There was a feted arrival and an unfortunate departure for Irish rowers yesterday.

The ocean rowing crew Battleborn, skippered by Dubliner Philip Cavanagh, completed the Great Pacific Race from California to Hawaii in the early hours of the morning.

Battleborn crossed the finish line off Hawaii after 45 days, seven hours and 24 minutes at sea. This placed them second in the inaugural race from Monterey to the mid-Pacific island.

In Italy, at the World Under-23 Rowing Championships, two Ireland crews stayed in the hunt for medals by making the semi-finals.

But Denise Walsh’s challenge ended when she stopped sculling and fell into the water after 700 metres of her repechage.

The Skibbereen woman’s coach, Dominic Casey, said Walsh was recovering in the medical centre at the course in Varese yesterday after being plucked quickly from the water after her capsize in the lightweight single sculls race.

“She wasn’t feeling well,” Casey said.

Three Skibbereen competitors will compete in semi-finals today. Gary O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll again showed their sprinting prowess as they sped from fourth to the crucial second qualification place in their repechage. Greece led from early on, but Ireland closed up on them before the line.

Paul O’Donovan held third through all the key staging posts in his quarter-final of the lightweight single sculls. Turkey’s Enes Kusku took off early and won with Hungary second.

O’Donovan conserved energy in not trying to chase Turkey down, but will have a less favourable draw in today’s semi-final.

The Ireland men’s four placed sixth in the semi-final and will compete today in the B Final.