A NEW traditional wooden Cornish pilot gig boat was launched by Cotehele Quay Gig Club onto the River Tamar last week.

The gig boat 'Teylu' was generously funded by a grant from the Samworth Brothers Sports Opportunity Fund and is the second gig built for the club by local boat builder Brian Nobbs.

Club members were joined by staff from the National Trust at Cotehele, local councillors and representatives of Samworth Brothers for the boat's official naming, using local cider from nearby Halton Quay. The traditional blessing was performed by the Rev Andrew Wilson, retired former rector at Calstock, and Teylu was then launched on the river as Calstock Singers gave a rousing rendition of the Cornish anthem, Trelawny.

David Egerton, Cotehele Quay Gig Club chairman, said the new boat will enable the club to take 12 crews to the World Pilot Gig Championships this year — four more crews than they were previously able to.

'All our members have been looking forward to launching the new gig and we are very grateful for the generous grant from the Samworth Brothers,' he said.

'Teylu means "family" in Cornish and this really represents the spirit of our club. The new gig will allow us to enter more crews into regattas and other rowing events and will also enable us to offer more rowing opportunities to our charity partners and local people wanting to get out on the river.

'We hope to also take the boat to school fetes and village fairs to teach them about Cornish heritage and get people involved in a good, active, outdoor sport.'

The club now has more than 130 members of all ages and backgrounds, from competitive racers to social rowers, from junior crews to veterans.

Mark Duddridge, the Samworth Brothers Group executive director, said: 'Samworth Brothers has always supported local good causes. However our Sports Opportunity Fund, which we launched in 2013, is a new award scheme to help young people realise their potential through sport. We were impressed by the work the Cotehele Gig Club was doing with local young people and charities. We hope the new gig will help the club expand this valuable work even more.'

The aim of the Sports Opportunity Fund is to help local sporting projects, in particular those that give disadvantaged young people better confidence and life skills. During 2014 the Samworth Brothers Sports Opportunity Fund awarded £136,663 in grants to clubs and other charitable organisations.