ROWING: It's departures and arrivals weekend for elite Irish rowers. Ciarán Lewis and Gearóid Towey come into the country through Dublin Airport on Sunday, while the group which could claim to be Ireland's best team of 2005 will be going through in the other direction today.

The three crews which did so well at the world championships last year are heading to Silvaplana in Switzerland for two weeks of cross-training. The lightweight four took a silver medal, the lightweight women's double reached their A final and the men's four finished 10th overall in Japan, but coach Harald Jahrling laughs at the idea this trip might offer them some rest: "You don't go abroad for rest. If you want to rest you can stay at home."

The trip provides the fillip of training at altitude; the chance of trying out a new training regime; and the advantage of stimulating new muscle groups. The group will be given leeway on the ergometer tests which are scheduled for later in the month for those in the elite programme.

Towey has long flagged his interest in joining this programme, and once he has rested there will be much anticipation of his return.

Their mid-Atlantic escape from death was a testament to the bravery of Towey and Lewis, but it has raised troubling questions for the organisers and participants in the Atlantic Rowing Race. Almost at the same time as the Irishmen saw their "self-righting" craft capsize, solo oarsman Chris Martin watched his turn its "bottom to the sky". He turned it over by pulling hard on the rudder and theorised the fact he was drinking the ballast water and not replacing it with sea water may have been a factor.

The history of the race so far has suggested these boats are safe, so the organisers will investigate. "We review every situation that happens, we review every race. We ask for feedback from the competitors, we talk to experts who provide us with advice each time around," said Teresa Page of Woodvale Events.

"Every time we do a race we review every aspect of it, to improve it, to improve the safety standards and, obviously, to improve the chances of people getting to the other side." she added.

The support yacht, the Aurora, would have taken ages to reach the Irish boat, so why don't Woodvale use motorised support vessels? "It's not as easy as it sounds," she explained. "Unless you have a 98,000 tonne tanker, which is what this (the ship which picked up Towey and Lewis) was, it actually is incredibly difficult for a motor vessel to carry enough fuel to stay at sea for the amount of time that our vessels stay at sea for. It's virtually impossible. Which is why we use yachts and not motorised vessels."

This year's awful weather conditions may open up an even bigger question: are these winds and high seas a one-off - or is the hurricane season in the Atlantic lasting longer? This would pose really profound questions about the sense of having this race at all.

In the excitement around the rescue of Lewis and Towey, the victory of two brothers and their two cousins in the race was almost lost. The young crew of All Relative surely deserve their moment of glory. And Ireland still has a representative in the race in Paul Gleeson, who is partnering Canadian Tori Holmes in the Christina with the proceeds going to Concern.