We are Appledore Pilot Gig Club, an independent, community-based sea-rowing club. We row and race traditional pilot gigs from the fishing port of Appledore.

The club was founded in 2003 by four people who had a dream to bring pilot gigs back to Appledore. Fifteen years later we have a steady annual membership of 65 to 70 locals and are proud of our two traditional, hand-crafted wooden gigs, Verbena and Whitford, and two GRP training gigs, Siren and Margaret James.

Members, balanced between male and female, are aged 10 to 80 plus. But now we have grown to the extent that we need a third wooden gig, so that as many people as possible can have a chance to race - and we are building a gig shed, which will provide a place to store our precious wooden boats and equipment, out of the weather, thereby extending the life of the boats and giving us somewhere to carry out routine maintenance. We hope that you will help us on our way. If you would like your name on one of our training gigs or oars, then please contact us via our website as we have sponsorship opportunities available.

All are welcome, be it for social, "messing about on the river", or competitive training and racing. We're proud of our juniors, who train and compete alongside the adults. Every aspect of our club is totally dependent on volunteers, from the more elite race trainers and coxes to the folk who turn up to sand and scrub boats, fundraise, tow boats to events and lend support in many different ways.

As well as promoting health and wellbeing in our community, we're mindful of our local history and annually invite local clubs to participate in The History Race, which first took place in May 1880 at Appledore.

APGC has also established and hosts the annual Supervets Regatta, dedicated to rowers 50 and over. This has become a firm favourite in the sport's calendar, helps to promote competitive racing for an older age group and, of course, like our annual main CPGA regatta, brings people to Appledore from around the region.

http://www.appledoregigclub.com/index.html

Photo by Andy Waters: Some of the juniors with oars up in honour of Tony 'Master Chief' Powe as leaves for Australia, July 2018