Pilot Gigs

British Rowing and the Cornish Pilot Gig Association (CPGA) joined forces in 2006 with the aim to assist the development of the sport. The CPGA is just one of the organisation who come under the umbrella of the West Regional Rowing Council (more on the western regional page of the site) which supports over 8000 rowers belonging to several organisations.

Originating in the county of Cornwall, gigs were first used to transport pilots out to sailing ships hundreds of years ago. Modern day gig racing however has been described on numerous occasions as the fastest growing sport in the south west, with 55 clubs in existence today. The sport is governed by the CPGA, a voluntary run body which was created in 1986.

The CPGA strive to preserve the traditional values of the sport, and ensure each new gig is built to strict specifications, based on the ‘Treffry’ which was built in 1838 by William Peters of St. Mawes. The modern gig is a speedy craft built from narrow leaf (ideally) Cornish Elm, 32 feet long and 4 foot 10 wide.

The gig racing season runs from late spring through until the end of September. Although there are several regattas held beforehand, the biggest event of the year is the World Championships, held on the Isles of Scilly.

This year the championships begin on the 30th April and culminate with the finals on the 2nd May. This event is the most popular in the racing calendar, with a huge entry of around 114 boats in 2009. Each club hold their own regatta throughout the main racing season, with three of these being ‘tribute championships’, with categories for A, B and under 16 crews. There are also separate ‘county’ championships for men, women, under 14 and under 16 crews. Competition at events is fierce with raised standards each year leading to smaller winning margins. Many clubs, such as Newquay still run races within their own clubs, keeping long standing traditions alive.

British Rowing are working with the CPGA to  support the development of Cornish Pilot Gig Rowing. A summary of recent developments can be found here.
 
There is now a large base of information and support for gig rowing in the form of several websites. The CPGA have their own site www.cpga.co.uk. Also the ‘Gig rower’ team have developed a site over the past year found at www.gigrower.co.uk