There were celebrations for Dover Rowing Club at Herne Bay Regatta as the Woman’s Junior Four secured the Coast Amateur Rowing Association Championship for their division with their sixth win of the season. Dover entered two crews; the A crew of Ella Cook, Nikki Leggatt, Holly Hannington, Emily Harvey with Vanessa Ware as cox; the B crew of Alex Henchy, Lucy Castree, Zara White, Rhiannon Castree coxed by Lee Stampton. The race saw Dover A facing off against Herne Bay’s lead crew who were on the better inside lane. Herne Bay had the better start edging out to a slight lead as both crews pulled ahead of the pack. Into the turns it remained close with Ware moving her boat more inshore. As the push for home developed Dover A moved through and away from Herne Bay to open a length and a half lead through the finish line and spark celebrations amongst the crew and supporters. Stampton’s crew would finish eighth.

Open Senior Fours saw Dover enter two crews, Will Coleman, David Powell, Tommie Were, Tom Stothart coxed by Ware, and Oliver White, Jack Castree, Henry Cox, Sonny Varnes-Stone coxed by Stampton. Herne Bay’s crew had a flying start pulling out to over a length lead with Ware’s crew in hot pursuit. Heading into the turn Herne Bay had maintained their lead and entered first but a sharp turn by Ware largely neutralised their advantage. The run home was neck and neck until, with 300m to go, Ware’s crew broke free and started to move away to take the win with over a two length lead. Stampton’s crew secured a points finish in fifth. This win combined other Senior Category results secured the events Senior Aggregate prize for Dover. They also received a trophy for first Kent Senior crew.
In the Open Novice Four O White, Powell, H Cox, Jon Castree coxed by Stampton got a good start with Herne Bay and Deal competing initially. Heading into the second half of the outward run it became a two horse race with Herne Bay. Through the turns there was no clear leader and it wasn’t until 500m to go that Dover pushed ahead, only for Herne Bay to push back as they neared the finishing line. Dover’s crew held their nerve and took the win by half a length. O White and H Cox progress to Junior level with this win.
Open Senior Sculls saw Coleman and Stothart competing. They both started well and soon found themselves in pursuit of Shoreham’s sculler. Coleman had the better turn and moved ahead of Stothart and into second. Unable to catch Shoreham, Coleman took second place and Stothart finished third.
Woman’s Senior Four had Rachel Bailey, Charlotte Cox, Ashleigh Stevenson, Lily Stafford-Edwards coxed by Ware start well and quickly enter a three way fight with Shoreham and Herne Bay crews. Tight through the turn, Shoreham started to ease ahead leaving Dover to fight Herne Bay for second. Despite a hard fight Dover fell to third at the line by half a length.
Coleman and Stothart entered the Open Senior Pair and started well but couldn’t hold onto the leading two crews. Through the turn they consolidated their third place and pushed on in pursuit of the two leading boats. They were unable to improve on third at the finish.
Woman’s J16 Quad saw two crews competing Holly Young, Hollie Castree, R Castree, Poppy Worthington-Taylor coxed by E Cook and Holly Dunham, Elizabeth Strong, Ella McQueen (Shoreham), Jess Clements coxed by Stampton. The sprint race quickly developed into a battle for third and fourth with Cook’s crew pulling ahead of Stampton before the line.
In the Mixed J14 Quad Dunham, O White, Worthington-Taylor, Riley Danko coxed by E Cook competed well fighting hard for third place at the line.
Leggatt and Z White raced in the Woman’s Novice Sculls. Leggatt had the better start and was in the leading three as the scullers headed towards the turns, Z White was sculling well in sixth. The run home saw Leggatt drop back to third at the finish with Z White coming home in sixth.
Nick Bailey would get a brace of third places rowing in a Folkestone composite in the Masters 40+ and the Masters 50+.
Woman’s Novice Four saw two crews competing; Young, Charlotte Barnes, Strong, Worthington-Taylor coxed by Ware faced off with H Castree, Michelle Meakin, Hayley Crocker, Alex Tilley coxed by Stampton. It was the Ware crew who had the better race moving through to third place through the turns and consolidating their position on the run home with Stampton’s crew seventh.
Stevenson and C Cox competed in the Woman’s Senior Pair finishing fourth in a hard fought race. Woman’s Junior Pairs saw three crews competing; E Cook, Harvey finished fourth, Leggatt, Hannington finished sixth and Z White, R Castree came home in eighth place.
Open Junior Pairs saw Varnes-Stone, Jack Castree finish fourth and Ollie and Harley Scrivener finish tenth. These two crews would unite in the Open Junior Four coxed by Ware finishing fourth.
Open J16 Quad saw a mixed crew of Young, H Cox, O White, R Castree coxed by E Cook compete, finishing fifth.
Open Double Sculls saw Stothart, Danko finish sixth and Jon Cook, Toby Cook finish ninth. In the Woman’s Double Sculls Harvey, Worthington-Taylor finished ninth and Young, E Cook come home tenth.
Open Novice Sculls: Were finished fifth, Varnes-Stone eighth and Jack Castree ninth in their respective heats.

