Dover Rowing Club were in action in Herne Bay at the weekend competing in some very challenging conditions. Men’s Junior Pair of Chris Hall and Tom Stothart took a fantastic win despite pulling the rough water of an outside lane in the final. The Dover boys got a good start and worked their way towards the inside buoys for the turn, their efforts left them 5 lengths down on the inside home crew. The chase was on and they clawed back length after length to be neck and neck with 100m to go. It was all or nothing for Dover as they gave everything they had, taking the win by half a canvas.

 
The Men’s Novice Fours of Cameron Mackintosh, Nathan Peach, Matt Barnett, Jon Cook coxed by Rebecca Stothart got a good start and were in an early lead before Worthing slowly overhauled them by the turn. The run home was frustrating as the crew that had won at Dover were unable to reel in their opponents, leaving them to finish 2nd.

Dover entered three crews in the Ladies Novice Fours; the J16’s of Chantel Mayes, Emma Oliver, Emma Spanton, SJ Bamfield coxed by Jo Johnston; Rosie Thorp, Kate Day, Brogan Day, Kate Smith coxed by Tony Burrows; and a composite crew featuring Izzy Godden and Hannah Power. The J16 crew got the better of the conditions on the outward leg and turned in 2nd. They looked set to hold that position until 200m where the worst of the conditions threw the light weight youngsters around badly as the heavier adult Folkestone crew managed to row through them, leaving them to come home 3rd. The Thorp crew were not far behind in 4th with the composite crew coming in 5th.

Men’s Junior Sculls heats went very well as Dover’s Hall, Peach and T Stothart all qualified for the final. An eventful final saw contact off the line between Hall and Peach as conditions made steering challenging. With the majority of the boats aiming for the two onside turns chaos ensued, Hall had to concede the better line and dropped to 8th, Peach and Stothart faired better exiting in 2nd and 5th respectively. Peach avoided trouble among the lead boats on the run home before coming under pressure from a late charging Bexhill sculler. Peach looked to have just enough to hold on before a heavy wave wrenched his blade out of his hand. He was able to save the boat and finished 3rd. Stothart in his first Junior status race came home 4th, with Hall in 5th.
J14 Quad Sculls crew Sebastian Steele, James Hale, Jasper Mallet, George Burrows coxed by Johnston came in 3rd after initially battling for 2nd with Worthing. J16 Quad Sculls saw Peach replace Burrows as the J14 rowed up an age group with Oliver at cox. The young crew did well in a straight drag race finishing 3rd. J16 Quad Sculls had a problematic race as a rigger problem left Oliver as a passenger with only Mayes, Spanton and Bamfield able to row, with Johnston coxing. Despite the obvious issue the crew finished 3rd.

Dover had two crews in the Ladies Double Sculls Johnston / R.Stothart and Maria West-Burrows / Thorp. An early coming together with a Worthing Double saw Johnston / Stothart drop to the back of the field as West-Burrows / Thorp moved into the leading group. The turns proved decisive with Johnston / Stothart moving up to 4th chasing the 3rd place crew to the line, whilst West-Burrows / Thorp came home in 7th.
Nick Bailey and Paul Scrivener raced in a composite crew coxed by R Stothart in the Masters 50 +. The elder statesmen of the club performed well battling through to 4th place.

Ladies Junior Four had three Novice rowers K Day, B Day and Smith teaming up with West-Burrows. Conditions proved difficult with heavy waves crashing over West-Burrows in the bow seat leaving the crew to battle home in the last points position. The Men’s Junior / Senior race saw arguably the worst conditions of the day with inside crews getting pummeled in both directions. The Dover crew of Scrivener, T Stothart, Hall, Mackintosh coxed by R. Stothart had a exciting battle for 5th place with the home crew. With both boats swamped the home team prevailed leaving the Dover crew in 6th.
Johnston competed in the Ladies Open Sculls coming home in 6th and then went straight out with West-Burrows in the Senior Ladies Pairs coming home 7th. The Men’s Novice Sculls didn’t go to plan with both Mackintosh and Scrivener narrowly missing out on a qualifying spot in their heats.

