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The Swallow

Cutter – single mast with very long bowsprit, fore and aft sails

The cutter was derived from the Dutch yacht (jaagen) that had been developed by the Dutch at the end of the 15^th century as a coastal trader – shallow bottomed with large cargo capacity.

Pirates, especially in the West Indies, took the design and streamlined the hull to gain speed and manoeuvrability. It became an ideal smuggling boat. Able to out run any other vessels, sail much closer to the wind and closer inshore. It was, Initially, viewed with suspicion by the British authorities. However, the design was eventually used to construct pilot cutters as well as fast Royal Naval fleet messengers. The Revenue and Excise Service also took to using them to chase smugglers.

In the Isaac Stanfield Chronicles the fictional Swallow appears a little ahead of its time. As a result, Isaac is able to take advantage of the suspicion and lack of enthusiasm for such a radically new design.