Tresco and Bryher Gig Rowing Club has four wooden gigs and a fibreglass training gig. Our gigs range from the Victorian gig Czar, built in 1879, to our newest racing gig, the Alfie Jenkins, built in 2010.
Find out more about our gigs below…
Czar
Built in 1879, Czar is the oldest gig on the islands to have spent her entire life on the islands. She’s still raced today by our ‘A Crews’ in the domestic season.
Originally a Bryher gig, she was built for the island’s pilots by Peters of St Mawes. Her stated intent was to outrun another Bryher gig, Golden Eagle, to win the valuable pilotage fees. Peters had also built that gig, and such was his pride in her that he reckoned the only way in which she could be beaten was if the new gig was given thwarts for a seventh man. She was nicknamed ‘the cut-throat gig’.
The very day she arrived on Scilly – 27 July 1879 – Czar was immediately put to the test. Within hours, she was called to the rescue of two ships: the three-masted barque Maipu – wrecked on the jagged teeth of Bryher’s Hell Bay – and the much larger barque, River Lune, broken on the unforgiving granite just south of Annet.
Alfie Jenkins
Built in 2010 by Peter Martin of St Mary’s and named after a local man, the Alfie Jenkins is the racing gig of the fleet.
The club fundraised to build the AJ, issuing local shares, selling thousands upon thousands of raffle tickets, organising sponsored rows and spending hundreds of hours rattling buckets at unsuspecting visitors!
She may be painted in the same red and white livery as the Czar, but that’s where the similarities end. As a modern racing gig, she is not used in our domestic season; only in the annual World Pilot Gig Championships.
Men-a-Vaur
Built in 1983 by Gerald Pearn, the ‘MAV’ as she’s affectionately known is named after the rock to the north east of Tresco. She’s rowed in the domestic season by our ‘B Crews’ and is sometimes rowed in the World Pilot Gig championships, too.
After rowing all the other gigs, the MAV was ordered to be built to the lines of the Shah. The Men-A-Vaur was the first gig wholly owned by the gig club, as the Czar is owned by the descendants of the original shareholders on Bryher.
Emperor
Built in 2002 by Peter Martin of St Mary’s, the Emperor was bought by the Dorrien-Smith family of Tresco and kindly donated to the club.
Painted in Emperor Purple and Gold, she is raced annually in the World Pilot Gig Championships but also can be seen rowed during the domestic season by newer club members.
Tryher
The Tryher is our fibreglass training gig, predominantly used during the winter months when our wooden gigs are undergoing annual maintenance. We also use Tryher to help novices get to grips with rowing.
Rowing in a fibreglass gig is a very different experience from rowing a wooden gig, but she still offers an excellent way for novices to try rowing and more experienced crews to keep their hand in over the winter!