WPGC2025 Round Up

Thanks to GigRower StreamTeam Commentator, Esther Oldrieve, for this round up of the World Pilot Gig Championships, 2nd – 4th May.

Does WPGC ever disappoint? It would seem not.

Having not been to the World Pilot Gig Championships since the Covid break my memories of the Championships had begun to fade. However, as soon as the Skybus pilot started our descent onto the islands, and I glimpsed the glittering blue seas around the islands my memories came roaring back. 

The Isles of Scilly is a special place. The sea is somehow brighter, the roads smooth beneath bare feet and the people welcoming. 

Almost as soon as we had landed the speculation began. Who has put in the training over the winter? What does Three Rivers tell us about the form of the crews? Who has been winning the winter leagues? Have injuries led to last minute crew changes? Gig rowing has a habit of going to the form book; however, the winter break can upend this… Will there be a surprise? We cannot wait! 

Photo credit: Charlotte Stevens

Friday morning saw the start of the event and the conditions were the best of the weekend. It is rare to be sat on the St Agnes start line and not feel the surge of the Atlantic swells hitting land for the first time, but it was one of those rare days. The sun was shining, the sea birds were zipping around us, and the sea was reflecting the sky in a way which made the horizon hard to pinpoint. It was bliss.

The Women’s Vets crews were the first to take to the water for the St Agnes seeding race followed by a race combining both Women’s Super Vets and Women’s Masters categories. For those unfamiliar with the format this is always the first race, where we see all the gigs line up to race in from the island of St Agnes to St Mary’s Harbour together. It’s quite a moment, at no other point in the season do you look down your oar and up to see the bows of hundreds of boats jostling for position. The Women’s Vets crew of Black Rock from Falmouth brought it home at the head of the flotilla, and Falmouth once again delivered in the Women’s Masters category in Arwenack. But Bolt led the way home for Salcombe in the Super Vets. 

The Open Vets race followed with Caradon first to cross the line. In the combined Open Super Vets and Open Masters race, Caradon continued to dominate, leading the fleet home in both categories. 

Once the Scillonian departed on the Friday afternoon the Nut Rock races began for the Women’s Vets crews. For those unfamiliar with the format, crews are sorted into groups of 12 as a result of the seeding from the St Agnes Race, for Round 2 the Nut Rock races which are shorter races from Nut Rock near Tresco to St Mary’s Harbour.

In both the Vets and Super Vets races the top boats in Group A looked unruffled as they cruised into the Final scheduled for Saturday morning. But crews at the lower end of Group A and across Group B fought fiercely to secure their desired position in the top twelve on Saturday morning. 

After the Women’s Super Vets Nut Rock Races, eyes were drawn to the Masters Final, where the first medals of the event were contested. Many gathered to watch the action on the big screen in The Park whilst others shouted their support from Quay. Falmouth in Arwenack took a commanding lead and clinched the first gold of the Championships, followed by Elowen of Mevagissey, and Morah of Coverack. 

The following races saw more of the same as the Open Vets and Open Super Vets crews battled it out to secure places in their Finals. The Open Masters Final followed. The Caradon crew in Ann Glanville were the strong favourites, and they did not fail, taking a seemingly easy victory over Ammonite from Lyme Regis in second, and Black Rock from Falmouth in third. 

Saturday dawned early and the GigRower Stream Team were back out for our longest day on the water. The conditions had changed. A strong wind was blowing in from the Northeast, and the sea was messy. Actually I am not sure messy does these conditions justice, shambolic might be a better term. The ground swell was there, but more challenging, so was the short chop whipped up by the easterly. Group A of the Women’s Vets crews lined up for their third and final race. Only the top twelve gigs make it to the final of the Vets and Super Vet competitions so being there at all is quite the achievement. Nothing looked easy in these conditions, but Black Rock took a commanding victory in the Women’s Vets, from St Mary’s in Tregarthens, and Charlestown in Spriggan. 

The Women’s Super Vets were involved in a far closer affair. Salcombe and Teign had both won races the previous day, so it was all to play for. What unravelled was in my opinion the race of the weekend. Bolt from Salcombe and Teign Spirit went out into the front to start with and stayed neck and neck all the way up the first half of the course. Teign Spirit eventually shook Bolt off and seemed to slowly pulling ahead. Adding to the drama, Lightning of Dart, Kensa of Mounts Bay, Morgawr of Helford, and Q of Fowey were also looking dangerous just behind the lead two boats. The race went to the line; ultimately Teign won, from Salcombe in second, and Kensa in third, but all five boats could have taken it. 

The Open crews had a tough act to follow. Caradon Vets and Super Vets were looking to follow in the footsteps of their Masters crew. Could they do the clean sweep, or were the conditions going to upset those accustomed to the calmer waters of the Tamar? In the Open Vets, Caradon came up trumps in An Dhowrlann, followed by the IOS crew of Tregarthens getting their second silver medal of this age category, and Falmouth secured bronze in Arwenack. In the Super Vets, Caradon’s Amazon swept to victory over Polvarth of Roseland, and Lightning of Dart. Quite the achievement by Caradon which reflects the strength and depth in their club. Could their Senior crews continue this run of success? 

