On a day which started out cold and overcast, but which ended mild and bright, the athletes from the Boat Club at Portora Royal School made the trip to Belfast to compete at the Lagan Head. The day was split into two races, the shorter 2700 metres race taking place in the morning, and the longer 4200 metres, in the afternoon.

Both races were to see successes for the club. In the first race, the men's J15 eight, of Ben Irwin, Euan Gebler, Conor Blackwell-Smyth, Aaron Johnston, Jonah Carty, Callum Baker, James Foster, Ethan Huey and coxed by Evan McClean, made a strong start and powered down the course. They finished top of their category with a strong time of 11.54.8, beating off closest rivals Bann BC by over a minute.

The MJ18 4X of Karl Anderson, Ewan Murray, Barney Rix and Tom Mills put in a good race as well, though they came second to a racy Neptune RC crew, and with some more time to work on technique on the water, they will no doubt look forward to meeting Neptune again. Gerry Murphy finished up the mornings racing for Portora with a positive note as he took the pole position in his category.

The afternoon was to produce some great results as well, with some very close times. The MJ18 8, of Ewan Murray, Karl Anderson, Barney Rix, Tom Mills, Ben Irwin, Alistair Crawford, Chris Irvine, late addition Euan Gebler and cox Evan McClean, were to give one of the closest results of the day, falling just three seconds short of first place, behind a quick Neptune crew.

The WJ18 8 showed the younger members of the club how it was done, as they took fastest junior women's crew of the day. Stroked by Chloe Finlayson, backed by Emma Glover, Phoebe Mulligan, Elizabeth Clarke, Orla McConville, Sophie O'Dolan, Carrie McShea, Jane Willis and coxed by Chloe McClean, the girls started their race strong and never let the pace drop the whole way down the course.

The second race was to see the comeback of Dave Ewart and Gary Thornton to competitive rowing, as they joined with Coleraine in the MS4-. Spurred on by the hard work of the athletes in the first race, they put in a good race to finish in the top ten of the afternoon.

With a successful day under their belts, Portora will be turning their attention to the next big race on the rowing calendar, which Portora Boat Club will be hosting; the Erne Head, taking place on March 2.

With just two weeks to go, the athletes will be looking to come out fighting on their home water, and the next two weeks of training will be crucial to see them take the top positions.