Island Swift Travels: First Mate on Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter Olga

After a strange and difficult summer I finally went sailing this September on the beautiful Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter Olga. Oh dear, I hope Island Swift does not get jealous, but I am in love! She is a gorgeous Pilot Cutter, built in Porthleven, in Cornwall in 1909. She sails like a dream and is so very well behaved. She is owned by Swansea Maritime Museum, has been loaned to Sailing Tectona CIC and has a special relationship with Mount Kelly School.

Her first owner was Henry Edmunds, of Newport, who named her after his daughter, Olga Lilly Edmunds. Henry Edmunds was a double-licence pilot for Barry and Newport, and the boat was numbered 23. In 1917 Olga was sold to a Swansea owner and registered as a fishing vessel for a year in 1918. She was then sold to become a private yacht, remaining so under a variety of owners until 1984 when Swansea City Council bought her for display at the Swansea Maritime Museum.

I was sailing as First Mate on Olga this September. We were taking Year 9 and 7 students from Mount Kelly School out for day sails. Normally they would have had a week on Olga, but with Covid everything was different. We were sailing around Plymouth Sound and out towards the Eddystone Lighthouse. It was exciting to introduce young people to Olga and it gave me a good opportunity to find out how she works. We were really lucky with the weather and I think all the youngsters enjoyed themselves.

It was interesting for me to learn how a sail training vessel is run, and a pleasure to sail with the two skippers Aidan and Craig. With luck I will be skippering her next summer!

On the first day out sailing we sailed past Ewen Southby-Tailyour who was out sailing on his very pretty gaffer. Ewen is the grandson of Lt Col Patrick Phibbs who owned Olga from 1947 until his death in 1975. He was nice enough to say she looked as good as when he used to sail on her. He has written about his many experiences sailing on Olga with his grandfather. My favourite story is below.

At the end of the two weeks sailing with the children, we had a charter for the weekend. This included spectacular weather, dolphins, jumping tuna fish and swimming off the boat in a dead calm. There was one particular special 15 minutes when I was steering Olga as we sailed from Fowey back towards Plymouth. This was my first chance to get a feel for her under sail. I was on my own on deck as breakfast was being prepared and eaten. We had the topsail up and the wind was coming off the land with a flat sea. What a memorable moment in time, just me and Olga.

I am looking forward to sailing on Olga again next summer and sharing this stunning historic sailing boat with many others.