Between them they've clocked up more than 140 years at sea — and yesterday Joseph Bailey, Maurice O'Connor and Wendell Burchall were back on the water to celebrate their retirement.

The three men, all aged 65, were honoured at a ceremony onboard Government vessel the Bermudian, with Premier Dr. Ewart Brown wishing them well now they've left the Department of Marine and Ports' pilot service.

Former pilot boat coxswain Mr. Burchall admitted that he's missed his job on the St. David since retiring in July. As the skipper of the 53-foot long vessel, he was responsible for everybody onboard as he steered the vessel through rough seas to carry out rescue missions.

He started out as a deckhand in 1959 and became coxswain a year later, operating wooden pilot and rescue boats. For a time, his father Andrew was his onboard engineer. "We had our little ups and downs on the boat but it all worked out at the end of the day," he laughed.

He explained that the pilot crews were trained by the US Coast Guard and Canadian crews.

As well as rescues, Mr. Burchall's job entailed taking local pilots out to ships about eight miles off the coast so they could steer the vessels through Bermuda's notoriously difficult waters.

The furthest the father-of-five and grandfather-of-two ever took his boat was about 80 miles from the Island to look for a brother and sister who had set sail from New York and gone missing.

"We got them but we were out for about two days," he recalled. "They were OK and we towed them in. It was bad out there."

He added: "When you rescue someone, it's a comfortable feeling. They are very happy! I have done that quite a few times."

Mr. Burchall, who lives in St. David's, eventually took charge of the steel St. David — a boat that carries a crew of three and can take 13 passengers. His job meant being on-call 24 hours and facing stormy seas but he relished the challenge.

"It was a nice job," he said, adding that he still watches the pilot boat from his home sometimes.

"You would after so many years," he explained. "It's a miss because that's pretty well all I did in my life."

Mr. O'Connor, also from St. David's, was pilot boat engine driver on a different crew on St. David until January this year.

He recalls 25-foot swells during his years at sea and remembers setting out during Hurricane Emily in 1987 to look for someone.

"We took a lot of beating," he said.

He joined Marine and Ports in 1973 after well over a decade on board freighter ships travelling between here and the States. He did a number of jobs during those years including fireman in the boiler room and "number one greaser" in the engine room before going to work at the US Army base in St. David's.

He said joining Marine and Ports was a natural career choice.

"I love the ocean and I have done about eight rescues off Bermuda from St. David's," said Mr. O'Connor, who has a stepson and two daughters.

Mr. Bailey's career at sea was also something of an inevitability. His father Hugh, who came here from Antigua, was a seaman as is his nephew Mario Thompson and several cousins.

Mr. Bailey, from Southampton, was a pilot for 45 years, mostly skippering the Bermudian out of Dockyard. He said he loved his time at sea.

"It's a clean job and by that I mean healthy. It's a nice environment and a very satisfying job.

"You are an ambassador because you are often the first person a visitor meets when they get to Bermuda. It's challenging because you are working day and night and sometimes you don't get any sleep but I have no regrets."

The father-of-three and grandfather-of-four said his job mainly involved going out to ships anchored off the coast and bringing passengers to land.

Once the deep water dock at Dockyard was created, ships no longer needed to anchor so the Bermudian was used as a ferry to St. George's and for cruises.

His time at sea was mainly calm, although a riot onboard the boat started by rowdy youths is his least favourite memory.

"They damaged the ship and a girl got cut and stabbed," he said.

His retirement in February hasn't stopped him from enjoying the water.

"I have a 20-footer that I do a little fishing in," he said. "I go on cruise boats and I had a retirement party on a cruise boat around the Caribbean.

"I love the water. My family has long service in Marine and Ports — I hope they are going to name a vessel after us one day!"

Director of Marine and Ports Mr. Francis Richardson said: "Their commitment and dedication to our Department is evident by their years of service, and for their service our Department is sincerely grateful.

"On behalf of all of the members of the Marine and Ports Services Department, I would to wish them a long, healthy and happy retirement."