Last weekend saw Dover Rowing Club competing in CARA’s first Regattas of the season at Worthing and Worthing Town. First crew on the water were J16 Girls featuring Taylor Warren, Antonia Reed, Megan Barter and Worthing’s Bryony Doick coxed by Lizzy Foley on day one and Jo Johnston on day two. Both days saw solid performances from the young group finishing 3rd and 4th, in what was Warren’s racing debut. The Senior Men’s sculls race saw Chris Hall rowing above his status to gain experience in the top category finishing 4th and 5th gaining points both days. Senior Ladies Pairs race had a new pairing of Maria West-Burrows and Johnston in their first race giving a strong competitive performance securing a 4th place finish. Day 2 saw a change of fortunes as West-Burrows and Johnston were leading off the line before the rougher conditions led to a large wave lifting and stopping the boat leaving them trailing home in 9th. Dover had two competitors in the Junior Sculls races with Hall and Chris Price. The first race saw Price misjudge the turn leading to his disqualification for impeding Hall and leaving him to finish 7th. With the two rowers side by side on Day 2, and the previous days race forgotten, Hall finished 4th, one place above Price. The Ladies Junior Four saw two novice rowers making up the crew on Day 2. Stephanie Darrall, West-Burrows, Foley, Amy Lewington coxed by Tony Burrows got a fair start and were in the pack to the buoy turn where the field separated out with the Dover crew securing a good 5th place. Tom Stothart made his debut in the Men’s Novice Sculls where he completed against Club Captain Burrows. Young Stothart coped well outward before a near capsize took his confidence leaving him 11th with Burrows coming home in 8th. The rougher conditions of Day 2 saw a more confident Stothart battle Burrows throughout the race with only a better buoy turn by Burrows easing him a head. Burrows secured 5th place with Stothart taking a point for 6th. The Ladies Novice 4’s race saw Barter, Darrall, Reed, Lewington coxed by Foley struggling in strong field on Day 1 finishing 8th overall. A new pairing of Hall and Austin Mills had a difficult first race when an issue with Mills’ seat undermined a promising start leaving them labouring home in 11th. Day 2 gave grounds for optimism when the DGSB boys jumped from 7th to 5th with a fantastic buoy turn gaining them 4 lengths which they held to the finish. The Ladies Double Sculls saw two Dover crews competing Barter and West-Burrows leading off the line over Johnston and Reed on Day 1’s race.The Johnston Reed combo were in the stronger position at the turn and were hunting down the 2nd place crew before Johnston caught a crab leaving them finishing 6th. Barter and West-Burrows came in 7th after Shoreham crashed into them with Barter taking a blow on her back. A less eventful 2nd day race saw the same finishing positions for both crews. The final race on both days was the Ladies Sculls which has been returned to the CARA schedule this season. Day 1’s race had both Johnston and Foley competing with Johnston leading the way for Dover chasing the Worthing and BTC scullers down the course to secure 3rd and Foley taking a respectable 6th place. Johnston secured Dover’s highest place finish taking 2nd place on Day 2.

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.

(This post is written from the first-person perspective of the author)

This week saw the annual competition of Lent Bumps occur in Cambridge, with 31 colleges competing in a unique rowing race spread over 5 days where the aim is to try and ‘bump’ the boat racing ahead of you. Normally events this far from home are not relevant to Dover, but this year I, a Dover rower, joined Gonville and Caius college (studying computer science), and have been rowing in the 3 seat of the Caius mens first boat.

Day 1

The races started on Tuesday with a rest day for the M1 and W1 divisions, with just lower division boats racing. I headed down the river by bike to watch some of the races, to get a feel of how each race is started. A cannon is used to signal 4 minutes to go, 1 minute to go, and the start itself, which is very loud and apparently deafens boats near it. It certainly is effective at getting the adrenaline pumping though! Caius M3 were awarded a technical row-over after a bump in front of them caused some chaos, Caius M2 achieved a row-over, however the women’s side did not fare as well: Caius W2 were bumped by Trinity Hall W2.

Photo credit Giorgio Divitini

Day 2

Day 2 was a rest day for the second divisions, and was the first racing day for M1. Caius M3 were bumped by St Edmund’s M2, but in the process were driven into the bank, damaging the boat and injuring the cox. The boat limped back to the boathouses taking on water, however the skilled hands of our boatman fixed the boat back to racing standard by the next day. Caius W2 were again bumped, by Kings W2, and Caius W1 were bumped by Pembroke W1.

