History of the Scillonian Pilot Cutter

As long as man have plied the oceans, their ships needed to get into a safe harbour or anchorage at the end of their journey to unload their cargo and get provisions and new orders. The pilots, belonging to one of the oldest professions in the world, would wait out at sea all year round in all weather conditions to find a vessel to guide into safety. The pilot vessels needed to be strong, seaworthy, and fast because the pilot who got on board first would get the job, which was very well paid. As you can imagine, the competition amongst the pilots was fierce.

The pilot vessels were often rigged as gaff cutters, which is a rig that can be handled shorthanded. Once the pilot got off his vessel onto the ship that needed his service, the pilot vessel was sailed back by one man, often a young boy learning the trade.

The Isles of Scilly is a group of treacherous islands out in the North Atlantic, 30 nm west of Lands End, UK. On St Mary, the main island, almost fifty pilot cutters were built during the 1800s. Initially the vessels were 30'-40' in length, but in order to compete with pilots from Falmouth and Bristol, the size grew to over 60'. By the end of the 1800s the industrial revolution had started, the steam ships were taking over, and the sailing pilot cutters became history.

Freja, our replica Scillonian Pilot Cutter, is build on the lines from pilot cutters from these islands. Her lines are pleasing to the eye with a wide beam supporting her large rig, a square fore foot and a fine counter stern. Her hull shape provides a good grip when fighting to windward in the salty seas and an easy motion with the wind further aft. As all of these vessels, she is rigged as a gaff cutter with an overhanging boom and a long bowsprit. She is steered with a tiller. She was designed and built by shipwright Luke Powell. He had made a thorough study of remains of wrecks, photos, and half models of the pilot cutters from the Isles of Scilly. Freja is the eighth replica pilot cutter built by him.