Dover Rowing Club were in action at both Worthing and Shoreham Regattas where Dover secured 3 wins and a raft of second places. The Woman’s Junior Four saw two crews at Worthing, Ella Cook, Nikki Leggatt, Holly Hannington, Emily Harvey coxed by Vanessa Ware competed against Elizabeth Strong, Evie Holland, Evie Jones, Rhiannon Castree coxed by Lee Stampton. Ware’s crew started strongly and steadily pulled away from the field. Through the turn their lead started to stretch and they were able to stay clear to the line. Stampton’s crew would finish ninth. At Shoreham only Ware’s crew competed in what would be a straight line race after issues with the buoys at the turns. Ware’s crew dominated the race pulling clear in the first ten strokes and building the lead steadily through the course to a establish a significant lead of over four lengths and take their fifth win of the season.

Cook and Harvey entered the Woman’s Junior Pair at Worthing which saw them battle hard in a restarted race. Fighting with the leaders at the turns they were pushing hard but the inside crew had the advantage and they finished fourth. At Shoreham, Cook and Harvey were joined by Hannington and Leggatt. They started strongly and established a lead with Shoreham in close order. Hannington and Leggatt were initially in fifth but moved to fourth by the half way point. With Cook and Harvey moving clear to take a comfortable win their team mates were moving quickly to third, and chasing hard for second, but the line came too soon on the shortened course.
The Open Senior Four of Jasper Mallet, Will Coleman, Tommie Were, Tom Stothart coxed by Ware were fighting Shoreham and Bexhill off the line. Through the turns Dover were second with pressure from Bexhill as they both chased Shoreham. In the last quarter of the course Dover moved away from Bexhill to secure second. At Shoreham the same crew were quickly into second with Shoreham moving clear of the field. Pushing hard down the course Dover couldn’t close down Shoreham and they secured second at the line.
In the Woman’s J16 Quad Sculls a Worthing sculler, Holly Young, Elizabeth Strong, Poppy Worthington-Taylor coxed by Cook had a good race keeping with Shoreham and Herne Bay crews, and coming home fourth. At Shoreham Strong was replaced by Evie Cane from Herne Bay and Castree came into the crew. All crews were lined up outside the buoys leaving them almost in the yacht lane. A fantastic start saw Cook’s crew storm to a good lead on what was an unusually long course for the quad’s race. At the three quarter point, which would normally be the finish, Dover were still leading but were passed short of the line by Shoreham. This was a excellent performance in unusual circumstances.
Leggatt competed in the Woman’s Novice Sculls at Worthing and Shoreham. The Worthing race saw Leggatt battle with the top four scullers through the turns coming out fourth, the position she held to the finish. At Shoreham Leggatt got a stronger start and was in second by the turns chasing Shoreham. On the run home Leggatt came under pressure form Worthing and they found themselves going stroke for stroke with Leggatt holding off her opponent to take second.
Open Senior Pairs saw Stothart and Were racing Mallet and Coleman. In Worthing Mallet and Coleman got the upper hand and were second through the turn with Stothart and Were in fourth. On the run home Bexhill, as the inside crew, managed to move into second leaving Mallet and Coleman third and Stothart and Were fourth. At Shoreham Coleman and Mallet pulled away into second and were able to stay clear in that position all the way to the line. Stothart and Were came home fifth.
Woman’s Senior Pair saw two crews at Worthing; Castree and Charlotte Cox, and Ware and Rachel Bailey. They raced well competing for a points finish and coming home fifth and sixth respectively. At Shoreham Cox and Bailey combined as Dover’s sole entry. A better start saw the crew fighting for the top spot before dropping into a hard fought battle for second and finishing third on the day.
Coleman entered the Open Junior Sculls at Worthing where he fought his way to fourth. At Shoreham Cameron Mackintosh also entered. Coleman was pushing for second on the run in closing hard on Shoreham’s second sculler but was unable to improve from third, with Mackintosh in eighth.
The Woman’s Senior Four saw Castree move up two levels joining Cox, Bailey and Ware coxed by Mallett. A good start saw Dover turning in second with Worthing pushing hard in third. Through the last 300m Worthing, taking the inshore run, came through for second with Dover third. The same crew with Coleman as cox would finish fourth at Shoreham.
In the Open Junior Sculls Stothart and Mallet competed. The results from both regattas bore the same result; Stothart in third and Mallett in fourth.
Woman’s Novice Four at Worthing, Young, Strong, Evie Holland, Worthington-Taylor coxed by Ware finished second in the heat and fourth in the final. Lucy Castree, a short notice replacement for Shoreham, reached the final and finished fifth, whilst Evie Jones raced to seventh in a composite. At Shoreham Young, Evie Holland, Worthington-Taylor joined by a Southsea rower and coxed by Stampton qualified in fourth place. In the final, the young crew battled through to fifth.
At Worthing the Open Junior Four of Henry Cox, Mackintosh, Jack Castree, Sonny Varnes-Stone coxed by Stampton finished fourth. Mackintosh and Varnes-Stone raced J Castree and H Cox in the Open Junior Pairs finishing fifth and eighth respectively. Varnes-Stones and J Castree failed to progress from the Open Novice Sculls heats finishing eighth and seventh respectively.
Woman’s Double Sculls of Young and Cook finished eleventh and Holland and Jones finished twelfth at Worthing. In the worst conditions of the day at Shoreham Young and Cook fought to fifth just missing fourth and Castree, Worthington-Taylor finished eighth.
At Shoreham regatta Dover rowing club took second in each of the Junior, Senior and Overall Aggregate competitions.

