Dover Rowing Club’s Scullers led the way at Folkestone at the weekend with conditions more difficult than at earlier regattas this season. The Men’s Junior Sculls saw Chris Hall and Chris Price in action. Hall got off to a good start and was up with the leading boats whilst Price was more cautious. Hall reached the buoys in 3rd but with a good turn made up two lengths to move into 2nd. However the leading sculler capsized soon after the turn leaving Hall fighting Swarbrick from Shoreham for the victory. Price was steadily progressing through the field and was lying 4th with 500m to go. Swarbrick was leading in the later stages, with Hall pursuing hard, but also capsized, sportingly calling ‘well done Dover’ from the water as Hall passed him. Hall held off a fast charging Bexhill Sculler to take the win with Price coming home in 3rd.

The Ladies Double Sculls saw Dover enter two crews, Jo Johnston / Rebecca Stothart and Maria West-Burrows / Jade Jordon. An early crab stopped West-Burrows / Jordon leaving them at the back of the field. Johnston / Stothart got off to a steadier start moving through the field to be 3rd at the turn. On the return leg Johnston / Stothart set sights on the 2nd place crew who they started to overlap with 300m to go. With heavier waves hitting both boats the pressure was applied by Dover who rowed through Herne Bay taking 2nd. West-Burrows / Jordon crossed the line in 8th. Johnston had earlier taken 3rd in the Ladies Sculls event which had seen her manage the conditions and survive a scare after the turn. The J16 Ladies Quad saw Stothart, Chloe Bicker, Ella Day, Jordon coxed by Johnston enter a tight battle with Herne Bay for 2nd. Dover’s youngsters pushed hard and started to overlap the inside crew before they ran out of water coming in 3rd.

The Men’s Novice Sculls saw three boats in the two qualifying heats, Nathan Peach, Tony Burrows and Paul Scrivener. Peach and Burrows found the going tough in the opening heat finishing outside the qualifying positions. P Scrivener’s start looked disastrous as he was impeded by a Shoreham Sculler leaving both boats locked together. Once P Scrivener restarted he tore off in pursuit of the field passing several opponents to qualify comfortably. With an unfavoured outside lane in the final P Scrivener found conditions challenging as he headed to the turns. Moving inside on the return leg he gradually moved up the points positions finishing 4th.

In the sweep rowing events the Ladies Novice 4 crew of Jordon, Stothart, Day, Kate Smith coxed by Chrissy Purvis got a good start from the outside lane turning 3rd. Slowly but steadily they closed the gap on the 2nd placed Folkestone crew and in the last 300m were neck and neck before pulling clear after surviving a heavy bow slap from a large wave.

The Men’s Novice 4 of Taylor (Herne Bay), Jon Cook, Peach, Jacob Scrivener coxed by Purvis got a solid start. Their boat was just out of the points at the turn before moving up on return leg and just missed out on 5th after battling Herne Bay in the last quarter.

The Ladies Junior 4 of Jen Jordan, Purvis, West-Burrows, Smith coxed by Burrows worked hard on the outside to stay in contact with the inside crews. Turning in the middle of the field they fought to maintain a points finish in 6th.
The Ladies Senior Pair of Johnston and West Burrows chased down Worthing at the turn and were pushing for 3rd to the line. The Men’s Senior Pair of Hall and Burrows came home in 9th.

In other races the Masters 50+ crew of P Scrivener, Dixon (Shoreham), Nick Bailey, Burrows coxed by Purvis came home in 6th, Men’s Junior 4 saw Toby Scrivener, Cook, Peach, Neil Scrivener coxed by P Scrivener come home in 7th. The Junior Senior 4, featuring P Scrivener, Cook, Hall, Burrows coxed by Jordon, finished 7th after initially leading at the 500m mark.

Dover Rowing Club had an excellent home regatta at the weekend which saw the club highly placed in the overall points competition following a strong turnout from the Dover Rowing community. The Men’s Fours crews led the results, taking two wins, whilst several second and third place finishes came in other events.

The Men’s Junior Fours crew of Angus Fraser, Ed Thomas, Chris Hall, Tom Stothart coxed by Cameron Mackintosh, featuring two Novices got a great start and were amongst the leading crews at the buoy turn with Bexhill leading. The return leg rapidly became a head to head battle as Dover ran down Bexhill with a tight finish seeing Dover triumph by under a boat length. The Men’s Novice Fours featured brothers Toby and Jacob Scrivener who were joined by Fraser and Thomas, and coxed by Paul Scrivener. Dover’s B crew in this event contained Mackintosh, Nathan Peach, Ollie Scrivener, Michael Riplaut coxed by Jade Jordon. Dover B got the better start and were ahead of Dover A over the first part of the race. Dover A steadily applied their training and eased past their team mates and through the field to turn in the lead. Despite Shoreham’s best effort the Dover crew extended to a two length lead which they maintained to the finish line. Dover B acquitted themselves well given their level of experience coming home 7th.

