Enjoying a wonderful weekend - with fabulous hosting - was a truly mixed team from FLCC.
Audrey Milne               - Dragon Queens
Alison Wilkins              - FORTified
Jonathan Wilkins
Al Black
Betty Stockli              - Fort Fury
Tammy Farrer
Wendy Buxton
Paula McCallum           - Fort Fusion
Frank Cox
Mike Farrer
Gralin Doubleday
Denise Crook
Lorraine Winteringham - Kindred Spirit
Jerry Waddell
Carol Pope
Val Bancroft
Sherri Tappert
Linda Lyth
John Lyth
Jaye Barbour                - Sun Dragons
Terry Burke
Diane McConnell (CCW)

Click San Fran Photos for more

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Golden Oldies

FORTified win Mixed and Women's at BC Senior Games

Click here to read more about "being FORTified"

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Penticton Dragon Boat Regatta sept 11/12 2010

At this year’s regatta seven FLCC dragon boat teams represented the club - that’s approximately 200 paddlers! We had five women’s teams – Fort Fury, Kindred Spirit, Sun Dragons, Sea Syrens, and Dragon Queens together with two mixed teams - Fort Fusion and Spirit of a Renegade.

The event is two days and held in the middle of Wine Country on the beautiful Skaha Lake with two 500m races on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday ended with races to determine the Best Steersperson Ever! Later that evening, at the Paddler’s Party there was a Raymond James concert as the main event. Carrying on with the great music theme, the tunes that were played over the PA system for the whole weekend were a blast from the past and kept spirits and energy high. The paddler’s village was located in the middle of the park with the beach front used as the spectator area. There was also a mini Air Show that took place in the middle of the regatta which lent an added element of fun for everyone there. Also on site and open both days, the ever popular Beer Garden! This was the location for the award ceremonies which took place after all the races were finished on Sunday.

The dancing and socializing had to be put on hold for a short time so that the top teams could be recognized and cheered on by everyone. Fort Langley teams received medals and ribbons in almost every category, Fort Langley was a name well recognized by the end!

Check out these times from each of the Fort Langley teams:

team name	first heat	second heat	semi final	final	division
WOMEN
Kindred Spirit	1st @ 2:20.82	1st @ 2:22.14	2nd @ 2:22.10	3rd @ 2:25.60	women Platinum A
Fort Fury	1st @ 2:28.51	1st @ 2:27.49	4th @ 2:33.51	4th @ 2:35.96	women Platinum B
Sun Dragons	3rd @ 2:27.30	1st @ 2:28.13	1st @ 2:29.71	1st @ 2:22.32	women Jade A
Sea Syrens	2nd @ 2:24.48	3rd @ 2:39.62	3rd @ 2:42.15	2nd @ 2:45.54	women Jade B
Dragon Queens	4th @ 2:30.05	4th @ 2:40.46	3rd @ 2:40.27	3rd @ 2:45.24	women Gold B
MIXED
Fort Fusion	2nd @ 2:20.19	3rd @ 2:27.06	3rd @ 2:24.42	1st @ 2:20.97	mixed Diamond B
Spirit of a Renegade	3rd @ 2:24.40	3rd @ 2:24.57	1st @ 2:22.12	2nd @ 2:27.87	mixed Jade A

Platinum A is top division followed by Platinum B, Diamond A and B, Jade A and B, Gold A and B, then Silver A and B. Placement and times are used for seeding into divisions. Kindred Spirit again was the top women’s team but check out the times for the finals – other teams are giving them a run for it. SOAR this year has had many new paddlers and did very well in their last race of the season – Fusion will need to be watching them next season. Friendly competition between the FLCC teams is great! All our FLCC teams did well – congratulations!

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Cultus Lake Women’s Dragon boat regatta, 2010

This annual event is hosted by Cultus Lake Dragon Fliers and Cultus Lake Soul Sisters as a fund raiser for their very own Cultus Lake Dragon Boat Club. It is always a fun event with a country theme including corn on the cob, bannock and food on the grill. It is a small event, this year only fifteen teams entered.

