Deal Rowing Club’s women’s senior fours and masters open 40-plus crews end long waits for victory in South Coast Championships at Folkestone

Two Deal Rowing Club crews made pieces of club history at the 66th South Coast Championships at Folkestone.

The women’s senior four crew of Maisie-Jayne Lahr, Sharron Mullaney, Vicky Ward and Lois Mullaney, with cox Scarlett Morgan, claimed the championship title for Deal for the first time since the category was introduced in 1979 with a close win.

And in the masters open 40-plus age-group category, Jason Morgan, Kirk Bell, Justin Dodrill and James Morgan, with cox Scarlett Morgan, also brought Deal their maiden success in that category.

The South Coast Championships are made up of several events with championship races being invitation-only for those crews who have qualified through their performances during the season. There are several open category races that make up the rest of the regatta, too.

Deal’s women’s senior four crew had qualified for their championship race by virtue of winning this summer’s Coast Amateur Rowing Association title, and their opponents at Folkestone were Shoreham, the CARA runners-up, and three crews from the Hampshire and Dorset Association.

The masters open 40-plus race was a very different story, with the Deal crew dominating the race from the start, winning by a comfortable margin from runners-up Poole.

Dover Rowing Club also were in action in Folkestone.

The men’s open junior-senior four crew of Cameron Mackintosh, Will Coleman, Sebastian Steele and Jasper Mallet, coxed by Ella Cook, edged past Herne Bay to triumph at the line.

In the women’s invitation novice fours, Dover’s crew of Janice Bradford, Nikki Leggatt, Holly Hannington and Emily Harvey, coxed by Coleman, also won. They pulled clear by over a length of Eastbourne in the last 20 strokes.