The Wellington Dragon Boat Regatta

                                     
Dragon boating has dominated  my time for the last few days. We had two practices, then had to be down in the lagoon on Thursday morning to be part of a live shoot for a television morning show. It was a lovely morning so it was no hardship to turn up by eight am ready to go out on the lagoon. We had a little warm up and were then waited for the presenter and the organiser of the Wellington Regatta to jump on board and have a little ride with us. Alas, depending on your point of view, our newsworthiness got pushed down the ladder due to the imminent announcement of the pope and the return of a wayward rugby player expressing his contrition plus his welcome back to the fold. Important stuff indeed compared to us.

A lovely morning for getting on the water for a spot on TV.

Frank Kitts Lagoon with the Michael Fowler Centre in the background.

We kept ourselves busy paddling up and down to keep warm, then finally with a few seconds to go before the end of the show we had our moment and paddled our guests gently along while they discussed the upcoming Wellington Regatta. All worth the wait I am sure. We put the boat away and people shot off to work a little later and a little saltier than usual.
Link to TV1 Breakfast. Scroll to 1 hour forty five minutes:http://tvnz.co.nz/breakfast/2013-03-14-video-5368390

Then on Saturday the Regatta got under way. It was particularly poignant for us as it was the tenth year since our club had been launched as a mixed cancer survivors dragon boat team.  We are now exclusively a breast cancer survivors team but it was great to think back over the years and also to invite back past paddlers to join us for lunch and to ask them to come out for a paddle and to take part in the flower ceremony to remember paddlers that had passed away. It is always sobering to reflect that most breast cancer survivor's teams lose on average a paddler a year to the disease.
We always have that extra emphasis with our team, and that is to show that people can live healthy, active lives while living with breast cancer or after the cancer has gone.
To celebrate our ten years on the water we were to have a shared lunch with our past paddlers and supporters and the other New Zealand team who was present, the Boobops - a great name for a dragon boat team consisting of breast cancers survivors I reckon.
There were teams from around New Zealand plus a couple from Australia. Despite the fact the Wellington Regatta is shorter than 500 metres which is the normal length for dragon boating, it is a very attractive event as the races are alongside the waterfront offering a good view to spectators. People can watch from a stand, on rocks, or from the bridge. There are vantage points everywhere and racing in the midst of it is like being in a boiling cauldron of noise and activity. The atmosphere is fantastic.
There were usually five boats in every race and there were thirty five boats competing.

The starting area.

The first two races were mixed grades, and we did alright, not coming last and not disgracing ourselves by getting out of our lane, sinking or crashing.

Up at the starting line a huge amount of concentration is needed amongst the noise of sweeps giving instructions and the starter yelling over the top of them to get the boats in line. Unfortunately there was also the sound of a jack hammer working close by and at times a helicopter taking off.
Our first start was not the best, but after that we managed to get off to a good start on all races. At the beginning we are in between the water front and the outer wharf. The job is to get the nose of the boat up and planing, then to switch to a longer more controlled stroke. As we come out from between the wharves we are more exposed to the winds and the roll of the sea and it is important not to be put off our stride. Alas just after that point we do seem to drop off slightly. People sit up a little instead of continuing to reach into the stroke. Its only slight, but you can feel it in the boat. Then people fight to get the boat up and going at full tilt again. We managed it each time and hooned on home with the help of a power call to get us over the last fifty metres.

A well honed winning machine -  well - hopefully next time!

When our last race before lunch was finished  we gathered with other breast cancer survivors teams and our past paddlers and supporters and rafted up out on the water in front of the spectator stand for our flower ceremony. A special song was played as we remembered those members of our team that had died in previous years and those who were struggling at present. As the song came to its end we threw our carnations into the water.

The Supporters and Past Paddlers boat

Rafting up for the flowers of remembrance ceremony

We then came alongside our supporter's boat and had a fun race to the bridge and into the lagoon. We got out and honoured them with an arch of paddles to walk through as they came off the boat.

                                      Honouring our past paddlers - who then honoured us!

We then walked off together for our shared lunch.

The BC Finals - We came second - by a second!

Our little 'drop off ' routine told in the end and in our final between the breast cancer survivors team we got pipped by a second. The Boobops caught up with us and did not let us off the hook once they got their nose in front even though we lifted our efforts again, and also dug in for the power call giving it our best.
Never mind, we meet them again next weekend at the Auckland Regatta and hopefully vengeance will be ours!
After five races and being in wet clothes all day we were glad to pack up and head home for a quick shower (quick due to lack of rain hereabouts) and a decent feed.

Flowers of Remembrance