The World Gig Racing Championships are this weekend

Hundreds of rowers are getting ready to descend on the Isles of Scilly for the 2008 World Gig Racing Championships.

Crews from as far as the United States and the Netherlands, as well as the South West, will be competing.

Caradon are the reigning men's champions while Falmouth have won the women's event for the past four years.

All of the boats have made the championships after the islands' freight ferry had to be taken out of service last month.

Organisers brought in a landing craft to ferry the gigs across from Penzance after the Gry Martitha failed its annual inspection.