Putting Down the Hammer and Bringing it Home

• Norm Flower at the helm concentrating hard as the Prevailing Wins dragon-boat team powers over the finish line. Prevailing Wins from Comox will be just one of the teams competing in the 2012 Race the River Dragon Boat Regatta on June 30th in Campbell River. 

• As you watch the paddles hit the water together, it’s clear that dragon-boat racing is as much about timing and rhythm as it is about a team’s physical strength. In fact, even though it’s a competitive sport, almost anyone can do it. You don’t need to be a hard-core paddler and you don’t need extensive training to start dragon boating.

• Recreational teams often begin as social outlets or alternative means of exercise. But it usually doesn’t take long before the team members feel the urge to compete.  For spectators, the true display of the sport’s intensity and skill can be seen at regattas where races are tightly fought contests often won by a matter of inches or mere fractions of a second.

• Race the River, hosted by Bravehearts Dragon Boat Team and Team River Spirit, will take place on Saturday, June 30, 2012 at Dick Murphy Park on the Tyee Spit, home of the Tyee Fishing Club – one of the oldest fishing clubs in the world. 

• In the early years “The Spit” was a location of shack tents used by fishermen trying to gain entry into the exclusive Tyee Club.  Those shack tents are long gone, but on race day you’ll see the brightly-coloured dragon boat team tents, emblems of the day’s competition.