Dover Rowing Club came home in fourth place in the virtual race from Panama to Hawaii covering 8099km, the third leg of their virtual rowing race competing against seven other coastal rowing clubs. It was a massive team effort with 38 club members contributing via ergo (rowing machine), by foot, bike and workouts. The bigger membership clubs, Shoreham and Deal would quickly push into the lead whilst Dover tried to stay with Herne Bay in a battle for third as they pulled away from Folkestone, Bexhill, Worthing and Dartmouth. With returns to work impacting Dover’s chase, they would eventually finish a few days behind third place Herne Bay.

There was a fast start from Maria West-Burrows that saw her enter the top ten overall competitors in the first week with big rowing scores and long walks and it was a late surge from West-Burrows that would push Dover over the finishing line and put herself back into the individual top ten finish with 614 km contribution. Other leaders in the Ladies Division were Jo Johnston and Heather Corby working across the four disciplines, Chrissy Purvis on the bike, Julie Hall on foot and Saffron Walmsley-Preece on workouts.

DRC Hasting’s Regatta 2019

Dover’s Junior section made a massive effort to drive the club forward with Emma Oliver leading the workouts category overall and Bo Corby leading the Juniors for distance with 157km, and an impressive total from young coxswain Scarlett Durnham-Burrows contributing 95km to the cause. Contributions from Ella Day, Emma Spanton, Channy Mayes, Izzy Godden, Hannah Power, Jasper Mallet, Morgan Evans, Safia Corby and SJ Bamfield all helped push Dover onwards.

Dover’s heaviest hitters would come from the Men’s Division with sport omnivore Adrian Callard eating up large chunks of distance recording by bike 200km, foot 45km and ergo 100km in separate single day hits leaving him the overall distance leader for the event with 1418km. David Newman won the tortoise and hare race for the ergo crown after seeing Callard close to within 2 km by pulling a 100km row. Newman had built a massive lead with daily morning rows that would see him finish with 459km, rating him third on the ergo overall and sixth in the individual event with 744km. Cameron Mackintosh pushed into the top ten for running when the first teams crossed the line, Tom Stothart put in big ergo scores whilst Tony Burrows on foot and Jon Cook through workouts ticked off the kilometres, with Alfie Gardner and Matt Barnett riding to land big distances for Dover.

There were valuable contributions from Jacky Silk, Nick Bailey, Paul Scrivener, Jen Jordan, Jon Osborn, Kate Day, Karen Ponsford, Marie Cockerell, Lorna Florence Clay, Steve Woods, Chris Hall, Chris Price.
Dover now look to the virtual Hawaii to Papua New Guinea leg, a further 7419km, and the hope that they can soon return to the water.

Following the tight finish to the virtual Atlantic crossing race, Dover Rowing Club were ready to take on Folkestone and Worthing on the next leg; the ‘sprint’ from virtual Antigua to virtual Panama covering 2115 kilometres. The event saw ergo (rowing machines), walking and running count directly to the kilometre totals with cycling counting half and workouts converted into distances to build towards the target. The interest in the first race led to more CARA teams joining the original three with Bexhill, Deal, Shoreham and Herne Bay as well as our friends from the west Dartmouth. With the larger membership clubs joining there was greater pressure on the Dover team to come together in their role of underdog. With permission from the race organisers, Dover also picked up the sole Eastbourne RC competitor and friend of the club Jon Osborn.

It was no surprise that Shoreham leapt out to an early lead on day one with their greater man and woman power, leaving Dover fighting initially with Folkestone and Worthing in the lower end of the table. Dover galvanised into action and steadily pulled away from their first leg opponents with big scores from Jo Johnston, Cameron Mackintosh, Matt Barnett and David Newman on the ergos; Chrissy Purvis, Heather and Bo Corby, Adrian Callard and Alfie Gardner on their bikes; Maria West-Burrows, Tony Burrows, Julie Hall on foot; Saffron Walmsley-Preece, Emma Oliver, Emma Spanton and Jon Cook on the workouts. Dover started closing ground on Deal and Bexhill. A midweek surge saw Deal take the lead with Shoreham and Bexhill above Dover. Big rides for Walmsley-Preece, Paul Scrivener and strong rows from Chris Hall and Tom Stothart drove the team on to close down Bexhill. With regular contributions from across the club including Nick Bailey, Steve Woods, Chris Price, Jen Jordan and Marie Cockerell. The youth section were also busy with Oliver Spanton, E Day, Chantel Mayes, Jasper Mallet and even the young coxswains Safia Corby and Scarlett Durnham-Burrows contributing to the race total.