The Stothart family’s success continued in the Ladies events as Rebecca Stothart joined Chloe Bicker, Morgan Evans, Jordon coxed by Jo Johnston to compete in the Ladies J16 Quad Sculls. In the straight sprint event the Dover crew got off to a good start running neck and neck with Herne Bay until their opponents showed their power and pulled away. Dover’s crew comfortably led the 3rd place crew to the line to secure 2nd. Young Lucy Horton raced with Herne Bay in the J14 Quad Sculls race coming home in 3rd place. The Novice Ladies Fours had R Stothart, Ella Day, Evans, Jordon cox by Johnston with Dover B comprising of Catrina Moore, Hilary Horton, Antonia Reed, Amy Lewington coxed by P Scrivener and Dover C with Sue Faraone, Sophie Wolfenden Kate Day, Kate Smith, coxed by Tony Burrows. Dover A got the better of the starts and moved into competition for the lead whilst the largely inexperienced crews struggled to make headway. Dover A turned third but were moving well, overtaking Deal before closing on the leading Folkestone boat. Disaster struck as Evans caught a crab stopping the boat, great composure was shown by the young crew as they recovered quickly to finish 2nd. Dover C and B crews pushed on in the latter part of the race to finish in the points in 5th and 6th respectively.

The Men’s Junior Pairs saw the fours crew compete against each other with Hall and Stothart as Dover A and Fraser and Thomas as the B crew. Dover A got off to the cleaner start as the B crew had an early clash of blades with Folkestone. By the turn the B crew had moved into second behind Herne Bay who they chased to the three quarter point where an adjustment in their line saw the chance of victory expire, leaving them to secure 2nd place. The A crew were caught in a battle with Bexhill that saw them fall to 4th.

The individual sculling events saw heats for the Men’s Novice sculls that saw Stothart and Burrows qualify for the final with Thomas just missing out. Young Peach had a creditable first sculls race remaining in contention up to the buoys giving him a good platform to build on for the future. Both Peach and P Scrivener missed out on the final. A tired Stothart lined up with Burrows in the final hoping to repeat his win from last week. On the less favoured inside lanes Stothart set off in a tight race with his neighbouring Herne Bay sculler whilst Burrows was pushing hard from the outside lane. Stothart turned second but was unable to catch the lead boat seeing him finish second with Burrows just missing out on points in 7th.

The Men’s Junior Sculls featured Hall and Chris Price in a straight final. Hall got off the start in first and entered a duel with his University Rowing Captain who competes for Bexhill. Price found himself in the mix for the points finishes. At the turn the Bexhill sculler led Hall who chased hard on the return leg but found himself fending off a fast closing Deal Sculler as Hall came home 2nd whilst Price narrowly missed out on points coming home 7th.

The Ladies open sculls saw Johnston in a small field. By the buoys Johnston turned third, still hoping to compete for the top spot, before the lead sculler extended her lead. Johnston eventually came home in third.

There were three crews in the Ladies Double Sculls Dover A – Johnston and Jordon, Dover B – Maria West-Burrows and Day, Dover C – Smith and Stothart. Dover’s A crew had a strong start and were initially running with Shoreham whilst the other crews were fighting for points finishes. As Shoreham made a decisive break for what would be an easy win the Dover crews fell into a fight with each other with the A crew finishing 4th, B in 5th and C taking the last point in 6th.

In the Ladies Junior Fours race the Dover crew of Jen Jordan, Chrissy Purvis, West-Burrows, Smith coxed by Johnston got a great start which saw them in the top 4 boats in a large field. With two crews pulling away Dover battled the Worthing inside crew. Turning together Dover gradually pulled away to narrowly take 3rd place.

The Ladies Junior Pairs saw Jordan and Purvis compete in their first race pairs race. They had a good start and maintained a good line on the outward leg turning with a group of other crews. Maintaining form they approached the finishing line and were surprised to find they had 3rd place.

The Ladies Senior Pair of Johnston and West-Burrows found themselves pursuing two strong Shoreham crews. By the turns it was clear that Dover’s crew could not catch the leaders coming home in 3rd.

Masters 50+ fours saw P Scrivener, Shoreham’s Jim Dixon, Nick Bailey, Burrows coxed by Purvis put in a good performance taking 3rd. Masters 40+ fours had Riplaut, P Scrivener, Bailey, Burrows coxed by Jordon acquitting themselves well coming home in 4th. Men’s Junior – Senior Fours crew of P Scrivener, Riplaut, Neil Scrivener, Burrows coxed by Jordon secured an opportunistic 2 points.