Jon Cook, a senior oarsman with Dover Rowing Club, is taking on an extraordinary personal challenge to raise funds for the organisations that have supported him through treatment for a rare spinal tumour and his journey of adapting to life as an incomplete paraplegic.

This August, Jon will attempt the Para Arch to Arc Challenge, travelling from Marble Arch in London to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris using a hand bike and a rowing boat. Covering an incredible 290 miles, the challenge is believed to be the first of its kind for a disabled athlete. Through this fundraising effort, Jon is supporting Aspire, the Spinal Injuries Association, WheelPower and Dover Rowing Club.

Jon’s Story
An active sportsman and association football referee, Jon’s life changed dramatically in late 2016 when he realised something was wrong. At the age of 36, he was diagnosed with rare spinal cord tumours. Married with two young children, the diagnosis brought enormous uncertainty about the future.

Jon underwent complex spinal surgery at Southampton Hospital. Although surgeons successfully removed most of the tumours, permanent nerve damage left him as an incomplete T6 paraplegic. He spent several months in hospital, including three months at the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

His impairment made walking and maintaining balance extremely challenging, and he initially relied on a wheelchair. During rehabilitation, Jon discovered rowing on an indoor rowing machine, finding that balance was less of a barrier. It was there that he trained alongside a future Paralympic rower.

Jon later joined Dover Rowing Club to continue his rehabilitation, never imagining that he would eventually take to the water in a coastal rowing boat. As his strength and confidence improved, the wheelchair gradually gave way to a walking stick. Over time, he progressed from needing two clubmates to support him into a boat to being able to independently get into the boat while his crewmates steadied it.

His determination saw him rise through the ranks from novice to senior rower, including completing a successful row the length of Loch Ness and competing at the South Coast Rowing Championships.
The Challenge
Jon has taken on this epic challenge not only to give something back to the organisations that have supported him, but also to test himself by learning an entirely new skill: hand cycling.

For the rowing element, Jon will be joined in a club four by his daughter Ella, one of Dover Rowing Club’s rising stars. Jon is an inspirational figure within the club, and members will be providing support throughout the challenge.

The planned route includes:
Day 1: Hand bike from Marble Arch to Dover – 87 miles.
Day 2: Row 21 miles to the centre of the English Channel and back, in line with regulatory requirements banning full crossings to France.
Day 3: Hand bike 182 miles from the French coast to Paris, finishing at the Arc de Triomphe.
Support the Challenge
Anyone wishing to support Jon’s fundraising effort can donate via the link available on Dover Rowing Club’s Facebook page or website otherwise visit
Para Arch to Arc challenge in aid of Aspire, Spinal Injury Association, WheelPower and Dover Rowing Club – GiveWheel

https://www.givewheel.com/fundraising/6985/para-arch-to-arc-challenge-in-aid-of-aspire-spinal/

Dover Rowing Club sent a reduced squad to Southsea Regatta, the traditional coming together of Coast Amateur Rowing Association (CARA) and Hants and Dorset Amateur Rowing Association. Dover’s leading crew, the Woman’s Junior Four of Ella Cook, Nikki Leggatt, Holly Hannington, Emily Harvey coxed by Vanessa Ware, were entered in Heat 1 of the event. A good start saw Ware’s crew in the leading four boats. Comfortably through the turns, they consolidated a third qualifying place and progressed to the final behind Itchen Imperial and BTC. The final again saw Dover get a good start as they battled for the lead. After the first quarter of the course Ware’s crew were in fourth place chasing three Hants and Dorset crews. A sharp turn at the buoys set the crew up for the chase to the finish. Putting down their power, fourth became third, then third became second as they rowed through Poole and BTC crews. They hunted down the Itchen Imperial’s crew but were unable to pass them by the finish. Being the leading CARA crew means that they now have three wins in four regattas in the CARA Championship.
The Open Senior Pair of Will Coleman and Jasper Mallet started well and were in the fight for the leading places with Shoreham, Poole and Newport. By the turns Shoreham broke free leaving Dover in a three way battle for second. Poole were slightly ahead of Dover on the run back as they both gained separation from Newport. With 50m to go Dover completed the row through of Poole to secure second place behind CARA rivals Shoreham.

