The historical Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter - Part 1

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.

Rodman 41, es el último modelo de embarcaciones de prácticos diseñado y construido por Rodman. Con 12 metros de eslora el Rodman 41, se convierte en el barco de prácticos más competitivo y con mejores prestaciones del mercado. Equipado con todo lo necesario para realizar trabajos y servicios de puerto, donde se le requiera, de manera inmediata.

IMO: - Name: IRAGO 11 PILOT BOAT Vessel Type - Generic: Pilot Vessel Vessel Type - Detailed: Pilot Vessel Navigational Status: Active MMSI: 431003419 Call Sign: - Flag: Japan [JP] Gross Tonnage: - Summer DWT: - Length Overall x Breadth Extreme: 18 x 4 m Year Built: - Home Port: - https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:661579/mmsi:431003419/imo:0/vessel:IRAGO_11_PILOT_BOAT

Raw footage of a an offshore Pilot transfer.
More pictures and an occasional video can be found at
https://instagram.com/sea_weathered?igshid=3qbu808ioyqf

Video by Safehaven Marine / Frank Kowalski
Here’s a cool video of the latest Interceptor 48 pilot boat we’ve launched for the Gdynia Pilots in Poland. We captured some nice alongside ship footage during the sea trials and had a chance to test out our new drone ‘catch net’ on Thunder Child.

EMPA has released their latest newsletter.

FASTWATER Consortium and the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) successfully demonstrated a pilot boat that has been converted to operate on Methanol fuel. The demonstration in Stockholm Harbour follows the successful bunkering of the vessel at the SMA pilot station in Oxelösund, Sweden, where the pilot boat will be based.