When Shoreham crossed the line after 6 days of racing followed shortly by Deal the official race stats showed Callard as the leading individual with Newman ranked 5th by kilometres covered. The start of the 7th day saw a big push from Dover with good distances from Callard, Kate and Ella Day, hard cycling from Barnett and a big ergos from Newman and C Hall. With everyone contributing important scores, Dover came home in third ahead of Bexhill.

The individual stats saw Barnett and C Hall enter the top ten for individual performers, but Callard retained his lead contributing a truly impressive 241.5 kilometres cross the 7 days. Dover were shown to have the third smallest squad but the highest average distance per rower across the competition. They led in the walking distance category and came 3rd in ergo and workout performances.

Dover now look to the next stage of the race finishing in virtual Hawaii, the longest leg at 8099 kilometres

Following lockdown Dover Rowing Club move to be a ‘virtual’ club with the clubs ergos (Rowing Machines) distributed to members. The club started regular challenges to promote continued fitness, including a cross channel challenge, and to maintain support for members that might be struggling in these uncertain times. They were therefore delighted to pick up the gauntlet thrown down by Folkestone RC to compete in a virtual row of the Atlantic. Members could use a rowing machine, run, walk, workout or cycle (whether using turbo trainers, statics or normal rides counting for half the value of the rest) whilst encouraged to show awareness of current restrictions including social distancing. Dover RC and Folkestone RC were joined by Worthing RC to make it a three horse race for the 4700km to virtual English Harbour, Antigua.

The challenge brought together the racing members with the dry side members together in a competition for the first time. So with ergos in hallways, sheds and spare rooms, carefully thought out routes for runs, walks and cycle rides, Dover were ready for the off. The event also revealed the club had a ‘man machine’ in Adrian Callard who was the biggest individual contributor through the race. As the first third was completed, Dover and Worthing were neck and neck with Folkestone in the lead. Then marathon length rows, on the day scheduled for the London Marathon, came into play and Dover dropped to third. The fight back saw Callard, Chris Hall, Heather Corby, Maria West-Burrows and Jo Johnson bring the race into a three battle again. Contact was made with members who were not on the social media groups, or who had not been heard from recently, leading to valuable contributions from Nick Bailey, Saffron Walmsley-Preece, Steve Woods, Terry Kiggens, Amy Lewington and Julie Hall. Dover moved into a two way battle with Folkestone. Significant contributions from Junior members Bo Corby (rowing and cycling) and Emma Oliver amongst others with club stalwarts Jacky Silk, Chris Price, Chrissy Purvis, Jen Jordan and even their press officer David Newman saw Dover take the lead. The 10 km club came to together with Cameron Macintosh, Matt Barnett and Jon Cook as the end of the race came into sight. A big push at the weekend with Alfie Gardner, Paul Scrivener late declarations and regular contributors Tony Burrows Marie Cockerell, Lorna Florence Clay, Izzy Godden, Ella and Kate Day combined with the some big hits from Callard and C. Hall, Dover found themselves in sight of the finish. With the last 7.5 Km dropping in, Burrows raced to enter the finish message on the Coast Amateur Rowing Association page only to find the Folkestone had finished a mere 19 minutes ahead of Dover.

The inevitable conversation at the virtual bar, saw the clubs agree to race the next leg onto virtual Panama to start on Sunday the 10th May. With other clubs ready to join in, it will be a challenging race as we head towards the pacific .

