#rowing – Coleraine brothers Richard and Peter Chambers took silver in a cracking race at the Olympic Rowing Regatta at Dorney Lake today.

The duo are half the Britain lightweight four which were hopeful of taking gold. But in a race led for most of the 2000 metres by Denmark, Britain did well to push the Danes into third in a four-boat blanket finish. Australia were fourth and the surprise winners were South Africa.

Earlier, the chances of a medal for Limerickman Sean O'Neill fell away when the New Zealand four could not make it into their A Final. O'Neill, who has long lived in New Zealand, rowed for Ireland in Beijing in 2008.

#rowing – Carrick Rowing Club announce that this year's August bank holiday regatta will be as big as ever with over 170 different crews racing on Sunday 5th August.

Crews from 18 different clubs from around the country will compete in 30 different categories from Junior 14s right through to Veteran Masters who have been coming to the banks of the Shannon for as long as they can remember of an August Bank Holiday.

Carrick Regatta is raced over a not too arduous 450m and is a real sprint regatta. Crews always enjoy this distance on the Shannon as they wind down from Julys National Championships raced over 2000m in Inishcara in County Cork. Indeed there will be lots of crews out to take scalps from newly crowned national champions! However every result and place on the on the day will count as clubs also compete for the much sought after Carrick on Shannon Perpetual Trophy. Coupled with this Carrick Regatta again hosts the finals of the Waterways Junior "Row for It" Leagues and with only a few points between the leaders in many of the categories there will be some very exciting finals come Sunday afternoon. The Waterways League offers Junior Rowers a chance to build experience over the course of the season and with points for 1st 2nd and 3rd it might just be that the most consistent rowers over the season come out with the overall honours

This year's draw features some fine head to head battles with some of the biggest and best clubs going at it on the day. In the Mens Senior 4s and Senior 8s we have UCD, Athlone, NUIG and City of Derry looking for a share of the spoils while in the Mens Senior Single Carrick's Paul Little will be looking reign supreme. Paul has had a fantastic season now competing in the national senior ranks after some very successful years as a junior under the guidance of Kieran Hynes, Carrick RC. In the Senior Ladies Sections NUIG again feature with some tough opposition from some Belfast crews

In the Mens Veteran Masters sections there are no less than 6 mens 8s, 7 mens 4's, 8 mens doubles and 10 mens Single scullers competing. This is very pleasing for all the organisers in Carrick that our regatta is held in such high esteem by these men the backbone of Irish rowing clubs over the years. It is also a reflection on the hard work done and friendships built on by Carrick stalwarts such as Tony Keane, Breffni Hyland and Gabriel Cox over the years travelling the length and breadth of the country. For the Ladies Masters section there are a number of entries in doubles and singles with our friends from Lagan Scullers slipping a number of crews.

In the Junior Competitions Carrick will be having a very busy day with entries in most competitions in Junior 14, 15, 16 and 18s. The committee and everyone at the club take great delight in this. Many of these younger juniors only took to the water this time last year and we now see fine young Oarsmen and Oarswomen capable of competing with the best around the country. This is due to the dedicated core of coaches working hard at the club with many of them juggling many different roles on the committee as well also. To list all our competing Juniors at this stage would probably take til next week's edition but suffice to say if you are passing the bridge at any stage on Sunday there will plenty of Carrick Blue coming up and down the river especially in the afternoon when we get to the finals stage of the regatta.

We are delighted to say again that we look forward to welcoming all our friends from around the country near and far. This year we welcome Athlone BC, Bann RC, Belfast BC, Belfast RC, Carlow RC, City of Derry BC, Fermoy RC, Lady Victoria BC, Lagan Scullers Club, Lee RC, NUI Galway BC, Offaly RC, Portadown BC, Queens University Belfast BC, Sligo RC, St. Josephs College Galway RC and U.C.D. BC. We hope they all enjoy their time in Carrick and have no doubt they will be given a good Leitrim welcome. Carrick Rowing Club would like extend an invitation to one and all around Carrick on Regatta day to come down and have a look from the Quays,

Give a bit of a shout for Carrick if it takes your fancy, come in to our club and have a cuppa with us- you never know who you might meet, have a look around the new club building but mostly soak up the fun, craic and occasion that is Carrick Regatta one of the oldest sporting events in the country.

#OLYMPICS ON TV - The Irish Olympic team's campaign finally kicks off at London 2012 this weekend with action across sailing, rowing and canoe slalom events - and Afloat.ie will keep you up to date on where you can catch the action live on TV over the next seven days.