The M1 race promised to be very interesting. In a previous race, namely the Robinson Head 2 weeks prior, Caius M1 won with a 3 second lead on the second fastest crew, Downing M1. Downing M1 are also directly behind us in Lent Bumps. Confident that we were the faster crew over the entire course, we just had to contend with any pushes Downing made to stay ahead.

With 4 minutes to go, we huddled together for a final crew chat. We just needed to row like we’d rowed many times before, strong and steady. We got back into the boat – 1 minute gun fires. You can see all the other boats lined up along the bank down the river, past the bridge, down to the lock. As the final 30 second countdown begins, our boatman pushes us out into the river and we sit ready. 10, 9, 8, 7 – square and buried – 6, 5, 4, 3— BOOM. The start is completely unlike coastal rowing, you know exactly when the gun will fire, there’s no faffing with starting lines, and you know that the boat 1.5 lengths behind you will be pushing as hard as they dare to catch you.

Our start is good, and we extend our 1.5 length lead to 2.5 lengths by the half way point, after the 3 corners. Downing now start their push, reclaiming that lost length to take them back on station for the last part of the race, but they cannot sustain the drive, and we row over with 1.5 lengths separation.

Photo credit Giorgio Divitini

Also of note are the fines and notices given by the race organisers to various crews. In particular: “Sidney Sussex M2 – Excessive greenery – race in a wooden hull fashioned from the branches for the remainder of the week” (crews that get a bump traditionally affix small branches torn from trees and bushes to themselves on the row home).

Day 3

Caius M3 were unfortunately bumped again by Pembroke M3, Caius M2 had some last-minute subs due to academic commitments, and were bumped by Lady Margaret M2, and Caius W1 were bumped by Churchill W1.

The M1 race began in a similar way to the previous day. We extended a lead of about 3 lengths by the half way point, but as we approached the last 500m Downing put on a push, again finishing 1.5 lengths behind us. There was a highly optimistic whistle from the Downing bank party at this point; usually a single whistle means 1 length separation, 2 whistles means half a length, and 3 whistles means a canvas, but they never got within 1.5 lengths.

In addition, Pembroke M1 (who started 5th at the beginning, and bumped up on day 2 and day 3) were favourites of the local radio station CamFM to bump up to headship. This prompted the race organizers to award a fine: “Cam FM – Over optimistically predicting Pembroke M1 to blade to headship – Attend speed awareness course”

Day 4

After a fierce race, Caius M2 were bumped less than 200m from the finish by Homerton M1. Caius W2 were bumped by Wolfson W2, and Caius W1 were bumped by Girton W1.

In the M1 division, Downing had Pembroke behind them, who they knew were a fast crew from the bumps of the previous days. They pushed harder off the start, but we still extended our lead to 2 lengths for the majority of the course, finishing with 2 lengths distance. The consecutive days racing was really starting to hurt in all the crews.

Photo credit Giorgio Divitini

The fines were amusing as always, with these gems:

• Clare, Fitzwilliam, First and Third, Magdalene W1, Newnham W1, Robinson M2 – Offensively stupid leggings – mass formal swap in leggings after BCD [Boat Club Dinner]
• Emmanuel W2 – Singing ABBA on the row home – Learn rowing versions of ABBA songs for the row home tomorrow
• Magdalene W1 – Excessive face paint – Full body paint for mays
• Magdalene M1 – Not knowing where their finish line is and insisting on their version – Try winding down 30m early tomorrow

Day 5

Caius M3 were bumped by Jesus M4, Caius M2 were bumped by Wolfson M1, Caius W2 were bumped by Downing W2, and Caius W1 were bumped by Lady Margaret W1.

Our plan was simple: row the race we’d been rowing for the past 3 days, responding to any attempts Downing makes. This time we don’t pull out an early lead, with Downing really pushing to keep up. They keep the rate high up in the 40s way past the first corner in an attempt to get closer to us, but we keep them safely at 1.5 lengths. After the corners we lengthened with the tailwind, slowly pushing away from Downing. Pembroke got close to Downing, spurring them into a push, but nothing to worry us.

As we passed the final bridge approximately 700m from the finish, we started putting down all the pressure we could. 2 lengths separation became 3, became 4. We were pulling further and further away and there was nothing the other crews could do to stop it. We crossed the line and retained the headship, welcomed with bottles of Prosecco and the Caius flag, which we paraded up and down the course.

Photo credit Jon Dean

And then of course, we threw our cox into the water, as is traditional.

Rowing at Dover really inspired me to push harder, go that extra distance, and keep going even when every fibre of my body is telling me to stop. That determination from coastal rowing helped Caius retain the headship this week, and in no small part I’m deeply grateful to all the members of Dover Rowing Club who helped me take those first steps into rowing and progress ever higher.

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.