There were six Fort Langley Canoe Club women’s teams entered: FL Chicks Ahoy!, FL Dragon Queens, FL Fraser Dragons, FL Kindred Spirit, FL Sun Dragons and FL Women on Water. Many other FLCC dragon boaters spared for other teams at the event so FLCC stronger supported this event.
The event was held at main beach which is a wonderful spot for spectators and paddlers to spend the day. The lake water was incredibly warm. The weather was overcast and it showered off and on all day. The water was calm and remained so through the entire day which is unusual for Cultus Lake. A bonus was there were not many of power boats on the water, possibly due to the weather. All loading was done at the beach. Mid-day they held a carnation celebration in recognition of the many breast cancer paddlers, family and friends. The day was well organized and ran smoothly with the help of many volunteers from all the Cultus Lake DB teams.
Unlike other years, they only used three boats: a six-sixteen, a BUK and a Plastex, which made for interesting deliberations on the effect of the different boats in each of the races. The Plastex won the most races and had the lowest combined time. Very close behind, the BUK won the second highest number of races and had the next higher combined time. And the six-sixteen had the least number of wins and the highest combined race times compared to the Plastex and the BUK. This of course is a very inaccurate way of determining the differences in the boats but is interesting to consider.
Each team had three races – FLCC teams placed well in all divisions
Here’s the times for all their races (S = Six-sixteen, B=BUK, P=Plastex) and the placing in their finals

Eagle Division
Kindred Spirit 2:22.17-B 2:24.22-P 2:21.40-B 1st Place
Sun Dragons 2:30.62-S 2:27.82-P 2:28.82-P 2nd Place

Osprey Division
Women on Water 2:32.32-B 2:27.84-P 2:33.84-B 2nd Place

Heron Division
Fraser Dragons 2:38.45-B 2:41.70-S 2:34.19-B 1st Place
Dragon Queens 2:38.30-B 2:42.25-S 2:42.15-S 2nd Place

Stellar Jay Division
Chicks Ahoy! 2:41.92-S 2:45.66-B 2:44.00-B 1st Place

Fort Langley Canoe Club is proud to have had the most number of teams at this event and hopefully will continue to support Cultus Lake DB Club in years to come.

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Harrison Dragon Boat Festival

It was a beautiful sunny day at the festival. The venue is spectacular with the clear lake water and glorious mountain vistas.
Attending the festival were five FLCC women’s teams: Sun Dragons, Fort Fury, Kindred Spirit, Sea Syrens and Dragon Queens. There were also three FLCC mixed teams: Spirit of a Renegade, Fort Fusion and FORTified (the FLCC masters 50+ team, pictured).
The day started with 200 meter sprints for all teams, combining mixed against women’s teams, before moving on to 500m races. The afternoon was hot and the wind came up blowing dust through the paddlers’ village as well as causing trouble at the start line. Many of the semi-final and final races were very close and exciting.

Here are the results of the final races:

Women’s Division A Championship

Second place Fort Langley Sun Dragons 2:26.44
Third place FLCC Fort Fury 2:28.52

Women’s Division B Championship

First place Ft Langley Kindred Spirit 2:35.24

Women’s Division C Championship

Third place FLCC Sea Syrens 2:42.78
Fifth place Fort Langley Dragon Queens 2:49.92

Mixed Division A Consolation

Fourth place FLCC Fortified 2:20.40

Mixed Divisions B Consolation

Second Place FLCC Fort Fusion 2:22.48

Mixed Divisions C Championship

Fifth place FLCC Spirit of a Renegade 2:26.42

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Multiple blunders blamed for dragon boat tragedy

Tuesday January 19, 2010

GEORGE TOWN: With the recovery of the bodies of all six missing people, fingers now point to a series of blunders that resulted in the dragon boat tragedy.