It was a fantastic weekend for Dover Rowing club with 6 wins across Dover and Folkestone’s regattas. This was Dover’s largest weekend haul for several years. The J14 crew of Sebastian Steele, James Hale, Jasper Mallet, George Burrows coxed by Tony Burrows were in their first race in a straight sprint on Saturday. The youngsters pulled into an early lead which they maintained to the finish. At Folkestone over a longer course the crew completed well coming home in 3rd place.

Men’s Novice Fours, at Dover, featuring Cameron Mackintosh, Matt Barnett, Nathan Peach, John Cook coxed by Rebecca Stothart eased clear of the pack on the outward leg. A good turn allowed them to push forward and extend their lead securing the crew’s first win. At Folkestone George Newman switched in for Cook. A reduced field saw Dover’s crew win comfortably but prevented Dover’s counting towards promotion.

A frustrating Men’s Junior Pairs saw Christopher Hall and Tom Stothart’s race end in Dover, when a rival crew holed their boat leading to a restart. The Dover boys were unable to compete due to the lack of a boat. Refocused the boys were determined to demonstrate their abilities on Sunday. In an exciting race the boys were neck and neck with Herne Bay through the whole course but held off their opponents to secure the win.

The Men’s Junior Sculls race saw Hall, Peach and Chris Price compete at Dover. A good race saw several boats in contention at the turns including Hall and Peach. A better turn saw Hall in a three way battle with Bexhill and Southsea with Hall narrowly missing 2nd at the line. Peach came home 4th and Price 9th. The heavier conditions at Folkestone saw Price fall in the heats whilst Hall and Peach progressed. In the final Hall entered the turns in 5th but exited in 1st followed by Peach. Hall extended his lead managing to hold off Herne Bay’s late charge, Peach in 3rd was left to rue his less direct line on the return leg.

The Men’s Novice Sculls saw T. Stothart win his heat at Dover with Paul Scrivener, Newman and Macintosh missing out. T. Stothart was narrowly leading the final as he entered the turns but missed his buoy forcing him to row up to the next turn to avoid disqualification. Clearing the turn he had dropped to 5th. Although he put in a storming performance row through three opponents he ran out of water at the line finishing 2nd. At Folkestone T. Stothart again won his heat with Macintosh and Newman again missing out on the final. A strong start saw T. Stothart pull away and he was leading at the turn. He was able to hold off some late pressure to secure his second Novice win and promotion to Junior status.

Dover’s Ladies Junior Fours achieved their preseason target of a top two finish after a history of 3rd and 4th places. The crew of Jen Jordan, Chrissy Purvis, Maria West-Burrows, Kate Smith coxed by Jo Johnston were quickly in a battle for 2nd as the Worthing crew pulled clear of the field. A good turn and a determined push saw them hold off Bexhill to secure 2nd place at Dover. At Folkestone the crew could not repeat the performance dropping to 4th place on the longer course.

J16 Ladies Quad Sculls of Chantel Mayes, Ella Day, Emma Oliver, SJ Bamfield coxed by Johnston secured 2nd place on home water and 3rd in Folkestone. J16 Men’s Quad Sculls of Mallet, Hale, Peach, Newman coxed by Oliver finished in 3rd place at both regattas.
In a patched up boat Purvis and Jordan produced an excellent 3rd place in the Ladies Junior Pairs at Dover.
Ladies Novice Fours saw E. Day, Brogan Day, Kate Day and Smith coxed by Burrows came home 4th at Dover and Folkestone. Hannah Power, Rosie Thorp, Izzy Godden, R. Stothart coxed by P Scrivener took 6th at Dover. Mayes, Claire Beaumont, Oliver, Bamfield coxed by Johnston came 7th at Dover. At Folkestone Thorp replaced Beaumont with the crew finishing 5th.
In Ladies Double Sculls Johnston and R. Stothart came 4th, Smith and E. Day 7th and West-Burrows and Thorp 8th at Dover. The following day Johnston and Thorp came 5th and West-Burrows and R. Stothart 6th.
Johnston competed in the Ladies Single Scull on both days coming 4th and 6th respectively.

The Masters Fours 40+ of P. Scrivener, Barnett, Nick Bailey, Neil Scrivener coxed by Hale came 5th at Dover. Bailey also rowed in a composite crew in the Masters 50+ coxed by Hale which came 4th at Folkestone.

