Pilot gigs in St Mary's Road just south of Tresco

The World Pilot Gig Championships are an annual

gig racing The Cornish pilot gig is a six-oared rowing boat, clinker-built of Cornish narrow-leaf elm, long with a beam of . It is recognised as one of the first shore-based lifeboats that went to vessels in distress, with recorded rescues going back as ...

event held on the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of th ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

during the

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...

bank holiday weekend. The World Championships were first held in 1990, only attracting a few crews from Cornwall, but over the years the amount of pilot gigs attending has increased with crews coming from all over the South of England, the Netherlands, Ireland, France and beyond.

Races

There are multiple races that take place over the weekend, of varying distance, all starting on the Friday night. The women's and men's Veterans (40+) and Super Veterans (50+) races take place on Friday evening, while the four Open races take place on Saturday and Sunday. Traditionally a sailing race is held on the Monday along with an Isles of Scilly vs Mainland rugby union match. St Agnes The longest race is from the island of St. Agnes down to the finish line just off the quay of St. Mary's (approx 1.6 nautical miles). Both Veterans and Super Veterans races follow this course to decide the winner of the trophy for these categories. On the Saturday the women and men race separately, with a full line up of gigs. In 2019 163 gigs were on the women's start line with 160 crews competing in the men's race. The finishing positions from the St. Agnes course determine the seedings for the subsequent heats. Nut Rock Each gig is seeded based on the St. Agnes race and the heats are split into groups of 12 for the race from Nut Rock back to St. Mary's (approx 1.1 nautical miles). Two heats are held - one on Saturday and one of Sunday morning - with the top two gigs in each group being promoted and the bottom two relegated. The finals for both the women and men take place on the Sunday afternoon, again racing the same Nut Rock course. Each group then has a winner and the outcome of group A decides who is the overall champions.

Results

Women's Results Men's Results

Results by Crew

Women Men

External links

Official siteWorld Pilot Gig ResourceGig Rower

References

{{Reflist Rowing competitions Sports competitions in England Isles of Scilly Sport in Cornwall Rowing in the United Kingdom Rowing competitions in the United Kingdom