Besides the blatant disregard for the safety of the dragon boat racing team, the location of the training venue was mind-boggling. Among the shocking revelations — only three of the 18 people in the ill-fated boat wore life jackets, and it was never a practice for team members to wear life jackets.

A long wait: Friends of dragon boat victim Goh Yi Zhang
waiting at the Penang Hospital mortuary yesterday.

Of the six missing people, only two wore life jackets - teacher Chin Aik Siang and student Jason Ch’ng, both of whom died. Chin is believed to have drowned because his life jacket was hooked to the boat, while Ch’ng was trapped underneath the tug boat. One of the 12 survivors, Indonesian Chinese Kassim Siedek, 16, said only Chin, Ch’ng and survivor Lim Wey Yeng wore life jackets because they could not swim.

“It has never been a practice to put on life jackets during training, probably because most of them thought they could swim well except for the three,” he said at the Penang Hospital.

Life Saving Society Malaysia Penang branch secretary Geh Thuan Tek, who was part of the search and rescue team, said wearing a life jacket would not guarantee that a person would not drown, but it is “a must” for all water activities. “There are many possibilities for someone to drown although the life jacket is on. For instance, the jacket may not have been fastened properly. However, if you have your jacket on properly and you fall into the open sea, it is not a problem because you will float,” he said. “The main concern is if you are trapped under water and panic sets in.”

The lack of safety precautions is clear, since the Marine Department had said the water at the Western Channel where the tragedy occurred was not suitable for water sports. Marine Department (northern region) officer Shamsir Mohamed said water sports enthusiasts would have to contend with busy traffic, unpredictable weather and strong currents.

“The incident occurred during low tide when strong currents were pushing from south to north and the boat was trying to turn. As the tide gets lower, the current is stronger. The dragon boat is narrow and long, and with many rowers inside, it can become unstable when turning,” Shamshir said.

Penang Dragon Boat Association chairman and Asian Dragon Boat Federation vice-chairman Lai Chew Hock said water sports activities should never have been allowed there. “It’s common sense that the area is definitely not suitable,” he said. “Fishermen repair their boats so there are lots of structures lying around haphazardly.”

Lai said when he was the Penang International Dragon Boat Festival (PIDBF) chairman for four years, he did not allow any activities to be held there. “Many local fishermen advised me against it, saying the water current was unpredictable.”

But some people in Penang are blaming state Tourism Development and Culture Committee chairman Danny Law for holding the Penang Pesta Open Dragon Boat Race 2009 at Bandar Sri Pinang fishermen’s jetty last December. The venue is less than 1km from where the tragedy occurred.

They felt that the students would not have gone there for training if the dragon boat race had been held at the Teluk Bahang Dam as in previous years.

