Dover Rowing Club were in action at Hasting Regatta at the weekend, the opening regatta of the CARA season. A good start to the season saw Dover secure a string of seconds behind a dominant Shoreham Club performance. Cameron Mackintosh and Sonny Varnes-Stone, a new pairing for this season, competed in the Open Junior Pairs. A good start saw them in the top six through the first quarter of the 2 km course. Gaining speed they moved to fourth entering the turn which they executed brilliantly to come out in second. The chase was on but, whilst gaining ground, they were unable to catch the lead crew securing second place. The Woman’s Junior Pair had Emily Harvey and Holly Hannington seeking to improve on the men’s performance. A good push from the start moved the pair into a battle for first. It was looking good going into the turns with Dover in second and, with neither boat making a mistake, the push was on for the line. The proximity of previous races took enough of a toll to prevent the pair from holding onto the lead boat, seeing them comfortably taking second.

The Woman’s Senior Four of Ashleigh Stevenson, Vanessa Ware, Rachel Bailey, Charlotte Cox with Jasper Mallet at cox moved well off the line and were competing with the Shoreham crew on the outward leg. Heading to the buoys Shoreham moved clear and maintained a good lead on the way back, whilst Dover’s crew comfortably maintained their second place to the line. The Open Senior Pairs saw Will Coleman and Jasper Mallet compete. They started well and were in a three way battle through the outward leg. At the turns they came out in second with a comfortable lead over the Deal crew. Slow water in the middle of the course saw Shoreham pull away and Deal start to close but, breaking into better water, they jumped away from Deal to secure second.
The Woman’s Junior Four featuring Cemelia Hanga, Janice Bradford, Hannington, Harvey coxed by Ware, moved away from the field with two other crews, and were initially leading. Through the turn they came out narrowly in third holding the gap to the other two crews. The racing was tight with a close finish and Dover securing third.
Open Junior Sculls had Coleman as Dover’s entry. The race started well and, competing with the lead crews, he steady increased his power and moved into contention for the lead. At the turn Coleman lost ground as his buoy had drifted from the standard line. Coming out of the turn in third Coleman was chasing but couldn’t regain the lost ground finishing third.
Open Senior Four Lee Stampton, Coleman, Mallet, Tom Stothart coxed by Ware started well and were competing with the lead crews through the first third of the race. Still rowing smoothly they started to drift down the field through the turn and were unable to close on their opponents finishing in fifth.
J16 Woman’s crew of Izzy Vickers, Elizabeth Strong, Holly Young, Poppy Worthington-Taylor coxed by Stampton had a good race over the 1 km course, battling hard to secure fifth place in a straight sprint.
In the Woman’s Novice Four, Strong, Young, Evie Holland, Worthington-Taylor coxed by Ware were in the first qualifying round and executed a controlled race to finish in fourth and qualify for the final. In the second qualifying race Evie Jones, Tilly Bingham Were in a composite crew with Eastbourne coxed by Stampton finished seventh and did not progress. The final saw a good race from the young crew who spent the race battling Folkestone for sixth place, missing out on the line taking seventh.
Woman’s Senior Pair, C Cox and Stevenson, had a solid race working hard to the turns and coming out fifth, a position they held to the finish.
Open Novice Four saw Hanga, Nick Walby, Henry Cox, Varnes-Stone coxed by Mackintosh starting well and pushing for the higher places as they approached the turn. On the return run Dover drifted back to sixth by the time they crossed the line. Mackintosh rowed with Walby, H Cox, Varnes-Stone in the Open Junior Fours with C Cox on steering duties. A steady row saw the crew finish seventh.
Harvey rowed a controlled race in the Woman’s Novice Sculls, as she focused on her other races, coming home in sixth place. Stothart and Mallet competed in the Open Senior Sculls. Stothart got the better start and, competing with the leader taking the turn, he sought a better line on the outside. This proved costly as the inside line was running faster at that stage of the tide seeing Stothart dropping to sixth with Mallet coming home seventh.