A personal view - The 2011 Pilot Cutter Review Georgia Witchell

A personal review of the 2011 Pilot Cutter Review

Georgia Witchell

I was very excited to be joining Eve as crew for this voyage, and it turned out that I had every reason to be. I had a fantastic time, with the whole gestalt being so much more than the sum of her parts. With the exception of one crew member, none of us were racers, two had never sailed before, and none of us had ever met. We were a novice crew entering into a programme of races between 11 Pilot Cutters of various ages and sizes, of which we were the smallest. Reasons for joining were varied, but none of us were there just for the racing, it was all about sailing a traditionally rigged boat.

We had one day of glorious sunshine, but otherwise the weather was varied, as you would expect for a British summer. Throughout though the wind was constantly strong, so much so, that I was doubtful that we would ever leave the safety of Falmouth harbour on Day 1! However, this proved to perfect sailing weather for these big, strong, chunky vessels built for their strength and agility in all weathers. We may have reached our physical limit by Day 4, but she was nowhere near hers. I got the feeling that she could go on and on.

We became a close knit, lean mean racing machine, tuned to the rhythm of the waves, and to the beating of her hull. Hauling sails, pulling in sheets, and helming on the tiller are all part of the boat workout on offer, and produce camaraderie and a strong team spirit in such a very short space of time, and a real sense of purpose. The time just flew by, and yet I felt like this break had been so much longer than 4 days.

It would be a shame not to highlight the social aspect to this event, with each night spent in a different location, either anchored or moored alongside one another, providing a sight for sore eyes for those with a love or passion for traditional vessels. Encouraged and welcome to go aboard all of the vessels, to discuss the days events, and chat with friendly sailors, some new and some ancient mariners, or so they would have you believe. There seemed to be a general joie de vivre amongst all crews, which felt special, and made me feel enormously lucky to be a part of it.

We didn’t leave the event with a winning trophy, but we certainly had winning smiles in the St Mawes Yacht Club on Sunday night. Lots of rosy faced sailors celebrating each others success, cheering as the skippers went up for their prizes, and again for the organisers, Classic Sailing. Finally an almighty cheer as we look forward to the 6^th annual review on 24^th – 27^th May 2012 and I for one will be vying for a position on the start line. 

Georgia Witchell 2-6-11