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Kelowna DB Festival 2009

Fort Langley Canoe Club had four dragon boat teams attend the Kelowna Dragon boat Festival September 19 and 20, 2009. We had three womens’ teams: Fort Fury, Fort Langley Sun Dragons (SD) and Fort Langley Women on Water (WOW); and one mixed team: Fort Fusion.
Saturday started with drizzle and chilly temperatures. The teams all had two races Saturday and two races Sunday. There were twenty nine women’s divisions so there was a separate womens’ division for all races. There were 57 mixed teams competing as well.
Saturday the racing started with the women’s division. All had strong races: SD placed second in their heat with a time of 2:36.87; WOW placed fourth in their heat with a time of 2:36.61 and Fury had a great race placing 2nd in their heat with a time of 2:33.84. The mixed had their first races Saturday morning as well with Fusion placing fourth in their heat with a time of 2:30.80
Saturday afternoon, under sunny skies, the teams all had their second races. SD placed first in their heat with a time of 2:37.91; WOW placed second in their heat with a time of 2:43.31; and Fury placed second in their heat with a time of 2:44.43. The mixed teams then raced and Fusion placed fourth in their heat with a time of 2:39.56.
Using the times from the races on Saturday all the teams are placed into division for the Sunday semi-final and final races resulting in tight competition.
The womens’ division raced their semi-finals first on Sunday morning and the wind had blown up a fair chop on the water making lining the boats difficult at the start line. Several members of the crew were kept busy bailing right up to the start of the race. WOW placed first in their heat with a time of 2:27.63; Fury placed third in their heat with a time of 2:30.43 and SDs placed fifth in their heat with a time of 2:33.15. The mixed raced their semi-finals late morning and the wind was dying down and the sun was coming out. Fusion placed third in their mixed semi-final with a time of 2:31.55.
The finals were Sunday afternoon with calm waters and sunny skies. The women’s finals were first. The three FLCC womens’ teams were in the top two division though still were not in the same heats. WOW were in Diamond division in which their received silver medals with a time of 2:26.40. Fury were in Platimun A division placing fifth with a time of 2:29.15 and SDs were in Platinum B division and had a great race placing first with a time of 2:24.59. Fury had some excitement in their final race. A large wake caused the boat in the lane next to them to flip over. Fury was slightly behind them and the wake caused their boat to swerve off course but their steersperson fought it back on course and every paddler kept paddling. As it was close to the end of the race, the race continued while the safety boats collected the paddlers in the water. Many teams collected at the docks and a long paddle arch was formed for the wet paddlers coming ashore out of the safety boats. After the race, officials asked the teams if they were willing to re-race and so it was done. What great sportsmanship and wonderful to have those women’s whose boat flipped have another race. This race there was no mishap and the times posted are from the re-race. The mixed finals finished in the afternoon. Fort Fusion were in the mixed Gold division and they got the bronze medal with a time of 2:29.95.

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Paddle For Kids 2009

On Sunday August 30th, 22 paddlers (representing 7 teams from the Fort Langley Canoe Club) raced as the "Disney Chicks" to raise money for BC Childrens Hospital in the Paddle for Kids Event in Vancouver. It was a huge success and a fun day all around. Our team collected over $4000 in donations and a huge congratulations goes out to the whole dragonboat community who collectively raised over $90,000 (a new record) for this one day event.
Thank you to all that contributed.

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Victoria DB Regatta

Victoria Dragon Boat regatta is one of the largest in western Canada. It is held in Victoria’s inner harbour right in front of the Parliament buildings and the Empress hotel. What a view. FLCC had three teams attend this regatta. Two women’s teams, Women on Water (WOW) and Sea Syrens (SS), and one mixed team, Spirit of a Renegade (SOAR).
The weekend weather was sunny so provided a wonderful spot to spend the weekend paddling and exploring Victoria. Each team gets two races each day and there is on-going entertainment for spectators and paddlers to enjoy.
Round one Saturday morning under overcast skies resulted in WOW placing 2nd in their heat with a time of 2:29.41, SS placed 2nd in their heat with a time of 2:36.18 and SOAR placed 3rd in their heat with a time of 2:33.05. Saturday afternoon results were WOW placed 1st with a time of 2:30.58, SS placed 3rd with a time of 2:40.65 and SOAR placed 4th with a time of 2:25.75 – a good time against tough competition.
For Sunday the teams are seeded based on their times from Saturday’s races. Both the FLCC women’s teams ended up in the same division – Platinum, the top division. SOAR was placed in Silver. Sunday morning races WOW placed 4th with a time of 2:30.55 and SS placed 5th with a time of 2:33.84. SOAR place 1st with a time of 2:24.34. The finals were held Sunday afternoon under hot and sunny skies. WOW and SS took 3rd and 4th in their top division with times of 2:32.75 and 2:34.36. SOAR came home with silver medals for their 2nd place finish with a time of 2:22.07, just 2/100 of a second behind the first place team for an exciting end to the weekend.

Check out these youtubes:
SS race one SS race two WOW race two SS semi final SS final

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Summer water levels arrive

The water levels and current will continue to drop over the coming months. We soon will be seeing the upriver current with the rising tides.

