Dover Rowing Club took 3 wins in rough conditions at Folkestone Regatta. The first close race saw Dover’s Junior Senior 4’s crew of Jon Cook, Matt Barnett, Chris Hall, Tom Stothart coxed by Freya Emmerson going head to head with Herne Bay’s crew. The race was neck and neck from the start and the crews were called as even out of the turn. With 300m to go, Dover put in a big push moving a quarter length ahead. Cook caught a crab as a big wave ripped the blade (oar) from his hand but quick reactions meant he regained control as Herne Bay moved ahead, before Dover surged back to win by a tiny margin.

The Men’s Junior 4’s of Sebastian Steele, Finn Cockerell, James Hale, Jasper Mallet with Emmerson at cox were racing Dover’s Eddie Briggs, Brendon Ulyatt, Kevin Ulyatt, Matt Barnett coxed by Felicity Ulyatt. Emmerson’s crew dominated the race coping with the worst conditions of the day that would see the bow pair regularly being lifted out of the water only to slam down. After Emmerson’s crew took the easy win, Ulyatt’s crew finished a strong 4th place.

Dover’s J14 crew of Josh Grassby, Ben Fagg, Bo Corby, Beau Everington-Nee coxed by F Ulyatt had a strong lead by the half way point and were able to hold off a late challenge to take another win. The same crew raced in the older J16 category with Barnett coxing. The young crew rowed well to come home 3rd.
Nick Bailey and Andrew Bryant were in another close race as they joined two Folkestone rowers in the Masters 50 class where they raced Herne Bay in a tight race. They would lose out at the line by half a canvas.
The Men’s Junior Pairs crew Hale and Mallet battled through the field turning 3rd before coming through to 2nd at the line. Mallet would also take 2nd in his first Novice Sculls race with Sam Pile coming in 3rd.

Sisters Charlotte Cox and Rachel Bailey made their return to racing in the Senior Pairs, after a long layoff. A solid start saw the pair in the mix to start with before dropping to 3rd, holding Folkestone off at the line.
Men’s Junior Sculls saw Stothart racing against Hall. At the turns it was Hall, 2nd, over Stothart, 3rd, but positions would be reversed by a late surge from Stothart at the line. Hall and Stothart joined forces for the Men’s Senior pairs where they finished 5th.
Ladies Novice 4’s had 2 Dover crews Marie Cockerell, Kelly Jackson, Heather Corby, Emmeline McArdle, coxed by Emmerson racing Canelle Ulyatt, Emma Sawkins, Megan Barter, Nicky Leggett coxed by Tony Burrows. Emmerson’s crew finished 3rd and Burrows in 5th. Cockerell, H Corby, E McArdle were joined by Maria West-Burrows coxed by Barter to come 4th in the Woman’s veteran 40. Cockerell, H Corby, West-Burrows, Emmerson coxed by Stothart were 5th in the Ladies Junior 4’s.

The Men’s Novice 4’s saw K Ulyatt, Eddie Briggs, Matt McArdle, B Ulyatt coxed by Burrows take a battling 4th place. The Veterans 40 plus saw Leggett, Vic Evans, N Bailey, Bryant coxed by Rupert Evans come home 3rd with Cook, Briggs, West-Burrows, K Ulyatt coxed by Emmerson finish 4th.

Dover Rowing Club were in action at Eastbourne Regatta on Saturday. The event was shortened due to heavy winds leaving some crews without a race.
In the Junior Men’s Pairs race James Hale and Jasper Mallet got a great start and pulled clear of the field. A clean turn saw the Dover boys leap out to a greater lead with the winning margin being officially classed as ‘easy’.

