SY Kat sat on the pier for 14 days and we watched the traffic of ships, boats and cruises all lit up with tourists on them going up and down River Huangpu, which is 97 km long.

The movement of the boats was pretty impressive, they loaded products all the way they could and left around half a meter of way left. There’s a command on the bow and the main chamber alongside the machine room on the stern. Usually, they are up to 30 meters long and are operated by a couple that makes the boat their home. They even have a dog. Many of them also have flower vases on the edge of the side windows and even fancy curtains on the inside.

On the river where these boats travel, the max speed is 7 knots and, thus, they don’t provoke waves. Those boats transport everything: tubes, concrete, coal, wood, and the transit is frenetic.

Shanghai is the largest city in People’s Republic of China and the biggest metropolitan area in the world, with 24 million inhabitants.

As we left Shanghai, we went through the same procedure as when we arrived. We waited for the harbot pilot at 11 am. First, we went under a huge bridge, Nanpou, which is 48 meters tall. SY Kat’s mast is 30 meters tall and it looked like it would hit the bridge. After that, we also went under some high tension wires. On the side, we could see many big ships, some even were warships from the Navy. We also saw cargo ships coming and going, loading and unloading their merchandise from other ships. We could also see various ships on the dock with huge cranes moving containers. It’s the busiest port in the world.

In order to become a harbor pilot in China, you must go through a 4-year course. The salary is enough to have a comfortable life with your family, according to our harbor pilot. They usually earn from 1.5 to 2 thousand dollars per month. In Brazil, they can get up to 20 thousand.

The harbor pilot that took us out of the port told us that, for the first time in his life, and he was 48, he managed to save enough to take his family on a cruise trip to Japan.

When we were leaving the river, the wind came in. We set the sail and helped to speed up with the motor.

In order to become a harbor pilot or to know everything about the world, one must know it all about Geography. Follow this career by signing up for the selection process of Estácio.

On the next post, we’ll continue with the captain’s log contents! Stay tuned!