The Open Senior Four saw Mallet, David Powell, Coleman, Thomas Stothart coxed by Ware competing. The start saw Dover slightly hindered by another crew as they targeted the Pompy Grand Trophy. As the field started to spread out Dover’s crew were in the mix and moved to second through the turns. On the home run Shoreham moved clear in first and Itchen and BTC, in the more favoured lanes, rowed through Dover. By the finish Dover were unable to improve their overall position finishing fourth in the race and second amongst CARA crews.
The Woman’s Junior Pair of Cook and Harvey started cautiously and were a little off the pace. Through the turn they started on the return leg in fifth. Pushing hard they were unable to improve their position finishing in sixth; fourth amongst CARA crews.
The Open Senior Sculls saw Stothart hoping to repeat last weeks heroics where he won at Dover. A competitive start saw him in the mix of the top four places. At the turn, after being caught up in congestion, the Shoreham sculler had pulled clear. Having lost time, Stothart dropped to fifth behind Shoreham, Itchen and two Poole scullers, the position he held at the line. Stothart was second amongst CARA scullers.
Nikki Leggatt was seeking her second Novice win. In the heats she had a good run securing third place by several lengths. In the final there was a tough battle off the start with some of the scullers coming close to colliding. Leggatt avoided the problems and was away with a steady start, building speed as she headed into the second quarter of the race. Out of the turn she was slightly off the leading scullers pace and, despite pushing hard, could only manage fifth place overall at the finish; second amongst CARA scullers.
The Woman’s Double crew of Holly Young and Cook were going to need some luck in their race which featured strong Hants and Dorset and Shoreham crews. A fair start saw them in the points battle, mixing with the fifth and sixth place crews. Out of the turns Young and Cook had dropped to eighth, a position they held to the finish. This was an encouraging performance for the young crew.
Woman’s Novice Fours was Young, Evie Holland, Elizabeth Strong, Poppy Worthington-Taylor coxed Lee Stampton. They performed well in their heat where they started well and were fighting for a qualifying spot. Through the turn they were fighting for fourth place but were unable to hold on for a place the final.
Dover Rowing Club would like to thank Keir Tunca from Challenger Tyres for helping to get them back on the road.

Dover Rowing Club hosted their home regatta at the weekend where they secured four wins and some close second places. The first win of the day came from Tom Stothart in the Open Senior Sculls competing against his teammate Jasper Mallet. Both scullers started well with Stothart moving into second place behind a Deal competitor. Deal led through the turn with Stothart in close pursuit and Mallet not far behind in fourth. On the run home Stothart accelerated closing on Deal and, with less than 200m to go, he rowed through Deal’s sculler establishing a length lead and taking the win. Mallet finished fourth.

