39


with multiple sets of oars and crucial safety equipment. Peta explained: “Each of our gigs is hand built


from Cornish Elm and while strong at sea, they are vulnerable to heat and cold on land. “While the boats are used extensively year round


for training and racing, they still spend a considerable amount of their time on the trailers in the open air. “Because the gigs are built for speed and are


therefore lightweight, they are prone to drying out and cracking. “The un-housed gigs need watching constantly


throughout summer, with many club members making time on hot days to make checks on the boats. They need water and damp towels to stop any damage. “And, of course, in the winter extreme cold can


turn damp into ice, exposing any weaknesses in the wooden frame.


“But these special craft are worth the effort; we are


lucky to have such thoroughbred boats to keep the town’s traditions alive.” Gigs have been at the heart of Dartmouth’s heritage


for hundreds of years. The craft were once built on the banks of the River Dart and formed the everyday working lifeblood of trade and transport on the water.


Each boat was built to


be faster than its rivals as crews raced to reach the merchant ships sailing into the river in order to secure work unloading cargo and navigating the vessels safely into port. ‘No win, no pay’ was the order of the day – racing in those days was to earn a living. This story of hard-won work, rivalry and crafty


Gig racing on the Dart circa.1904


the water and to claim the prize of a purse of 20 sovereigns. Today, Dart Gig Club has become a valued part of


the South West gig racing scene and has helped to shape the sport’s revival. The vibrant club was established 25 years ago by a


group of enthusiastic rowing pals and is affiliated to the Cornish Pilot Gig Association. The friends worked hard to self-fund the building of the club’s first gig ‘Volante’ built in Dartmouth by Brian and Andy Pomeroy, who subsequently went on to build the club’s other wooden gigs ‘Smudger’ and ‘Lightning’. Painted in the club’s


Gigs have been at the heart of Dartmouth’s heritage for hundreds of years.


colours of maroon and cream, their purpose is to race, although nowadays purely for pleasure – or as the club stalwarts say ‘sport’ as anyone who finishes a race with their heart and lungs feeling fit to burst, and with aches


and pains in muscles they never knew they had might not call it pleasurable! The club also owns two fibreglass gigs ‘Dilly E’ and


coxing from townsfolk is an echo that still resonates in Dartmouth today, through the various rowing races staged on the river each year. In fact, the very first Dartmouth Regatta back in 1832


featured a six-oared gig race for the locals to compete in – as well as show off their renowned prowess on


‘Dart’. In order to race today all gigs must conform to a


standard design by William Peters of St Mawes, the builder of many of the early craft. By 1838 Peters had built his best and fastest, the ‘Treffry’ - a very strong gig still rowed today by Newquay Rowing Club.


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