The fog covering the ocean is so heavy and complete that when the cargo ship finally comes into view, it materializes as if conjured by a wizard's spell.


First, the tall white letters spelling Horizon, the name of the ship's owner, become brightly visible through the fog.


Then the outlines of the ship appear - hazy at first but gaining clarity by the second like a developing film print, until the ship is suddenly there in all its hulking presence.


Hanging from its side is a rope ladder.


The St. Johns Bar Pilot Association's boat has traveled about 5 miles off-shore to connect with the Horizon Lines cargo vessel. The harbor pilot's job will be to instruct the crew of the cargo vessel how to navigate the final segment of the journey to Jacksonville's port.


But first, the harbor pilot, Capt. B.R. Snyder, must get on board. That means grabbing onto the rope ladder and climbing it. Timing is everything. The ocean's rolling waves cause the harbor pilot's boat to rock back and forth, widening and closing the distance that must be spanned to grab a solid handhold on the rope. Snyder, wearing gloves, gets a grip and goes up the 17 steps, each one shifting under his weight.


The harbor pilot association's boat pulls away. The hunt continues for two other cargo ships in the fog, waiting for other harbor pilots to come on board.


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The St. Johns Bar Pilot Association, operating out of an office at Mayport, is among the pilot associations serving 11 deepwater ports in Florida.


It's a profession with risk and reward. Harbor pilots are on call round the clock, every day. If the surf is rough, waves will crash onto the boat and the rope ladder will swing away from ship as it's rocked by the ocean. Harbor pilots call those conditions "Tony Boselli waves," a reference to the powerful blocking of the retired Jacksonville Jaguars lineman.


Compensation for harbor pilots in Florida ranges from $100,000 to $400,000 per year. Jacksonville's pilots earn on the high end of the scale, comparable to what harbor pilots make in other Southeast states with large ports, according to the report given to the Legislature last year by the Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability.


In Savannah, Ga., and Charleston S.C., pilots earn an estimated $460,000 to $560,000, the report found.


Over the next decade, Florida will face a spike in demand for new pilots as current pilots near retirement. Forty-four percent of the 94 harbor pilots statewide are 55 or older, according to the legislative report.


But it's not easy to move into those slots. Would-be pilots must take tests administered by the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which licenses harbor pilots.


Applicants must have maritime experience. For instance, someone who is a graduate of a four-year maritime college would need about eight years of seagoing experience to qualify, said Capt. Joseph Brown, who is a member of the St. Johns Bar Pilot Association and president of the statewide association.


If an applicant is selected to be a deputy pilot, he spends two more years in apprenticeship, learning at the side of pilots. Brown said about 10 percent of deputy pilots "wash out." The others take a state-administered test to become a full-fledged pilot.


Part of the test is being able to draw from memory the varying depths and bends of the St. Johns River and its ship channel.


"If you sucked all the water out of the river, that's how we see it," Brown said.


The level of pay for harbor pilots has been a contentious issue. The state rejected a 2009 request by the St. Johns Bar Pilot Association to increase the rates it charges to ship owners.


Cruise and cargo ship companies objected that higher rates during a recession would hurt them as they struggled to cope with less revenue.


But shipping companies haven't been able to achieve their goal of lowering pilotage rates. The 2010 session of the Legislature considered proposals to change the system by creating a larger pool of licensed pilots, which the shipping industry says would lower rates and make Florida ports more competitive.


State Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, is among the harbor pilots' allies. He said pilots are well-compensated but they justify it by having a track record of moving commerce safely through Florida's waterways.


"They deserve a lot of credit for things that go well in our ports," Thrasher said. "We take for granted what they do."


So far this year, pilotage rates haven't arisen as an issue for the 2011 session.


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The Mayport office of the St. Johns Bar Pilot Association is the home base for 13 pilots and one deputy pilot. The association provides 12 other jobs for support services such as office workers, dispatchers, and boatmen. The boatmen drive the specialized $1.2 million boats, designed for strength and stability, that shuttle the pilots to and from the offshore ships.


Foreign-flagged ships that draw more than 7 feet of water - the depth their hulls go into the water - must use state-licensed harbor pilots on Florida's waterways. It's a category that covers most of the ships entering Jacksonville's port.


The rates charged by harbor pilots vary based on the tonnage of the ship and how deep the ships goes below the waterline. For example, a large vessel weighing 23,200 tons with a 20-foot draft would pay $1,500 to the St. Johns Bar Pilot Association, according to the legislative report.


In return, harbor pilots like Capt. Jay Winegeart become the voice of authority in setting the course that takes vessels up and down the St. Johns River.


Winegeart pauses when asked how often he's made those trips in 18 years as a harbor pilot. Thousands of times, he says. He doesn't look forward to getting out of bed for night-shift assignments, but he says the day-to-day changes in weather and marine conditions keep the job interesting, even if it is the same route every time.


On the fog-thick day when Capt. Ryan boarded the Horizon Lines ship, Winegeart takes the next assignment - Century Leader No. 3, a ship transporting 2,300 vehicles to the Southeast Toyota facility at the Talleyrand terminal. He climbs Century Leader's rope ladder, takes an elevator to the ship's bridge, and tells the shipmaster how to steer the vessel toward the mouth of the St. Johns River.


When the ship approaches land, it leaves the fog behind. The scene that unfolds is Jacksonville as it's seen by the crews aboard ships sailing into Jacksonville's port - the Navy installations, the shrimp boats of Mayport, BAE's shipyard, the saltwater marshes of the Timucuan Preserve, riverfront neighborhoods, the stacks of cargo at the Blount Island and Dames Point terminals. A few crew members take photographs with pocket cameras.


Century Leader passes through Mile Point, the junction of the river and the Intracoastal Waterway. For bigger ships that haul cargo containers on global routes, the cross-currents limit passage through Mile Point to periods lasting about 4.5 hours, twice per day. The Army Corps of Engineers has been studying ways to alter the currents so there's more time for passage.


The harbor pilots will play a decisive role in how much time is gained by the changes. Pilots will gradually allow a longer time frame after the fix is done, testing in real life the computer models used by the corps.


Winegeart said the evolution of Jacksonville's port to handle jumbo-sized cargo ships adds to the complexity of guiding the vessels.


"We're talking about something the size of the Modis building getting up and down the river," he said, referring to the downtown office tower.


As Century Leader moves through the ship channel, Winegeart gives a steady stream of short instructions to the crew member who actually handles the ship's wheel.


"Starboard 10," Winegeart says, a reference to the angle of the rudder for turning the ship.


"Starboard 10, sir."


"Starboard 20."


"Starboard 20, sir."


The ship slows to ensure it's in a part of the river that can accommodate the passage of an oncoming oil barge. In all, the journey takes about two hours and covers 25 miles to the Talleyrand terminal, near the Mathews Bridge.


Winegeart disembarks and hops into a car, owned by the bar pilot association, that is waiting for him on the dock. He calls in to the dispatcher to find out his next assignment.


It's a ship that will leave the port in a couple of hours, meaning a journey in reverse. After guiding the ship offshore, Winegeart will transfer to the pilot association's boat, meaning another climb on a rope ladder, this time going down.


david.bauerlein@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4581