Dover Rowing Club’s Chris Hall and Tom Stothart were in a Championship row off decider for the Men’s Junior Pairs competition on Saturday at Deal. Since returning from University mid season the Dover boys have been battling the Perry-French twins, Lewis and Bradley, from Herne Bay for the title. The two crews have maintained a good sporting relationship through the competition this season.

The twins got the better start and the Dover crew set about chasing them down. At the buoys the Dover crew’s better course had given them a couple of lengths lead. The gap closed on the return leg and lead alternated with every stroke, one crew in front of the other. At the line it came down to who took the last stroke to drive them forward and sadly for Dover it was Herne Bay who took the win by less than a canvas at the line. Hall and Stothart would like to congratulate the Perry-French twins and also thank the club members and officers who have supported them this year.
It has been an excellent season overall for Dover RC with 15 wins coming from 8 crews across all competitions leading to 5 boats gaining promotion.
Anyone interested in learning to row, or returning to rowing, should contact the club via the website or Facebook page.

Dover’s Novice Fours crews gained promotion to the Junior ranks at the Worthing Regatta weekend. The Men’s Novice crew of Cameron Mackintosh, Nathan Peach, Matt Barnett, Jon Cook coxed by Rebecca Stothart got a great start and gained a length on the other crews. Driving on they extended their lead at the turn pulling away from the Worthing crew on the return leg to secure their progression to Junior status. The crew also competed in the Men’s Junior Fours races coming home in 5th place place both days. The Ladies Novice Fours of Emma Spanton, Brogan Day, Kate Day, Ella Day coxed by Tony Burrows were quick off the line and were neck and neck with Southsea as they headed up the course. Southsea gradually pulled clear and were able to hold Dover off at the finish. Day 2 saw the same crew with a last minute cox change of Emma Oliver in for Burrows. Another good start saw the Dover crew pulling away from Shoreham on the inside. Oliver kept a consistent line to the turn before steering her crew more inshore. The Novice’s drove on gaining a larger lead to take their 2nd win for the Day family.

On Saturday the Men’s Junior pair of Chris Hall and Tom Stothart got a good start and set about chasing down the fast starting Herne Bay crew. They overhauled them before the buoy and a sharp turn saw them move a few lengths clear. They gradually extended their lead to take their 4th successive win. Day 2 saw Herne Bay lead to the turn were Dover were affected by the wash from a passing boat dropping them further behind. Unable to catch Herne Bay they came home in 3rd. Hall and T Stothart will now have to row off for with Herne Bay to decide the championship.

The Men’s Junior Sculls saw Hall, Peach and T Stothart compete. Hall and Peach comfortably qualified for the finals both days with T Stothart only making the final on Day 2. Hall and Peach both started well in the first final fighting with the leading boats up to the turn. Both scullers were dropped on the way home with Hall finishing 3rd and Peach 4th. On Day 2 and in worse conditions Hall came home 4th, Peach 5th and Stothart 7th.

In the age group races the J16 Ladies Quad Sculls crew of Oliver, Spanton, Morgan Evans, E Day coxed by Jo Johnston battled hard to secure second place. Day 2 saw a nasty incident where Oliver was hit in the face and a rigger was bent. Despite being reduced to 3 rowers the Dover youngsters held off the home crew to take 3rd. The J16 Men Quad Sculls of Sebastian Steele, Jasper Mallet, Peach, George Newman coxed by Oliver were competing well for a top two place until a heavy ‘crab’ saw one of the blades jump out of its gate dropping the young crew to 3rd. On Day 2 R. Stothart replaced Steele. A clean row saw the young crew improved to 2nd at the line. Mallet also finished 2nd in a Worthing composite in the J14 Quad race.

The Ladies Double Sculls saw Dover enter 3 crews on Day 1; Johnston / R. Stothart, Maria West-Burrows / Oliver, E Day / Spanton. The Johnston boat had the better start and were in the leading group, whilst West-Burrows and Day boats were a little behind. A good turn had Johnston boat in 4th place and hunting for 3rd but they were unable to improve their position at the line. West-Burrows boat came in 5th place and Day’s 7th. West-Burrows / R. Stothart completed the race on day two in difficult conditions coming home 4th

Men’s Novice Sculls saw Newman progress through his heat showing how much the youngster had improved since coming to the club whilst Mackintosh just missed out. In the final Newman struggled at the turn which saw him drop down to 7th. On Day 2 Newman qualified comfortably whilst Mackintosh also qualified despite a capsize at the turn. Mackintosh got a fantastic start and was leading for the first 500m. After the turn he had dropped back, coming home in 4th place whilst Newman was again 7th.
The Ladies Junior Fours of West-Burrows, B Day, K Day, E Day coxed by Oliver had a good start but were unable to stay with the stronger crews after the turn coming home 5th.