The Scillonian arrived on schedule mid-morning, and the last of the rowers jogged down the quay to find their gigs. Crews found themselves propelled quickly by the easterly wind out to the St Agnes start line only to turn around and face an onslaught. Those in the newer gigs such as the Voose and the Porthust were suddenly not so confident. The older gigs such as the Serica and the Bonnet had an advantage. Being heavier they sat better into the swell and were not as prone to being thrown around. It was going to be wild. 

The Senior Women went off first and it took some time for it to become clear who was in the lead. Caradon seemingly had the advantage on the inside, however, Voose from Helford came swooping down from the top of the line to take a commanding lead. In the Open Senior race later in the afternoon the conditions had worsened. Crews were now facing a 27 knot north easterly. It was difficult for everybody on the water. Helford’s Voose was again victorious, taking a commanding lead, but the question was, where were last year’s winners, Looe? They came in 10th and had us all scratching our heads. What had happened? Was their period of dominance ending? I sent a message to a friend who rows for Looe to get the gossip, and her response was swift. Looe’s boat had been full to the gunnels with water. They were one of the unlucky ones to take on a lot of water. As experienced as the Looe crew is, even they were surprised to find a fish in their boat. 

The afternoon’s racing was no less difficult. The wind was howling. On the Calypso the GigRower Stream Team were doing their best to keep the live stream rolling but it was very challenging. Steve the intrepid drone operator had to bring the drone in, as it was just too wild to risk the drones and they were not coping with the gusts. I could only stay upright thanks to Locky who was holding onto my life jacket and pulling me back down onto the deck when I went airborne which was a regular occurrence (thanks Locky.) Jo deserves special recognition here as sat on the back of the boat she took multiple waves to the face and continued to film. Charlotte had to give up on taking photos as the salt water was messing with her camera. All the coxswains were struggling with ‘cork screwing’. The waves were picking the gigs and powering them towards St Mary’s, however, once up on wave and with the rudders out of the water, the wind was hitting the stern of boats sending them cork screwing sideways. There were a number of clashes and the crews were doing very well to keep their heads in these conditions. In the evening there was many an old hand leant against a bar telling us how it could have been handled, but I think the truth was that it was just too messy for even the most thoughtful of solutions. The Women’s Senior race saw the Caradon crew lead the way across the line in An Dhowrlann, followed in by the Helford Crew of Voose who looked pretty glum. Scillies seas can really test a crew. The Open Seniors race was no less dramatic. Looe reasserted their dominance in Currah’s Pride closely chased in by the pack. The Caradon crew in An Dhowrlann came charging in from the midfield only too pleased to have that race complete. The gigs were quickly packed away, rowing gear wrung out and wellies emptied. Everyone went to bed praying for calmer seas. 

Sunday morning saw that the prayers to Poseidon had been answered. The wind had dropped and shifted to the east. The second half of the nut rock course was relatively flat (or as flat as it gets on the islands). The morning’s racing was a pretty standard affair in the top heats with the crews keeping their powder dry until the afternoon. However, in the lower heats this was not the case. Many crews were going hell for leather trying to get into the top two to go up a heat, or to stay up in the heat they were in. There were some very close calls. Andrew and I in the commentary lost count of the times we said, ‘that will be one for the umpires to call.’ 

The afternoon saw the winds drop further, the course was set, and the crews were ready. Group K of the women’s final started with a bang. Port Issac were out in force to see their boat Rocarrock over the line first. The end of the harbour was lined with the blue glittery pom poms of Port Issac Rowing Club. Group J was won by Killigerran of Roseland, Group I by Grace O’Malley, Group H by Cockleshell, Group G by Pentargon. Group F was won by the crew of Blackbird, but special mention needs to go to the Welsh supporters of the Ralph Bird as they were definitely the most vocal supporters of any boat! Groups E, D, and C were won by the Osprey, Amazon and Endurance respectably. Special mention needs to go to the Scillonian crew of the Emma Louise who won the under 25s category from the middle of heat D. We look forward to them challenging the top seeded crews in the years to come. The crew of the Spriggan from Charlestown may have been disappointed to not get into the final, but were delighted to salvage a victory in Group B. 

