Pilot Cutter, Jan Maandag

The Vlisssingen 4 is a pilot cutter, on its way to a customer.
The painter of this watercolor (16 x 23 cm) is Jan Maandag, who painted it in the second half of the nineteenth century. The pilot cutters had to race, because whoever reached the ship first, got the job. They were very fast sailing ships, even at high seas. They had an ax shaped bow, and when they were eventually replaced by steam boats, sailing became a pastime for the rich and many pilot cutters were converted to racing boats.