The Men’s Novice Fours saw Max Jerden, Eddie Briggs, Kevin and Brendon Ulyatt coxed by Tony Burrows compete in a large field. A good start saw the Dover crew in the fight for the lead on the outward leg. Settling into second place at the turn, they had to fight off the other crews on the return leg to confirm the runners up spot.
Mallet competed in his first Novice Sculls race after working hard in training to make himself competitive. He worked his way through the field after a solid start and moved into the leading group at the turn. Showing confidence in the challenging conditions, Mallet was able to secure an excellent third place.
In another big field, Dover’s Junior Ladies Four crew of Canelle Ulyatt, Emma Sawkins, Nikki Leggett, Maria West-Burrows coxed by John Cox dealt with the deteriorating conditions very well. Dover’s crew held their own through the turns moving up to fourth. Pushing hard the Dover Ladies maintained fourth place as they reached the line.
The Master 40+ saw K Ulyatt, Briggs, West-Burrows and Leggett coxed by Felicity Ulyatt up against crews featuring Senior category rowers. Dover’s crew performed well bringing their boat home in fourth.

The Men’s Senior race saw a mix of Junior and Novice rowers competing for Dover. The crew Hale, Sebastian Steele, Finn Cockell, Briggs coxed by F Ulyatt took a steady approach to the conditions in what was the penultimate race due to the strengthening winds. Taking fourth in their first run at that level.
Jo Johnston was Dover’s sole entry in the Ladies Sculls. She was competitive in the early stages. Gradually losing connection with the leading crews after the turn, Jo would push on to finish sixth.

Dover Rowing Club had a great day at their home regatta taking 5 wins, securing the Junior Aggregate and only missing the Grand Aggregate by a single point.
The first win of the day came from the J14 crew of Josh Grassby, Bo Corby, Ben Fagg, Beau Everington-Nee coxed by Felicity Ulyatt, who pulled clear of their rivals at the midpoint of their race pushing their lead to 2 lengths at the line. The same crew competed against older crews in the J16 race coming in 3rd coxed by Matt Barnett.

The Men’s Novice Fours saw 3 Dover crews compete. Oli, Jacob and Harley Scrivener and Sam Pile coxed by Paul Scrivener stormed off the line, quickly taking the lead and powering through the waves. First at the turns the Scrivener crew took the win by 3 lengths. Kevin Ulyatt, Eddie Briggs, Jamie Smith, Brendon Ulyatt coxed by F Ulyatt came home in 6th with Max Jerden, Damian Napier, Chris Wong, Matt McArdle coxed by Tony Burrows 8th.

The Men’s Junior Fours saw two Dover crews. Sebastian Steele, Finn Cockerell, Jasper Mallet, James Hale coxed by Freya Emmerson, racing Jon Cook, B Ulyatt, K Ulyatt, M Barnett coxed by Burrows. Emmerson won the cox of the day for piloting her crew around the buoy turn as the young crew charged to win. Burrows crew was 3rd at the turn but raced back side by side with Shoreham breaking their opponents just before the line to take 2nd. Hale and Mallet would also take a dominant win in the Men’s Junior Pair’s race.

Three Dover crews raced in the Men’s Junior Senior 4’s Ben Gomm, Chris Hall, Tom Stothart, J Cook coxed by Emmerson would battle the Steele, Cockerell, Mallet, Hale crew coxed by Jo Johnston. The Emmerson coxed crew took the win with Johnston’s crew taking 2nd. An all Scrivener crew of Paul, Neil, Harley, Jacob coxed by Oli came home 4th.
In the 40+ race P Scrivener, Vic Evans, Nick Bailey, Andrew Bryant coxed by Rupert Evans took second place. Third was taken by Cook, Briggs, Smith, Barnett coxed by F Ulyatt, and Wong, Napier, K Ulyatt, Maria West-Burrows coxed by Emmerson came 4th..

