There was a Dragon Boat Festival in Nanaimo this past weekend. Here’s a short video: DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL
When I was a teenager, my sister Maureen and I belonged to the Rideau Canoe Club in Ottawa which was a racing canoe and kayak club. Of the two of us Maureen was more athletic and raced for a number of years. I joined one summer and raced in what were called war canoes in those days – the same size as the present-day dragon boats. I did get into shape and remember racing at a big race at Toronto Island. Then I went away for a few weeks and came back to my first practice session completely out of shape. I was so tired after the 20th “give me another ten” that I got out of synch with the other paddlers and ejected from the boat – lying sprawled out on the water hoping nobody would notice that I was missing. That ended my short canoe racing career but I do appreciate what the Dragon Boat racers need to do in order to compete.
WR Foster 