About Cornish Pilot Gigs
Cornish Pilot Gig (Gig for short) racing is the fastest growing community sport in the SouthWest with all age groups taking part in regattas throughout the spring and summer months around the coast of Devon 
and Cornwall. Each gig is built of Cornish narrow leaf elm, 32 feet long with a beam of four feet ten inches. They have a crew of six rowers, with the addition of a coxswain at the helm of each boat to navigate.
Although many new boats have been built in recent years, some have survived since the early 19th century and are still in use. The original gigs were used to take pilots out to sailing ships as they approached the Isles of Scilly or coast of Cornwall. The first pilot aboard the ship got the job, so the gigs evolved into very fast seagoing rowing boats. There are many gig clubs around Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly, Devon and there are even some overseas.