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.

Dover Rowers conquered rough conditions at Shoreham and Brighton Regattas this weekend where Nathan Peach gained promotion from Novice to Junior Sculler. In the heats Peach easily qualified in 1st place at Shoreham with Cameron Mackintosh just missing out in 5th. In the final Peach started strongly easing out to a lead of a length at the turn and extended his lead to 3 lengths on the run home making two wins in a row and progression to the Junior ranks. Peach’s first Junior outing ended in disqualification after a wave unseated him as he turned, leaving him disappointed after finishing 2nd. Mackintosh qualified for the final in Brighton in 4th place but regretted changes boats for the final where he came home 8th.

The Novice Men’s Fours saw the new combination of Sebastian Steele in his first races, Mackintosh, Peach, George Newman coxed by Emma Oliver. A determined effort at Shoreham saw the crew battle for the leading positions at the turn before entering a neck and neck race for 1st through the last 500 m missing out by a canvas on the line. At Brighton the same crew had a similar run this time fighting for 2nd on the return leg securing their second runners up spot.

Peach and Newman were joined by Jasper Mallet and James Hale both making their club debuts, they were coxed by Mackintosh at Shoreham and Oliver at Brighton in the J16 Men’s Quad. The young crew secured 3rd places on both days against strong, established crews. The Ladies J16 of Chantel Mayes, Emma Spanton, Emma Oliver, SJ Bamfield, coxed by Jo Johnston carried on with their good form finishing in 2nd in both races as they unable to row down their nemesis, the Herne Bay crew.

Ladies Novices saw Dover enter two crews, the J16’s and Hannah Power, Rosie Thorp, Morgan Evans, Izzy Godden coxed by Burrows. The J16’s crew maintained the upper hand of the two crews securing 3rd and 4th places respectively with their teammates taking 7th on both days. Rebecca Stothart rowed with Southsea at Brighton coming home in 3rd place.

There were also two crews in the Ladies Double Sculls with Johnston and Stothart competing against Maria West-Burrows and Thorp. Johnston / Stothart narrowly missed out on a top two finish at Shoreham coming in 3rd, whilst West-Burrows and Thorp gained points in 6th. At Brighton the crews switched with Johnston / Thorp took 4th and West-Burrows / Stothart were 6th. Johnston continued to battle much younger opponents in the Ladies Single Sculls event, taking creditable 4th and 5th places over the two days

In a competitive Senior ladies pairs field, Johnston and West-Burrows struggled to make the desired impact, finishing outside the points in 7th and 9th.

Dover Captain Tony Burrows, presently competing in an Eastbourne crew, won the Men’s Junior Senior Fours race at Brighton.

Dover Rowing Club took a small youthful group to Eastbourne Regatta this weekend. The regatta saw Nathan Peach record his first win with an outstanding performance in the Men’s Novice Sculls. Peach dominated his heat establishing an early lead and maintaining a comfortable margin to finish first. In the final the conditions had become more challenging, Peach took the early advantage leading after 300m. Working hard he maintained a good line to the buoy turns coming out ahead of the field before working inshore for better water. Herne Bay’s Marques in lane one had edged ahead as Peach straightened and began the sprint for the line with 400m to go. Gradually Peach overhauled his opponent pushing himself to a lengths lead before a late charge from Marques narrowed Peach’s winning margin to a half a boat. Peach also took 3rd place in a composite crew with Worthing and Eastbourne rowers in the Novice 4’s.

The J16 Ladies Quad crew of Chantel Mayes, Emma Spanton, Emma Oliver, SJ Bamfield, coxed by Jo Johnston got off to a good start and were once again battling Herne Bay for first place. With Herne Bay moving well the Dover crew dropped into the pursuit trying to close the gap, but despite their best efforts they had to settle for 2nd at the line.

The Double Sculls saw Johnston and Rebecca Stothart facing a field including two strong Shoreham crews. The Dover crew struggled a little with their line on the outbound leg before moving inshore on the return run. Slotting into 3rd place they realised Shoreham’s 2nd place crew were struggling. The Dover crew gave their all closing rapidly but ran out of water at the line. Johnston competed in the Open Ladies Sculls race acquitting herself well against her much younger opponents, gradually moving through the field to take 4th place.

