Why did Pilot Cutters Race
I love this story because it tells why Pilot Cutters are special and why they play such an important part in maritime history. Not just in the UK but in France, Norway and the USA.
Pilot cutters were fast working sailing boats built to carry harbour and channel pilots to inbound ships and help them again on the way out. Their history is linked to the development of pilotage in Britain after Henry VIII founded Trinity House in 1514 to ensure competent pilots guided ships up and down the Thames. Built for speed, seaworthiness and ease of handling, pilot cutters became one of the finest examples of working sailing boats ever created.
I’m not going into that history here but instead the focus is on how pilot cutters influenced modern yachts.
What made the pilot cutters so special was they developed from the need for speed. Pilot Cutters raced for a living. Only the first cutter to get to the ship go to provide the pilot and get the money. Second place got nothing.
Then you have to add in other factors that made the cutters such clever boats.
They had to be sailable by the smallest possible crew to keep the labour costs down. So you needed a rig you could handle with a ‘man and boy’ as the saying goes. Though the boy could well have been older than the skipper!
Bad weather should not stop them so they had to be very seaworthy. They set out from places like New York and Isles of Scilly into the Atlantic in all weathers. The competition was fierce and pilots ashore kept a close eye on shipping movements from organisations like Lloyds of London.
The Long Way Round to Win the Pilotage
There is a report of a Bristol Channel pilot cutter obtaining news of a ship about to leave Southampton and heading westward down the English Channel. The wind was strong from the north and the cutter sailed from Pill, the main pilot station at the Mouth of the Avon near Bristol. Pill was where I spent the first year of my life, perhaps something rubbed off or got into my blood as I have loved these vessels for as long as I can remember. The cutter sailed rapidly down the Bristol Channel jibed around Lands End and flew up the English Channel in time to catch the ship as she came out of the Solent and gaining the pilotage job.
With that background it is easy to see why they were considered the fastest small working boats of the day.
Evolution
Nobody sat down to design the first pilot cutters. Hundreds of pilots and shipwrights, over perhaps hundreds of years, tested ideas every day. Gradually the bits that worked well and the bits that were dropped led to the beautiful cutters we love to sail.
America’s Cup
Pilot cutters raced for a living so when the Brits and Yanks decided to have a race around the Isles of Wight scheduled for 22nd August 1851 the Americans knew exactly what to do. They got the services of George Steers who was considered the best designer and builder of New York Pilot Cutters to create the Yacht America. Thanks to her pilot cutter pedigree she won the race and gave the name to the series of races that have followed ever since. #
Who do you think won the first Fastnet Race in 1929?
Correct, it was a pilot cutter. This time it was a French Pilot Cutter called Jolie Brise from the Port of Le Havre and she went on to win the Fastnet Race on another two occasions.
We have been fortunate to have Jolie Brise join Classic Sailing’s annual Pilot Cutter Review
There is a story whose veracity I can not confirm that the famous yacht designer Laurent Giles studied Jolie Brise hull lines to improve the design of his series of Vertue Yachts.
The end of an era.
Two things brought about the end of these cutters as working pilot cutters. Steam powered vessels replaced sail power. In the UK from 1908 onwards local and regional authorities gradually took over the control of the pilots and employed the former freelance pilots. This pattern was repeated in other parts of the world.
Pilot Cutters today.
Everything that made pilot cutters special in the past, seaworthiness, speed and ease of handling has made them an ideal yacht to own if you are interested in sailing a historic vessel. They have character, style and pleasing lines. Since the mid 1990’s replicas have been produced, mostly in Cornwall by Luke Powell but also in Bristol, Canada. and other places. See our Pilot Cutter Directory
You can see many of them at our Annual Classic Sailing Pilot Cutter Review held every year at the end of May in Fowey and St Mawes
Lots of people want to sail a pilot cutter, they are just so appealing, but few can afford to own one. To make it possible to sail on one without ownership was and still is one of the cornerstones of Classic Sailing. You can come sailing with us anytime, definitely no previous sailing experience required.
Voyages you can sail as crew on a Pilot Cutter – No Experience required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did pilot cutters change yacht design?
Pilot cutters changed yacht design because they were developed through real commercial competition rather than for sport. Every improvement in speed, seaworthiness and handling gave pilots a better chance of winning the next pilotage job. Over generations, this produced designs that influenced offshore cruising yachts, the yacht America, winner of the first America’s Cup, and the French pilot cutter Jolie Brise, winner of the first Fastnet Race.
Why were pilot cutters so fast?
A pilot cutter only earned money if it was the first boat to reach an incoming ship. Speed was therefore essential, but never at the expense of seaworthiness or easy handling. The result was a sailing boat capable of working efficiently in all weathers with a very small crew.
What made pilot cutters different from other working boats?
Unlike fishing boats or cargo vessels, pilot cutters existed for one purpose, getting a harbour pilot safely aboard an arriving ship before any rival cutter. Their hulls, rigs and deck layouts evolved to maximise speed, reliability and efficiency, making them among the most refined working sailing boats ever built.
Can you still sail on a pilot cutter today?
Yes. A small number of original pilot cutters are still sailing, and several faithful replicas have been built in recent decades. Classic Sailing offers the opportunity to sail aboard the pilot cutter Tallulah and welcomes many original and replica pilot cutters to the annual Pilot Cutter Review in Cornwall.
Why are pilot cutters still admired today?
Pilot cutters remain admired because they combine practicality with beauty. Their graceful lines were not created for appearance but developed through generations of practical improvement. They remain some of the finest examples of traditional sailing craft and continue to inspire sailors, boatbuilders and yacht designers around the world.
