Dragon boat practice and inclement weather meet head on.

Paddling on Wellington Harbour is nothing if not exhilarating.

We had our first two practices of the year this week. The first was in a wild sea and the next cut short by torrential rain blown in from the south.

On Monday we gathered, swapped stories of christmas and holidays then got down to business. We warmed up with runs, stretches, skipping and sparring. During the runs I took a look at the harbour. It was surging as the water was pushed around by very strong northerly winds. We got the boat out then worked out a little in the lagoon before heading into the harbour. As we paddled under the bridge we were met by a surge or two which lifted the nose of the boat up and threw a few of the paddlers off their stride. We attacked the waves battling as manfully as a boatload of women can manage. There were two other boats out as well for the first time and the chase boat kept a close eye on us all and motored between us. The wind whipped around us and caused water to slosh in over the side. We headed into a sheltered spot between two wharves for a bit of respite and to bail out as we were ankle deep in water. The coach also decided to bail out and jumped on to a platform and then on to the wharf side so that he could better see our action. As he was explaining what he wanted from us my neighbouring paddler nudged me and pointed out to the far end of the stretch of water by the wharf opposite. There was a dragon boat sitting low in the water. On closer inspection it was actually under the water with its paddlers still sitting in it or hanging on to the sides. They had been swamped. Luckily our dragon boats are double hulled so do not sink. The rescue boat was occupied getting people on board then ferrying them in to shore via the lagoon. We pointed out the scenario  to the coach as it would be foolish of us to head out in open water again while the chase boat had its hands full with one capsize as it was.

We decided to practise starts and to stop short before leaving shelter to avoid encountering the large swell now rolling in. This involved racing forward then back paddling to the start once more. It was tough on the sweep who was having trouble keeping upright at times. It was tough on us as our back paddling muscles usually don't get such a workout. I was at the back of the boat for once and was a bit alarmed to see how slow we were at times at following instructions. In conditions like that you need a quick response or capsize will be the result. It made me nervous about the return trip we were going to have to make to get back to the safety of the lagoon. All it would take for a capsize would be the sweep falling off the back and the paddlers not responding quick enough to stabilise the boat.

The coach climbed back in and as the rescue of the capsized boat was complete we ventured back out into the high seas - well- the high and low seas as we were constantly rolling as the surges hit us side on. Fear does wonders and we paddled hard and strong, did a long sweeping turn courtesy of our captain on the long oar at the back of the boat, and came into the lagoon almost catching a wave as we raced in under the bridge.

Our next practice started off well. Due to the southerly blowing the sea was flat and we were protected from the wind. There were ominous clouds on the horizon though and as we went through our programme the sky got darker and darker. Big fat drops of rain started to fall which turned rapidly into a torrent. Despite the exercise we began to get chilled. Then the chase boat pulled up alongside us. One of the blokes in it told us that the Harbour Master had sent out a radio message that all boats had to get off the harbour as a fifty knot squall was coming through at any moment. Again we high-tailed back into the lagoon. As we swept in a loud clap of thunder echoed over the city. We hauled up and put the boat away extra quick. Despite the conditions the outing had been exhilarating and I felt excited and thrilled to be out fighting the elements once again.

Lets hope future practises will continue to give us thrills and challenges.

Here is a link to what we might expect on race day:
Race Day

Launching the boat can be tricky due to a slippery ramp but it is sheltered.