Cornish pilot gig
Encyclopedia
Watercraft rowing
Watercraft rowing is the act of propelling a boat using the motion of oars in the water. The difference between paddling and rowing is that with rowing the oars have a mechanical connection with the boat whereas with paddling the paddles are hand-held with no mechanical connection.This article...
boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
, built of Cornish
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
narrow leaf elm, 32 feet (9.8 m) long with a beam of four feet ten inches.
It is recognised as one of the first shore-based lifeboats
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
that went to vessels in distress, with recorded rescues going back as far as the late 17th century.
The original purpose of the Cornish pilot gig was as a general work boat, and the craft is used for taking pilots out to incoming vessels off the Atlantic. In those days the race would be the first gig to get their pilot on board a vessel (often those about to run aground on rocks) got the job, and hence the payment.
Pilot Gigs today
Today, pilot gigs are used primarily for sport, with around 100 clubs across the globe. The main concentration is within Cornwall and the Isles of ScillyIsles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
, however clubs exist in Somerset, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Internationally there are pilot gig clubs in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the USA.
All modern racing gigs are based on the "Treffry
Treffry
Treffry is an Cornish surname. The first record of the name Treffry was found in Cornwall where they were anciently seated as Lords of the Manor of Treffry, some say, at the time of the taking of the Domesday Book survey in 1086...
", built in 1838 by William Peters of St. Mawes, and still owned and raced by the Newquay Rowing Club. However non-racing gigs have been built which do not conform to the exact specification of the Treffry and are disallowed from racing in competitive races.
The sport is governed by the Cornish Pilot Gig Association
Cornish Pilot Gig Association
The Cornish Pilot Gig Association is a body which governs the sport of Cornish pilot gig racing. As of August 2006 the association consists of 44 clubs and 115 registered gigs...
, which monitors all racing gigs during the construction phase. The Association's Standards Officer is responsible for measuring every gig at least three times during construction, to ensure that it conforms to the Standard set by the Association.
The 100th gig, built for the Bude Gig Club by Ralph Bird was launched during the summer of 2005.
Currently there are 128 gigs on the CPGA register of gigs, this does not include the Isles of Scilly. The most recent being 'Tamar' of the Tamar Tavy Club, but by the end of 2008 there will be 131 gigs with an additional three gigs that are currently under construction now - Ilfracombe, Lyme Regis and Mevagissey.
World championships
Since 1990, the World Pilot Gig ChampionshipsWorld Pilot Gig Championships
The World Pilot Gig Championships are an annual gig racing event held on the Isles of Scilly during the May Day bank holiday weekend.The World Championships were first held in 1990, only attracting a few crews from Cornwall, but in the intervening years the amount of pilot gigs attending has...
have been held annually on the Isles of Scilly. Held over the first May bank holiday weekend, they are attended by over 2000 rowers and spectators, and is widely believed to be the busiest weekend on the islands, with an approximate doubling of population.
At the 2005 championships, Caradon triumphed coming 1st and 2nd in the Men’s race and 3rd in the Ladies. Falmouth won the Ladies, with Isles of Scilly coming 2nd. Par Bay came 3rd. Men's results Ladies results