Thanks to Stephen for this latest news on behalf of Hovertravel. Ed
Hovertravel has announced the appointment of a new Navigator. Samantha Belfitt has successfully completed her training on the hovercraft.
Sam’s qualifications include an Officer of the Watch (Unlimited) Licence and also a BSc (Hons) in Aviation Technology with Pilot Studies, which, although not a requirement, has been helpful when understanding hovercraft. Her main duties include assisting the Captain by providing radar information regarding the traffic situation, distances and courses to steer when necessary during hours of darkness.
Plenty of experience
As well as customer facing roles at Legoland and the Wheel of Manchester, Sam served on container vessels Ever Lasting, Ever Sigma and Ever Elite, where she performed the role of Officer of the Watch on the bridge under supervision in areas such as collision avoidance, navigation, anchor watch and position fixing.
She was also required to conduct solo deck watch keeping that included cargo operation supervision and team management, ballasting for stability and manning the ship’s telephone whilst keeping in constant communication with the deck team.
Samantha Belfitt adds,
“I grew up on the Isle of Wight and in Portsmouth before that, where I have fond memories of going to Southsea to watch Double-O Seven and Freedom 90 come in and out.
“My dad even made up bedtime stories about the hovercraft at Hovertravel. The company has been a big part of my childhood and when an opportunity to work there came up, I jumped at the chance.”
