DRAGON BOAT RACING

In October (last year) I signed up for "I Always Wanted to Try That" activity.  The "That" was Dragon Boat Racing.

Okay, let me just say that in reality, I hadn't ALWAYS wanted to participate in a Dragon Boat Race.  In reality, I only learned about it a few months earlier. BUT, when I see a sign-up sheet that says:  "Here's Your Chance...to Participate in a Dragon Boat Race", all of a sudden that is exactly what you've I've always wanted to do.

I read the fine print very carefully.  The fine print said no experience required AND all fitness levels accepted. And bonus, the fees associated with the race go directly to a pretty cool charity.

So, in my "I can do this" delusion optimism, I signed up for the race.

We arrived at the lake at 8:00 in the morning. (Mighty early for me on a weekend).   But we were greeted by a beautiful morning sun on the lake.  It almost made it worth getting up so early.

There were three heats for the day. While it felt like you were competing with the other boat on the water, you were actually competing against the clock.  --Of course, if the other boat reached the finished line first, they beat you on the clock as well.  But because there were three heats the time was combined to determine the winner.

My boat was made up of newbies (like me) and fill-ins. I felt like we were sort of the hodgepodge group.  I was not at all sure that we should have been "competing". Maybe we were there for the morale boost it gave whichever other boat was paddling beside us.

We assembled on the pier to learn a) where we were to sit in the boat AND b) what we were supposed to do once we were in the boat.  We had a different coach for the second race than we did on the first.  {You see? Hodge Podge}

The first coach was visibly surprised that there was an entire team of first-timers! He must not have gotten the memo. 

The coach gave us a quick rundown on the vocabulary so that we would know how to respond to the directions.  Things like:  "Steady the Boat"-Paddles in the water to 'steady the boat'. "Paddles up" means hold your paddle straight up (out of the water) and get ready to plunge it in when the next command is given.  

My plan? was simply to do what everyone else did when everyone else did it.  Oh, and try not to be intimidated by the team doing all of the fancy warm-ups while we have our vocabulary lesson.

Turns out, the key to success is to be in synch with the other paddlers.  There are 20 paddlers (10 on each side). One nanosecond off and you I was locking paddles with the person in front of me or knocking the paddle of the person behind me.  Can you imagine how awful that is? It's like you are the only person that can't clap in time with the music. Embarrassing. 

But, if you decide to give it a go, I finally found the real secret. It's not all 20 paddles entering the water at the same time. Rather, it's 20 paddles reacting like dominoes. My paddle goes in AFTER the one in front of me. I'm not in time with her, but JUST after. I think I could get the hang of this if I decide to do this again.