The Boats That Built Britain - The Pilot Cutter - Part 2

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.

Harwich, Essex. Several shots of buoys at a warehouse on the quay. Various shots show the Trinity House Vessel 'Siren' setting out to sea to carry out maintenance on buoys; a naval flag showing the Union Jack and the Trinity House Jack is hoisted; officers are seen using sextants and plotting their course on a chart. Nice M/S of a sailor tying on a life jacket. Sailors drop anchor beside a buoy, hoist weather balloons and ring bells on the ship. The buoy is cleaned of mussels and limpets...

The National Transportation Safety Board issued Marine Accident Brief 21/21 Thursday for its investigation​ of the Jan. 14, 2020, fatal collision of the tanker Bow Fortune and commercial fishing vessel Pappy’s Pride near Galveston, Texas.

If you wrote an interesting article yourself or made great photos or video recordings that you would like to make permanently accessible to the large Marine Pilots Community here, send it to us!

Adding map and speedometer widgets to your GoPro video clips. Tips by Capt. Kris de Decker

An unforgettable sunrise at sea as the pilot boat Hadrian delivers a pilot to the Grampian Tweed on approach to the Port of Tyne! With the sky blazing in incredible colours, we head out at first light to meet the Grampian Tweed offshore. Watch as the Hadrian carefully manoeuvres alongside to safely transfer the pilot, all against the backdrop of a stunning North Sea sunrise. This is a true behind-the-scenes look at life on the water — ship handling, teamwork, and breathtaking views from the...

The following short clip appeared on TikTok recently, showing a non compliant trapdoor arrangement, and a pilot using it. From this short video, the dangers of this kind of arrangement are very clear.