Under Construction January 2021.
Although based in Falmouth at the time, where the professional skipper Richard Clapham lives, Mascotte moves in the spring to the place where her owner wishes to sail her. She spends the winter in the yard of reputed classic boat shipwright Tommi Nielsen. He is a legend, not only in the yard but also in the cockpit. I have, with my own eyes, seen Tommi sit thru the night when on distance races. The first call for crew is often to move Mascotte from Nielsen's yard in Gloucester, down the canal, and into the River Severn at Sharpness.
The season will typically start with race meetings and festivals. The BPCOA (Bristol Channel Pilot Cutters Association) runs events for its fleet. This can be the annual Bristol Channel event, where the cutters compete for the Cock o'The Channel. This is a race from Barry, in South Wales out to a point off Ilfracoombe (North Devon), and back. The distance and the tides can make this a 16 hour event, if one is lucky. Tides can run at 6-8 knots at Springs and all too often the 'tide gate, is missed. Cutters spend the night tacking to make small mileage, or just anchoring and waiting for the tide to become favorable.
Below: Pictures of a day race, taken from Barry, South Wales. A day of strengthening wind, and skippers took down the top sail to keep the boats trim.
The season will typically start with race meetings and festivals. The BPCOA (Bristol Channel Pilot Cutters Association) runs events for its fleet. This can be the annual Bristol Channel event, where the cutters compete for the Cock o'The Channel. This is a race from Barry, in South Wales out to a point off Ilfracoombe (North Devon), and back. The distance and the tides can make this a 16 hour event, if one is lucky. Tides can run at 6-8 knots at Springs and all too often the 'tide gate, is missed. Cutters spend the night tacking to make small mileage, or just anchoring and waiting for the tide to become favorable.
Below: Pictures of a day race, taken from Barry, South Wales. A day of strengthening wind, and skippers took down the top sail to keep the boats trim.
Passage Races.