The historical Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter - Part 1

Many consider the Bristol Channel pilot cutter to be the finest sailing boat design ever. Fast, seaworthy and beautiful to behold, the pilot cutter is the perfect combination of form and function - a thoroughbred perfectly adapted to a life in one of the Britain's most treacherous stretches of water. Sailor and writer Tom Cunliffe explores the life of the pilots and sails a perfectly restored cutter to find out just what drove these men and their wonderful machines.

Let us start a journey back in time. Back to the black and white films of history. The times have changed, but it is good to know what kind of things have changed and where are the roots of pilotage.

Look at Life Vol 01 Transport Pilot Aboard 1963
The story of Britain's pilotage services.

If you fancy seeing what it’s like aboard during some rough weather sea trials, here’s a pretty cool little video of our Interceptor 48 pilot built for the Port of Sines. Some really great Arial drone footage and interesting POV (Point of view) with narration from aboard her in 5-6m seas and in 50kt winds 25 miles offshore.
How difficult is to land a drone back down on the boat in 5-6m swells and 45-50kt wind gusts? Pretty damn difficult as it turns out! Sometimes we fail as you’ll see at...

Safehaven Marine is a well-known boat builder based in Ireland that specializes in the design and construction of pilot boats. The company has built a reputation for producing top-quality vessels that are reliable, durable, and safe in all weather conditions. Safehaven Marine has delivered 60 pilot boats worldwide, and its latest launch, the VB Mouna, is the latest addition to its impressive resume.

FORTH TIGER (MMSI: 235001096) is a Pilot Vessel and is sailing under the flag of United Kingdom.
Her length overall (LOA) is 18 meters and her width is 4 meters.
Good for Nothing Safety by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org/

Video from Rob Munday Hoist Operator/Instructor at Blackcomb Helicopters & SR3 Rescue Concepts

When I was a deck officer back in the early nineties I worked on a ship that used to load grain at different ports along the Mississippi river. The name of the ship was Golden Hope, a 600 feet long dry bulk carrier with a 95 feet in beam. An average size vessel for those days' standards.