A violent storm sweeps Aberdeen Harbour. As heavy seas batter the port, will the weather defeat the ferry as she makes her approach? A pilot's job is dangerous enough without factoring in high seas and gale force winds. The two duty pilots have to decide if they can risk the elements to get things moving again in the harbour. We meet the only two fishing vessels left in Aberdeen as the crew deal with poor catches and atrocious weather, while two nervous oilmen attempt to join their ship from a sea taxi battered by crashing waves. Val Morrison the barmaid from the Crown and Anchor has a big decision to make.
The cameras follow dive support vessel, the Bibby Sapphire, out to the North Sea. And take a close look at the hazardous job divers face when they step out of their diving bell and on to the seabed. Harbour boatman Billy Duguid has spent his life working on - and around - boats. And he loses patience when the younger generation of boatmen don't seem quite as committed. Val Morrison the barmaid from the Crown and Anchor tries to persuade canny North East folk to part with their money at a car boot sale. And new recruit Gary Morris faces a daunting challenge as the boatmen head out into the bay to bring in an unmanned barge.
Aberdeen lorry driver Kenny Watson is nicknamed Pirelli because he used to be a tyre fitter. During the week he drives cargo to and from the harbour. But at weekends he hangs up his overalls, puts on his Stetson and becomes a country and western singer. Visibility has been reduced to just a few feet for the divers on the Bibby Sapphire. As always, they rely on the Dive Supervisor to be their eyes and ears as a new pipeline is installed. Assistant Life Support Technician Nancy Orton looks after the home comforts of the divers when they are in saturation. And at the Harbour thousands of gallons of fuel are unloaded from a huge tanker.
The Bibby Sapphire's Filipino cook Jaime Pacia lifts the lid on the ship's galley, while Assistant Life Support technician Nancy Orton reveals just how explosive it can be taking food to the divers in their sealed chambers. A flying red carpet is making life difficult for event organiser Peter Ferguson who is arranging the naming ceremony of a new boat. Pakistan-born Ali Akbar may have been brought up a thousand miles from the sea, but he's rapidly learning the ropes as a pilot in Aberdeen. And Crown and Anchor barmaid Val Morrison joins the Celebrate Aberdeen Parade with her favourite charity.
Princess Anne makes the Port Chaplain's day, while barmaid Val Morrison is the unofficial harbour queen as she opens a local sandwich shop. The cameras follow a day in the life of a dredger as it digs up thousands of tonnes of muddy silt. And a team effort brings a huge cargo ship into the harbour. Barmaid Val gets emotional when her favourite charity gets a windfall.