The Viking Shield Regatta at Deal saw great performances from Dover rowers in the last preseason event before the CARA season begins in May. The opening event saw the Astor girls crew of Jodie Lott, Antonia Reed, Megan Barter, Olivija Norvilaite with cox Chris Hall compete in the J16 category. A strong start saw the young crew jump out into a lead over both the boys and the girls race. Working hard they held off the Deal boys crew to the last 20 metres of the course and secured their first win in a J16 race. The next Dover race saw Lizzy Foley, Lisa Burnett, Maria West-Burrows, Petra Matthews Crow, coxed by Jo Johnston racing in the Junior Ladies 4. A good start saw them among the leading boats. They were well coxed around the first buoy turn by Johnston which helped them jump out to a clear second place where they held off a charge by the Deal crew. They secured their second position by the second buoy for a comfortable run to the finish line. The Men’s Junior Sculls race saw possibly the worst conditions of the day. Dover were represented by Hall and Chris Price. Hall powered off the line to take a three length lead to the first turn with Price running in the middle of the field. Hall was challenged by Bexhill scullers in the middle of the race before he eased away for a comfortable win with Price coming home in fifth in a race that saw two competitors fail to finish. The Men’s Novice Sculls race saw veteran rower Paul Scrivener as Dover’s sole entry. Scrivener dominated from the start jumping out to a significant lead by the first buoy. His consistent power through the stroke saw his lead extend to several lengths at the second buoy and finish ten lengths ahead of his nearest challenger to take a very deserved win. Due to withdrawals from other clubs the Veteran 40 and 50 were run in a single race. Dover’s Vet 40 crew was Chrissy Purvis, West-Burrows, Tony Burrows, Matthews Crow coxed by Hall; the first time the Burrows had raced together in their long rowing careers. The Vet 50 crew consisted of Burnett, Scrivener, Nick Bailey, Johnston coxed by Foley. From the off the Vet 50 crew gained the upper hand over the younger Dover crew and, despite their best efforts, the Vet 40 could not close the gap. At the second buoy both crews executed the turn well leaving the Vet 50 crossing the line in second with the Vet 40 crew finishing third which was sufficient to take the victory in their category. The Junior Men’s 4 crew of Cameron MacIntosh, Austin Mills , Hall, Tom Stothart with cox Foley had a terrible start with the crew backing down as the umpire started the race leaving them last off the line. Chasing the field down to the first buoy Dover’s young crew overhauled one boat but were unable to get in among the main field trailing in seventh place. Price had better luck coxing the Eastbourne crew to second in the same race. The Novice Ladies crew of Casper Barnsby, Reed, Mary Newcombe, Amy Lewington, coxed by Burrows performed well in their first race together. Working hard off the line they were initially in the lead before gradually being passed by four boats after the first buoy turn. They maintained their fifth place throughout the rest of the race. Dover had two crews in the Ladies Double Sculls which saw Barter and Burrows racing Johnston and Newcombe. The composite crew in the race jumped out ahead of Barter and Burrows then, cutting across their line, slowed the Dover boat down. At the turn Barter and Burrows clearly had an issue and withdrew from the race, leaving Johnston and Newcombe chasing the leaders down the course to secure second place. A total of four wins leaves Dover with hopes of a good season ahead.