Novice Ladies 4’s had Maisy Saunders (Shoreham), Rosie Thorp, Morgan Evans, Stothart coxed by Tony Burrows. Dover’s crew found themselves in midfield of the start, slowly moving up to 4th place after the turn. They were unable to pull in the 3rd placed crew on the run home leaving them with a good points finish.

Dover Rowing Club had an excellent start to the season at Hastings and Bexhill Regattas. Ladies J16 quad crew of Chantel Mayes, Emma Oliver, SJ Bamfield, Emma Spanton coxed by Jo Johnston dueled with Herne Bay from start to finish at Hastings. With the lead changing several times Dover finished 2nd by a narrow margin. The young crew worked hard in Bexhill to reverse the position and took their maiden league win by a canvas over Worthing.

Ladies Novice 4’s saw Dover enter three crews at Hastings, the J16’s as Dover ‘A’, Ella Day, Brogan Day, Kate Day, Kate Smith coxed by Tony Burrows as Dover ‘C’, Rosie Thorp, Izzy Godden, Hannah Power, Rebecca Stothart coxed by Chris Price as Dover ‘B’. Dover ‘C’ had the better start and were in the leading three boats at the turn where they fought Folkestone around the second buoy. They were neck and neck for 2nd before pushing clear and in the last quarter rowing through Shoreham to take a fantastic win. Dover ‘A’ acquitted themselves well in their first sweep race coming home 4th with Dover ‘B’ just missing out on points in 7th. At Bexhill only Dover ‘A’ and ‘B’ completed with the ‘A’ crew repeating their performance from Hasting coming in 4th, and the ‘B’ crew improving to a points finish in 6th.

Men’s Novice 4’s crew George Newman, Matt Barnett, Nathan Peach, Michael Ripault, coxed by Oliver got a good start in lane 6. The crew featured young and mature rowers drawing a comment from a rival crew. First time cox Oliver said to herself ‘I am not having that’ and drove the crew hard from the turn. They eased past the offending crew, but were unable chase down the lead boat, coming home in a comfortable 2nd place.

Peach had to fight through heats in the Novice Sculls comfortably qualifying for the finals both days. At Hastings he got a great start and was initially leading before turning in third. He closed down on the second place sculler and they were swapping positions with each stroke in the last 100m. He lost out on 2nd at the line by the smallest possible margin. At Bexhill Peach came home in the points in 5th place.

Ladies Junior 4 of Jen Jordan, Chrissy Purvis, Maria West-Burrows, Smith coxed by Johnston got a good start and reached the turn in 2nd just ahead of Herne Bay. The run home saw the Dover crew lose the battle for 2nd in the last 50m leaving them frustrated after a strong performance.

The Ladies Double Sculls had 2 Dover crews West-Burrows and Stothart as Dover ‘A’ and Johnston and Ella Day as Dover ‘B’. The Johnston / Day partnership had the better race maintaining pressure on Shoreham’s leading crews coming home 3rd whilst West-Burrows / Stothart took points in 5th. At Bexhill West-Burrows doubled with Thorp in her first sculling event as Dover ‘A’ with Johnston and Stothart as Dover ‘B’. Dover ‘B’ had the better race coming in 5th whilst there was a creditable 7th for Dover ‘A’.

Johnston competed in the Ladies Sculls on both days taking 6th place in Hastings and 7th in Bexhill. In the Men’s Junior Sculls Price came home in 6th in Hastings. Johnston and West-Burrows had a tough time in the Ladies Senior Pairs coming home 9th in Hastings and 7th in Bexhill.

Dover Rowing Club’s hard working Honorary Secretary and Treasurer Jacky Silk has taken over the Presidency of the Coast Amateur Rowing Association for the 2019/20 season from Deal’s Steve Duncan at CARA’s AGM this weekend.

Dover Rowing Club preseason got off to a winning start as Dover rowers took three wins at the Adur Head, Shoreham. The event is run as a time trial with boats being released at regular intervals to race the 3.5 km course.

