Pilot Cutter Regatta June 2010 -Crew wanted - No experience required.

The Classic Sailing Pilot Cutter Regatta June 2010

The event starts on the evening of 17th June with a gathering of Pilot Cutters in Fowey harbour. Original pilot cutters Mascotte and Cornubia are planning to come along with impressive pilot cutter replicas Hesper, Agnes, Pegasus, and you can join in by sailing as crew on Eve of St Mawes or Annabel J. There will be a coastal race to St Mawes, followed by 2 days of informa racing and sailing in company on 19th and 20th June.

15-21st June 6 days as guest crew on AJ - Last places Now £499 SAVE £201

16-21st June - 5 days as crew on Eve of St Mawes Now £450 SAVE £80 

Sail in the Regatta on a Pilot Cutter only five places available.

No experience required.

This event is organised by ourselves, with a lot of help from local businesses and the pilot cutter owners themselves. Many of the vessels are owned by private owners but Eve of St Mawes and Annabel J are both charter vessels so you can become race crew on either for this event.

The 2010 pilot cutter review will follow a similar format to last year but we are always looking for ways of making it more fun for the crews.

(An article on 2009 Classic Sailing Pilot Cutter Regatta)

Creating Scenes from the Past

Yes there was plenty of racing at this year’s Pilot Cutter Regatta, but for me the backdrop is everything. It’s about creating evocative scenes out on the water and in the ports where the fleet gather each evening. The beauty of our two venues for the fleet of eight pilot cutters this year was their timeless quality. Visually you could travel back in time to a period where vessels had to set sails to move off the berth or weigh anchor.

Owners of pilot cutter Hesper provided the artists setting for the welcome party in Fowey... Prime Cellars with its twisted slate roof nestling under the Polruan woods has its own stone quay – ideal to lay a pilot cutter or two against the wall but originally used for salting the fish catch. Fowey Harbour Commissioners allowed visiting pilot cutters to raft up in the river 20 yards from our hosts and we all rowed over for the free beer from St Austell Brewery, local cheeses and apples. Looking through the sea of masts, deadeyes, blocks and tackles it was hard to believe virtually all the pilot cutters attending this year were replicas.

Celebrating Boatbuilding & Vision

Eve of St Mawes, Hesper, Agnes and the newly launched Amelie Rose were all built by Luke Powell of Working Sail. As a former owner of Charmian, Luke could claim he designed the prettiest half of Charmian too (He rebuilt the aft half of this historic wooden working boat in that famous fan tail counter style that became the inspiration for his first pilot cutter Eve).

Cornish wooden boatbuilding was also represented well by pilot cutter Polly Agatha, built by Cockwell’s Modern & Classic Boatbuilding Ltd in 2008 and back to the West Country to race again. The acres of wooden decks on Annabel J and a period interior that pilots would have been proud of, kept her sleek steel hull a secret to most observers. Owner Phil Cogdell was looking forward to racing with original pilot cutter Marguerite for the first time, as this well charter boat was based on her hull lines.

St Austell Brewery Tribute Passage Race

“Start Line – a line SE from Cannis Rock at 1000am to St Mawes Bay”….but where was the bouy ? Cornish ‘mizzle’ and fog, a few last minute provisioning forays, led to a rather straggly start that nobody could see anyway ! The mist finally rolled away from the Dodman and the results of the tacking in the fog were revealed. Annabel J won line honours by 9 minutes from Hesper which was enough for her to win on corrected time.

St Mawes Bay – Historic Base for Pilot Cutters

Open to the South West, St Mawes Bay provides a clear view of the Manacles and down towards the Lizard. Gaining a head start on the Falmouth based pilot cutters, several large pilot cutters were based in the village, and its boatyards were famous for building fast pilot gigs. Classic Sailing created the pilot cutter review event to celebrate the local pilot trade connection, and the local community gets a great thrill from hosting the ‘big’ pilot cutter racing as an extra annual event to complement its Falmouth Working Boat ‘World Championships and various gig boat events.
St Mawes Bay is less than half a mile wide and with hills all around makes a perfect amphitheatre for visitors and locals to watch the start and finish of each race. The Social Club provided a huge paella crew supper with locally caught fish and tons of scallops on the terrace.

Saturday Pilot Cutter Race 2009

If you want to show off your boat then anchor it in the middle of the bay, not alongside in a marina. St Mawes Pier & Harbour Company sponsored the event for the 4th year running allowing the fleet to anchor just off the historic harbour wall, creating a picture in the early morning mist.

Original pilot cutter Marguerite joined the fleet for the weekend racing. The fleet now ranged in size from Charmian and Eve at 37ft to Marguerite and Annabel J at over 54ft on deck but they all looked magnificent in the sunshine and force 3-4 winds as they tested the start line off St Mawes Castle. Eve, Annabel J, Polly Agatha and Amelie Rose had charter crews on board rather than experienced racers, but they all put huge amounts of effort into the windward leg (you get plenty of tacking in pilot cutter events !). Hesper and Marguerite had a few hairy crew with 4 legs (WOOF) so it was all rather civilised with an absence of bowsprit bullying. Agnes was short of a topmast and with no handicap concessions given she was unable to beat her favourite rival Hesper over the line. Annabel J was first across the line again but Charmian raced hard and came in second beating Polly Agatha to win the days racing on handicap. (final results with handicaps 1st Charmian, 2nd Annabel J, 3rd Polly Agatha, 4th Agnes, 5th Amelie Rose, 6th Eve of St Mawes, 7th Hesper, 8th Marguerite)

Sunday Pilot Cutter Race 2009

An afternoon start gave a change for the sea breeze to build, and the rest of us to socialise. Pilot cutters rafted up or went for a row to say hello. One of Eve’s charter crew was enjoying the scenery so much he nearly rowed to St Anthony’s lighthouse to get the best camera angle.

The start was a follow my leader crossing of the line for most boats – creating a pilot cutter review style parade of sail for the photographers ashore. The finish was much tighter with Annabel J and Hesper so pre-ocupied with their luffing battle they failed to notice Amelie Rose and her brand new sails storm over the line first by going for the nearest end ! Charmian was 5th over the line but well ahead of Agnes, Eve and Marguerite so she won on handicap (1st Charmian, 2nd Annabel J, 3rd Amelie Rose, 4th Polly Agatha, 5th Hesper, 6th Eve, 7th Agnes, 8th Marguerite).

Overall Winner in 2009 was Charmian. (2008 Iris, 2007 Hesper, 2006 Jolie Brise)

Places on Annabel J and Eve of St Mawes - Click for details

More on how you can join us in 2010-printable PDF.