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Tough gig – sailors and marines battle elements in historic Cornish rowing contest
8 May 2025
Royal Marine and Navy rowers based in the South West battled challenging conditions as they took on teams from around the globe in the one of the world’s best-known races.
The World Pilot Gig Championship hosted by the Isles of Scilly is now in its 35th year with Royal Navy involvement going back a couple of decades.
This year it fell to the RM Tamar Cornish Pilot Gig Club to represent the Senior Service, lining up with 170 other crews from around the globe in one of the UK’s most famous traditional rowing events.
All race identical Cornish pilot gigs – 32 feet long, 4ft 10in wide and rowed by a six-strong team – which were used a lifeboats/pilot boats in the county from the late 17th Century onwards.
The naval team comprised personnel from across the Service – 47 Commando, HM Ships Portland, Northumberland, Devonport Naval Base, Cambria and reserves HQ and the Royal Marines Band Plymouth among others —competing in the men’s superveteran and open competitions (which proved to be particularly challenging given their collective 220 years’ service), while the female team lined up in the open category.
With numerous last-minute operational changes to the line-up, crews only had one day to consolidate before they got into the racing.
Crews faced a challenging weekend of racing, covering approximately 16 miles across multiple heats. The main seeding raceback ran from St Agnes to St Mary’s, with subsequent heats from Nut Rock back into the harbour at St Mary’s—testing both endurance and seamanship in equal measure.
Although the weather remained clear throughout the event, strong blustery winds created tough conditions on the water, with many boats taking on water mid-race. One particularly unfortunate crew even shipped a live fish, scooped up mid-battle with the waves.
This year’s championships saw an increasingly diverse turnout, with international crews from Bermuda and the Netherlands joining the event alongside crews from Wales and Norfolk as well as the traditional stronghold of South West England teams.
The atmosphere on the Isles of Scilly reflected the event’s growing popularity, as St Mary’s and the ‘Off Islands’ transformed into a festival of rowing, excitement, and community spirit.
The RM Tamar teams demonstrated remarkable grit and camaraderie throughout the weekend, holding their own against some of the most experienced clubs in the sport. Coxing both was WO1 Rob Lowe, who took part in every event and spent most of the weekend on the water – living on a diet of sandwiches and coffee on the odd occasion he set foot on the beach.
Although not troubling the podium the teams posted creditable results. Their participation highlighted the strength, determination, and teamwork that characterises the Naval Service—on land and at sea.