It wasn't a boy's dream, but a tragic moment, experienced at the age of 16, ended up changing his course. João Pires has always liked the sea – whether he had grown up in Quarteira or not. His father's death forced him to put his mother and sister first and do everything he could to “give them everything they deserve”. And so, without it being in the plans, he is now a maritime pilot and has commanded both cruise ships and super yachts.
In the life of this 26-year-old young man from the Algarve, there is a before and after his father's death.
«He was very young. At 16, I lost my father and it was a very difficult time in our lives. I ended up taking care of my sister and my mother and I had to fulfill the promise I made to my father in the last moments of his life: that I would take care of them", he tells the Sul Informação.
The conversation takes place near one of the several beaches in Quarteira, a city he always returns to, despite currently (still) spending much of the year at sea.
But choosing this professional path was not always in João Pires' plans. Yes, he always loved the sea, but the main factor that led him to take the Piloting course at Escola Superior Náutica Infante Dom Henrique was not that love.
«I'll be as honest as possible: when I finished high school, I had a good average and I started researching the highest paid professions in the world. I studied for it. What caught my attention were air and sea pilots. I ended up choosing the second because I couldn't afford the first,” he says, laughing.
By being a boat pilot, João Pires could combine the best of two worlds: «travel and earn money».
«I wanted to take a chance, especially because I had a great-grandfather who was a navigator. I went to Lisbon in 2015 and finished the course in 2018», says the young man from Algarve.
The end of the degree brought real challenges. João Pires remembers a conversation with a cruise ship captain in his first year of college, which proved to be important.
Unlike his other colleagues, the Algarve native did not immediately undertake a year of practice at sea, which is mandatory at the end of the course. «This captain I spoke to was no longer working on cruise ships, but rather in Malta, in a naval shipyard. And he invited me to go and work there, at the end of my course,” he says.
But there was a catch: even without knowing whether he would be hired, João Pires had to go to Malta for a first interview, without any certainty.
With monetary help from a friend, he traveled to this Mediterranean country and ended up being hired.
For a month, he recalls, they gave him «the worst jobs possible», but his persistence saw him move up in the company until he had, for the first time, contact with the superyacht industry.
«I was like project manager assistant and I began to gain much more in-depth nautical and naval knowledge than I had learned at school. The months passed and, one day, the challenge of being a pilot on a superyacht came to me. They started to explain the working conditions to me and that's when I realized how better they were», says João Pires.
Even so, before entering the superyacht industry – where he still works – this 26-year-old from Quarteira also ventured into the world of cruises.
He traveled the world: Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Antarctica, the North Pole, passing through the Norwegian fjords and the very dangerous Drake Passage, between the southern tip of South America and Antarctica, known as one of the areas with the worst maritime weather conditions in the world. world.
During these trips, he tells how he felt the weight of responsibility.
«You are a pilot and you are fully aware that hundreds of people are sleeping and you are responsible for them», he says, smiling. The experience of commanding a cruise ship is, in the words of João Pires, «the best possible school».
«It's what gives you the most learning as a pilot because it never stops. We are literally always planning the next port. Every day, if necessary, we do two maneuvers,” he explains.
The “sea practice time” also led him to spend six months in Luanda (Angola), there in the merchant navy. Until he set up camp on superyachts.
«I thought about choosing something that none of my colleagues had followed and I found this niche. Superyachts are a more personal experience: the boats can carry 15, 25 people, it depends». On board them – and on cruises – João Pires has already visited «more than 20 countries».
But life at sea, he recognizes, “can be very difficult and lonely”.
«You have to be very strong psychologically – it's hard to spend months and months away from your family, knowing that you might not be able to build a relationship. These were the most difficult years of my life. Every time I come on vacation, I come for a month and leave without knowing when I'll be back», says the Algarve native.
The death of a cousin and the birth of his godson were, he recognizes, «the most difficult moments he experienced on board».
«Now, I'm about to get a contract that will allow me to spend half the year on board and half on land, which is one of my goals», he confesses.
Whenever he returns home, this young man from Quarteira guarantees that he feels the “affection” of the people who watched him grow up.
«My profession is not very common and, also for this reason, many people come to me, telling me that they follow my adventures at sea, through social networks, and feeling that love from the city is very good».
And for the future, the goal has been set: «being a great Portuguese commander is what I want most». Oh, and of course, “continue to help my mother and sister”.
«This goal, then, will never end», he concludes, smiling.
Comments