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Robert Everitt RIVER OFFICER


What does a river officer do? There are eight of us and it’s our job to patrol the river making sure there are no safety issues and that moorings are properly maintained. We greet visitors and collect payments and we also remove and empty the rubbish skips which live on one of our barges in the middle of the water. You have to be a jack- of-all-trades in this job – I do a lot of maintenance and mechanical work during the winter.


how often do you work? During the winter it’s 8.30am till 4.30pm, five days a week. In the summer it’s usually three days on, three days off and it can be any hours including weekends.


What is a typical summer day for you? Well, you never really know what you will be doing until you arrive at work. At the moment we are assisting a dive team, that has come up from Cornwall to inspect the deep-water moorings and the pontoon piles. One day we might be helping a boat that is taking on water, the next we could be chasing speeding boats up the river.


is speeding a common occurrence? We don’t get that many offenders. If it’s the first time we give them a


warning. Then it would be a series of letters and eventually a hefty fine which can run into thousands. I haven’t seen that happen in the three years I’ve worked here.


Where do you live? Dartmoor.


One day we might be helping a boat that is taking on water, the next we could be


chasing speeding boats up the river


how long is your commute? About 45 minutes.


What time do you have to get up then? If I have to be in at 7.30am I’m usually up at 6.


Are you a morning person? Luckily yes! But when we have to


Ben Mahon RIVER OFFICER


What is your main role? Making sure our 16 hundred moorings are safe and in good working order. You can usually find me operating one of our two barges on the river.


Tell us about the barges… Hercules is a self-propelled vessel


with a 12-metre crane - it takes three people to man it. Tardis is quite a bit smaller with a six-metre crane and has to be pushed by one of our boats.


Do you have different types of moorings? Yes, we have three categories. A is


do late nights it really throws me. If I finish at 11pm I feel like I’ve got jet lag! I’m usually in bed by 9pm!


What job did you do before this? I was a gardener and a driver for a private house. Before that I worked in Greece as a skipper for a holiday company. We had 12 yachts and I would help guide them from port to port. It was a great job. I have always liked the water – my first job, straight after uni, was a sailing instructor on the Isle of Wight.


Which Dartmouth eatery are we most likely to find you in? The Sloping Deck getting a pasty. That’s where I got my lunch from today!


What would you do if you won the lottery? Sail around the world.


Anything on your bucket list? Learn how to paraglide.


What was the first tape/CD you ever bought? Queen’s Greatest Hits.


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