Gung Haggis dragon boat team going to Ft. Langley for Cranberry Festival

Ft Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta will again have two Gung Haggis teams on Oct 8

Gung Haggis paddlers in boat 8, chat it up with another team in boat 5 – at the start line of the Pumpkin chasing final heat, of the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta – photo T.Wong

The Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta is one of the favorite events of the year for the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team. There are no medals. No huge crowds of cheering fans. But lots of cameraderie, and a fun obstacle race. The first two races are double ovals. The Pumpkin Final, is super fun. 10 boats will line up across the Fraser River slough, then start racing for the bridge. Pumpkins will be dropped from the bridge. Each team has to pick up one pumpkin, then proceed under the bridge. Race 500m up river and make a sharp turn at the buoy marker. Return under the bridge and make a right turn around a buoy on the south shore. Proceed to the North side and drop a paddler off at the beach. The paddler will balance a cup of cranberry juice, and walk 50 feet up the beach, where they will climb back into the canoe. The Canoe travels back around the buoy on the south shore, then heads back under the bridge to the other side to cross the finish line.

10 voyageur canoes race towards the pumpkins! – photo T.Wong

We have had great
practices over the past 2 weeks, often running two 10-person Swift
boats, or other boats side by side… doing turns and sprint starts.
This is all preparation for the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe
Regatta.

We are racing in 10 person voyageur canoes
We will
have 12 people on each team – so there will be 2 spares per race.
6
people will do 2 races each, and 6 people will do 3 races each.

This
is a good strategy because: some people want a rest… while others
might get sick, or lost… and some people cheer the team on and take
pictures! We would rather have two extra persons as spares, rather than
paddle with 8 people and have to do more work.

Watch these videos – by
clicking on the icons – to see what happens at the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta