WARRINGTON Rowing Club has launched its involvement in a new initiative designed to encourage a growth in recreational rowers.

The Bishop of Warrington, the Right Reverend Richard Blackburn, presided at a naming ceremony for six new boats acquired for the Explore Rowing programme set up by British Rowing and Sport England.

He even took to the River Mersey to spend some time coxing one of the new boats rowed by a women’s crew, all of whom have recently started rowing for fun because their children had become so involved in the sport.

Club chairman Richard Sinnott said: “Warrington Rowing Club has always prided itself on being a community asset every bit as much as a place for elite athletes to flourish.

“With British Rowing’s generous support we now have six beautiful new boats through which people with no previous experience can confidently explore the fun and pleasure of rowing.”

The naming of ‘Captain Cook’, ‘Dr Livingstone’, ‘Ernest Shackelton’, ‘Marco Polo’, ‘Mungo Park’ and ‘Roz Savage’ was a feature of Warrington’s annual Head of the Mersey 3½km time trial, which attracted entrants from all over the North of England on Saturday.

Warrington’s winners were: Senior single scull: Jeremy Fagan.

J16 single scull: Oliver Brierley.

J15 single scull: Luke Ozsanlav-Harris.

WJ16 single scull: Claudia Wright.

WJ14 single scull: Holly McMullen.

Veteran B/C double scull: Jeremy Fagan and Adam Lumley.

J14 double scull: Luke Ozsanlav-Harris and Scott Ozsanlav-Harris.

W intermediate three double scull: Liv Clubley and Jenni Pearson.

W intermediate two double scull: Alison Bailey and Emily Clark.

WJ16 double scull: Fae Atkinson and Frankie Sinnott.

WJ15 double scull: Beth Laidlaw and Claudia Wright.

WJ14 double scull: Mia Singleton and Deanna Wooler.

Veteran B coxed four: Jonathan Budd, Fraser Dodd, John Goode, Adam Lumley and Liz Newton.

W intermediate three quad sculls: Jane Batchelor, Charlotte Barron, Emma Dunbavand and Pippa Valentine.

J14 coxed quad sculls: Paul Lawton, Luke Ozsanlav-Harris, Scott Ozsanlav-Harris, Al Saxby and Megan Dunbavand.

W novice coxed four: Susie Clark, Daisy Dell, Hannah Furnell, Hannah Lester and Sophie McQuillan.

WJ15 coxed quad sculls: Caitlin Anderson, Louise Bailey, Kate Furnell, Lucy Shard and Tom Connolly.

WJ14 coxed quad sculls: Holly McMullen, Mia Singleton, Hannah Whiteley, Deanna Wooler and Tom Glover.