Looe Rowing Club have won the men’s World Pilot Gig Championships for the first time.

Looe’s Currah’s Pride boat held off a strong late fightback from second-placed Ann Glanville from Caradon to win their maiden men’s crown, while defending champions Falmouth finished third in Black Rock.

Looe finished second to Falmouth in five of the past six years – including each of the two previous years – but have finally got their hands on the gold.

Caradon’s ladies team successfully defended the title they won 12 months ago, winning the ladies’ final ahead of Falmouth’s Black Rock, while Kensa from Mounts Bay came third.

The morning's racing on the third and final day of the World Pilot Gig Championships had been cancelled due to poor weather.

Heavy sea mist this morning first led to a delay in the start time, but organisers took the decision to cancel all racing until lunchtime. 

It meant a complete cancellation of round three of the heats. 

Instead, rowers jumped straight into the finals, which began at their previously scheduled start times. 

The ladies' final began at 1.30pm and the men's final at 3.30pm.

It meant that teams missed out on the chance to raise their ranking further up the tables, as the top two in each group of 12 move up a group, while the bottom two move down. 

The most important event in the gig rowing world got underway on the Isles of Scilly on Friday.

This year marks the 29th World Pilot Gig Championships, with 158 pilot gigs so far confirmed for a weekend of hard racing.

The first round of the open men's and ladies' races took place yesterday morning, from St Agnes to St Mary's Quay - a distance of around 1.59 nautical miles - seeding the teams into groups of 12. 

Top 12 places in the ladies' racing went to Ann Glanville from Caradon in first, Black Rock from Falmouth in second and Kensa third from Mount's Bay in third, followed by Tregarthen's from St Mary's, Q from Fowey, Helford from the Helford River, Grace from Charlestown, Alfie Jenkins from Tresco & Bryher, Currah's Pride from Looe, Spurr from Truro, Morah from Coverack and Spurr from Fowey.

In the men's long race, first place went to Ann Glanville from Caradon, with Polvarth from the Roseland in second and Spurr from Truro in third, followed by Currah's Pride from Looe, Morah from Coverack, Wolf from Salcombe, Tregarthen's from St Mary's, Black Rock from Falmouth, Messack from Truro, Amazon from Caradon, Helford from Helford River and Governor from Falmouth. 

These sets of 12 were all placed in group A. 

The heats got underway in the ladies' racing, between Nut Rock and St Mary's Quay, at around 3pm with the first two placed gigs in each heat then moving up a group and the bottom two moving down.

Group B winners Templer from Teign and second placed Amazon from Caradon had bagged themselves places in group A for round three, while Troy from Fowey and Spurr from Truro moved down. 

The men's heats got underway at around 5.15pm.

As a result, group B winners Kensa from Mount's Bay and second placed Q from Fowey moved up to group A, while the bottom two placed gigs in the top group,  Helford and Governor from Falmouth, moved down. 

These positions were where the crews started in the finals. 

Crews have come from as far afield as the USA and the Netherlands to take part, while closer to home a huge number of Cornish clubs have taken the short trip across the water to compete.

They include Falmouth, whose men’s A team won for the seventh consecutive year in 2017.

It looks set to be one of the hottest world championships on record, which could prove challenging, although it should be cooler out on the water.

Racing began on Friday evening with the veterans and super vets races.

Winning men's vets team was Caradon Gig Club, with Falmouth Pilot Gig Club taking the men's supervets.

In the ladies' races, Charlestown Rowing Club won the vets and Mount's Bay Pilot Gig Club the supervets. 

For the first time ever, this year the racing will be streamed live via drones on the GigRower.co.uk Facebook page, run by the Cornish Pilot Gig Assocation and sponsored by St Austell Brewery.