Dover Rowing Club made their second visit this year to the Itchen river in Southampton, in the BTC Head Race 2025. Club Captain Will Coleman and Jasper Mallet joined together to race in the River and Coastal Pairs races over the 5km course.

The Men’s River Open Pairs race saw Dover’s crew pitted against a pair from the University of Portsmouth. Both crews got a strong start as they raced with the tide and by the midpoint Coleman and Mallet had pushed out to a significant lead. Dover’s crew successfully navigated the bridges and passed four other boats. Kicking on to the finish Coleman and Mallet crossed the line with a clear win in a time of 19 minutes 08 seconds. Their opponents finished in a time of 20 minutes 17 seconds.

In the second division race against the tide, Dover faced a host BTC crew in the Senior Pairs Coastal boats. Dover’s pair set off in pursuit of BTC and were maintaining close contact until, at the second bridge, they got caught behind a Woman’s Quad crew who they could only pass once they cleared the bridge. Now behind and chasing, the Dover crew started to feel the fatigue of the earlier race. At the line Coleman and Mallet finished second in a time of 21 minutes 08 seconds. BTC finished in 20 minutes 26 seconds.