Dover Rowing Club had three crews competing in the 64th South Coast and Junior Championships held on Southampton Water. Sebastian Steele, Sam Pile, James Hale, Jasper Mallet coxed by Freya Emmerson were racing in the Novice Championship. In the straight 2 km race of the Championship format Dover’s crew took an early lead in their heat and moved clear of the field focusing on length and power in a choppy mid-course. The crew comfortably qualified for the final maintaining their lead to the line. The Novice final saw stronger competition put pressure on the young crew. Dover moved to third at the half way point and, driven on by Emmerson, made their move with 500m to go closing and passing the 2nd place crew. Despite continued pressure Christchurch’s leading crew managed to hold them off by a length at the line.

The Ladies Junior squad of Marie Cockerell, Heather Corby, Maria West-Burrows, Krista Davis coxed by Nick Bailey had hoped to progress to the final. The heats didn’t go their way as an errant line by the Southsea crew led to contact with BTC’s boat pushing both crews into Dover’s racing line, pushing them to the side of the lane. With Southsea disqualified, Dover Ladies came home 5th.

The J16 Quad Boy’s championship saw a tired Steele, Hale, Mallet joined by Bo Corby with cox Emmerson. The impact of the previous heat and final was clear from the start as the crew were unable to challenge as the 1km race progressed, leaving them to come home 4th at the line.

With the end of the Coast Amateur Rowing Association regular season, Dover Rowing Club secured the Novice Men’s 4’s CARA title with two wins from Jasper Mallet, Sam Pile, James Hale, Sebastian Steele who were coxed by Emma Oliver and Tony Burrows during the season, there was one win for Matty Tremelling, Ben Gomm, Dom Skeat, Peter Betts coxed by Chris Hall.

The Men’s Junior Pairs was won jointly by Dover’s Gomm and Skeat who share the title with Shoreham’s Pair. Given the late finish to the season, and no row off dates set, both Captains agreed to share the title.
In the J16 Men’s Quad 4’s Mallet, Steele, Hale, Bo Corby and alternate Finn Cockerell coxed by Oliver and Burrows also ended the season tied at the top of the J16 event. The J16’s combined with the J14 squad results secured by Corby, Josh Grassby, Ben Fagg, Alex McCardle, George Martin, Beau Everington-Nee coxed by Oliver and Burrows left Dover in second place overall in the Junior age group overall championship.

Jacky Silk is believed to have become the longest serving CARA President as she is completing her third season in charge. It has been a challenging period for CARA and the club and Jacky’s hard work has been greatly appreciated.
Away from the coast, Dover’s Southampton University contingent of Hall, Tremelling, Gomm, Skeat and Betts had focused on a successful Henley Qualification in the 8’s Temple Challenge Cup. Southampton, minus an injured Halll, easily beat University College and Wolfson on the Wednesday, before being eliminated by the eventual winners ASR Nereus of Amsterdam, despite one of the fastest times of the day.
Dover RC are recruiting for next season. Anyone interested please contact the club via the Facebook page or Website.

Dover Rowing Club recorded early wins at Herne Bay regatta as the J16 Quad Sculls of Bo Corby, Sebastian Steele, Finn Cockerell, James Hale coxed by Emma Oliver recorded a comfortable win in their straight 1km race after pulling away from the field in the first quarter of the race. Dover’s J14 would race in a combined J14 mixed Quad Sculls and J16 Girls Quad Sculls race. It was clear from early in the race J16 Girls crew from Worthing, which contained National Schools finalists were stronger than the young Dover crew of B Corby, Josh Grassby, Ben Fagg, Alex McArdle coxed by Oliver but the young crew pursued the J16 finish less than 10 strokes behind winning the J14 race.

