GIGS AND HIGH SEAS
BEHIND THE GLASS “The window was commissioned in 2015. It’s not only a memorial to four of my favourite people, three of whom are no longer with us, but it also honours all the brave Scillonians who put out to sea to help others in danger without any thought for their own safety.” Oriel Hicks, stained glass artist
ISLAND EXPERIENCE Gig Champs weekend Make a date with the World Pilot Gig Championships that take place on Scilly every early May Bank Holiday weekend. Some 150 gigs and their crews – from Scilly, the southwest and beyond – descend on the islands for this annual rowing festival that also brings a slice of Scilly’s history to life. Have a go! Fancy a go at gig rowing? Look out for the occasional beginners’ sessions throughout the main season; ask in the local pubs for who, what and where! Follow the leader Set aside a Wednesday or Friday evening to watch the local gig crews from each of the islands race for glory. Watch from the quay on St. Mary’s or enjoy a more close up encounter aboard a tripper boat; then join the crews for a drink and stories in the pub after the races.
Image courtesy of Ellis-Frost Genealogy
n Periglis Church on St. Agnes, strained eyes stare at you from a glass window depicting two gigs racing towards a sinking ship. The faces are of real people from the islands. It’s a scene typical of the 1800s, when gigs were the original lifeboats and pilot boats. The window inscription reads: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you”. But it’s gig rowing, not religion, which ties the present to the past here. In a stone shed near the quay rests one of the original pilot gigs. Although almost 150 years old, she’s no museum piece – the Shah is raced every week. “It’s more than just a sport, it’s a ritual,” says Piers Lewin, one of St. Agnes’ 80-plus residents. “It’s been an unbroken tradition for centuries.” Another gig almost fills the lower ground floor of the Isles of Scilly Museum on St. Mary’s. The 140-yearold gig, Klondyke, is surrounded by stuffed birds, artwork and social history. Upstairs, the salvaged spoils of shipwrecks merge with tales of wartime, archaeology and maritime history. And everywhere the island narrative is told through historical photographs from the nationally-acclaimed Gibson family.
Patrick Trevellick, Albion Coxswain
HEROIC RESCUE OVER LAND AND SEA Strong winds prevented the crew of Albion gig on Bryher from launching on the Western shore to aid steam ship SS Delaware in 1871. So they carried the half-tonne gig for half a mile overland, rowed to Samson, then carried it over land again before rowing to rescue passengers.
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