In the Woman’s Junior Four Dover had two crews Ella Cook, Nikki Leggatt, Holly Hannington, Emily Harvey coxed by Vanessa Ware were competing against Janice Bradford, Alex Henchy, Zara White, Rhiannon Castree with Lee Stampton as cox. Ware’s crew had the better start and were soon leading the race and pushing away from the rest of the crews. Leading through the turn, and pursued by Eastbourne, Ware’s crew continued to pull away securing the win by a margin deemed easy by the umpires. Stampton’s crew would come home seventh.
In the new CARA league Junior Senior Woman’s event, Dover entered their first ever boat, featuring Camelia Hunga, Lily Stafford-Edwards, Leyla Abbasova, Ware coxed by Mallet. A steady start from the new combination would grow into a pursuit of the leading Herne Bay crew. Into the turns it was Herne Bay, Dover and Herne Bay B but things would change on the return leg as everything clicked in the Dover boat. Rowing through Herne Bay, they powered away finishing 13secs ahead at the line.
In the Mixed Pairs Dover entered three crews E Cook / Will Coleman; Hannington / Stampton; Harvey / Mallet. There were mixed fortunes off the start with Harvey / Mallet suffering a broken footplate, whilst the Cook / Coleman paring were fighting for the lead. A strong Folkestone pair led into the turn followed by Cook / Coleman with Hannington / Stampton a little behind. Pushing hard on the return leg Cook / Coleman clawed back the gap to go stroke for stroke with Folkestone with the Dover crew edging it by a canvas for the win. Hannington / Stampton were fourth.
Woman’s Junior Pairs saw E Cook / Harvey competing against Hannington / Leggatt and Z White / R Castree. Cook / Harevy were impeded at the start so were a little off the pace with the other two Dover crews starting well. At the turn it was Herne Bay first and second and Dover in a tight third and fourth between Cook / Harvey and Hannington / Leggatt. Accelerating on the run to home, Cook / Harvey were overlapping Herne Bay by the line, finishing second. Hannington / Leggatt were fourth and White / Castree were sixth.
In the Open Junior Sculls Dover had Coleman and Paul Scrivener competing. Coleman had the better start but didn’t feel he was fully firing. At the turn Deal were leading with Shoreham, Folkestone and Coleman in close order. On the return leg Coleman moved strongly towards the Shoreham leader as Deal drifted back. At the line Coleman secured second place and P Scrivener was seventh.
There were two Dover crews in the Open Junior Fours Harley Scrivener, Ollie Scrivener, Jack Castree, Sonny Varnes-Stone coxed by Charlotte Cox, faced off against Oliver White, Henry Cox, Peter Regan, Jon Castree coxed by Purvis. A great start from Cox’s crew who had been promoted from Novice last week saw them battling for the lead on the outward leg. Maintaining momentum through the turn they came out in second to Shoreham who started pulling away. Cox’s crew took a comfortable second place at the line. The Purvis Crew finished eighth.
The Mixed Fours race saw five Dover crews Hanga, Harvey, Coleman, Stothart coxed by C Cox; Rachel Bailey, Stampton, Hayley Crocker, Nick Bailey coxed by P Scrivener; Jess Clements, Oliver White, H Cox, Elizabeth Strong coxed by Purvis; Evie Jones, Evie Holland, Mallet, Varnes-Stone coxed by E Cook, the fifth crew was a family affair with Hollie Castree, Lucy Castree, Jack Castree, Jon Castree coxed by Rhiannon Castree. It was the C Cox coxed crew which had the best start and was part of a four way battle at the turn with Folkestone and two Eastbourne crews. C Cox’s and Folkestone broke the Eastbourne crews early in the home leg with Folkestone eventually taking the win and C Cox’s crew second. The Purvis crew had a good sixth place finish with the P Scrivener crew in seventh, Castree’s in tenth and Cook’s crew in eleventh.
The Woman’s Senior Four crew was a reunion of Dover’s dominant woman’s crew of the 2000’s; Ashleigh Stevenson, Kayleigh Stevenson, R Bailey, C Cox coxed by Ware They had a great start and were in a battle at the turn with Deal for second place. On the home run Deal managed to hold them off in a tight contest. The crew split into pairs for the Woman’s Senior Pairs. Bailey / C Cox finished third with the Stevenson boat in fourth.
Woman’s Novice Sculls saw Nikki Leggatt finish third after a tight battle with Herne Bay.
Woman’s Novice Fours saw a mixed Southsea / Dover crew of B Doick, Abbasova, Hanga, F Barcley coxed by Ware third in the final after winning their heat with Coleman as Cox. Aine Baines, Michelle Meakins, Crocker, Alex Tilley coxed by Chris Purvis also qualified finishing ninth. The following crews narrowly missed out on the final Young, Jess Clements, Strong, Holland coxed by Ware; Louise Fitzsimmons, Zara Meakins, Rosie Minkler, H Castree coxed by Coleman; Fiona O’Neil, Lucy Castree, Amy Wren, Anna Gordon coxed by Purvis. Chrissy Purvis won Cox of the Day for an excellent turn showing awareness of other crews in the Novice Fours Heat
Open Novice Fours O White, Regan, H Cox, Jack Castree coxed by Purvis were third with Paul Scholes, Hanga, Chris Wong, Damion Napier coxed by Stampton in ninth.
Open Senior Pairs featured Coleman and Stothart finishing third in a tight finish. Jack Castree and Varnes-Stone were third in the Open Junior Pairs; both rowers missed out on the Novice Sculls final finishing fifth and seventh in the heats.
Open Senior Four of Stampton, Mallet, Coleman, Stothart coxed by Ware were third.
Jon Cook, Scholes, Wong, Napier coxed by Purvis finished fourth in the Open Masters Four 40+. Bradford, Purvis, Z White, Leggatt coxed by Mallet were fourth in the Women’s Masters Four 40+.
J16 Open Quad Sculls saw Riley Danko, O White, H Cox, and A Biddle (Southsea) finishing fourth coxed by Stampton. J16 Girls Quad Sculls saw two crews Strong, H Castree, Young, R Castree coxed by C Cox fifth; Izzy Vickers, Holly Dunham, Zara Meakins, Jess Clements coxed by Purvis were sixth.
Open Masters Four 50+ P Scrivener, Steve Woods, Stampton, Nick Bailey coxed by Purvis were seventh.
Open Double Sculls saw Stothart and Danko finish seventh. Woman’s Double Sculls saw E Cook, / Young finish seventh, Jones / Holland finish ninth and Strong / Bradford in tenth.
Captain Will Coleman and Dover Rowing Club would like to thank all our sponsors and helpers that made the regatta possible.

