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.

North East Approach to Eydehavn were covered with ice. Navigation and maneuvering required skills and knowledge to bring the vessel safely alongside

Poseidon Sea Pilots starts their world-class trainee program. Highly experienced master mariners train in local conditions. They all say the new job offers excitement, diversity and, for some, it’s a dream come true.

It remains a sad fact that accidents and near misses continue to occur during pilot transfers with frightening regularity. Most of these fortunately do not result in injury, and a surprisingly high number of them are not even recognised for what they are.

Surveys into pilot ladder safety consistently reveal that unacceptably high numbers of pilot transfer arrangements are not compliant with the regulations.

This video explains what is a Marine Notice and discusses the recently issued (2019) marine notice regarding pilot transfer arrangements.
Mariners appearing for oral examinations will benefit from watching this video.

This pilot course is the first of the capacity-building efforts of the three-year project on enhancing regional research, capacity building and convening of stakeholders towards a safer maritime domain in the Gulf of Guinea.

On this episode of What's Going On With Shipping, Sal Mercogliano - former merchant mariner and maritime historian at Campbell University - we compare and constrast the grounding and salvage of MV Ever Forward (March 13, 2022) with that of MV Ever Given (March 23, 2021).