Pilot Cutters Under Sail: Pilots and Pilotage in Britain and Northern Europe by Tom Cunliffe

Author:Tom Cunliffe [Cunliffe, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Bisac Code 1: TRA006010, Bisac Code 2: HIS027150, TRANSPORTATION / Ships &#x0026, Shipbuilding / History, HISTORY / Military / Naval
ISBN: 9781473826335
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books
Published: 2013-07-03T04:00:00+00:00

The wreck of the cutter Fellow

An illustration by Bonquart taken from the Journal des Voyages et des Aventures de Terre et de Mer 1904. It depicts the wreck of the pilot cutter Fellow, overwhelmed by an extraordinary storm. Three men were lost but the mousse and another youngster were saved. The detail of what remains of the cutter’s foredeck is beautifully portrayed.

(Author’s collection)

While the meat was still good, the big moment came at midday. In the evenings there was vegetable soup with graisse de Cherbourg, which is old-fashioned beef dripping, boiled with the vegetables to give them more body. The bought-in victuals were often augmented by ‘a bit of fishing’. In those days, mackerel were more prolific in the Channel than they are today, and fresh fish was a good boost for morale. Anyone who has trolled for these lively shoals knows well that the waiting diner is invariably treated either to a feast or a famine. On a good day, far more would be caught than could be eaten by four hungry men, but, being French, nothing went to waste. Any fish not eaten fresh were pickled in brine, laid on the dinghy to dry, liberally peppered, and taken home to appreciative wives as a delicacy. Another mackerel recipe was to boil the fish in salt water with onions and parsley. The flesh fell off the bones and in summer the resulting soup was a favourite alternative to the ubiquitous vegetable broth. Aboard Espérance (No 37), a system had been devised for netting the more difficult herring. Lunch following a good catch was boiled herring and potatoes, cider or coffee.

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