The Ladies Open Sculls saw Johnston cope well in an eventful race to come home 5th on Day 1 and 6th on Day 2. Johnston and West-Burrows competed in the Ladies Senior Pairs coming in 7th.
In the trial event, Men’s Quad, the crew featuring Newman, T Stothart, Cook, Mackintosh coxed by R Stothart finished 3rd.

Dover Rowing Club’s Tom Stothart and Chris Hall continued their winning ways at Deal Regatta securing their 3rd consecutive win in the Men’s Junior Pairs. The pair moved into 2nd off the line chasing the fast starting Herne Bay crew. Coming out of the first turn in close 2nd before rowing through their opponents by the half way point. At the 2nd turn the Dover boys had eased out to a three length lead which they maintained to the line. The win and other results helped Dover secure 2nd place in the Junior Aggregate competition.

The two Novice fours races saw strong performances from Dover’s crews. The Men’s team of George Newman, Matt Barnett, Nathan Peach, Cameron Mackintosh coxed by Rebecca Stothart found themselves chasing Southsea on the 1st leg and were forced to follow them round the 1st buoy. Trailing by a few lengths coming to the 2nd buoy the crew executed a fantastic turn to close the gap. Raising their stroke rate they closed to overlap but run out of water as they were charging towards the line taking 2nd in one of the tightest races of the day. Sebastian Steel came home 3rd as the bow man in a Herne Bay crew. Dover had two crews in the Ladies event Emma Spanton, Brogan Day, Kate Day, Ella Day, coxed by Tony Burrows and Chantel Mayes, Rosie Thorp, Izzy Godden, Hannah Power coxed by Mackintosh. The Day crew had the better start and were battling for 1st at the turn slotting into 2nd on the run to the 2nd turn. The hard push from the turn saw them close to gap but Southsea were able to hold on. Mayes crew had a good race coming in 5th collecting points for the club.

In the Men’s Junior Sculls Hall, Peach, Chris Price and T Stothart competed in the heats with Hall and Peach progressing to the final. A strong final saw Hall and Peach in a four way battle with the Herne Bay scullers at the first turn. Hall was holding 2nd on the return run and Peach in 4th. Herne Bay took control through the 2nd turn leaving Hall 3rd and Peach in 4th.

The J16 Quad Sculls saw the Ladies crew of Mayes, Godden, SJ Bamfield and Spanton coxed by Jo Johnston having a good start before dropping back to 3rd on the run to the line. The Men’s crew of Steele, R Stothart, Peach, Newman coxed by Mackintosh were 3rd off the line and were unable to close down the leading crews on the shorter course.

Dover had 3 crews in the Ladies Double Sculls, Johnston / R Stothart, Maria West-Burrows / Thorp and Spanton / E Day. Johnston’s crew got the better start reaching the turn in a battle for 3rd on the return leg they fell to 4th which they held to the finish. The West- Burrows and the new pairing of the Spanton crew were neck and neck for the last points place with West- Burrows taking 6th and Spanton 7th.

Nick Bailey came in 5th in a Herne Bay composite Masters 50+ and 6th with Paul Scrivener coxed by R Stothart in a 2nd composite in the Masters 40+.

There were mixed results in the remaining Sculls races with Johnston coming home 6th in the Ladies Sculls, Bailey was 9th in the Men’s Senior Sculls. Mackintosh, Newman and Scrivener narrowly missed qualifying for the Novice Sculls final.
Ladies Senior Pairs crew of Johnston and West-Burrows came home in 7th.

Dover Rowing Club were in action in Herne Bay at the weekend competing in some very challenging conditions. Men’s Junior Pair of Chris Hall and Tom Stothart took a fantastic win despite pulling the rough water of an outside lane in the final. The Dover boys got a good start and worked their way towards the inside buoys for the turn, their efforts left them 5 lengths down on the inside home crew. The chase was on and they clawed back length after length to be neck and neck with 100m to go. It was all or nothing for Dover as they gave everything they had, taking the win by half a canvas.

 
The Men’s Novice Fours of Cameron Mackintosh, Nathan Peach, Matt Barnett, Jon Cook coxed by Rebecca Stothart got a good start and were in an early lead before Worthing slowly overhauled them by the turn. The run home was frustrating as the crew that had won at Dover were unable to reel in their opponents, leaving them to finish 2nd.

