With over 40 competitive gigs already on the Islands, the World Championships are well and truly on their way. We take this opportunity at Scilly News to speculate over possible outcomes and preview the biggest of all events in the Scillonian Calendar.

You would either have to be very brave or a simple fool to bet against the Mary Newman winning their fifth championship in a row in the mens event. I’m not saying which of these I claim to be, but I genuinely believe that it is possible for one of two other crews to beat Caradon this year.

Having watched every World Championship and the past two Newquay Championships, I have been consistently impressed by Roseland’s Killigerran, and Falmouth’s Idas. These crews have taken note of what a supreme outfit the Mary Newman are, and I also think they appreciate just how much work is needed in order to raise themselves to outright champion form. That is why I back the Killigerran to win this years’ men’s World Championship title. Controversial! No one is playing up Scilly’s chances in the men’s event this year, due to arguments and less training than usual, but who is to say they can’t improve on their 10th position of last year… There will also, of course, be competition from the two new off-Island gigs, the Gallatea from St. Martins, and the Emperor from Tresco.

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“subinfo”The current World and County Champions, here pictured after their impressive win in Newquay in 2001./span

For the women, there is no reason to believe that the current World Champions, the Tregarthens Ladies, will not retain their crown, especially as they re-affirmed their calibre by winning the Newquay Championship in Autumn 2001. The closest challenge is likely to come from the ever spirited Dutch crew in the Neptunus, or another gig with a Norse connection, the Odin which is rowed by the Par women. Of course you can never discount the women’s Caradon crew or indeed the Falmouth and Mounts Bay crews who traditionally do well. Taking this into account, can Scilly repeat the unique best crew worst crew double of last year. Me thinks so!

With the ever increasing number of gigs taking part, it has to be said that the first race from St. Agnes to St. Marys will pose a problem. Two years ago, we saw the first ever restart of this opening race. Utter chaos. Organising 87 oar powered 30foot long boats into a straight line is a strategic nightmare at the best of times, but, as no-one would wish to see an end to this spectacular start to the racing weekend, the judges surely need to rely on the good sense of the crew, and if necessary, demotion or relegation for cheating gigs. Some crews are always going to feel hard done by, but this will be almost impossible to rectify. I would suggest the answer would be for the starting judges to be fair but not pragmatic to the point of being pedantic.

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“subinfo”Close finishes like this one have been contentious issues in the past, as some crews claimed the finish buoy moved with the tide./span

Another point for equality is at the finishing line. The action replay and the ‘Photo Finish’ were brought in recently, but much controversy was caused by the tendency of the Finish line buoy to move with the tide and wind (especially when also caught by the prop of a RIB). This proves that there is a need for accurate photo finish facilities, and the Scilly News team last year identified and revealed at least one anomaly in the final placing. Going back to the finish buoy question, surely it would be fairer if the finish line was a fixed point between Quay Head and Newford Island, and the buoy be simply used as an approximation.

With the more gigs that come over, the more interest is generated and of course, the more accommodation is needed. This year, the St. Agnes campsite is being used for many of the crews as an overspill from the Garrison site on St. Marys. This has been welcomed by all as beneficial to the economy of Scilly.

Overall this years champs should be truly stunning. It has been predicted that many more visitors will come to watch the events, which can only be a good thing. Scilly’s resources will be tested to the full and so will the dedicated team which organise and maintain the event over the weekend. Bring on May 3rd!

Title photo by George Kershaw.
Other photos by Julian Pearce.

Sport?s Mode have released their 2002 design for the WPGC?s which will run during the May Day bank holiday weekend.

The popular designs on t-shirts and sweatshirts from the sports-wear shop in Hugh Town often attract a lot of rowers. When spending any amount of time in Cornwall or the Islands, you are bound to come across someone wearing one of their designs.

The proceeds go to the up keep of the local gigs and towards the Championships.

On Wednesday 24 April, 100 pupils of the Isles of Scilly Secondary School took part in their annual marathon to raise money for the school.

The defending champion, Nathan Thomas of Year 10, won this year?s mini-marathon completing the original ?8 km course in 43 minutes - the fastest in 15 years. He completed the course faster than all the others, who ran the more recently mapped out course of ?7 km.

Second place went to Billy Jackman of Year 10; third place to Philip Greenlaw of Year 7.

The Island Hotel on Tresco has scooped a top ?Overall Hotel of the Year? award from the English Tourism Council.

The Island Hotel, which is situated on the Northern end of Tresco at Old Grimsby, has long had a reputation for high standards. This Award comes in conjunction with another recent top honour, in the form of the Southwest Hotel of the Year Crown in the Excellence in England awards.

One reason for Tresco’s popularity are the famous Abbey Gardens which boast a variety of local and sub tropical plants. Tresco is also the only Island other than St. Marys to have a helicopter service direct to the Island.

The Bishop of Truro yesterday gave his blessing to the new Federated Schools system as part of a visit to the Islands. This unique endorsement means that the Secondary School on St. Marys is the only Church Secondary School, South West of Plymouth.

The Visit coincided with the official date of Federation for the one secondary School and four primary schools in a unique ‘pooling of resources’ experiment which the new Head Teacher, Paul Mulligan, describes as “a symbolic new start for us”. It is thought that the new Federation will be called ‘The Isles of Scilly Community School’, and may pave the way for similar projects on the mainland.