An all Scrivener family crew of Jacob, Toby, Ollie, Tim coxed by Paul took 5th place at Dover in the Men’s Junior Four. A second mostly Scrivener crew of Paul, Neil, Tim, C. Mackintosh coxed by Ollie came in 6th in the Junior Senior men’s Fours.

Johnston and West-Burrows competed in the Senior Ladies Pairs finishing 7th and 8th at the two Regattas.

Two non-CARA league races were held in Dover for Ladies and Men’s Quad Sculls. The Ladies crew of R. Stothart, E. Day, Johnston, West-Burrows coxed by Oliver came home second and the Men’s squad of Newman, Mackintosh, Peach, Cook coxed by Hale were 5th.

Dover Rowing Club wish to thank the following organisations and individuals:

A&S Self Storage Ltd, Mr N.J. Bailey, Barney, Best Godmother Ever, The Boars Head, B.S.J. Roofing, Burgashell, Mr N.J. Cooke, Mr W Darlington, Designed Interiors, Dover Express, Dover Harbour Board, Dover Lifeguards, Dover Sea Sports Centre, Dover Water Sports Centre, East Kent Mercury, Emma Dunne Ltd, Glow Galaxy Art, Health and Safety South East Ltd, K.R. Gavin Removals, Mrs J. Hall, Kent Stonemason, Mariner III – Malcolm, Mr D. Newman, Mr & Mrs Oliver, Parkers Design and Print, Serena’s Events, Sharp & Enright Ships Chandlers, Mrs M. Squibb, Mr K. Thorp, Mr C. Townley.

It was a case of late entries and borrowed boats for Dover at Southsea Regatta, the annual coming together of the CARA and Hants and Dorset divisions. Club Secretary Jacky Silk had to work hard to secure entries for the late returning university contingent. Chris Hall and Tom Stothart were the beneficiaries in the Men’s Junior Pairs facing off against a strong Herne Bay crew. The pair got a decent start and were battling Shoreham as they approached halfway where the Dover crew had to stop to let their opponents complete their turn. After exiting the turn in 5th place they pushed hard to move up the field gaining the lead with around 250m to go, before being chased down by Herne Bay on their inside at the line, leaving them frustratingly in 2nd place for the second year running.

Jo Johnston qualified for the Ladies Novice Sculls final with a safe 4th place. In the final Johnston was in mid field at the turn before moving up into 3rd with 500m to go. In the later stages she closed down the 2nd placed sculler but was unable to catch her before the line.

The men’s Novice Sculls saw T Stothart qualify in 3rd in the first heat whilst Cameron Mackintosh made it through in 4th in the second heat. In the final T Stothart got the better start and was in the leading group at the turn, whilst Mackintosh, who suffered cramp on the outward leg, turned last. T Stothart dropped down to third on the return run whilst Mackintosh secured CARA points in 8th.
Mackintosh rowed in the Men’s Novice Fours with Worthing, a comfortable heat performance saw them finish 1st. In the final they were neck and neck for 2nd over the last quarter of the race only to miss out in 3rd.

The Men’s Junior Sculls saw Nathan Peach and Hall compete. Peach who gained promotion to Junior last weekend got a better start in the inside lane whilst Hall found it harder going on the outside in his first scull of the season. Peach had moved outside by the turn and chased down the cluster of leading boats battling hard he moved to 3rd and was catching second with 200m to go. He was rowed down in a late sprint by a former Olympian, dropping to a very creditable 4th place. Hall came home in 8th taking CARA points.
The Ladies Double Sculls had Rebecca Stothart and Johnston competing. A good start saw the crew among the leaders on the outward leg before falling back on the return leg. A late surge saw them move up to 5th where they tried to close down Herne Bay in 4th but ran out of water at the line. Their 5th place secured 3rd place points for the CARA league standings.

An experimental crew of Novice and Junior oarsmen went out in the Men’s Junior Fours. Peach, Mackintosh, Hall, T Stothart coxed in the heats by Johnston. A comfortable 4th place took them through to the final. R Stothart took on the coxing duties in the final. A slow start saw the Junior’s trailing down the outward leg. Unable to close the gap at the turn the crew tried to close down the field but were force to settle for 8th at the line and 4th among the CARA representatives.
Dover Rowing Club would like to thank Bexhill, Deal and Herne Bay Rowing Clubs for the use of their boats at Southsea.