There was a maiden win for the Ladies J16 age group crew of Sarah Jane Bamfield, Emma Oliver, Emma Spanton, Chantal Mayes coxed by Jo Johnston who were the first crew to start in their event. Rowing with the current, the crew headed off for the Railway Bridge. the first of three bridges to negotiate on the course. By the Norfolk Road Bridge Dover had gained time on the pursuing crews, which they continued to extend through the footbridge, to carry them home with a 44 sec winning margin, in a time of 16 mins 10 sec.

Chris Price competed in the Junior Men’s sculls event where he started as the second boat in the event. He set off in pursuit of the Bexhill sculler, steadily closing on his opponent. By the Norfolk Road Bridge, Price had closed down the lead boat before passing him by the footbridge. He eased out to finish with an impressive winning margin of 1 min 45 sec, in a time of 14 min 31 sec.

Nathan Peach also had his maiden win in a composite Folkestone / Dover Men’s Novice Four boat. Rowing against the tide the crew, rowing together for the first time, delivered an impressive win in 17 min 30 sec nearly 2 min up on their nearest opponents. Peach also rowed in the Novice Sculls, among a strong field, coming home 7th, in time of 15 min 1 sec.

Dover had 2 crews in the Ladies Novice 4’s event. Dover A crew Hannah Powers, Rosie Thorp, Rebecca Stothart, Jade Jordon coxed by Tony Burrows and Dover B, the ‘Day Family crew’ of Brogan Day, Ella Day, Denise Day, Kate Day coxed by Paul Scrivener. Dover A were first on the course and tried to put some distance between their rivals, the Day crew were unleashed to pursue their teammates a minute later. Both crews were passed during the middle stages by faster opponents. It was a close run finish on times between the local crew and Dover B who were separated by 3 seconds coming home 3rd in a time of 16 min 35 sec with Dover A coming home 4th in a time of 16 min 59 secs.
Jo Johnston, competing in the Ladies Sculls event, started in pursuit of the younger Eastbourne Sculler. Pushing to close the gap between the Rail Bridge and the Norfolk Road Bridge Johnston tried put pressure on the leading Sculler, but her opponent proved too strong leading her through the finishing line. Johnston secured second place in a time of 20 min 41 sec. Captain Tony Burrows, competing for Eastbourne, finished 2nd in the Veteran 50 race.

There was an excellent turnout for Dover Rowing Club’s end of season presentation meal. The first award presented was the Most Improved Novice Male Rower which went to Nathan Peach. Peach has worked hard in training, and has improved his sculling greatly, leading to the young rower competing in this event regularly this season for the first time.

The Most Improved Novice Ladies Rower was shared between Kate Smith and Jade Jordon. Smith has competed regularly in Novice crews and has rowed at the higher Junior category to allow crews to compete where she has performed well. Jordon has impressed in her first full season of rowing in both the Quad J16 and Novice races and secured her first win at Brighton. Jordon has also been willing to cox for various crews leading to her receiving the Coxswain of the Year.
The Captains prize went to Jo Johnston for her work as a coach and as safety officer at the club and for the Coast Amateur Rowing Association.
The Club Person of the Year went to Steve Woods for his work on boat repairs and coaching.

The Rowers Rower award, voted for by the clubs racing membership, was shared between Tom Stothart, Maria West-Burrows and Johnston. Stothart has improved greatly over the last three years and won his first sculls race this season. He was also half of the Men’s Junior Pairs crew that recorded several second places. West-Burrows and Johnston are leaders of the training sessions and as a pairing represented club and country for the second year at the World Offshore Rowing Championships.

The Dover Regatta prize went to Lacey Scrivener, which was picked up her father Neil,  for her hard work on shore during this year’s regatta. Toni Burrows picked up the Little Helpers prize.
DRC are hoping the recent arrival of new members will see an increase in racing crews for the coming season. The club is keen for new members, both male and female, and anyone interested should contact the club via the website or Facebook page.

