Four young Dover RC rowers completed their 24 hour rowing challenge in aid of Cancer Research UK and Dover Rowing Club. Tom Stothart, Cameron Mackintosh, Austin Mills and Chris Hall exceeded their distance challenge by 3320 metres with a grand total of 337,920, the equivalent of 210 miles.

Using a 30 minute rotation they started at 17:00 hours on Friday with Stothart, rowing in memory of his father who he lost to cancer recently up first, Mackintosh then took over with Mills followed by Hall finishing each round. The group set off strongly and received good support from both Dover and Deal Rowing Club members. The early hours brought their own challenges including a short blackout during which Mackintosh had to row torchlight. Having survived the challenges of the night the four rallied as the morning brought fresh food supplies and visitors.

The last rotation saw the Dover Grammar School sixth formers give everything as each in turned finished. Between the four of them they used over 21,000 calories and are very close to achieving their target of £1000 from the Just Giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/dover-rowingclub and cash donations. They would like to thank everyone who has supported their efforts through help and donations with a special mention to Jacky Silk who stayed overnight and made the challenge possible.

The Charity Row was supported by:

Support Team: Jacky Silk, Mary Newcombe, David Newman and Julie Hall

Food provided by: Alison & Darren Mackintosh and Joy & Tony Whiting

Special mention to Paul Scrivener for the inflatable bed!

Dover Rowing Club’s Cameron Mackintosh, Austin Mills, Chris Hall and Tom Stothart will be aiming to complete 334,700 metres which is 208 miles (roughly the distance of London to Manchester) in a 24 hour row from 5pm on Friday 11th until 5pm Saturday 12th November. They will be rowing on a Concept 2 rowing machine and are not allowed to let the flywheel stop spinning at any point.

The Dover Grammar School Boys are donating 2/3 of the money they raise to Cancer Research UK as this charity means a lot to all members of the crew; especially as one of the young rowers has recently lost his father to the illness. The other third will be donated to DRC who are kindly letting them use their facility to complete this challenge. DRC is the oldest rowing club on the South Coast and is a big part of their lives. Donations can be made via JustGiving.com searching Dover Rowing or by using the following web address https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/dover-rowingclub

The sixth formers are aiming to raise £1000 and are very thankful for any donations. The boys welcome you to come down and support them at Dover Rowing Club situated in Dover Sea Sport Centre on the beach.