On the Isles of Scilly we spoke with Dale Clark, the Duchy’s harbour master for the islands. Aboard the Duchy’s brand-new pilot boat, John Guy, Dale shared insights into this important new addition, as well as his life on the islands. Read on to learn more about this unique role and how the Duchy is working to improve services across the Isles of Scilly.

Hi, my name's Dale Clark. I'm the harbour master here at St Mary's Harbour in the Isles of Scilly, and I've been working with the Duchy now for nearly 16 years.

There's no standard day in the life of a harbour master, or certainly on the harbour team, every day is varied. It's a bit of a cliche of no two days are the same. We go from emergencies to dull, quiet days, and from good weather to bad weather.

We maintain and operate St Mary’s Harbour, the lifeline and key piece of infrastructure for the Isles of Scilly. It is the arrival point for all freight and passengers. The harbour supports a small fishing fleet, welcomes visiting yachts, serves as the largest cruise‑ship port of call in the Southwest, and accommodates a wide range of leisure boating.

There is a lot happening in a very small place. Although visitors experience a quiet and relaxed atmosphere, there is a great deal of work happening behind the scenes to make it feel that way.

My favourite thing about being a harbour master is the variety and the team I work with. I have an excellent five‑man team here at St Mary’s Harbour who are dependable, reliable, funny, and who don’t mind taking the mickey out of me.

Having a team I can count on is incredibly important, especially given the range of jobs we get up to here.

Living in an island community is challenging. Living on an island is challenging. It's not for everyone, as we've seen over the years. But I wouldn't live anywhere else. That's part of the attraction of the Isles of Scilly. It’s a stunningly beautiful and safe place to be, and I’m fortunate to have a fantastic job here. We get up to such a variety of things, and it’s a real pleasure to work in this community.

So we're here sat on the new pilot vessel John Guy. The reason we've invested so much money in this new piece of kit is for safety and sustainability.

The role of a pilot vessel is to take marine pilots out to ships and put them on board at sea via a rope ladder. It can be a bit hairy at times, but this vessel gives us the safest possible way of doing that, thanks to its stability and its efficiency in cutting through the seas. It’s a stable platform with wide walkways, and we have an excellent man‑overboard recovery system should we ever need it.

This is probably the best piece of kit we’ve invested in during my time with the Duchy.

The name John Guy comes from a former harbour employee, John Guy Morley.

John Guy Morley was actually my father‑in‑law, and he worked here with the Duchy for ten years. He came from a long‑standing Scillonian family, and we’re very proud, as a family, to have his name on the side of this boat.

It’s a fitting tribute to John, who sadly passed away in 2022. I think he would be embarrassed to have his name on the vessel and wouldn’t quite believe it, but we certainly feel it’s a fitting honour, and it has been exceptionally well received here on the islands.