Many of the pilot gigs being raced around the shores of the UK are the work of Ralph Bird. In this very nice BBC RealPlayer video, he talks about the gigs, his life as a gig builder and his plans for a busy retirement. Thanks go to Chris Rogers for letting me know about this one.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/videonation/gig_builder.shtml
For more on the Cornish Pilot Gig Association:
http://www.cpga.co.uk/index.html
The Wikipedia on pilot gigs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_pilot_gig