Hale and Steele were joined by Brendon and Kevin Ulyatt coxed by Oliver for the Men’s Novice 4 where they raced Dover’s second crew of Matt Neil, Matt McArdle, Jamie Smith, Matt Austin coxed by Cameron Mackintosh. Oliver’s crew were neck and neck with Deal at the turn until a seat issue would cost them the chance to compete for the win and they came home 2nd. Mackintosh’s novices containing two first time racers did well coming home in 3rd place. Hale, Steele and the Ulyatt’s would also race in the Men’s Junior 4’s again coxed by Oliver where racing Mackintosh, Matt Barnett, Eddie Briggs, Jon Cook who were coxed by Tony Burrows. The two crews battled each other over the first half of the race. The Oliver coxed crew pulled ahead into 4th place by the turn staying ahead of the 5th placed Burrows crew on the run to the finishing line.

Ladies Junior 4 of Emmeline McArdle, Canelle Ulyatt, Maria West-Burrows, Lorna Pile coxed by Oliver got a good start and moved into a tight race for second with Herne Bay. Moving towards the turn the Dover crew dropped to 3rd and were unable to close down the Herne Bay crew at the finish. In the Ladies Novice 4, E McArdle, C. Ulyatt, Marie Cockerell, L Pile coxed by Price had a bad start before picking up their rhythm and pushing Hastings for second. After the turn Hastings had a length on Dover’s crew which they held to the line.

The Ladies Double Sculls saw West-Burrows and Oliver get a great start moving into the early lead. Moving out to get a better run in the calm conditions, the decision was working well until a ‘crab’ slowed the boat, dropping the pair to 4th place with too little distance left to the finish to improve their position. Macintosh was Dover’s sole entry in the Men’s Novice Sculls. He was unable to stay with the leading scullers dropping to 5th by the turn. He chased the Eastbourne Sculler to the line but was unable to overhaul his opponent.

The Open Master’s 40+ saw Dover enter two crews K Uyatt, Cook, Neil, Nick Bailey coxed by Price and M Cockerell, M McArdle, West-Burrows, Briggs coxed by Oliver. The inside crews pulled away from Dover crews who were lined up further out. The Oliver coxed crew found themselves closing rapidly on the 5th place crew but lost out at the line with Price’s crew not far behind in 7th. Bailey had finished 5th in the Masters 50+ racing in a composite crew where their chance was lost at the turn.

Herne Bay is the last of the regattas in this year’s shortened CARA season. Anyone interested in competing for Dover next year should contact Dover Rowing Club via the website or Facebook page.

Dover Rowing Club had a winning start to the Regatta held at Deal this weekend, when the J16 quad sculls crew of Bo Corby, Sebastian Steele, James Hale, Jasper Mallet, coxed by Tony Burrows got a great start in this 800m straight sprint race. The young crew pulled clear of the field steadily increasing their lead through to the finish line. Steele, Hale and Mallet would be joined by Sam Pile in the Men’s Novice Fours, again coxed by Burrows, where they would compete against Dover’s second crew Kevin Ulyatt, Matthew Neil, Eddie Briggs, Adrian Calland, coxed by Marianne from Folkestone RC. The younger crew charged off the line establishing an immediate lead and taking the first turn with a substantial lead. As they rowed to the second turn, Dover’s second crew battled up to fourth. The crews would pass each other after the second turn as the Steele, Hale, Mallet and Pile headed home to take their second win of the day. K Ulyatt, Neil, Briggs, Calland held onto their fourth place to the line.

Steele, Hale, Mallet and Pile coxed by Burrows then moved up a division to compete in Men’s Junior 4’s competing against Dover’s A crew of K Ulyatt, Matt Barnett, Calland and Jon Cook coxed by Chris Price. The young crew had another good start and were first to turn with Folkestone close behind. It looked like a third win was on the cards as the Dover’s crew came past the clubhouse, before disaster struck with a blade (oar) catching in the waves and getting dragged under the boat. As the crew regained control of the blade, they restarted now pursuing the Folkestone crew who had passed them. They were unable to catch them finishing second. The result clearly showing the strength of this crew. Dover’s A crew came home in third place.

