Pilot Cutter Review Championship

The third annual Pilot Cutter Review championship was held at St. Mawes, Cornwall, U.K., from June 20-22. The race was established in 2006 as part of the Fal River Festival as a celebration of the pilot gigs and sailing pilot cutters that serviced Falmouth and St. Mawes in the 19th century. The distinctive plumb-bowed craft with their gaff-rigged mains sporting distinctive pilot letters competed in racing from Fowey to St. Mawes in Falmouth Bay. St. Mawes was an important base for the 19th-century pilot, given its view of shipping traffic out beyond the Manacles.

The overall winner of this year’s event was Iris, skippered by David Brunyee, finishing first in all three individual races. Other boats to compete were Marian, Mascotte, Chairman, Lizzie May, Annabel J., Hesper, Eve of St. Mawes, Polly Agatha, Agnes, and Jolie Brise.

The event is sponsored by Classic Sailing, a British-based sailing organization that offers charters on a variety of classic boats, large and small.

By Ocean Navigator