The Men’s Junior Sculls race saw Hall fight for the lead on the return leg with Stothart chasing him hard. Hall would finish 2nd with Stothart just behind in 3rd. The two would combine for 4th in the Men Senior Pairs.
Ladies Junior Fours Emily Harvey, Emmerson, West-Burrows, Ella Day coxed by Johnston came 4th, Emmaline McArdle, Jen McKie, Marie Cockerell, Megan Barter coxed by Stothart in 6th and Canelle Ulyatt, Emma Sawkins, Holly Hannington, Jodie coxed by Paul Scrivener 7th. Ladies Novice Fours C Ulyatt, Jodie, Hannington, Nicki Leggett coxed by F Ulyatt 5th and McKie, Barter, Emma Sawkins, Harvey coxed by Burrows were 6th. Sam Pile was 3rd in the Men’s Novice Sculls. Johnston was 3rd and Heather Corby 4th in the Ladies Sculls. In the open Mixed Fours Cook, M Cockerell, West-Burrows, Eddie Briggs coxed by Johnston came 4th. Senior Men’s Fours of Bailey, Hall, Stothart, Bryant coxed by Emmerson were 5th.
Dover Rowing Club would like to thank the following sponsors:

Dover Rowing club had an excellent start to the CARA season at Hastings and Bexhill regattas securing 5 wins, both Junior Aggregate trophies, demonstrating a growing squad depth, and a coxswain award.

Junior Aggregate points at Hastings were secured by Tom Stothart’s Junior Sculls win where he bettered Chris Hall who took 2nd; Kevin Ulyatt, Eddie Briggs, Matt Barnett, Brendon Ulyatt coxed by Freya Emmerson 3rd place in the Men’s Junior Fours; Junior Ladies crew of Maria West-Burrows, Marie Cockerell, Holly Hannington, Freya Emmerson coxed by Sara Scrivens coming home in 4th in a tight race.
At Bexhill the Junior squad was supplemented by the rising Novice Crew Sebastian Steele, Finn Cockerell, James Hale, Jasper Mallet coxed by Emmerson who took 1st place in their first Men’s Junior Fours race with K Ulyatt, Jon Cook, M Barnett, B Ulyatt coxed by Scrivens securing 3rd. Hale and Mallet further contributed with a 2nd place in the Junior Pairs race with Steel and Cockerell in 4th. Stothart took his second win in Junior Sculls meaning that he would rise to Senior status next year, Hall finished 3rd . West-Burrows, Emmeline McArdle, Emmerson, Ella Day with Stothart coxing come 7th after gambling on the outside water on the return leg of their race.

Steele, Cockerell, Hale, Mallet coxed by Emmerson blasted off the start both days taking wins in the Novice Men’s 4 with wide winning margins. These two wins saw the crew progress to Junior level and help them secure three wins overall. Dover’s second Novice Men’s crew of K Ulyatt, B Ulyatt, Jamie Smith, E Briggs coxed by Scrivens took 7th at Hastings and with Smith replaced by Matt McArdle and Stothart coxing 6th at Bexhill. Novice Ladies saw Canelle Ulyatt, Marie Cockerell, Holly Hannington, E McArdle coxed by Jo Johnston taking 5th place in a tight group finish at Hastings, then coxed by Emmerson at Bexhill in a large field coming home 6th. Emma Sawkins made a debut in a composite Novice 4’s crew crossing the line in 8th .
Stothart and Hall combined in the Senior Pairs both days in their first season at the top level, taking 4th each race.

Dover’s youngest rower Sara Scrivens took 3rd in a u14 composite and 5th with West-Burrows in the Ladies Double Sculls at Hastings. Scrivens and Day raced in the Double Sculls at Hasting taking 8th .
The Veteran 40 plus were unlucky when a broken rigger prevented the crew of K Ulyatt, Barnett, Smith, Cook coxed by Scrivens fully competing, still coming home 3rd . Cook replaced Smith at Bexhill and the crew was coxed to 5th place by Emmerson.
Jo Johnston’s start in the Ladies Sculls event at Hastings was hampered by an early collision. However, she was able to push on, racing to the line to take 5th .
The experimental mixed 4’s race saw Cook, M Cockerell, West-Burrows, Briggs coxed by Emmerson finishing in 7th .