In 1974, aged 16, Kevin ran away to sea with Shaw Savill and Albion Co. Ltd and today although semi – retired still enjoys ‘standing a watch’. Since 2006 Kevin has been a self-employed Trinity House licensed Deep Sea Pilot in the North Sea; accepting work on a wide variety of vessel types through George Hammond of Dover In 2014 following two near misses when boarding vessels from pilot launches, Kevin started researching problems with pilot transfer arrangements and co-founded the ongoing #dangerousladders safety campaign on social media. This culminated with authoring ‘The Pilot Ladder Manual’; published in November 2017 by the Witherby Publishing Group. As a honorary life member of the United Kingdom Maritime Pilots Association, Kevin has represented them on the MCA’s United Kingdom Safety of Navigation Committee for a number of years, being particularly active on the Pilot Transfer Safety Working Group. In November 2020 Kevin was awarded the prestigious Merchant Navy Medal for Meritorious Service, presented by Her Highness the Princess Royal, in acknowledgement of his efforts in promoting safety at sea.