In sailing, the first week's competition begins at noon on Sunday 29 July, when Peter O'Leary and David Burrows start their Star campaign. BBC Three is the best place to find live sailing coverage throughout the afternoon and most other days.

On Monday 30 July, Annalise Murphy begins her challenge for an Olympic medal with live Laser Radial action during the afternoon on RTÉ Two, while BBC Three continues its comprehensive coverage - no doubt featuring James Espey in the Laser.

More action in the Men's Laser and Star plus the Women's Laser Radial can be found on BBC Three on Tuesday 31 July, while Wednesday 1 August sees the first competition from Matt McGovern and Ryan Seaton in the 49er (plus sailing in all over classes bar the Star).

The 470 pair of Scott Flanigan and Ger Owens will get afloat on Thursday 2 August, with coverage of their class as well as the Men's 49er and Star throughout the afternoon on BBC Three.

In other Olympic highlights, Eoin Rheinisch begins his challenge in the Men's K1 canoe slalom heats on RTE Two from 1.30pm on Sunday 29 July, while Hannah Craig will be in the spotlight in the Women's K1 heats from 2pm on Monday 30 July.

Men's K1 semi-final action on Wednedsday 1 August will be broadcast live on BBC Three, Eurosport and Sky 3D, with the K1 final - which could decide Ireland's first aquatic medal - set for 3.15pm on BBC Three.

Thursday 2 August brings the Women's K1 semi-finals on RTE Two from 2pm, with the finals scheduled from 3.55pm on BBC Three.

Meanwhile in rowing, Ireland's sole competitor Sanita Puspure starts her Women's Single Sculls campaign on Saturday morning.

RTE Two and BBC One will have coverage of the repechage from 11am on Sunday 29 July, with quarter-finals on the morning of Tuesday 31 July (RTE Two) and the classifications and semi-finals on BBC One from 11am on Thursday 2 August.

#skiffracing – St. Michael's rowing club in Dun Laoghaire will host its leg of the East Coast Rowing calendar on Sunday 24th June. The regatta will take place from the town's West Pier to the North of Seapoint Tower, with teams competing from all over the East Coast. The first race begins at 2pm with the finale at around 6pm.

This year's event, co sponsored by Dun Laoghaire County Council, will see hundreds of men women and children compete over a gruelling circuit in a bid to be crowned 2012 champions in their respective field. Viewing might be best from the beach at Salthill DART station and will be an opportunity to enjoy this traditional form of rowing.

The Dun Laoghaire regatta will see the reintroduction of the East Coast Tug-O-War competition.

# ROWING: Sanita Puspure, the Afloat Rower of the Month for May, talks about the thrilling race which landed her a place at the  Olympics and how her ambitions now are to finish as high up the rankings as she can in London.

 LISTEN TO IT HERE

#ROWING – After an intense weekend of international competition for Irish rowers Sanita Puspure finished fifth in the A Final of the single scull at the World Cup Regatta in Belgrade. Puspure tasted this level of competition in the single scull for the first time. Claire Lambe finished fifth in the A Final of the lightweight single sculls at the World Cup.

John Keohane Won the Men's Single Scull at Ghent Rowing Regatta but he was only one of a collection of Irish winners.

Chris Black and Joel Cassells did themselves no harm in the hunt for selection on the Ireland team for the World Junior Championships when they won their final at Munich Junior Regatta.

All the latest Irish rowing news here

#ROWING: The Ireland lightweight men’s double of Mark O’Donovan and Niall Kenny are the Afloat Rowers of the Month for April. They took bronze on both days at the Memorial Paolo D’Aloja International Regatta in Piediluco in Italy. The crew, who hope to go on the Olympic Qualifier on May 20th-23rd, are set to compete this weekend at the first World Cup regatta in Belgrade.

#ROWING – St. Michael's Rowing Club has run into a problem with its Celtic Challenge this weekend after a support boat required to participate in its race across the Irish Sea has been damaged in this week's strong winds, leaving the Dun Laoghaire crew out of the race unless a replacement vessel can be found.

The club is looking for the use of a motor yacht – 33ft or bigger – with or without skipper/crew to help a team of men and women row across the Irish Sea on the Bank Holiday weekend of 4th-6th May.

The support yacht is used to house 2 crews of 4 at a time, with our RIB ferrying crews hourly between the yacht and the rowing boat. All fuel, transport and accommodation will be paid for by the club.

