This is the 21st year of Roseland Gig Club. It is an amazing achievement for any club to remain thriving and successful after this length of time but as we look back and celebrate the coming of age of this very special club we are able to look forward to a growing, developing and very exciting future for Roseland Gig Club too. It was thanks to a band of keen local rowers that the gig club was established in 1986. They served their apprenticeship by travelling to Truro and rowing with members there in the gig, Energy which was on loan to Truro from Falmouth Gig Club. In due course the need to be based on the Roseland became apparent as more and more interest in the sport grew.
Once the club had been formed, fund raising for a new gig was the priority. Some of the wood was donated directly to local boat builder, Ralph Bird, and so the gig began to take shape. The William Peters was launched with great pride on 16 May 1987 by Frankie Peters and will be, therefore, celebrating her 20th anniversary this year. She has had an incredible 20 years, having been involved in some of our club's most remarkable moments. For years she was our main gig for the Scillies World Championships and the ensuing circuit throughout the summer months. She was also the chosen gig for our long endurance rows to France, Ireland, around Cornwall and then latterly with a ladies crew to the Isles of Scilly.
It soon became obvious that as the club was growing in membership, another gig would have to join the William Peters. Fund raising talents of the club meant that before long they were arranging a celebration launch for their second gig named, Rhos. Steve Redgrave came to launch her and was suitably impressed with the rowing talents of our club members though sadly he declined an offer to have a go himself! The launch date was 28 January 1989 and the Rhos was put straight to the test as training for forthcoming summer circuit was then underway.
It was another 11 years before the club decided they needed another gig. The beloved William was now quite old and although regularly maintained she had become extremely heavy. The Rhos too was finding it hard to compete with new gigs that were now on the circuit so a new racing gig was definitely what the club needed in order to stay at the top and be still challenging the top clubs for the trophies. The Killigerran was launched by Brenda Pye in true Roseland style on 11 March 2000 and has proved to be a winning gig for us ever since.