Dartmouth Amateur Rowing Club

  Celebrating 140 years of Success 

                      Est 1869

                      Junior Championships at Plymouth

DARTMOUTH Rowing Club’s successes at the 3^rd South Coast Junior Regatta held at Plymouth must rank amongst the club’s greatest achievements during its 140 year history.

Dartmouth’s Juniors were ‘top dogs’ when the first South Coast Junior Regatta was held at Dartmouth in 2006 with four wins and then again last season with five wins when the event was held at the 2012 Olympic rowing venue at Dorney Lake, Eton. But at Plymouth the club surpassed those achievements by winning six of the eighteen events and with a clutch of second and third places won the newly installed points trophy by a handsome margin.

The regatta emphasised the strength of Junior rowing in the West of England with the Coast ARA and the Hants & Dorset ARA just mustering five wins between them. Exeter was Dartmouth’s main rival on the day but home club Plymouth pulled off a couple of surprise wins and Dart Totnes, with a reduced squad, picked up a trophy.

The regatta was held in superb conditions on the river Plym following a torrential rain storm which flooded the Embankment and brought the busy road into Plymouth to a standstill. The straight 1000 metre course from Laira Bridge to the Plymouth clubhouse with a stake boat start proved ideal for the crews of the Hants & Dorset ARA, the Coast ARA of Kent and Sussex and the West of England ARA which covers Devon, Cornwall and Somerset.

Dartmouth’s Chris China, Liam Boyd, TJ Lang, David Langmead and cox, Alison McGrigor, were locked in a three boat battle with Herne Bay and Bideford Blues at Men’s Under 18 coxed fours. With 100 metres to go Dartmouth were half a length down on the other two crews but rowed between them with power to win by half a length from Herne Bay who were a further half length from Bideford Blues.

At Men’s Under 16 coxed quadruple sculls there was no doubt who were setting the pace as Dartmouth’s West of England ARA Champions of Michael Tilley, Richie Jeffs, TJ Lang, Matt Dayment and cox, Marie Dayment, flew off the start line and were a length up on the other crews in the first 100 metres. Dartmouth went on to win by an impressive six lengths from Bexhill and BTC Southampton.

At Men’s Under 18 double sculls Dartmouth’s Chris China and David Langmead beat Exeter by one and three quarters of a length and at Men’s Under 16 double sculls Dartmouth had a one, two, with TJ Lang and Matt Dayment winning by half a length from clubmates Michael Tilley and Richie Jeffs with Plymouth a further length down in third place.

In the Men’s single sculls Chris China of Dartmouth was third at Under 18 and Matt Dayment was just pipped on the line at Men’s Under 16 losing to Povey of Bideford Reds by half a canvass.

In the Ladies fours the Dart Totnes crew of Clare Gardner, Christie Rhys-Brown, Amy Kirkup, Jacqui Gibbard and cox Chelsie Cleal, had to settle for third behind Exeter and Herne Bay but the Dart Totnes crew of Emily Murphy, Christie Rhys-Brown, Amy Kirkup, Clare Gardner and cox, Chelsie Cleal, just pipped Bideford Reds by half a canvass to win the Ladies Under 16 coxed quadruple sculls with Christchurch a further three lengths down in third place.

Dartmouth had two placings at Ladies Under 18 double sculls with Sam Tilley and Fiona Dayment winning by two lengths from Southampton Coalporters with Hanna China and Chrissy Rugg third.

In the Ladies single sculls the West of England Under 18 Champion, Dartmouth’s Sam Tilley, made easy work of her race to win by two lengths from Saxton of Exeter, and Jess Phillips of Dart Totnes had to settle for third place at Ladies Under 16 single sculls behind Hunt of Christchurch and Wesson of Exeter.