Dover entered three crews in the Ladies Novice Fours; the J16’s of Chantel Mayes, Emma Oliver, Emma Spanton, SJ Bamfield coxed by Jo Johnston; Rosie Thorp, Kate Day, Brogan Day, Kate Smith coxed by Tony Burrows; and a composite crew featuring Izzy Godden and Hannah Power. The J16 crew got the better of the conditions on the outward leg and turned in 2nd. They looked set to hold that position until 200m where the worst of the conditions threw the light weight youngsters around badly as the heavier adult Folkestone crew managed to row through them, leaving them to come home 3rd. The Thorp crew were not far behind in 4th with the composite crew coming in 5th.

Men’s Junior Sculls heats went very well as Dover’s Hall, Peach and T Stothart all qualified for the final. An eventful final saw contact off the line between Hall and Peach as conditions made steering challenging. With the majority of the boats aiming for the two onside turns chaos ensued, Hall had to concede the better line and dropped to 8th, Peach and Stothart faired better exiting in 2nd and 5th respectively. Peach avoided trouble among the lead boats on the run home before coming under pressure from a late charging Bexhill sculler. Peach looked to have just enough to hold on before a heavy wave wrenched his blade out of his hand. He was able to save the boat and finished 3rd. Stothart in his first Junior status race came home 4th, with Hall in 5th.
J14 Quad Sculls crew Sebastian Steele, James Hale, Jasper Mallet, George Burrows coxed by Johnston came in 3rd after initially battling for 2nd with Worthing. J16 Quad Sculls saw Peach replace Burrows as the J14 rowed up an age group with Oliver at cox. The young crew did well in a straight drag race finishing 3rd. J16 Quad Sculls had a problematic race as a rigger problem left Oliver as a passenger with only Mayes, Spanton and Bamfield able to row, with Johnston coxing. Despite the obvious issue the crew finished 3rd.

Dover had two crews in the Ladies Double Sculls Johnston / R.Stothart and Maria West-Burrows / Thorp. An early coming together with a Worthing Double saw Johnston / Stothart drop to the back of the field as West-Burrows / Thorp moved into the leading group. The turns proved decisive with Johnston / Stothart moving up to 4th chasing the 3rd place crew to the line, whilst West-Burrows / Thorp came home in 7th.
Nick Bailey and Paul Scrivener raced in a composite crew coxed by R Stothart in the Masters 50 +. The elder statesmen of the club performed well battling through to 4th place.

Ladies Junior Four had three Novice rowers K Day, B Day and Smith teaming up with West-Burrows. Conditions proved difficult with heavy waves crashing over West-Burrows in the bow seat leaving the crew to battle home in the last points position. The Men’s Junior / Senior race saw arguably the worst conditions of the day with inside crews getting pummeled in both directions. The Dover crew of Scrivener, T Stothart, Hall, Mackintosh coxed by R. Stothart had a exciting battle for 5th place with the home crew. With both boats swamped the home team prevailed leaving the Dover crew in 6th.
Johnston competed in the Ladies Open Sculls coming home in 6th and then went straight out with West-Burrows in the Senior Ladies Pairs coming home 7th. The Men’s Novice Sculls didn’t go to plan with both Mackintosh and Scrivener narrowly missing out on a qualifying spot in their heats.

It was a fantastic weekend for Dover Rowing club with 6 wins across Dover and Folkestone’s regattas. This was Dover’s largest weekend haul for several years. The J14 crew of Sebastian Steele, James Hale, Jasper Mallet, George Burrows coxed by Tony Burrows were in their first race in a straight sprint on Saturday. The youngsters pulled into an early lead which they maintained to the finish. At Folkestone over a longer course the crew completed well coming home in 3rd place.

Men’s Novice Fours, at Dover, featuring Cameron Mackintosh, Matt Barnett, Nathan Peach, John Cook coxed by Rebecca Stothart eased clear of the pack on the outward leg. A good turn allowed them to push forward and extend their lead securing the crew’s first win. At Folkestone George Newman switched in for Cook. A reduced field saw Dover’s crew win comfortably but prevented Dover’s counting towards promotion.

A frustrating Men’s Junior Pairs saw Christopher Hall and Tom Stothart’s race end in Dover, when a rival crew holed their boat leading to a restart. The Dover boys were unable to compete due to the lack of a boat. Refocused the boys were determined to demonstrate their abilities on Sunday. In an exciting race the boys were neck and neck with Herne Bay through the whole course but held off their opponents to secure the win.

