Memorial gig boat blessed with Guinness

The boat was officially blessed on Saturday with "a splash of Guinness"

A new gig boat at Penzance & Newlyn Pilot Gig Club (PNPGC) has been named in memory of the club's founding owner.

PNPGC fundraised for a gig boat to keep Julie Saville's memory alive after she died in 2024.

The boat has been named Myghternes an Morladron - Cornish for Queen of the Pirates - and was officially blessed on Saturday with "a splash of Guinness".

Penzance Town Council said Saville founded the club with "the aim of making gig rowing accessible to the local community regardless of age, gender or ability".

The boat, which was acquired from Ireland, was blessed by the Reverend Rebecca Fugill.

The council said the wooden hull was sprinkled with holy water during the service, with the reverend "praying for her and all who row in her."

"With the gig coming from Ireland, it was also customary that the boat be blessed with a splash of Guinness, which fell upon Penlee Lifeboat coxswain Patch Harvey to pour, to the delight of the onlookers," it added.