J14 crew of George Martin, Alex McArdle, Josh Grassby, Beau Everington-Nee coxed by Burrows had a good race showing improvement from their first race as they chased Bexhill’s crew down the 800m course coming home in second.

Ladies Junior 4’s of Emmeline McArdle, Canelle Ulyatt, Maria West-Burrows, Krista Davis coxed by Burrows were Dover’s highest placed woman’s crew after fighting hard to move into third approaching second turn. They had to battle Bexhill all the way to secure third place at the line. In the Ladies Senior 4 Ruby Cockerell, Lorna Pile, West-Burrows, Davis coxed by Tyler Amos from Deal RC performed well as the crew was made up of Junior and Novice rowers. A good turn saw the crew move to fourth which they managed to hold through to the line. West-Burrows would join Barnett, Briggs, Cook coxed by Burrows in the Masters 40+. They were in the middle of the field from the start pulling clear after the turn and moving up to fourth on the run to the second buoy turn. They moved into a neck and neck race with Deal taking third place on the line.

The Novice ladies four of Marie Cockerell, Davis, Heather Corby, L Pile coxed by Burrows were in a tight race at the first turn before gaining clear water. The inexperienced crew pushed hard on the long run from the pier confirming a fifth place points finish.

Dover Rowing Club had a phenomenal regatta at Bexhill securing the Novice and Men’s Junior Aggregate competitions. The Novice Men’s 4 saw 3 crews for Dover. Matty Tremelling, Ben Gomm, Dom Skeat, Peter Betts, a crew with university rowing experience, coxed by Chris Hall moved into the lead through the first 500 m stretching their lead through the turn taking the win ahead of Sebastion Steele, Matt McArdle, James Hale, Jasper Mallet coxed by Tony Burrows who had to fight through Hasting’s crew to take 2nd. Kevin Ulyatt, Adrian Calland, Eddie Briggs, Brendon Ulyatt coxed by Alan Warland (Eastbourne) would come home in 5th place. The Ladies Novice 4 crew of Marie Cockerell, Emily Harvey, Heather Corby, Krista Davis coxed by Burrows added points to the aggregate showing improvement form Folkestone regatta coming in 2nd. Matty Tremelling got a good start in the Novice Sculls reaching the turns in first place leading towards the finish only to be taken on the line leaving him in 2nd place.

The Men’s Junior Aggregate saw Hall take the lead in the Men’s Junior Sculls after 300 m after a tentative start. Turning first at the buoys Hall held off the chasing field on the run home to secure the win. Gomm and Skeat raced in the Men’s Junior Pairs. Making a fast start they moved well ahead of the small field comfortably taking the turn in the lead before moving clear of the 2nd place crew taking the win.

In the Ladies Junior 4’s Maria West-Burrows was joined by Novices Cannelle Ulyatt, Emily Harvey, Krista Davis coxed by Vanessa from Folkestone, the crew started well and were in the fight for a high finish on the outward leg, through the turn the more experienced crews pulled away leaving Dover to come home 5th.
The Men’s J16 saw Bo Corby, Sebastian Steele, Jasper Mallet, James Hale coxed by Burrows neck and neck with Shoreham’s crew on the 1 km straight race. It was only in the last 100 m that Shoreham took the advantage leaving Dover to take 2nd.

In the Men’s Junior Senior 4’s Hall was joined by Novices Gomm, Skeat, Betts coxed by Vanessa from Folkestone. They got away well moving to the head of the race tracking Herne Bay’s crew and dropping a length behind coming to the turn. The run for home saw Dover’s crew unable to match Herne Bay taking 2nd at the line.
Hall and Tremelling competed in the Senior Pairs after a steady start the crew dropped towards the back of the field finishing in 11th place.

Dover Rowing Club’s Maria West-Burrows and Jo Johnston were in action in the double sculls at the British Rowing Offshore Championship held at Exmouth over a 6km course containing six turns. West-Burrows and Johnston are veterans of 3 previous world championships and were aiming to improve on their previous 4th place at the last two British Championships.

