An eyesore at the West End has been transformed into a centre for a classic Bermudian pursuit that has returned as a sport: pilot gigging.

This Saturday, the Bermuda Pilot Gig Club will hold a regatta for spectators out of its new premises on Boaz Island.

“We want this to become somewhere that the whole community can come and row and learn about our heritage — in particular, our landlords, the Boaz Island Village,” club member Sarah Burrows said.

Until recently, the disused sewage plant with the rusting hulks of its tanks was considered a blight on the shoreline.

Residents blamed the decommissioned plant, shut down in 2014, for breeding mosquitoes.

Ms Burrows, who lives in Somerset, would notice it driving past on Malabar Road.

“I’d think, what a shame; it’s falling apart,” she said. “How do we lose these old buildings? Every time something gets old, we just walk away from it.”

The Boaz Island Condo Corporation struggled to meet the high cost of removing the decaying tanks, until the gig club came along.

Ms Burrows said: “We saw this as a perfect location. We can row either side of Boaz Island — there are slips either side.”

West End Contractors trucked away the “massive” tank at a special cost, while club members and volunteers set to work on the pump house.

The effort began early in 2017, with a hiatus during the America’s Cup.

A dilapidated building by the shoreline “leaked like a sieve” and was full of trash and debris.

The traditional gigs guided ships and rescued people in distress. Teams took the long vessels out by oar and sail.

Gigging was a forgotten way of life until locals began its revival, starting in St George’s in 2014.

Dubbed “westies”, the West End team operated out of Dockyard. Now they have 18 members and a compound at Boaz Island to store their two 32ft vessels.

One commemorates pilot John Simmons, while the second is named after pilot Stephen B. Richardson.

Starting at noon on Saturday, the gigs will take to the waters from Black Bay to King’s Point highlighting their skills in a friendly competition.

“Normally when you have pilot racing offshore, you don’t really see them,” Ms Burrows said.

“With this beautiful location, we want spectators to watch races that had real seamanship.”

The Survivor’s Race will demonstrate how gigs plucked passengers off vessels in distress and ferried them to shore, while speed and salvage capabilities will be put on show.

Applying finishing touches to the Pilot Stephen B. Richardson, boat lover and historian Anson Nash said gigging offered “a great sport, a great way to see what’s going on along our shores”.

He added: “It’s not just racing. The emphasis is on life — you’re in company while you’re rowing.”

Ms Burrows added: “I never go out in the boat and don’t learn something, whether it’s Bermuda maritime history or history in general.

“The exercise is amazing, and it’s just nice people to row with.”

Sightings of wildlife include regular turtle spotting.

There is an international regatta planned for October, and with 200 people coming to Bermuda to show traditional pilot gig racing, the island will host a sport that was once part of its lifeblood.

“We still have a lot of work to do but an amazing amount of people and organisations came on board to help,” Ms Burrows said.

“And it looks so much nicer here when the tourists drive by.”

To volunteer or learn more, e-mail BPGCwest@gmail.com.