By Mark Edward Nero
American Pilots Association President Capt. Michael R. Watson
died unexpectedly at his home in Annapolis, Maryland on July 23 at the age of 72.
He is being replaced by Capt. Peter McIsaac, the APA’s vice president for the Pacific
states, who will serve out the remainder of Watson’s term of office, which expires
Dec. 31, 2016.
Watson had been a maritime pilot and a national and international
leader of the piloting profession for more than 45 years. He graduated from the
US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point in 1965 and was commissioned as an ensign
in the US Naval Reserve.
He began his maritime career by serving on US Military Sealift
Command ships supplying US troops in South Vietnam. He was first elected APA president
in 2000 and was re-elected in 2004, 2008 and 2012.
McIsaac, who began his maritime career in the tugboat industry
in 1977, later advanced to tug captain and senior port captain while working on
vessels throughout southwest Alaska and the San Francisco Bay area.
He joined the San Francisco Bar Pilots Association in 1992 and
was later elected its president, serving terms from 2000-2004, 2006-2010, and 2012
to present.
A Michigan native, McIsaac was educated at the University of
Alaska. He and his family currently reside in San Mateo, Calif.