The Men’s Junior Sculls race saw Hall, Peach and Chris Price compete at Dover. A good race saw several boats in contention at the turns including Hall and Peach. A better turn saw Hall in a three way battle with Bexhill and Southsea with Hall narrowly missing 2nd at the line. Peach came home 4th and Price 9th. The heavier conditions at Folkestone saw Price fall in the heats whilst Hall and Peach progressed. In the final Hall entered the turns in 5th but exited in 1st followed by Peach. Hall extended his lead managing to hold off Herne Bay’s late charge, Peach in 3rd was left to rue his less direct line on the return leg.

The Men’s Novice Sculls saw T. Stothart win his heat at Dover with Paul Scrivener, Newman and Macintosh missing out. T. Stothart was narrowly leading the final as he entered the turns but missed his buoy forcing him to row up to the next turn to avoid disqualification. Clearing the turn he had dropped to 5th. Although he put in a storming performance row through three opponents he ran out of water at the line finishing 2nd. At Folkestone T. Stothart again won his heat with Macintosh and Newman again missing out on the final. A strong start saw T. Stothart pull away and he was leading at the turn. He was able to hold off some late pressure to secure his second Novice win and promotion to Junior status.

Dover’s Ladies Junior Fours achieved their preseason target of a top two finish after a history of 3rd and 4th places. The crew of Jen Jordan, Chrissy Purvis, Maria West-Burrows, Kate Smith coxed by Jo Johnston were quickly in a battle for 2nd as the Worthing crew pulled clear of the field. A good turn and a determined push saw them hold off Bexhill to secure 2nd place at Dover. At Folkestone the crew could not repeat the performance dropping to 4th place on the longer course.

J16 Ladies Quad Sculls of Chantel Mayes, Ella Day, Emma Oliver, SJ Bamfield coxed by Johnston secured 2nd place on home water and 3rd in Folkestone. J16 Men’s Quad Sculls of Mallet, Hale, Peach, Newman coxed by Oliver finished in 3rd place at both regattas.
In a patched up boat Purvis and Jordan produced an excellent 3rd place in the Ladies Junior Pairs at Dover.
Ladies Novice Fours saw E. Day, Brogan Day, Kate Day and Smith coxed by Burrows came home 4th at Dover and Folkestone. Hannah Power, Rosie Thorp, Izzy Godden, R. Stothart coxed by P Scrivener took 6th at Dover. Mayes, Claire Beaumont, Oliver, Bamfield coxed by Johnston came 7th at Dover. At Folkestone Thorp replaced Beaumont with the crew finishing 5th.
In Ladies Double Sculls Johnston and R. Stothart came 4th, Smith and E. Day 7th and West-Burrows and Thorp 8th at Dover. The following day Johnston and Thorp came 5th and West-Burrows and R. Stothart 6th.
Johnston competed in the Ladies Single Scull on both days coming 4th and 6th respectively.

The Masters Fours 40+ of P. Scrivener, Barnett, Nick Bailey, Neil Scrivener coxed by Hale came 5th at Dover. Bailey also rowed in a composite crew in the Masters 50+ coxed by Hale which came 4th at Folkestone.

An all Scrivener family crew of Jacob, Toby, Ollie, Tim coxed by Paul took 5th place at Dover in the Men’s Junior Four. A second mostly Scrivener crew of Paul, Neil, Tim, C. Mackintosh coxed by Ollie came in 6th in the Junior Senior men’s Fours.

Johnston and West-Burrows competed in the Senior Ladies Pairs finishing 7th and 8th at the two Regattas.

Two non-CARA league races were held in Dover for Ladies and Men’s Quad Sculls. The Ladies crew of R. Stothart, E. Day, Johnston, West-Burrows coxed by Oliver came home second and the Men’s squad of Newman, Mackintosh, Peach, Cook coxed by Hale were 5th.

Dover Rowing Club wish to thank the following organisations and individuals:

A&S Self Storage Ltd, Mr N.J. Bailey, Barney, Best Godmother Ever, The Boars Head, B.S.J. Roofing, Burgashell, Mr N.J. Cooke, Mr W Darlington, Designed Interiors, Dover Express, Dover Harbour Board, Dover Lifeguards, Dover Sea Sports Centre, Dover Water Sports Centre, East Kent Mercury, Emma Dunne Ltd, Glow Galaxy Art, Health and Safety South East Ltd, K.R. Gavin Removals, Mrs J. Hall, Kent Stonemason, Mariner III – Malcolm, Mr D. Newman, Mr & Mrs Oliver, Parkers Design and Print, Serena’s Events, Sharp & Enright Ships Chandlers, Mrs M. Squibb, Mr K. Thorp, Mr C. Townley.

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.