Transporting the Gigs

Before the 1997 World Pilot Gig Championships were over, preparations for 1998 were already underway.  With the increasing interest from clubs in Britain and abroad we are shipping more and more Gigs each time, in it’s inaugural year no more than a dozen or so Gigs were taken over but in 1998 however that figure looks closer to being nearer 50.

The task is not as straight forward as you might think.  The first hurdle is the limited amount of space which we have for carrying the Gigs, and this combined with the fact that everybody wants to get in as much practice as possible right up to the last minute before the racing starts means that all the teams want their gigs to be shipped the day before the championships start and returned home as soon as they have finished so that the team’s can continue practising for the next event on their calendar.  Of course this is not possible and all the bookings are based on a first come first served basis, but with priority being given to the clubs from Holland who of course have two ferry companies to pass through.  The entire process of sending all the gigs to and returning from the Islands takes about a month and is hindered further by the Bank Holiday when the Gry Maritha does not sail and we subsequently loose six places.

Many of the gig clubs have more than one gig that they wish to take, but it is not always possible to deliver them to us for shipping on the same day so the bookings then have to be co-ordinated with someone from the club who is able to tow the trailers down in time for the correct sailing.

A new problem which has recently arisen is the shape of the trailers, if the trailer wheels are set in line with the frame work then everything is find but should the wheels be on the outside of the frame work then two gigs can not be loaded side by side on the ships deck as they are too wide and this reduces the quantity per sailing to three on the Scillonian III and five on the Gry Maritha.  It is therefore sometimes necessary to swap the Gigs from one ship to another on the day of sailing in order to make them fit and so that none get left behind and that is why occasionally you may just see a forklift truck towing a gig along the wharf road.

There is always a great atmosphere on the Scillonian III and the sailing across gives ample opportunity for old friend’s to meet up and reminisce about events from previous years and catch up on each other’s news.  The Bank Holiday Monday trip returning home from the Islands gives another great opportunity for a party to finish off the weekend in style, the singing from on board can clearly be heard as the ship sails away from St. Mary’s Quay as the Gig Crew’s say goodbye to the Island’s for another year.

On behalf of everybody at the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company and Skybus may I take this opportunity to wish you all a very enjoyable World Gig Championships and I hope the rest of the season is very successful for you all.

Please stay safe and well, we look forward to seeing you all again next year.

Debbie.

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