27th May 2016. The Great Big Cornish Gig Project was an inspirational venture in which wounded, injured and sick Service veterans not only learned new boat-building skills in building a pilot gig at the National Maritime Museum, Falmouth, but also faced the challenge and adventure of delivering the fruit of their labour, a pilot gig named “Valiant”, from Falmouth to the Isles of Scilly.  At the Isles of Scilly, “Valiant” was handed over to the Help for Heroes Gig Racing Team, who then competed in the World Pilot Gig Championships.

The passage from Falmouth to the Isle of Scilly, took two weeks to complete in stages and was both perilous and hard going in the strong winds of April and not all the stages could be rowed.  Nevertheless Bass Point NCI watched over the progress of “Valiant” from Coverack to Cadgwith on 4th April and then from Cadgwith to Mullion Cove on 5th April while NCI Cape Cornwall and NCI Gwennap Head oversaw the stage from Sennen to Tresco, Isles of Scilly, on 17th April.  Lt Cdr Mike Lynch, managing the Project Safety Team, said “Safety throughout was paramount, and having the watchful eyes of the NCI stations with us all along the way was both a great source of comfort and additional confidence in the overall safety plan.”