Dover Rowing Club rowers Jo Johnston and Maria West-Burrows were in action at the weekend in the World Rowing Coastal Championship, held in Sidney near Victoria, Canada. Following the veteran rowers qualification at the British Offshore Championship earlier this year they were designated GBR03 in the Woman’s Double Sculls.

Friday’s qualifier saw Johnston and West-Burrows get a great start in their hired racing boat, managing to launch from the beach in the first three crews. They were competing with the lead boats when problems began to appear. Johnston quickly identified a gate holding one of the blades (oars) was loose and there was a real chance their race was going to be over before the first turn at 1.4 km of the 4 km course. At the turn Dover stopped, off the racing line, to attempt a fix whilst the field passed them. Recognising that the aim of the A final had now gone the ladies chased the field attempting to qualify for the B final in the hope of improving their world ranking from last years event. Gradually they closed on the tail of field and by the third turn at 2.9 km were able to slowly overhaul back markers, coming home in a frustrating 11th place in a time of 22 min 51.1 sec. Their efforts saw them grab a place in the B final.

Saturday saw an early start as the Johnston and West-Burrows stood ready in the calm clear waters of the bay. Another good start saw the Dover crew towards the front of the field. At the first turn they were fighting for 3rd with USA02, whilst GBR01 moved into the lead. By the second turn Johnston and West-Burrows found themselves in 4th with clear water behind. Pushing hard they were unable to close down on USA02 at the u-turn around buoys three and four but headed home to take 4th comfortably in a time of 22 min 26.6 sec. Their finishing position improved their event ranking from 23rd to 20th.

Dover Rowing Club were in competition at the South Coast Championship on a straight 2km course from Walmer Bandstand, through the pier, to Deal Rowing club.

Dover Captain Tony Burrows again joined Eastbourne’s Masters 50+ crew of Norwood, Guppy, Warland and coxed by Bishop. With no Championship category for the 50+ the top CARA crews competed in the final. Hastings took the early lead with Burrows’ crew slotting into a clear second place. Both crews showed great form through the pier with Hastings holding a little over a length lead. Burrows’ crew made their move with a third of the course to go gradually drawing level. Hastings caught a runner in the last 200m and the opportunity seemed to have passed until Burrows’ crew received a similar runner to inch ahead and grabbed the win by three quarters of a length. At the umpires confirmation celebrations broke out among the veteran crew.

The Ladies Junior Open Fours saw Jen Jordan, Chrissy Purvis, Maria West-Burrows, Kate Smith coxed by Jo Johnston competing in the first heat. A good start saw Dover’s top ladies crew move into second place early on and they qualified for the final just behind the heat winners. In the largest final of the day the Dover Ladies again were off the line well and moved into third place as they approached the pier. As they cleared the pier Christchurch moved to block their line and protect their second place. The chase was on as Dover tried to get by Christchurch, closing the gap to less than two lengths but Dover ran out of water finishing third.

In the Men’s Junior Fours a late seat change saw a crew of Chris Hall, Michael Ripault, Nathan Peach, Tom Stothart coxed by Paul Scrivener competing. A slow start saw the Dover crew at the back of the field but by the pier the team were in rhythm and were catching Eastbourne. Driving hard in the second half of the race Dover moved past Eastbourne and were rapidly closing in on 3rd place Shoreham moving to overlap but were unable to take the qualifying spot.

The Ladies J16 Quads Rebecca Stothart, Morgan Evans, Ella Day, Jade Jordon coxed by Burrows found themselves in a much larger field than they were used to in the shorter 1 km event. The young crew got a poor start and were chasing the field moving up slowly to compete for 6th place just missing out on the line. The same crew competed later in the Novice Ladies Four with Hall coxing this race. A better start saw the ladies in the mix during the early stages before starting to slip behind as they approached the pier. Hall steered the novices inshore searching for better water, clearing the pier they set off in pursuit. At the finish the ladies were left a canvas short of 5th place.

The Masters 40+ saw Scrivener, Ripault, Nick Bailey, Burrows coxed by T Stothart competing. The veteran Dover rowers were in 5th place at the pier but were having issues with their rhythm. Organising themselves they pushed on but were unable to improve their position.