Shoreham’s Adur Head Regatta, the first of the two traditional preseason events for the Coast Amateur Rowing Association (CARA), saw Dover Rowing Club field 6 boats on the 3500 metre course. The Men’s Junior 4, Dover Grammar School’s Tom Stothart, Austin Mills, Chris Hall, Cameron Macintosh with Chris Price cox, were the first crew on the water, with three of the rowers competing above their Novice class. The regatta is run as a time trial seeing the crews set off at set time intervals with Dover’s crew chasing Worthing’s 4. By the Norfolk Road Bridge Worthing were well within the Dover’s sights. Just after the footbridge where the course is narrowed by moorings Dover were sat on the rudder of the Worthing boat before launching an attack as the river widened seeing Dover gain a place and valuable time over their opponents. The crew finished in a time of 16 m 18 s finishing a solid 4th place in the event. The second block of races saw the remainder of the crews on the water. The Junior Sculls matched Price and Hall in their on going battle with the younger Hall starting 3 places behind Price. As the two rowers cleared the Norfolk Road Bridge it was obvious that Price was rowing strongly but that Hall was closing on the two rowers ahead of him. Hall was in the wake of Bexhill rower through the narrows at the moorings and both rowers manoeuvred around a Deal sculler. Hall was unable by the end of the course to pass the Bexhill boat or close further to Price as the last straight on the river was affected by a head wind. The results demonstrated that Hall had the better day recording a time 14 m 16 s securing 2nd place and 1st among CARA Rowers in Dover’s fastest time of the day and Price finished 6th with 14 m 39 s. The Ladies Junior 4 of Jen Jordan, Maria West-Burrows, Chrissy Purvis, Lisa Burnett and Paul Scrivener cox were competing together for the first time as a crew in a field containing two strong squads from Bexhill and Shoreham. The Ladies Junior 4’s were coming under pressure as they approached the footbridge but were able to hold off the Eastbourne crew who had closed the initial gap leaving the Dover to come in 4th in a good time of 15 m 47 s. The Ladies Novice 4’s race saw Dover field two scratch crews made up largely of Dover’s Christ Church Uni contingent, with Casper Barnsby racing despite only being released from Hospital a few days earlier after a serious illness as she didn’t want to let her friends down. Dover A crew Barnsby, Savannah Bradshaw, Antonia Reed, Amy Lewington with Tony Burrows, cox whilst Dover B’s crew featured Abi Mtde, Anna Gaved, Stephanie Darrall, Emily Harvey with Curly Goodwin cox. The two crews started in slots 77 and 79 with only Shoreham’s boat in between. Once through the Norfolk Road Bridge it was obvious that both Shoreham and Dover B were closing on Dover A and the gap continued to close as they passed under the Foot Bridge with Shoreham passing Dover A to leave Dover B chasing them hard to the finish line. Dover B finished 5th in 17 m 18 s whilst Dover A came in 6th in 17 m 46 s with both Uni crews beating the only other Uni team from Chicester who came 7th.

After several years absence, Dover Rowing Club entered 4 scullers in the Maidstone Small Boat Head race, which takes rowers from Allington Marina to the centre of Maidstone. Dover’s team of Chris Hall, Jo Johnson, Nick Bailey and Chris Price competed in heavier, shorter coastal sculls in their races against the river clubs. The event was divided into four divisions with different categories split across the grouping and in a time trail format. First on the water was Chris Hall rowing in the J18 class. Hall adjusted to this new style of racing and steadily closed on the pair boats ahead of him. At the first bridge Hall had overtaken one boat and was closing on a second before catching them at the second bridge on the course. After avoiding a capsized boat Hall sprinted for the finish line securing the fastest time out of the Dover Scullers. He was also the fastest single sculler in this division in a time of 11 minutes and 3 seconds and third in the J18 class. Johnson was competing as a single sculler for the first time at this event after previously racing in larger crew boats. Johnston worked hard through the first third of the event to maintain her position in the event order. In the second Johnston had a near miss with over hanging branches on one of the bends before crossing the line in 12 minutes 35 seconds and securing third place in the Ladies Novice race. The last division saw Bailey and Price pitted against each other, both rowers having previously competed in the event with Bailey racking up 40 appearances on the Medway. Bailey, rowing in the Intermediate class based on previous racing history, was the carrot for the younger Price to chase. By the first bridge it was clear that Price, racing in the Novice Category, was closing Bailey down, the catch happening near the second bridge, with Price having a several length lead at the finish. Price’s time of 11 minutes and 5 seconds secured him victory in the Men’s Novice class, whilst Bailey’s time of 12 minutes 50 seconds left him in third place in his group.

Dover Rowing Club’s Dover Grammar School for Boys contingent of Austin Mills, Cameron Mackintosh, Tom Stothart and Chris Hall all qualified for the individual and team relay event for the Kent School Games Indoor Rowing Finals in the year 12 / 13 category. In the individual 2000 metre event Hall and Mills battled rowers King’s School, Canterbury for the medal placings. Hall secured second place in a time of 6 minutes and 58 seconds, whilst Mills missed out finishing fourth overall in 7 minutes 06 seconds with Stothart finishing in 7 minutes 29 seconds and Mackintosh completing the distance in 7 minutes 53 seconds.

In the 4 minute relay event the Dover boys again were matched against King’s School in the battle for the top spot. The running order saw Mills lead off followed by Mackintosh, Stothart with Hall on the closing leg. The team finished with 1289 metres seeing them take first place by 11 metres.

Dover Rowing Club’s Chris Price flew the flag for Coastal Rowing in the European Indoor Rowing Championship at the Audi Arena Gyor, Hungary on Saturday. Following his sixth place in the British Indoor Championships in December, Price entered the Light Weight Masters Men 30+ category at Gyor. Dover’s diminutive rower overcome the long journey to perform well, producing consistent splits in the 2000 metre event to finish in 7 minutes and 8.30 seconds, a second slower than his British Championships performance. Price’s time saw him finish in an impressive 5th place in the international field.