Minimums to takeout DBs now reduced to:
Experienced paddlers - 10 minimum plus a steersperson
inexperienced paddlers - 14 minimum plus a steersperson.

It is the steersperson's discretion for docking the boats. You may leave and return to the dock from the inside. As there are three DBs tied to the inside of the docks it may still be easier to move the boats to the outside rather than have the entire crew crawl over boats to get in and out. The new docks will hopefully be here soon!

It is always the steers person's responsibility for the crew and equipment so must assess the water and weather conditions and the crews abilities.

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Harrison Dragon Boat Festival 09

Approximately 150 FLCC paddlers (7 teams) attend Harrison Dragon Boat Festival on Saturday, July 25th, 2009. We had 5 women’s team attend: Dragon Queens , Fort Fury, Sea Syrens, Sun Dragons and Women on Water. Two FLCC mixed teams also attended: Fort Fusion and Spirit of a Renegade. There were a total of 40 mixed teams and 17 women teams at the regatta.

The weather started out overcast but warm and though the sun peeked out a few times there was a gusty wind that gave the steerspersons a challenge to line the boats up at the start. The paddlers’ village is set up on the sand surrounding the lagoon with a great view of the races. They have a gigantic big screen at the end of the lagoon. A cameraman up on a lift gets great action video of all the racing which is shown on the big screen as the racing continues. It is a well organized event with races running on time and music playing keeping the tempo upbeat throughout the day.

The morning started with 200m qualifier races for all teams. Women and mixed teams are combined in their morning heats. In the 200m races, WOW had the best time of all the FLCC teams in their 200m race with a time of 58.66 seconds.

The next morning races were 500m qualifiers again combining the mixed and women’s team. WOW again had the fastest time of all the FLCC teams with a time of 2:20.52.

The afternoon heats were divided into women and mixed divisions and all teams are placed into divisions based on their times from their morning qualifier races. While the race times were calculated for all teams there was a tug-a-war and plank competition with some great prizes.

In the 500m semi-finals, it was Sun Dragons that had the fastest time of all the FLCC teams with a time of 2:27.03. The placing and times from the semi-finals seeded the teams into the finals.
Storms could be seen approaching as the women’s finals started.

The women’s finals presented tough competition with Sun Dragons placing 3rd in the top division with a time of 2:26.56, bringing home Bronze medals. WOW was close on their tails with a time of 2:26.63, only 7/100 of a second behind and Sea Syrens were also proud to represent FLCC in the women A division finals though did not come home with any medals. Fury had a great final race in the B division placing 1st with a time of 2:34.80 to bring home gold medals.

The mixed division finals ran after the women finals and the rain and wind continued to increase, causing the water to get rougher as the races continued. SOAR had a rough start as three boats collided and the race had to be restarted but they battled it out and came first in the mixed division D with a time of 2:28.47 to win gold medals. Fusion placed 2nd in their Division with a time of 2:26.00 and they were the last race of the day as all the following races were cancelled as the storm arrived in earnest with heavy rain, thunder and lightning over the lake. It was an exciting end to the day but unfortunate for those teams that were unable to compete in their final race. Luckily, all the FLCC teams were able to complete all their races.

Fort Langley Canoe Club is proud of all its Dragon Boat teams.

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1 weekend, 2 regattas = 4 teams

FLCC had teams attending two different regattas this weekend.
At the annual Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival, FLCC had a mixed team Fort Fusion and a women’s team Fort Fury competing. Nanaimo is a two day event with all teams scheduled for two races on Saturday and two races on Sunday. There was a mixed division and women’s division for all races. On Saturday Fusion placed 3rd in the first race with a time of 2:22.67 and 4th in the second race with a time of 2:31.99. Fury placed 3rd in both their races with times of 2:35.81 and 2:57.37, having been in a collision in their second race then paddling hard to finish 3rd. The heats later in the day were slower due to the change in the tide. On Sunday both teams were to have two races being placed into their levels based on their Saturday’s race results. Fury was in the women’s Jade A division and placed 1st in the morning race with a time of 2:37.47. Fusion was in the Gold B division and placed 1st in their morning race with a time of 2:27.70. Unfortunately, the afternoon races were cancelled due to winds coming up in the harbour. All teams were placed for awards based on the combined time from their three races over the weekend resulting in Fury being 3rd in the women’s Jade A division and Fusion moving up a division to place 2nd in the mixed Gold A division coming home with silver medals. Congratulations to both Fort Fury and Fort Fusion.
At Kent Washington we had two women’s teams competing: FLCC Paddle Pushers and FLCC Kindred Spirit. Kindred Spirit were excited to place 2nd in the B women’s division with a time of 2:17 in their final race. More results to follow.