Just prior to the instructions for social distancing and lockdown, the club held the official naming ceremony for their new pair / double boat the John Turnpenny named in memory of one the clubs benefactors who supported the club for many years. The boat, which arrived during last season, was pressed into immediate service being used in 4 wins by the C Hall / Tom Stothart pairing’s late run at the championship.

Dover Rowing Club held their Presentation Dinner following a successful season that saw 5 boats promoted and Novice crews sharing the overall CARA championship.

Nathan Peach, who took promotion in both sweep and sculling formats this season, received Men’s Most Improved Novice Rower and also took the prestigious Rowers Rowers award ahead of crew mate Matt Barnett.

Emma Spanton took the Most Improved Female Rower after taking her first win in the last race of her season.

The Coxswain of the Year award was presented to Emma Oliver for her work with a variety of crews throughout the season.

The Captain’s Award was shared by Jo Johnston and Maria West-Burrows who work hard for the club off the water and represented the club for the third year running at the World Offshore Championships.

Matt Barnett received the Club Person of the Year trophy for his willingness to help other crews and organising the successful Men’s Novice 4 crew.

Young Lacey Scrivener received the Helpers prize for her hard work at the the Dover Regatta.

CARA Novice awards were presented to the following rowers for gaining progression for Novice to Junior classification: Kate Day, Ella Day, Brogan Day, Nathan Peach, Jon Cook, Cameron Mackintosh and Matt Barnett

Special Awards:

More changing than training award: Chrissy Purvis and Jennifer Jordan

Topsy Turvy boat award: Izzy Godden and Hannah Power

Queen and Country award: Jo Johnston and Maria West-burrows

Keep trying you may win again one day award: Paul Scrivener

Stand and deliver coaching award: Tony Burrows

DRC are keen for new members male or female, younger or older to continue the clubs improvement into 2020. Anyone interested should contact the club via Facebook or the club’s website.

Dover rowers Matilda ‘Jo’ Johnson and Maria West-Burrows were in action in the World Rowing Coastal Championships held at Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. With the UK qualifiers cancelled earlier this year, Johnson and West-Burrows were chosen as GBR1 based on their performances in previous British and World Championships.

The crew, who have a combined age of over 100 years, had to adjust to the hotter and more humid conditions in Hong Kong. In qualifying Dover’s finest had to race over the 4 km course, completing 6 turns and starting with a flat out charge to the first buoy over 1340m. Springing out of the congested turn the pair found themselves in mid field needing to move up to grab a qualifying spot for the A final. Caught behind FRA5 the Ladies had an issue with grip due to the moisture in the air. On the long sprint home to the finish they were unable to catch the top 8 coming home as the leading GBR crew in 11th place in a time of 23 mins 38.70 secs.

Day 2 saw the the Dover Double in the B Final also run over the 4 km course. The conditions were more coastal than last years finals which suited the Dover crew better. At the turn Dover were behind FRA5 and HKG4 with Dover edging closer at each turn. In the long sprint home their pressure began to tell as they broke HKG4 clawing back 26 secs from the 3rd timing point to the finish. They closed rapidly on FRA5 just dipping out and coming home in 7th, in a faster time than the heat of 22 mins 44.45 secs. Overall the ladies were pleased with their overall world ranking of 23 and being the highest ranked GBR crew in their event.

Dover Rowing Club received four trophies from the 2019 season at the CARA presentation dinner following an excellent season for their Novice crews.

Novice Ladies Four of Ella Day, Kate Day, Brogan Day, Kate Smith with Emma Spanton who subbed for Smith coxed this season by Tony Burrows and Emma Oliver jointly won their title with wins at the start and the end of the season. Novice Men’s Four of Cameron Mackintosh, Matt Barnett, Nathan Peach, Jon Cook with George Newman who also won a non status race with the squad coxed by Rebecca Stothart and Oliver were joint winners of their class.
Peach also jointly won the Novice Sculls title when his two wins were combined with one from Tom Stothart. With all four boats progressing to Junior level in the season it was pleasing to see Dover share the overall Novice Aggregate.

The trophies were picked up by Jacky Silk who is presently CARA President and Jo Johnston.

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.