About
the club.
Cattewater Gig Club is Plymouth's home for traditional Cornish pilot gig rowing, six-oared wooden boats built for speed, raced by crews who love the water.
Based at the Mount Batten Centre on Plymouth Sound, we welcome everyone from complete beginners to experienced racers. Training runs year-round in all weathers.
History &
Heritage
Cattewater Gig Club was formed in 1996 and has grown into one of Plymouth's most active rowing clubs. What started as a small group with a shared love of the water has become a club of over 150 members, spanning three squads and every level of experience.
We enjoy a special position at the Mount Batten Centre on the shores of Plymouth Sound, with year-round water access and options for sea or river conditions depending on the weather. Few clubs in the country train from a more storied stretch of coastline; this was once home to RAF Mount Batten's flying boats, and the same waters our crews train on today were once the runway for Sunderlands and Catalinas heading out over the Atlantic.
That history isn't just background. Two of our wooden racing gigs, Catalina and Iris, carry the names of aircraft that once flew from this exact spot, and our oldest boat, Drake, is named for the city's most famous seafarer. Every time a crew goes out from Mount Batten, they're rowing through a piece of Plymouth's maritime story as much as adding to the club's own.
What hasn't changed since 1996 is the club's character. Long-standing members continue to share their skills and experience with new rowers every year, and that mix, decades of know-how alongside newcomers finding their feet in a boat for the first time, is still what Cattewater is built on.
- 17th CenturyEarliest recorded rescues
Pilot gigs are recognised as one of the first shore-based lifeboats, with the earliest recorded sea rescues dating back to the late 1600s.
- 1790First Cornish pilot gig built
The Peters family of Polvarth, St Mawes, are credited with building the first true Cornish pilot gig.
- 1838Treffry launched
Built by William Peters of St Mawes, the Treffry is the boat every modern racing gig is still measured against today. She's still owned and raced by Newquay Rowing Club.
- 1921Gig racing begins officially
The sport of Cornish Pilot Gig racing was officially established in Newquay.
- 1986The CPGA is founded
The Cornish Pilot Gig Association is established to protect the specification of the boat and codify class rules.
- 1990World Championships begin
The first World Pilot Gig Championships are held on the Isles of Scilly. Now an annual fixture over the Early May bank holiday, it draws over 2,000 rowers and spectators.
- 1996Cattewater Gig Club founded
The club is established, bringing Cornish Pilot Gig rowing to Plymouth Sound.
- 12 Sep 1998The first Catalina launched
Bought new, the original Catalina served the club for years before being sold on. She's still rowed today by Portreath Gig Club, under the name "Amy Shaw."
- Feb 2004Pilgrim launched
A second wooden gig joins the fleet alongside Catalina, expanding what the club could offer on the water.
- 16th Apr 2010Drake joins the fleet
Our current oldest wooden racing gig, still competing today.
- 12th April 2014Catalina launched
Our second wooden racing gig joins Drake on the start line.
- 2018200th gig registered
The 200th pilot gig is added to the official CPGA register, built by W.C. Hunkin and Sons of Fowey.
- 21st Feb 2026Iris launched
Our newest wooden racing gig, freshly launched and already turning heads on Plymouth Sound.
- July 2026First European Championships
The first European Pilot Gig Championships are held at Mount Edgcumbe, Cornwall, with crews racing in Plymouth Sound.
What is a
Cornish Pilot Gig?
A Cornish Pilot Gig is a six-oared, wooden rowing boat. Traditionally rowed along the coasts of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, gigs were used to carry pilots out to large sailing ships, the first to arrive won the commission, so they were built to be fast.
That racing spirit lives on today. The sport is governed by the Cornish Pilot Gig Association (CPGA), and the World Championships are held annually in the Isles of Scilly.
Cattewater is proud to compete at every level — from local Plymouth regattas to the World Championships on Scilly. Our membership brings together competitive racers and those who simply want to keep fit and enjoy Plymouth Sound.
The club strongly believes in providing opportunities to as many people as possible. If you can pull an oar, you're welcome on the water.
Every boat
has a history.
Iris
Launched: 21 February 2026
Type: Wooden
Iris is named after the Blackburn Iris, a British three-engined biplane flying boat of the 1920s; one of only five ever built. The Iris III variant equipped No. 209 Squadron, which reformed at Mount Batten on 15 January 1930, and at the time was the largest aircraft in RAF service.
In 1930 alone, an Iris flew non-stop from Iceland to Britain, a first for the RAF, and made the first flying-boat crossing of the Bay of Biscay.
Nearly a century later, our newest gig carries that name back onto the water she once flew from.
Racing onPlymouth Sound