Conditions were a little too calm for the coastal crew, their preference being for rougher sea conditions. A poor start saw the experienced crew trapped behind a queue at the first buoy turn. Chasing the crews ahead through turns two and three, Dover’s crew moved past Birmingham and Thames RC crews moving up to 5th. It was clear from turn four that the leading crews had too much advantage so Dover set about securing their 5th place through to the finish.

5th place was sufficient to qualify West-Burrows and Johnston for the World Championship in Portugal in October 2021.

Dual Dover and Eastbourne RC member Tony Burrows secured a surprise 3rd place in an Eastbourne men’s double scull with Jon Osborn.

It was a winning return to competition for Dover Rowing Club as they took two wins in the first CARA regatta of the season, held at Folkestone. The Men’s Novice Four of Sebastian Steele, Sam Pile, James Hale, Jasper Mallet coxed by Emma Oliver got a great start and established a good early lead. After the buoy turn, the lead had grown to over 100m and the crew would continue to pull away as the charged to the line for a comfortable win. The second Novice crew of Kevin and Brendon Ulyatt, Eddie Briggs and Adrian Calland coxed by Cameron Mackintosh were swamped at the turn and were unable to finish.

Steele, Hale and Mallet were joined by Bo Corby in the J16 Men’s Quad with Oliver at Cox. In the shorter 1km race the young crew ground out a lead over the first half of the race to see them go over the line in first place. In the J14 Men’s Quad B Corby was joined by Josh Everington-Nee, Beau Grassby and Alex McArdle coxed by Oliver. They worked hard to chase down their rival crew in the straight 1km race and came home in second.

The Men’s Junior Fours saw Cameron Mackintosh, Matt Barnett, Eddie Briggs, Jon Cook coxed by Tony Burrows, recovering from a bad start to move into a clear second at the turn. On the run home they were unable to close down the leading crew coming in second. The Ladies Junior Fours of Maria West-Burrows, Canelle Ulyatt, Heather Corby, Krista Davis coxed by Oliver would be up against it as the crew three of the crew were novices in their first race. The crew got off to a good start and were moving well. By the turns the stronger opponents had moved clear leaving Dover’s crew still in the points coming home in sixth.
In the Ladies Novice Fours race new rowers H. Corby, C. Ulyatt, Emeline McArdle and K. Davis coxed by Chris Price worked hard as they gained vital experience. The crew pushed hard and were able to secure a point coming home sixth.

In the Veteran races K. Ulyatt, M. Barnett, E. Briggs, J. Cook coxed by Oliver raced in the Vet 40 plus. A bad start left them in a hole chasing the field working hard to close the gap. The veterans turned in 5th and were unable to improve their place when they crossed the line. Nick Bailey came home 4th in the Veteran 50 plus whilst racing in a scratch crew made up of 4 different clubs.

In the Novice Sculls C. Mackintosh toiled in vain trying to take points for the club coming home in 8th place.

The first Dover Rowing Club crews completed their 5th virtual race, rowing in crews of 4 from Papua New Guinea to Christmas Island, a distance of 4665 km. Unlike the previous races in which the whole club worked together to row, run, walk and cycle (for which only half the distance counts towards the total) across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the fifth leg was a challenging effort for the small crew. Dover rowers were joined in their endeavours by three Eastbourne rowers.

37 Coast Amateur Rowing Association crews set off for Christmas Island with Dover A Veteran 40+ crew of Tony Burrows, David Newman, Jon Osborn (ERC) and Colin Guppy (ERC) moving into third overall as the first two crews pulled clear of the pack. The all-female Dover B Veteran 40+ of Maria West-Burrows, Jo Johnston, Chrissy Purvis and Marie Cockerell were pushing hard to catch the Dover A crew, and Dover Mens Junior A squad of Adrian Callard, Matt Barnett, Cameron Mackintosh and Jon Cook were close behind. Other crews were battling out for leads within their divisions.