Before we knew it, we were heading out to the start line watch the start of Group  A. Ryan played a Doom Bar advert while Andrew and I rang our families to make sure they were watching. The start was a nervy affair. When we arrived, the crews were on the start line, however, determined for a fair start the starter had the twelve crews in Group A loop back and come to the start for a second time. Once the starters were happy that the racing was fair the flag went down. Out of the start there were four crews in contention for the medals. Toby of Newquay made an excellent start but faded after the first two minutes, leaving Helford in Voose, Fowey in Q and Caradon in An Dhowrlann to fight it out. These three crews traded the lead until we hit the St Marys coastline, which is approximately halfway down the course, when Q dropped back to about half a boat length down on An Dhowrlann and Voose. It was then between the two hot favourites. By the middle of the race, we seemed stuck in a cycle; it appeared that Voose would gain ground slowly, only for them to hit choppy water and fall back in line with the bow of the An Dhowrlann, before the cycle began again. However, slowly Voose pulled ahead, with the Caradon crew relentlessly pressing them and never giving up. They doggedly stayed in touch with Voose until the final few minutes. Passing the ‘island of many names’ with sixty strokes to go, Helford had clear water and powered over the line into the embrace of the rest of the fleet which had rafted up in the harbour to welcome the victorious crew of Voose. An Dhowrlann of Caradon crossed the line in second place, with Q of Fowey finishing third.

We went back in to briefly pick up some sandwiches and pasties from the Café on the Quay to sustain us through the afternoon, for it was the turn of the open crews.  Phoenix brought in Group K, followed by the Tresco and Bryer crew of Emperor in Group J. Groups I, H, G and F were won by Kober, Fortitute, Bolt and Mischief respectively. Polvarth won Group E meaning Roseland crews would be on the podium three times that evening. Faith won Group D, and Victory led Group C. Group B was a particularly hard-fought battle with the Newquay crew of Toby victorious over Truro in Carrick, Falmouth in Black Rock and the second Newquay crew in Hope who all came in together in a line a boat length back. 

Ready for the last race of the day, we were soon looping back once more to pick up the start of Group A. The Open Seniors Final got off to a cleaner start than the Women’s and again four boats jumped into the lead. The Arwenack crew from Falmouth went out hard and into an early lead, consistently maintaining a stroke rate of forty-four strokes a minute. Until we hit land they had a boat length lead over Helford in Voose, Looe in Currah’s Pride and Caradon in An Dhowrlann who looked to be fighting for the lesser podium positions. However, Looe started to move. Slowly they shook off Voose, then An Dhowrlann before taking the fight to Falmouth.

The Falmouth crew build up to the championship had been hampered by an injury to their stroke rower, but after valiantly leading for so long, they began to fade. Looe slowly drew Arwenack in and passed Falmouth. Not with monumental pushes but with a slow grinding pressure that ultimately Falmouth could not match. The sea of rowers in the raft up cheered as Looe crossed the line in first place, followed by Falmouth in Arwenack in second and Caradon in An Dhowrlann in third place. 

Looe’s Open Senior crews record in the Currah’s Pride continues. Since her launch in 2018 they have not lost their World Pilot Gig Championships title. It is now over to next year’s crews to see if they can raise their game to wrestle the prized wooden barrel from Looe’s hands.  

GigRower StreamTeam members and rowers alike mustered in front of the stage to celebrate those who had medalled over the weekend. One of the things which makes WPGC special is the enthusiasm of all involved. It seemingly doesn’t matter how you make it onto the main stage, as it’s about the effort you put in once up there. Sequins, wigs and hats abounded, children were held aloft on the shoulders of grinning parents and fizz was sprayed all over those of us trying to record the event (don’t worry I was still wearing my GigRower coat for this reason.) Medals were hung round necks, confetti cannons blasted and then we toddled off to find something to eat and round up club members who had become a little too keen to sink their first, second and third pints of Doom Bar. 

Exhausted, I wandered off to find my sister, 9 hours of talking on YouTube seemingly is my limit. We looped arms and walked out of Tregarthens after the third rendition of ‘Cornwall my Home’ (none of which would have won prizes for singing excellence, but certainly for heart) discussing the pickles we had got ourselves into during Sunday nights in years gone by and thanked the stars that we are now old. Thanks, Scillies, for a cracker of a weekend. You are loved. 

This article was written with Penny Chuter in mind. She would have loved to have provided me with notes to improve this article and would have certainly let me know of the mistakes I made during commentary which were numerous.  She loved this event and was missed by all those once fortunate enough to call her a friend.

Results

Women’s Masters

• 🥇 ARWENACK
• 🥈 ELOWEN
• 🥉 MORAH

Open Masters

• 🥇 ANN GLANVILLE
• 🥈 AMMONITE
• 🥉 BLACK ROCK

Women’s Super Vets 

• 🥇 TEIGN SPIRIT
• 🥈 BOLT
• 🥉 KENSA

Open Super Vets 

• 🥇 AMAZON
• 🥈 POLVARTH
• 🥉 LIGHTNING

Women’s Vets 

• 🥇 BLACK ROCK
• 🥈 TREGARTHENS
• 🥉 SPRIGGAN

Open Vets 

• 🥇 AN DHOWRLANN
• 🥈 TREGARTHENS
• 🥉 ARWENACK

Women’s Senior 

• 🥇 VOOSE
• 🥈 AN DHOWRLANN
• 🥉 Q

Open Senior

• 🥇 CURRAH’S PRIDE
• 🥈 ARWENACK
• 🥉 AN DHOWRLANN