Cornish pilot gig

It is recognised as one of the first shore-based lifeboats that went to vessels in distress, with recorded rescues going as far back as the late 17th century.

[3] According to Richard Gillis, the first Cornish pilot gig was built at Polvarth, St Mawes in 1790 by the Peters family.

This was hand-sawn into quarter-inch (6.4 mm) thick planks, a job done with a high degree of accuracy.

[5][2]: 221-227 [4]: 168 As experience of gigs developed, they were built with a slight upward bend in the thwarts (by installing a pillar down to the keel), so that if the boat received a sharp blow to the side, the thwart could flex upwards a little instead of punching through the side of the hull and doing serious damage.

Early gigs were built with very high quality copper nails and roves whose durability was not matched by those used in later years.

These were optimised for long-distance rowing and were used with a slower stroke than today's racing boats (which have shorter silver spruce oars).

Where-ever more than one gig was heading out to any speculative job, they were racing for the work as it was customary for the ship's captain to employ the first to arrive.

The main concentration is within Cornwall, Devon and the Isles of Scilly, however clubs exist in Suffolk, Sussex, Somerset, Hampshire, Dorset, Wales and London.

Internationally, there are pilot gig clubs in France, the Netherlands, the Faroe Islands, Australia, Bermuda, and the United States.

[9] As of 2023, pilot gig racing is becoming more popular in the United States, especially on the New England coast where whaling was a major industry.

Internationally, there are pilot gig clubs in France, the Netherlands, the Faroe Islands, Australia, Bermuda, and the United States.