Dover Rowing Club secured five wins at a fantastic performance at Folkestone Regatta. The Woman’s Junior Four of Ella Cook, Nikki Leggatt, Holly Hannington, Emily Harvey and Venessa Ware were at the core of the success. In their race they competed against Janice Bradford, Alex Henchy, Zara White, Lily Stafford-Edwards coxed by Chrissy Purvis. Ware’s crew were slow off the start but soon galvanised to push through the field in the 100m before the turns. Purvis’ crew had the better start and were secure in the middle of the field. Out of the turn Ware had Herne Bay on the outside bringing pressure as both crews pulled away from the field. Ware called for a hard thirty strokes entering the last 300m which saw Dover’s crew break free and move away from Herne Bay to take the win by two lengths. Purvis’ crew finished in the points in fifth place.
In the Woman’s Junior Pairs the four split into two crews with Leggatt and Hannington facing E Cook and Harvey. The Leggatt / Hannington combination had the stronger start establishing a solid lead over E Cook / Harvey and a Herne Bay pair. A decision to realign their route to avoid a course hazard by Leggatt / Hannington saw the race become tight across all three boats. It was the E Cook / Harvey pairing that started to open up a lead rowing long and strong. Relentlessly, the gap grew as E Cook / Harvey dominated the return leg to take the win with Herne Bay establishing control of second place and Leggatt / Hannington secure in third.

Woman’s Novice Sculls saw Leggatt, Harvey, E Cook and Z White competing. Leggatt had a steady start before settling into a flowing rhythm, whilst Harvey, Cook and Z White found the race a little more challenging. Leggatt had a good turn and dominated the return leg to secure an impressive win with Harvey finishing seventh, E Cook eighth and Z White in ninth.
E Cook would swap to the cox’s seat guiding Rhiannon Castree, Alex Tilley, Jasper Mallet, Will Coleman in the Mixed Four. They were competing with Lee Stampton, Charlotte Cox, Hayley Crocker, Nick Bailey coxed by Purvis. Cook’s crew dominated off the line pushing away from the field. Purvis’ crew were steady in their pursuit. A solid turn allowed Cook’s crew to control the race home securing a comfortable win with Purvis’ crew finishing seventh.
Dover had two crews in the Open Novice Four. Ware, coxing Sonny Varnes-Stone, Jack Castree, Ollie Scrivener and Harley Scrivener, raced against Oliver White, Paul Scholes, Raj Kumar, Jon Castree coxed by Stampton. From the start it was a two horse race between Ware’s crew and Bexhill’s four with Stampton’s crew a little off the pace. A better turn moved Ware’s crew into the lead but the battle continued with Bexhill ever present on their outside. Entering the last 200m Dover started to ease away to take the win. Stampton’s crew would finish in ninth.

