THE gig crew at Britannia Royal Naval College are heading to the Isles of Scilly for the bank holiday weekend to take part in this year's World Pilot Gig Championships. This will be the second year the college has entered the event, which takes place from today until Monday. This year the men's team will be joined by a women's team, formed by college staff and members of the Dartmouth Gig Club. The teams will be coxed by club coach Gail Woodgate and Bill Thompson, a civilian lecturer at BRNC. This will be Bill's final outing with the club as he hangs up his oar later this year on his retirement from the college. There are several new faces in the teams for the upcoming season as most of last year's crew have moved on to new appointments. The club remains vibrant, achieving a very creditable second place in the recent men's gig event at the Head of the River Race on the Dart. Lieutenant Commander John Hunnibell is this year's men's team captain, while the ladies team are led by Lieutenant Penny Hall. Lt Cdr Hunnibell said: 'The weather looks great and our gig Bacchante is in fantastic shape. We have some strong rowers who are all looking forward to an exciting competition.' The club's continued existence is only possible through support from its sponsors, the Britannia Association, BRNC's Central Welfare Fund and South Hams Brewery. Bacchante is a standard Cornish gig and measures about 32ft long. It is crewed by six oarsmen and a coxswain, who sits at the stern and guides the gig through the water. This year's will be the 25th World Pilot Gig Championships. The races are run in open water off St Mary's Quay over about 1.6 miles. They are effectively straight line sprints which take in order of 20 minutes or so to complete, depending on the swell.