Written by Ginny Farrell and produced by Robin Johnston.
In what promises to be a hotly fought 2,600 metre race out to the world’s oldest sea-going paddle steamer, the PS Waverley, and as part of the upcoming Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta celebrations, with the support of Dart Harbour, Dart Gig Club will be joined by clubs from Teignmouth, Fowey and Newquay – towns where each of the four authorised Dartmouth pilots live. The pilots, Rich Eggleton (Dart), Kevin Clifton (Teign), Will Mitchell (Fowey) and Steve Woodfindern (Newquay) will all sit in the bows of their respective gigs as they race to glory.
Local gig clubs are set to bring the past alive at Dartmouth Regatta where rival crews will recreate a centuries old pilot gig race out to a magnificent heritage ship anchored off the mouth of the River Dart. Hundreds of years ago pilot gigs built on the river banks formed the everyday working lifeblood of trade and transport on the river. Each boat was built to be faster than its rivals as crews raced to reach the merchant ships sailing into the river and navigate the vessels safely into port to secure work unloading cargo.
In an echo of times past, Dart Gig Club is hosting a thrilling race out to the last seagoing paddle steamer in the world, PS Waverley, at 3:45pm on regatta Saturday August 31st, with competing crews vying to win the coveted pilotage-fee prize money.
The race was the brainchild of Dart Gig Clubs very own Rich Eggleton. “When we found out the Waverley was coming to Dartmouth regatta I thought it would be cool to stage a race that copied the original use of pilot gigs,” he said. “With the Waverley being such a special ship it was the perfect opportunity. I approached the Club’s co-men’s captain, Liam Hassard, who Thought it was a great idea and organised the event as part of this year’s regatta.”
Rich explained: “The idea is that each of the competing gig clubs will bring their respective pilots along too, and whoever reaches the finish line first wins the pilotage fee.” He added: “A race like this hasn’t been done in Dartmouth for many, many years, certainly not in any of our lifetimes. It will be really exciting as a pilot to be taken out to a ship the old fashioned way, especially here in the West Country where we have gigs operating in all of our ports. “We see them all the time when we are piloting and constantly operate around what were the original pilot boats. To actually race out to a ship on one and do it for real will be quite special.”
Modern day health and safety rules means regardless of which crew wins, Rich, as Dartmouth’s senior pilot, will guide the Waverley into the river. But the pilotage fee of several hundred pounds will be paid to the winning club
“All of the competing crews are raising money for new equipment, including Dart which is fundraising for a new wooden gig, so the prize money is an added incentive to cross the line first!” said Rich.
In ideal weather conditions – a flat, calm sea – Rich will transfer to the Waverley in the traditional way from the gig and then guide it to its mooring on the town jetty. Built in 1946, Waverley sailed from Craigendoran on the Firth of Clyde to Arrochar on Loch Long until 1973. She was bought and restored by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS) and now operates passenger excursions around the British coast.
During her visit to Dartmouth and as part of her South West Tour, the 73-metre long ship – named National Flagship of the Year 2024 by National Historic Ships UK – will meet up with Britain’s only other operational paddle steamer, the Kingswear Castle. Built in 1924 at Philip & Son of Dartmouth, Kingswear Castle plied her trade between Totnes and Dartmouth until 1964. Restored by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society, she now runs cruises on the river.
Click here to view the course map.
This is so exciting! At ComeBoating here in Maine, we are constantly taking new rowers out who have never heard of a Cornish pilot gig, and I love telling them about the rich history of these boats. It will be even more fun to report that an actual pilot race happened in modern times.