THE CORNISH PILOT GIG

The Cornish Pilot Gig is unique to the County, and in earlier days was used to take Pilots out to vessels coming off the Atlantic. Speed was of the essence, the first Pilot aboard got the job. They are six oared craft, clinker built, using Cornish Elm, 32 foot in length with a 4' 10" beam, quite capable of going to sea in almost any weather, and at times have been used for rescue work when a vessel was in distress.

There are many stories, particularly in the Isles of Scilly, where the Gig has been used in preference to the established lifeboat, due to conditions prevailing at the time. A classic example is the wreck of the "Isabo", an Italian grain ship that foundered on the Scilly Rock. Grain, floating around the wreck to a depth of two inches, caused the intakes of the Lifeboat to become clogged, and the Gig "Czar", was sent in to take the men off. Which was accomplished successfully.

The last time that a Cornish Pilot Gig was used to put a Pilot on board a vessel was in 1939, and the last rescue involving a Gig was at the wreck of the "Mindau" in the Isles of Scilly in 1959, this was the "Sussex", now owned by Gig builder Ralph Bird at Devoran, and on loan to the Porthleven Club. Originally built for the men of Bryher, the "Sussex" built in 1886 has been present at many historic wrecks in the past, including that of the "T. W. Lawson" and the "Minihaha", the latter carrying a cargo of livestock involved the men of Bryher in tying the horns of the cattle onto the thole pins of the Gig so that they could be rowed ashore.