The Boat Club at Portora Royal School travelled to Castlewellan in County Down on Saturday, to compete at Queen's Regatta, where they hoped to build on the successes of the previous weekend's racing in Dublin.

The boys J16 8, of Barney Rix, Josh Kennedy, Sam Armstrong, Conor Blackwell-Smyth, Ryan Ballintine, Chris Irvine, Ben Irwin, Conor Keys and cox Michael Woodhouse faced their rivals Bann BC in their first heat. After an easy win over them a few weeks previously, they were perhaps a little over confident going into the race, and came off the water shocked to have found themselves in second place as they crossed the line. When they met them in the final, however, they were to right the result of the heat. They pushed ahead of Bann to over a metre of clear water, though Bann responded well to pull back within three quarters of a length in the last 250 metres. The boys no doubt came away from this race with more than just the medal, having learned that in sport you cannot underestimate your opponents.

The girls J18 8 of Alice Beacom, Phoebe Mulligan, Emma Glover, Dineka Maguire, Chloe Finlayson, Elizabeth Clarke, Sophie O'Dolan, Orla McConville and cox Zoe Donaldson lead their final for the first 750 metres, but failed to make a push as the more experienced Galway RC under 23s and UCD BC upped the rate. However, the girls were a length up on their main rivals Bann BC and maintained that separation for the whole race. They finished ahead of two intermediate crews as well, so this will surely do much to boost their determination in training and in Portadown next weekend.

The girls J18 4-, of Alice Beacom, Phoebe Mulligan, Dineka Maguire and Emma Glover also did well. Despite a poor start to the race, their confidence quickly grew, and from the 500 metre mark, they pulled away from their Methodist College rivals to cruise to victory.

The boys J18 4+, of Ewan Murry, Karl Anderson, Tom Mills, Alistair Crawford and cox Evan McClean had a tough final, finishing a length off Galway RC. But they have definitely showed they can be speedy in the water, and given their excellent work ethic in training, they will be hoping to show that they can be competitive in the coming races.

The girls in the J16 8 B crew, of Miriam Kelly, Lucy Mills, Aine McCreesh, Maebh Ingram, Elisha Timoney, Tara Gallagher, Aoife Maguire, Mia Jayne Elliot and cox Ellyn Reynolds, gave one of the most exciting rows of the day.

This young crew, having made it through the heat, led their final from the start, and were only beaten in the last few metres by the narrowest of lengths by Commercial BC.

The determination they showed through the entire race is something which the coaches will be hoping to harness in the coming weeks, and with some sharpening up of their technique in the water, these girls will be making a mark on the next race.

The Boat Club will have another busy weekend ahead, with four athletes making the trip to Cork to take part in the Irish trials.

The rest of the club will be heading to Portadown for their regatta and will be hoping to build once again on the success of this weekend.