A conference was held recently between all parties involved in the project, including governors and teachers from all the Islands. The number of governors will be radically cut from a previous un-federated total of 61, to a new number of just 17. This has already been labelled by some parents as an excessive streamlining.

It is thought that the Federation will ultimately benefit students and will give them much needed continuity in their Schooling lives. The practical differences will be more difficult to see, the main one being the one Head teacher moving from Island to Island which could prove a problem in the winter. Measures which will deal with other streamlining issues include making previous off Island Heads, now ‘Assistant Heads’, and cutting back in administration costs.

In a recent WMN article, The Chief Executive Councillor, Phillip Hygate said “It means that off-Island Staff can focus more on teaching rather than bureaucracy”. Interestingly, the same article closes with the statement ‘IExtensive consultations with Parents, Teachers and School governors was carried out before the decision to Federate the Schools was made./I’ – The glaring omission of course, being the Students.

Sunday saw the launch of Tresco?s latest gig, the Emperor. It was built by funds from R Dorien-Smith, owner of Tresco.

The gig was built by local gig builder Pete Martin in his shed at Porthloo. He built his first gig in 1998 for Mount?s Bay called the Storm. 12 months later, he had built is second gig for the same club called the Taran, which is Cornish for storm.

Last year, Mr Martin built the Morlader for Penryn, which came an impressive fifth for the new crew.

This year, the Emperor was launched on Sunday 21 April. All the local gigs and crews went to the launch in support.

It was a double celebration, because the New Inn?s mainland supplying brewery had launched a beer the same day with the name ?Emperor? - another good excuse for festivities.

St Martins? used to have two gigs, called the Emperor and Empress.

The St Marys lifeboat was launched recently to assist a Newlyn based fishing vessel, which was ‘In danger of sinking’ off Scilly.

The lifeboat was dispatched along with a helicopter from RNAS Culdrose and a tug from Falmouth. The Vessel, the Marie Claire, was escorted to Newlyn bay from a position approximately 40 miles North West of the Islands. The vessel sent out a ‘mayday’ distress call to Falmouth Coastguard.

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A record number of runners are ‘limbering up’ for the now annual Tresco Marathon, which takes place every year on the same day as its counterpart, the London Marathon. This is the third year of the event, which raises money for charity. This year, entries include local personalities from BBC Radio Cornwall. The course takes the runners around the Island 8 times.

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RSPB on the Scillonian: after trials last year, RSPB representatives will be travelling on the boat offering information and binoculars to travellers. RSPB-accompanied trips will be on Fridays during the off-peak season this year. If you?re lucky, you may get a glimpse of dolphins, porpoises and whales.

In a timescale alongside the London Marathon, athletes gathered on Tresco to compete in the tropical setting in a now famous race. It was started two years ago by Pete Hingston, local chef, to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis.

The race was won by the Isle of Wight?s Paul Scivier, who ran the course in 3:10:07.

Second place was to go to Littlehampton postman Tim Boone in a time of 3:18:25.

Third place went to the first woman across the finishing line, Jo Groves of Powys, in a time of 3:21:44.

Last year?s race was won by Australian Chris Ledgard, a BBC journalist in a faster time of 2:53:49.

Chris Young, a reporter for the BBC ran the race, telling the BBC: “The course always seems easy when you look at it, because there is only one hill. Last year we nicknamed it Mount Tresco. Unfortunately it seems to get steeper with each lap. By the time you?ve tackled it eight times your legs are starting to complain.”

The CF Trust hopes to receive up to ?50,000 from this year?s race.

Official links:
a href=”/out.asp?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1929000/1929120.stm” target=”_blank”BBC News/a: “Island racers fail to beat clock”

Considering the fact that the World Championships are less than three weeks away, it was disappointing to see no outstanding performance in this, the first domestic race of the Scilly Gig racing season.

The top crews, we are told, have been training, as ever, for some months leading up to this first race of the season. Taking this into account, the fact that the ?unofficial racer? (rowed by one family from St. Martins) came second, seems all the worst for Scillonian chances in May. It is still hotly debateable whether this win was due to the poor performances from challengers or whether it has more to do with the advantages the gig has.

Following a recent gig committee review of the ?Dauntless?, a reassertion was made that she did not resemble a pilot gig in a way that would be suitable for her to compete legitimately in any of the seasons races, including the World Championships. Friday?s display, however, indicated that this judgment would not deter the crew from taking part. Contention creeps into the equation when she affects other boats in the race.

The ?Official? results were pretty much what we have come to expect in terms of positioning, if the performances were somewhat below par. The Eagle won it with space to spare, Bonnet second, Czar third and Shah fourth, just defending their position from the re-formed Tregarthens crew in the Serica. It is interesting to note that the top four finishers, all raced in the old Scillonian Gigs, (Eagle ? 1870, Bonnet ? 1830, Czar ? 1879, and Shah ? 1873).

This race has already been labelled by some as a ?warning shot across the bows? for crews who hope to challenge for the title of ?Men?s World Champions? this time around. One thing is for sure though, the gradual narrowing winning margin of the Mary Newman crew has given new impetus to Falmouth?s Idas crew, and Roseland?s Killigerran, which could mean one of the most hotly contested Championships ever.

In February, Scilly News asked you to send your photographs of the Islands. The competition ended on 1 April, and we have the results back from the judges.

a href=”/features/competition/results.html”Click here/a for the results.