At the half way point the Burrows crew was holding onto third overall as Shoreham’s Senior men began to make their move whilst Dover’s Juniors, Shoreham Vets and Folkestone lead crews were also close by. With Shoreham pulling clear by mid-January the Burrows crew were being pushed hard. As the 4000 km mark was passed, Callard’s crew started to close and the crews moved into the last 600 km within a few days of each other. With Newman leading ergo distance (850 km) and sitting 2nd overall (1721 km) and Osborn leading on the bike (1338km) the Burrow’s crew held off the Callard crew, though Callard build up a massive individual overall total of 2835km. The Dover Vet A finished 4th and Mens Junior A came home in 5th two days later, taking 1st place in the Men’s Junior and Junior Senior division.

The Dover B Veteran crew lie in 8th and 2nd amongst all female crews with West-Burrows about to post the second highest individual total. Of Dover’s other crews the Women’s Novice crew of Lorna Florence Clay, Mia Donn, Morgan Evans and Beth Rose Cornford (ERC) are holding onto first place in their division. Ella and Kate Day, Jen Jordan and Saffron Walmsley-Preece are 3rd in the Womans Junior race. Men’s Junior Senior crew of Steve Woods, Tom Stothart, Chris Price and Chris Hall are in 3rd . Jacky Silk, Nick Bailey, Julie Hall and Emily Harvey are 7th in the Vet 40’s race.

Dover Rowing Club would normally gather at the start of each year to remember the passing of present and former members, family and friends of the club. Following this most difficult of years, the club wishes to pay tribute to those that have been lost.

Dover Rowing Club have completed their 4th virtual race of 7914km from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea. Racing against their Coast Amateur Rowing Association opponents Dover finished in 4th place after a neck and neck race with Bexhill. Dover’s finish secured 1st place amongst those completing the Trans-Atlantic and Pacific challenge.

The race saw Shoreham and Herne Bay power away from the 5 remaining squads, with Shoreham taking the win. Bexhill, Deal and Dover flipped flopped between the 3rd, 4th and 5th positions until a big drop of 600km by Bexhill when the clubs had completed two thirds of the course seeing them leap ahead. Whilst Dover knuckled down for the pursuit, Deal would gradually fall away. Dover’s charge was briefly stalled by the port authorities understandable decision to suspend water activity in the harbour following a positive e-coli water quality test. Dover’s members continued to log their rows, ergo, walks, runs, cycles and workouts as they closed down Bexhill. Dover had moved to within less than 100km when Bexhill claimed third and completed the course the same day.
When Dover crossed the line, they had 3 competitors within the top ten overall with Adrian Callard as leading man with 1097km from his multi-disciplined approach and Maria West-Burrows as the club’s leading lady with 695km contributed by walking and rowing. David Newman was second for Dover with 797km and was third overall for ergo (rowing machine) distance with 382km completing his personal challenge 1000km on the ergo during the event. Chrissy Purvis, Jo Johnston, Heather Corby and Kate Day weighed in with contributions of over 250km whilst the men’s division had Tony Burrows, Matt Barnett, Jon Osborn and Cameron Mackintosh above the 250km mark.
The junior section was led by Ella Day with 215km and Bo Corby at 145km with valuable contributions from Emma Oliver, Emma Spanton, Morgan Evans, Safia Corby, Scarlett Durnham-Burrows, Sebastian Steele and SJ Bamfield.
There were regular contributions from Alfie Gardner, Chris Hall, Chris Price, Jen Jordan, Jacky Silk, Jon Cook, Lorna Florence Clay, Marie Cockerell, Nick Bailey, Paul Scrivener, Saffron Walmsley-Preece, Steve Woods and Tom Stothart.
As the remaining teams move towards the finish Dover awaits confirmation of their next challenge.