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WOW make headlines at Whistler

Monday July 13, 2009

Dragon boaters buoyed by fun festival

Whistler – Cheers, chants and water fights were among the defining features of the days at the second annual Whistler Dragon Boat Festival, which drew approximately 1,000 participants to test the waters at Rainbow Park last weekend (July 4 and 5).
The festival doubled in size from last year’s inaugural event, with 33 teams from around the Lower Mainland giving it all they had in the splendid summer weather. As the spirited paddlers cheered each other on to pull for glory, the event and the Whistler setting earned rave reviews from many satisfied dragon boaters.
“It’s a great place. Whistler’s beautiful, magnificent. We’ve been to a lot of places, and Whistler’s one of the (most) beautiful regattas we’ve ever been to,” Kay Lam, of the Women on Water crew from Fort Langley, said on Sunday afternoon. Her team went on to finish fourth in the women’s Division A Championship.
Dragon boating is a “very friendly sport,” Lam said, and that attitude was abundantly on display in Whistler, from the cheerful inter-team soakings with water guns to the cheers and chatter among many participants.
The mixed team from the False Creek Racing Canoe Club, which will represent Canada at the upcoming world championships, stormed to victory in the final race of the weekend, winning the mixed Division A Championship with a time of one minute, 53.95 seconds.
The experienced team shot off the start line of the 500-metre race and never looked back, leaving Pemberton’s Laoyam Baldies crew to battle the Dragon Hearts Magnum for second place. The Dragon Hearts barely edged out the Baldies, stopping the clock in a time of 2:02.14 to the Baldies’ 2:02.41.
False Creek coach Kamini Jain, a World Cup medalist, Olympic kayaker and a top dragon boater and outrigger paddler, had nothing but praise for the Whistler venue and course, and the smooth running of the event.
“I’m really glad that we came, and hope that we’ll come again. It was perfect,” she said.
Jain said the festival offered a good warmup for her team in their push to worlds, even though they train substantially more than the other recreational teams at the event.
“It’s still good to line up against them, because it’s still a challenge to see how well we can perform, and having them there is great, their energy,” she said, adding, “They’re all great teams. We love the energy that they have.”
Jain complimented the Pemberton crew and the town’s program, saying it is building the next generation of strong paddlers.
“They have a lot of heart. They paddled very, very well, and they have for a number of years,” she said.
The Baldies crew finished first in their heat in Sunday’s entertaining Obstacle Course Challenge, which incorporated elements such as dryland running and spinning to start the race, a mid-lake pause to sort a suit from a deck of cards and lots of giddy splashing happening between the boats.
One team, the Draggin’ Riders, even added to the show by tipping their boat after a mid-race collision with a dock and another craft. Several team members emerged from the water smiling and waving to the on-shore crowd.
“Occasionally boats flip,” said Jackie Webber of Water’s Edge Sport Performance, the organizers behind the festival. She said there was a good safety system in place, and no one was hurt.
“Everyone seems to have had a blast, and everyone seems to want to come back for next year, so we’re pretty excited about it… We’ve doubled in size, and hopefully we’re going to be the Canadian championships next year,” Webber said.
Another highlight of the weekend was the Breast Cancer Championship race on Sunday, which featured three of the Lower Mainland’s five Abreast in a Boat crews and the Abreast of Life team from Vancouver Island. All of the team members are breast cancer survivors, and a moving song and flower ceremony followed the race won by Abreast of Life.
“Our mission is to support the awareness of exercise after breast cancer, to spread the word… that there is life after breast cancer, and exercise is an important part of that life,” New Westminster’s Judi Clark, a member of the Abreast in Barnet team, said before the race.
Saturday’s races included 200- and 500-metre qualifiers and heats, and 1,000-metre exhibition race.
For more information about the Abreast in a Boat program, please visit www.abreastinaboat.com.

