanted to be a sailor.

"I liked the sailor's uniform and in those days sailors were `big' fellas," said Pilot Welch, his West Indian accent still evident after almost 70 years living in Bermuda.

"In the Caribbean you can't get from one Island to the next without crossing the ocean."

Pilot Welch was a sailor on passenger and Royal Mail ships in St. Vincent, travelling throughout the Caribbean and even to Bermuda. He came to Bermuda at the age of 22 or 23, married Mabel Lambert (now deceased), an older sister of former school teacher Aurelia Burch, and has made Bermuda his home ever since. He continued working on board ships such as Fort Victoria, Fort St. George and the Monarch of Bermuda.

"I took the Monarch of Bermuda across to England as Quarter Master," he recalled.

"The Fort Victoria and Fort St. George were sister ships and used to run between here and New York before the airfield was built."

As a Pilot, Mr. Welch brought some of the biggest passenger ships into Bermuda in all types of weather conditions. The memories are still with him and so fond is he of his profession that recently he turned out in his Pilot's uniform for an event held jointly between the Guild of Holy Compassion and the Bermuda Pilot Service when three wreaths were released off the waters of the east end in keeping with the memory of honouring seamen who have lost their lives in the waters around Bermuda.

"Jim Parker was in charge of the Pilots and he said to me `George, I don't know if I'm doing right of wrong, but I'm in charge so therefore I'm going to do what I think is right'," explained Pilot Welch.

"He and I used to work on the same ship before he got that job, he was the first assistant engineer on Fort Victoria. He and a Mrs. Peniston were in charge of all the boats and ships around Bermuda, just the two of them, but look at the staff they have down at Marine and Ports today."

Pilot Welch became Bermuda's first black Chief Pilot when he replaced E.N. Clarke in the top post. Arnold Caines, a black Bermudian, succeeded Mr. Welch in the position.

"All the Pilots after me have been black and we proved we could do the job so many times since I was a Pilot that it isn't funny," said Pilot Welch who had to knock down barriers when he got the top job - three years after doing it in an acting position.

The best training for a Pilot is on-the-job training and Mr. Welch took what he learned, applied it and began sharing his own experiences with others who became Pilots. On the wall at his Cut Road, St. George's home is a group photo of local Pilots, all of whom he is proud to say he helped to train.

"All the old Pilots trained me and because they liked me everybody wanted me to go on ships with them," explained Pilot Welch.

"As a Quarter Master you just listen to the orders that the Captain gives and you just retain it. That's how I got started, by being a good listener. Don't say `yes, I understand' unless you really understand because you might ask the same question tomorrow morning. We are all saying yes before the sentence is even finished!"

Pilot Welch says the biggest cruise ship he brought into Bermuda was the QE2, on the second trip she made here.

"She carried more passengers than these ships now," he says.

Many of those Captains on the cruise ships have been coming to Bermuda long enough to know Pilot Welch.

"And who doesn't know about me has heard about me, I'm a very popular man in this job," joked Pilot Welch.

"Many of them were junior officers when I was a Pilot. I remember when the Amerikanis would come to St. George's and somebody would say `oh, it's too bad Welch, she can't make it into St. George's this morning, it's blowing too hard'.

"I would say `I'll see when I get on board the ship. My job started when I got on the bridge and the Captain says `Pilot, all engines are stopped, she's all yours'."

Mr. Welch says the key to being a good Pilot is to be able to follow your instincts. They have to make critical decisions, but be willing to listen.

"We are all not alike and don't think alike," he said.

"Experience is the greatest teacher. A lot of people think the Pilot steers the ship, but the Pilot gives the orders and the Quarter Master carries them out. You've got to know what you're doing, there is no room for error going through the Town Cut Channel. You have to follow your own mind."

Mr. Welch became a qualified Pilot in May 1940 and he has seen the changes over the years.

"I still could be a Pilot, it's easier now," he believes.

"I'm not an active Pilot now but they still respect me. If they are having a debate amongst themselves they'll say `if you see Pilot Welch, ask him, he'll tell you'. Again, that comes from experience."

Senior Pilot Eddie Welch, a cousin, trained under George Welch for about seven years before the Chief Pilot retired in 1970.

"He was a good Chief Pilot, stern, strict but he was a good teacher," said Senior Pilot Welch.

"When he turned the ship over to the junior Pilot I appreciated that. What stands out in my mind most was once when we went on board an aircraft carrier, USS Wright, and I was just making the trip with him. When we got up on the bridge he said something like `it's all yours'.

"It was a privilege to pilot an aircraft carrier, that's a Pilot's dream, but I never realised I would be doing one so early. I enjoyed that the most. We give the orders to the Quarter Master, telling them how many degrees to steer as we guide them in the channel.

"The Captain is always in charge of his vessel and the Pilot is there in an advisory capacity. A good Pilot has to be able to make quick decisions, stand fast in it and be able to change decisions on the spur of the moment.

"We (the Pilots) still have a chat with him every now and then. With Piloting you can learn something every day."

Retired Pilot Welch, who never had any children of his own, says he has "met some of the finest people in the world aboard ships", friendships that have stood the test of time.

"There is an Irish fella, a Judge in New Jersey, who is a good friend. I met him on a ship, he was a passenger, and we got talking. We've been friends ever since. They treat me like one of the family."