Varnes-Stone and Cameron Mackintosh competed in the Open Junior Pairs. A great start saw the pair enter into a tight battle with a Herne Bay crew. Nothing could split them out of the turn so it was a hard race back which saw Herne Bay slowly gain the upper hand as they went on to take the win. Dover’s crew finished second well ahead of the remainder of the field.
Coleman was joined by Paul Scrivener in the Open Single Sculls race. Coleman scorched off the line taking the early lead with P Scrivener towards the back as he adjusted to the higher category after progressing from novice. By the turn a young Shoreham Sculler had caught Coleman and took the lead. Pushing hard Coleman was unable to hold onto Shoreham and settled for second, with P Scrivener in eleventh.
In the Woman’s Senior Four Ashleigh Stevenson, Cox, R Bailey, Ware coxed by Stampton started well but struggled to hold onto the leading Shoreham crew finding themselves in a battle with Deal for second. Through the turn Dover slipped down to third position which they held to the line.
The Open Senior crew of Stampton, Mallet, Coleman, Tom Stothart coxed by Ware performed well to finish fourth. Coleman and Stothart were fourth in the Open Senior Pairs, with Stothart also fourth in Open Senior Sculls.
J16 Girl’s Quad featured two crews Hollie Castree, R Castree, Holly Young, Poppy Worthington-Taylor coxed by Coleman, finishing fourth, and Izzy Vickers, Elizabeth Strong, Zara Meakins, Jess Clements coxed by Stampton in sixth. J14 Mixed Quad Izzy Vickers, H Castree, Riley Danko, Worthington-Taylor coxed by Stampton finished fourth.
Woman’s 40+ Bradford, Anna Gordon, Z White, Leggatt coxed by Ware were fourth. Antya Markin, Dee Murphy, Fiona O’Neill, Amy Wren coxed by Stampton finished ninth. Open 40+ Jon Cook, Scholes, Stampton, Jon Castree coxed by Purvis finished fourth.
Senior Woman’s Pair saw Cox and R Bailey finish fourth.
Open Junior Four O White, Mackintosh, Jack Castree, Varnes-Stone coxed by Ware finished fourth.
Stothart and Danko competed in the Open Double Sculls finishing fifth.
Woman’s Novice four had heats with Aine Bains, O’Neill, Crocker, Tilley coxed by Cox qualifying in fourth place for the final where they finished seventh. In the heats Young, Strong, Evie Holland, Worthington-Taylor coxed by Coleman were fifth. Evie Jones, Murphy, Tilly Bingham, Charlotte Barnes coxed by Ware were seventh. Rosie Minkler, Lucy Castree, Wren, Gordon, coxed by P Scrivener were seventh.
In the Woman’s Double Sculls heats Jones / Holland and E Cook / Young would both finish sixth.
The woman’s squad secured second in the overall women’s aggregate competition behind Shoreham.

Dover Rowing Club were in action at Hasting Regatta at the weekend, the opening regatta of the CARA season. A good start to the season saw Dover secure a string of seconds behind a dominant Shoreham Club performance. Cameron Mackintosh and Sonny Varnes-Stone, a new pairing for this season, competed in the Open Junior Pairs. A good start saw them in the top six through the first quarter of the 2 km course. Gaining speed they moved to fourth entering the turn which they executed brilliantly to come out in second. The chase was on but, whilst gaining ground, they were unable to catch the lead crew securing second place. The Woman’s Junior Pair had Emily Harvey and Holly Hannington seeking to improve on the men’s performance. A good push from the start moved the pair into a battle for first. It was looking good going into the turns with Dover in second and, with neither boat making a mistake, the push was on for the line. The proximity of previous races took enough of a toll to prevent the pair from holding onto the lead boat, seeing them comfortably taking second.

The Woman’s Senior Four of Ashleigh Stevenson, Vanessa Ware, Rachel Bailey, Charlotte Cox with Jasper Mallet at cox moved well off the line and were competing with the Shoreham crew on the outward leg. Heading to the buoys Shoreham moved clear and maintained a good lead on the way back, whilst Dover’s crew comfortably maintained their second place to the line. The Open Senior Pairs saw Will Coleman and Jasper Mallet compete. They started well and were in a three way battle through the outward leg. At the turns they came out in second with a comfortable lead over the Deal crew. Slow water in the middle of the course saw Shoreham pull away and Deal start to close but, breaking into better water, they jumped away from Deal to secure second.
The Woman’s Junior Four featuring Cemelia Hanga, Janice Bradford, Hannington, Harvey coxed by Ware, moved away from the field with two other crews, and were initially leading. Through the turn they came out narrowly in third holding the gap to the other two crews. The racing was tight with a close finish and Dover securing third.
Open Junior Sculls had Coleman as Dover’s entry. The race started well and, competing with the lead crews, he steady increased his power and moved into contention for the lead. At the turn Coleman lost ground as his buoy had drifted from the standard line. Coming out of the turn in third Coleman was chasing but couldn’t regain the lost ground finishing third.
Open Senior Four Lee Stampton, Coleman, Mallet, Tom Stothart coxed by Ware started well and were competing with the lead crews through the first third of the race. Still rowing smoothly they started to drift down the field through the turn and were unable to close on their opponents finishing in fifth.
J16 Woman’s crew of Izzy Vickers, Elizabeth Strong, Holly Young, Poppy Worthington-Taylor coxed by Stampton had a good race over the 1 km course, battling hard to secure fifth place in a straight sprint.
In the Woman’s Novice Four, Strong, Young, Evie Holland, Worthington-Taylor coxed by Ware were in the first qualifying round and executed a controlled race to finish in fourth and qualify for the final. In the second qualifying race Evie Jones, Tilly Bingham Were in a composite crew with Eastbourne coxed by Stampton finished seventh and did not progress. The final saw a good race from the young crew who spent the race battling Folkestone for sixth place, missing out on the line taking seventh.
Woman’s Senior Pair, C Cox and Stevenson, had a solid race working hard to the turns and coming out fifth, a position they held to the finish.
Open Novice Four saw Hanga, Nick Walby, Henry Cox, Varnes-Stone coxed by Mackintosh starting well and pushing for the higher places as they approached the turn. On the return run Dover drifted back to sixth by the time they crossed the line. Mackintosh rowed with Walby, H Cox, Varnes-Stone in the Open Junior Fours with C Cox on steering duties. A steady row saw the crew finish seventh.
Harvey rowed a controlled race in the Woman’s Novice Sculls, as she focused on her other races, coming home in sixth place. Stothart and Mallet competed in the Open Senior Sculls. Stothart got the better start and, competing with the leader taking the turn, he sought a better line on the outside. This proved costly as the inside line was running faster at that stage of the tide seeing Stothart dropping to sixth with Mallet coming home seventh.