"I know it's short notice but we would cover costs and do not necessarily need a skipper to get us there as we have somebody ready to take that forward' says the club's Gareth Whittington. 'Adventure, great fun, and helping a good cause is guaranteed' he adds.

Contact [email protected] or 087-9173959 if you're interested or know someone who might be.

#COASTAL ROWING – Over the coming May bank holiday weekend (4th-6th May), 12 men and women of St Michael's Rowing Club, Dun Laoghaire, will take part in a biennial rowing race across the Irish Sea known as 'the Celtic Challenge'. The race sets off from Arklow, Co. Wicklow with the finishing line in Aberystwyth, Wales. At 150km, this relay race is billed as the longest 'true' rowing race in the world and draws together 27 teams from Wales, Ireland and beyond. The team is taking on this challenge to raise funds for a clubhouse in Dun Laoghaire, for the first time in the club's 90 year history.

Not many races start and finish in different countries, a source of pride to the Welsh and Irish oarsmen and women involved. So too is the sport of coastal rowing itself, which differs from the Olympic or 'Oxford-v-Cambridge' code of rowing in a number of key ways. Seats are fixed, not sliding, and boats are of a more substantial construction to tackle the swell on the open seas, which can reach several metres.

A St. Michael's boat and crew in training for the Celtic Challenge Cox: Tania Hashmi, Nicola Fitzgerald, Sam Nagle, Kathryn O'Leary, Julia Boyle

St. Michael's take things a step further by using quarter-ton wooden clinker-built east coast skiffs rather than the modern fibreglass models, used by all other competitors in 2010. Their solid wood oars are three times heavier than carbon fibre equivalents, requiring strength and a particular technique. In common with other clubs of Dublin and Wicklow, these boats originate from the 'Hobblers' of old; crews of local men who would engage in unlicensed pilotage of merchant shipping.

Their neighbour in Dun Laoghaire, the now seasonal HSS Stena Explorer consumes 20,000 litres of fuel per hour in crossing the Irish Sea. The St. Michael's squad will be powered by pasta, fig rolls, and energy drinks. But far from taking any moral high ground, the rowers will be glad of the ferry for the return journey home.

Each competing team in the Celtic Challenge consists of three rotating crews of four rowers and is accompanied by a support boat for navigation and for accommodating the resting crews. Changeover strategy is down to each team, but most opt for a one-hour-on, two-hours-off format. Depending on weather conditions, the race may start in Arklow on the afternoon of the Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Crews row through the night, arriving in Aberystwyth the following morning or afternoon.

The squad are actively seeking sponsorship for the challenge, in a drive to raise funds for a new clubhouse in Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Currently, the club lacks space to store their three wooden boats, space for indoor training and is without changing facilities for the men, women and children who row for the club. It is hoped that the money raised can be put towards achieving this long-standing goal.

The event is unique, very challenging and will test the 12 men and women taking part, both mentally and physically. Their oarsmen and oarswomen will have to contend with waves, currents, blisters, seasickness, lack of sleep and the particular challenges of rowing in the dark. The crossing is expected to take over 20 hours, with the St. Michael's Squad currently training hard on land and sea in preparation.

Some of the 2012 squad have made the crossing before, with others new to the event. One such first-timer is Wales born Gareth Whittington, now living in Dun Laoghaire who is relishing the prospect of a free ticket home, "I've been told since I moved here that Welshmen are just Irishmen who couldn't row west to the Promised Land, so I've something to prove to my Irish teammates!"

#GREYSTONES –After so many flase dawns and its completion marred with controversy Gresytones new harbour in County Wickow welcomed in new residents this week when the developers of the harbour, Sispar, handed over the keys to their new compound to Greystones Rowing Club on Wednesday.

The club has 200 members including 140 juniors, and is a Sea Rowing Club with 3 x 25ft Skiffs and 65 sea kayaks for members.

Founded in the 1920's it has never had premises to keep the boats safely and has been trying to get a place in the harbour since 1992.

'We are delighted with the compound, the launching facilities and the harbour which has been built by Sispar. This will increase the numbers of young people we are able to train' said Alan Monahan, Chairman of the club.

The club is having its annual Regatta on August Bank Holiday Saturday and hope for a lively event with lots of participants and spectators.

Last night Councillor Derek Mitchell welocmed the  news 'I am delighted to see the new facilities for the Rowing Club which they have been trying to get for 20 years. When four other clubs move in there will be great action in the harbour for adults and juniors. In Ireland we have ignored the sea even though we are an island nation. This will change that in Greystones at least'

New members of the rowing club are welcome; call 087-6762743