Things to do on the Isles of Scilly
Gig
Racing
See our
'World Pilot Gig Championships 2013 pages.
Gig racing
is the main sport on the Isles of Scilly. Gigs are 32 foot traditional
wooden working boats, some of which are over 100 years old, with
six single-oar rowing positions and a cox. The islanders race against
each other every week - Wednesday evening is the women, and Friday
for the men - throughout the season.
You can watch
the races and cheer the crews on from the passenger boats that follow
each race, or see the end of the race from St Mary's quay (this
applies for many, but not all, of the races in the schedule. Check
the board outside the Tourist Information Centre for details of
that day's race: 'Nut Rock', 'swap race' and 'triangle race' all
finish at the quay).
There are separate
gig clubs on each of the islands:
- St
Mary's gig club - no website, but all you need to know
is on their Facebook
page
- Tresco
and Bryher gig club - www.trescoandbryhergigclub.co.uk
(this site is not working at present) or check out their Facebook
page.
Since 1990,
Scilly has hosted the World Pilot Gig Championships in May each
year, where crews from Cornwall, Devon, other UK counties, Ireland,
Holland, America and elsewhere compete for the title of World Champions!
This colourful, energetic and very friendly event has become something
of a legend, attracting more crews and supporters every year. It
is always a high point in the Scillonian calendar.
Further information
about the World Pilot Gig Championships can be found at www.worldgigs.co.uk,
and more information about gig rowing generally is on the Cornish
Pilot Gig Association website www.cpga.co.uk.
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