Dover Rowing Club sent two competitors to Newport on the Isle of Wight to race on their 1km course on the tidal stretch of the River Medina. The races are head to head format with only the winner guaranteed to progress.
From the semi-finals Will Coleman faced Taylor from Itchen Imperial in a straight sprint in the Open Junior Sculls. The race was full on with neither sculler giving an inch as they powered down the course. Grinding out a lead as the race progressed, Coleman took the win by a length.

The next race was the Open Senior Pairs which saw Coleman rushing back from his sculls race to join Jasper Mallet. A three boat sprint saw Dover facing Ryde and Poole in their semi-final. Dover were able to ease past Ryde but struggled to hold onto the Poole crew with the efforts from the previous race still in Coleman’s legs. At the line Poole took the win by three lengths.
The Open Senior Sculls semi-final saw Mallet facing Barnes from hosts Newport and Smith from Poole. Poole would again be the class of the field as Mallet like Coleman came straight from another race. Mallet recovered well to move past Newport, but Poole’s sculler was too strong and was able to hold him off to win by a few lengths.
In the final of the Open Junior Sculls Coleman was always going to be up against it as his Lymington opponent Wallis turned out in a sleek river scull compared to Dover’s heavier coastal scull. Taylor from Itchen Imperial was also progressed as the fastest loser for a three way final. Whilst Lymington steadily pulled away, Coleman chased him all the way coming home second. 
Dover RC would like to thank Southsea RC for final leg transport to the Isle of Wight.

Dover Rowing Club’s coastal rowers renewed their on off love affair with the Tideway course made famous by the Boat Race. After a 20 year break Dover entered a mixed eight in the Vesta International Masters Head of the River Race over the reverse Boat Race course from Mortlake / Chiswick Bridge to Putney Bridge, a full 4.2 mile course. To qualify to enter all rowers must be over 27 years old with multiple age categories within the 295 boat field. This race is run in a time trial format.

Dover’s crew was Will Coleman, Cemelia Hanga, Ashleigh Stevenson, Emily Harvey, Nikki Leggatt, Chris Hall, Tom Stothart, Tyler Amos coxed by Marcus Baldwin. Baldwin and Hanga were provided by Vesta, and Dover particularly appreciate Hanga’s help as a late seat change due to injury.

They found a good rhythm off the start and maintained their gap over the next boat through Barnes Bridge where Cambridge 99 started to move on them. By Chiswick Eyot Cambridge 99 had eased past with both crews going well. Heading under Hammersmith Bridge, Dover were still going strong, but the gap to the Cambridge crew continued to lengthen with Ross beginning to close. Passing Craven Cottage the crew maintained good form as they geared up for the final sprint to the Putney finishing line. A good sprint saw the crew home in 20 minutes and 32 seconds finishing sixth in their category in the final results. Dover were pleased to finish 57th overall in this mass participation event.
The Dover Junior section were in action in the National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships – Virtual with 15 competitors across four age categories. Competitors race for set time limits according to their school year group, with Year 12 rowing for 2000m. Henry Cox, year 11, put in a fantastic performance completing 1742m in 6 minutes with the best Dover split time of 1 minute 43.3 seconds,. His age group ranking was an impressive 8th. Ella Cook was the top ranked female completing 2000m in 8 minutes 2.9 seconds, ranking 10th nationally. Also competing over 2000m Jack Castree finished in 7 minutes 27 seconds, Alex Sutherland 7 minutes 40.4 seconds and Sonny Varnes-Stone 7 minutes 51.5 seconds. In the Year 11 category Rhiannon Castree finished with 1458m in 6 minutes, with Elizabeth Strong 1309m. Holly Young 1100m in 5 minutes, Zara Meakins 1084m and Jess Clements 1080m in the Year 10 category. Year 9 saw Hollie Castree finish off a strong performance for the Castree family with 917m in 4 minutes, Poppy Worthington-Taylor 908m, Holly Durham 841m and in the boys category Oliver White 1007m and Fabian Coates 840m.