5 Days until Vancouver Taiwanese Dragon Boat Races
Grab the flag – then cross the finish line. If you miss the flag – go back…
TUESDAY 6pm – next practice
We would like all Taiwanese rostered paddlers at practice TUESDAY night (except Tzhe in Hong Kong and Dave).
All paddlers are welcome… hopefully we will have enough for two boats…or at least 18 paddlers for Taiwanese boat.
SUNDAY REVIEW
We
rented a Taiwanese boat for Sunday's practice… but we almost couldn't
go out because we didn't have enough paddlers show up.
What
if it rains on race day? Will people show up? Ernest and I are deeply
worried about the mental resolve of rain-scaredy paddlers! 
Brave
souls who showed up were Alissa, Wendy, Brooke, Ernest, Jonas, Stuart,
Steven W, Dave, Devon, Todd and Mary-Lee from G.Force Winds. Thank
goodness we had the magic number 10 paddlers + steers.
We
paddled a 6-16 over to DBA to pick up a Taiwanese dragon boat. Big
beautiful decorated boats made of Alaskan cedar. They sit higher on
the water so we all had longer 48″ paddles (blue).
It is a
very different kind of boat to paddle. You have to really reach
forward and down to get your blade in the water, then drive your top
arm to keep the paddle vertical.
We found that the boat “plows”
the water, so we adjusted our starts to 6-18. Or maybe with only 10
paddlers we didn't have the strength to make it fly.
We
practiced switcheroos, turns and starts. The Taiwanese boat is much
easier to turn because there is no keel. But there is also no gunwale
either, so paddlers feel a bit exposed to the elements. The bottom of
the boat is slanted, so footing is awkward. Very slippery in a wet
boat.
TAIWANESE ROSTER
9 women paddlers on Saturday / 10 women on Sunday
11 men paddlers available on both days – (if Karl joins us + 2 more paddlers from Sudden Impact might join us)
Our
roster mixes experience and rookies. But these rookies have also been
very impressive. Looks like lots of fun for this coming weekend.
Todd 15 /Tzhe 2 /Dave 6- drum/steers/flag
Alissa 1 – Wendy 3
Jane 3 – Hillary 2
Susan Mott 1 – Colleen
1
Brooke 1 – Cindy 2
Marion 1 – Debbie 4 / Judi 1 (sat only)
Jim 4 – Stephen M. 5
Jonas 3 – Tony 5
Ernest 5 – Devon 1
Raphael 2 – Stuart 1
+ Karl 1 + 2 more paddlers?