3^rd South Coast Junior Regatta results:

Men’s Under 18 coxed fours 1 Dartmouth 2 Herne Bay 3 Bideford Blues

Men’s Under 16 coxed quadruple sculls 1 Dartmouth 2 Bexhill 3 BTC Southampton

Men’s Under 14 coxed quadruple sculls 1 Plymouth 2 Bideford Reds 3 Itchen Imperial

Men’s Under 18 double sculls 1 Dartmouth 2 Exeter

Men’s Under 16 double sculls 1 Dartmouth A 2 Dartmouth B 3 Plymouth

Men’s Under 14 double sculls 1 Plymouth 2 Bexhill 3 BTC Southampton

Men’s Under 18 single sculls 1 M Bowyer – Exeter A 2 J Lock - Exeter B

3 Chris China – Dartmouth

Men’s Under 16 single sculls 1 S Povey - Bideford Reds 2 Matt Dayment - Dartmouth

3 J Copper – Bexhill

Men’s Under 14 single sculls 1 M Bailey – Christchurch 2 J Nottley – Plymouth

Ladies Under 18 coxed fours 1 Exeter 2 Herne Bay 3 Dart Totnes

Ladies Under 16 coxed quadruple sculls 1 Dart Totnes 2 Bideford Reds 3 Christchurch

Ladies Under 14 coxed quadruple sculls 1 Bideford Blues 2 Bexhill 3 Bideford Reds

Ladies Under 18 double sculls 1 Dartmouth B 2 Southampton Coalporters 3 Dartmouth A

Ladies Under 16 double sculls 1 Exeter A 2 Bideford Reds 3 Exeter B

Ladies Under 14 double sculls 1 Christchurch 2 Itchen Imperial 3 Bideford Blues

Ladies Under 18 single sculls 1 Sam Tilley – Dartmouth 2 B Saxton – Exeter

Ladies Under 16 single sculls 1 J Hunt – Christchurch 2 A Wesson – Exeter

3 Jess Phillips – Dart Totnes

Ladies Under 14 single sculls 1 E Comerfield – Southampton Coalporters

2 A Jackson – Bideford Blues

Points: 1 Dartmouth 38pts 2 Exeter 28pts 3 Christchurch 16pts 4 Bideford Reds 15pts

5 Plymouth 14pts 6= Bideford Blues 10pts and Bexhill 10pts

8 Southampton Coalporters 8pts 9 Dart Totnes 7pts 10 Herne Bay 6pts

11 Itchen Imperial 4pts 12 BTC Southampton 2pts

Pics attached.

Pic.088. Dartmouth’s winning Junior squad at the South Coast Junior Regatta held at Plymouth. From left, Chris China, Matt Dayment, Marie Dayment, TJ Lang, Sam Tilley, Richie Jeffs, Fiona Dayment, Liam Boyd, Alison McGrigor, Michael Tilley. Also in the squad but missing from the photograph was David Langmead, Chrissy Rugg and Hanna China.

Pic.Dartmouth M2x 1. David Langmead (left) and Chris China (right) of Dartmouth who won the Men’s Under 18 double sculls at the South Coast Junior Regatta held at Plymouth.

Pic.083. The points trophy won by Dartmouth at the South Coast Junior Regatta held at Plymouth is collected from Ray Mallett (centre), the South Coast Championship Regatta Council chairman, by the squad’s youngest rower, Richie Jeffs (left) and the club secretary Alison McGrigor (right).

Pic.068. Dartmouth, winners of the Men’s Under 16 coxed quadruple sculls at the South Coast Junior Regatta held at Plymouth. From left, Matt Dayment, TJ Lang, Marie Dayment (cox), Richie Jeffs, Michael Tilley.

Pic.063. Dartmouth, winners of the Men’s Under 16 double sculls at the South Coast Junior Regatta held at Plymouth. From left, TJ Lang, Matt Dayment.

Pics.073 & Dartmouth L2x 2. Dartmouth, winners of the Ladies Under 18 double sculls at the South Coast Junior Regatta held at Plymouth. From left, Fiona Dayment, Sam Tilley.

Pics.076 & Dartmouth L1x 1. Sam Tilley of Dartmouth who won the Ladies Under 18 single sculls at the South Coast Junior Regatta held at Plymouth.