Dover Rowing Club would like to thank the following sponsors and supporters:

A&S Self Storage Ltd, A.T. Garage Services, Mr N J Bailey, Mr M Barnett, Burgashall, Mr K Bowman, Carl’s Recovery, Cherished Gowns, Mr N J Cooke, Mr P Darlington, Designed Interiors, Dover Express, Dover Harbour Board, Dover Lifeguards Club, Dover Water Sports Centre, East Kent Mercury, Jane Forryan, Mr P Gladwin, Health and Safety South East Ltd, K R Gavin Removals, Kevin Ulyatt Property Maintenance and Handyman, Mr K C Goodwin, Mrs J Hall, Ju’De Martial Arts, Kenley Driving School, Kent Recycle, Kent Stonemason, Lisa Burnett Therapist Reflexologist, Mariner III – Malcolm, MaSt Recruitment, Mr D Newman, Parkers Design & Print Canterbury, Ratzkins, Riverside Catering Services, Sharp and Enright Ships Chandlers, Smye Rumsby, Mrs M Squibb, Western Heights Preservation Society, Mr A Whiting, Yoga with Hilary.

Dover Rowing Club’s secretary Jacky Silk had a busy time before Brighton and Hove Regatta requesting late entries due to Dover’s returning university contingent. Silk’s work paid dividends in the Men’s Novice Sculls as Tom Stothart was able to race alongside Club Captain Tony Burrows. Whilst Burrows found the competition too hot to handle in the enlarged field Tom Stothart showed his improved technique as he powered off the line threading a route to avoid paddle boarders on the course. At the turn Tom Stothart was first but in the unfavoured outside lane, driving hard he moved more inshore increasing his lead on the return leg and winning by several lengths. Burrows came home in 10th.

The first race of the day had seen Lucy Horton, Rebecca Stothart, Morgan Evans, Jade Jordan coxed by Burrows racing in the J16 Ladies Quad Sculls. The young crew fought hard with two older crews jumping out into an early lead. Dover’s ladies fought hard to remain in contention for 3rd place before dropping back to 5th at the finishing line. There was improved fortune for Jordon in her first sweep race where she joined a Herne Bay Novice Ladies 4. Jordon appeared to initially struggle with this unfamiliar crew before finding her rhythm. Turning first, they increased their lead scoring a comfortable win.

Jo Johnston lined up next in the Ladies Sculls race an event she has championed to return to the CARA events calendar. Johnston had a good start in a large field and was fighting for third at the turn. A problem slowed her in the last quarter before she kicked on to hold off an Eastbourne sculler taking 5th place.

The Men’s Junior Pairs saw the Dover field two crews of Chris Hall / Tom Stothart and Josh Cullen / Ed Thomas. A good start saw both Dover crews up with the leaders at the 500m point with Hall / Stothart fighting the strong Herne Bay pair for first. Cullen / Thomas struggled a little with steering taking the widest line. Hall / Stothart pursued the Herne Bay crew to the to the line taking second. Cullen / Thomas worked hard on the return leg and finished in the points in 5th place.

The Ladies Senior Pairs saw Johnston and Maria West-Burrows on the water. The pairing who prefer rougher conditions had a good start see them just behind the leading boats as they neared the turn. On the return they set their sights on the third placed Shoreham crew. Pushing hard the veteran rowers started to close as the line approached gaining an overlap before running out of water, leaving them in 4th.

Hall, Dover’s sole entry in the Men’s Junior Sculls, was a little behind from the start as he pushed towards the outer buoys. Turning second Hall was leading his Uni rowing captain at 1750m only to fade under pressure as the line approached leaving him in 3rd.

Thomas, Hall, Cullen, Tom Stothart coxed by Jordon were out in the Men’s Junior Fours. A good start saw Dover’s crew in second in the first few hundred metres. A good coxing debut from Jordon helped the Uni boys push for third out of the turn and led to a head to head with the Shoreham crew on the return leg with Dover losing out by less than a canvas leaving them 4th.

The last event saw West-Burrows / Rebecca Stothart and Johnston / Jordon competing in the Ladies Double Sculls. In another good field the Dover crews kept out of trouble in the outside lanes. By the turns the middle lanes appeared to have the advantage with Dover’s crews struggling for the lower points places. Johnston / Jordon narrowly missed out coming home in 7th whilst West-Burrows / R Stothart came home in 9th.

Dover RC eyes now turn to the weather as they are due to host their home regatta in Dover Harbour on Saturday 9th June. Racing starts at 10.30am.