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FLCC at Whistler DB regatta:

Fort Langley Canoe Club has three Dragon Boat teams compete in Whistler July 4 and 5, 2009. We had a strong showing at the event with two womens teams, Fort Langley Women on Water (WOW) and Fort Langley Sun Dragons (SD), and one mixed team, Fort Langley Spirit of a Renegade (SOAR) travelling to Whistler for this event.

...more
It was a beautiful, sunny weekend with spectacular mountain views for thirty-three dragon boat teams to compete on Alta Lake. On Saturday mornings all teams competed in two hundred meter races, each team getting two races. These were tight races with the fastest team covering the 200m in only 43.78 seconds. SDs placed 3rd in their first heat and 1st in their second heat. WOW placed 1st in their first heat and 2nd in the second heat. SOAR placed 2nd in both their heats. Saturday afternoon all the teams raced in the first of their 500m qualifing races. SDs place 2nd in their heat with a time of 2:24.36. WOW placed 1st in their heat with a time of 2:27.43. SOAR placed 3rd in their heat with a time of 2:24.60. The day finished up with optional 1000 meter races which SOAR entered and placed 2nd after paddling a grueling 5:29.65.
Sunday was another full day of racing. Today teams are placed into women or mixed divisions and seeded into heats based on the times and placing from their qualifying races. The day started with all teams racing in either the womens or mixed 500m heats. SD placed 1st in their heat with a time of 2:33.12 and WOW placed first in their heat with a time of 2:34.63. SOAR place 3rd in their heat with a time of 2:31.63. An optional obstacle race was held next which WOW entered to enjoy the fun. It was a long and difficult race with activities on the beach and racing around bouys and the ladies paddled hard to finish their race in 11:20.66.
Sunday afternoon were the final races. There were twelve women’s teams of which SD came in 3rd, with a time of 2:25.71, and WOW finished 4th with a time of 2:26.96. The women’s competition was tight with the fastest time of 2:23.28, so SDs and WOW were close behind. SOAR placed 3 in their mixed division with a time of 2:24.04. The medal ceremony was held which ended a competitive weekend of racing in a beautiful location.

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FLCC Dragon Boat Regatta:

On Saturday, June 13th, 2009, the Fort Langley Canoe Club held their first annual dragon boat regatta on the Bedford Channel in Fort Langley. The day started with the christening of our new dragon boat. This is the club’s third dragon boat and was used in the FLCC DB regatta.

All club members and their family and friends were invited to join in the fun. We had over 100 participants. The purpose of the day was to meet lots of club members and have fun. With this in mind, before each race paddlers were mixed to form new teams. With up to 20 paddlers plus a caller and a steersperson in each boat, and using the club's three dragon boats in each races we had up to 66 participants on the water at one time which was very exciting. Everyone had at least three races. Though the races were intended to be fun for all, everyone paddled hard to win their heats.

Tents were setup in Marina Park with music playing creating a festive atmosphere. Paddlers, family and friends lined the river bank with their chairs, to cheer the racers on towards the finish. After the morning races, a delicious BBQ was enjoyed by all. In the afternoon, there were fun races including costumes, huli-hooping, baseball bats hitting water balloons as well as paddling through a figure eight course which was quite a challenge with the fast current.

Many volunteers enabled this event to be a great success. Huge thanks to all the participants and volunteers.

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Click here to check out the pictures in the new DB photo gallery