The Pilot Gig Slippen has returned to her berth on a St Agnes slipway before making her longest journey yet, a trip to Boston, USA, as part of a Museum display commemorating the wreck Thomas W Lawson.
The Slippen was based on the Western side of St Agnes, and due to this position, she saw some of the most enduring rescues ever carried out in the Islands. In 1907 the Slippen was famously used to search for survivors from the seven masted American oil ship, the Thomas W Lawson. The American Schooner got into trouble in the western Rocks, and despite pleas from locals, the Captain refused to abandon ship. Instead, he took on board a knowledgeable Scillonian Pilot, William Cook Hicks.
During a squall overnight, the lights on the Lawson were seen to go out and nothing could be done until daybreak. At first light, a crew set out in the Slippen to look for survivors. Only three were found; two lived beyond a week. The St Agnes Pilot was never recovered. Pilot gigs were phased out over the next 25 years, being replaced by more reliable motor boats. Very few of the original Pilot boats survive. The Campernel (pictured) was another gig based on St Agnes, in a day when these traditional craft contributed a great deal to the local way of life.
The Slippen has undergone a full refit carried out by Island boat builder Peter Martin at a cost of ?10,000, which is testament to how much work she needed. The refit was paid for with proceeds from World Championships.
The Slippen made one final trip before her voyage to America. She was brought back to the slipway she was launched from, nearly 95 years ago, on that historic day. She will now be shipped to Penzance, on to Southampton and then Boston, the gig is due to arrive back in Scilly in six months time.
The Slippen, recently descibed as “the most beautiful boat in the Islands”, has been painted in the same colours as the St Agnes gig Shah; blue with a white band. The Shah was built in 1873 and is still considered one of the best racing boats around.