By Sylvie O’Rourke
Let it Ride
By Sylvie O’Rourke
I am sitting on my narrow wooden seat, my right hip against the gunwale, my arms extended in the A-frame position grasping my paddle just above the water’s surface and waiting for the coach to shout “Take it Away!” This memory comes flooding back to me as if it were yesterday. It’s been years since I joined the Dragon Hearts team with the Cornwall Outdoor Club at the first-ever Cornwall Waterfest event, but since then I’ve returned annually either on a team or as a volunteer. It’s so much fun!
If you’re unfamiliar with this sport, here is the scoop: A dragon boat has twenty paddlers sitting in pairs, a steersperson standing at the tail, and a drummer at the head. The steersperson navigates while commanding its crew. The latter sits facing the paddlers with a drum between the legs, a drumstick in one hand, and the other hand holding on for dear life as if on a bucking bronco. The drummer’s role is to beat a rhythm to keep the paddlers in unison and to shout out encouragement.
If you’ve been a spectator, you know that a race lasts but a few seconds. You might not know that the successful teams paddling together like well-oiled machines have received training before the race. They are less likely to lose focus leading to the clickety-clack of paddles hitting each other. To learn techniques and synchronicity, community practices are key. Without that, it matters little how strong your paddlers are. Dragon boat practices are intense workouts. Unlike a typical canoe stroke, you must reach forward, and bury the paddle in the water while pulling with your entire body and pushing with your legs. You then draw your paddle out at your hip and repeat without breaking the rhythm until you hear the command “Let it Ride!”
During practices, you paddle ten times more than on race day. Make believe for a moment that you are in a boat with me and eighteen other paddlers. A coach and an experienced steersperson are here to guide you. Get ready for drills! The coach instructs you to reverse your paddle so that the handle is in the water, and you feel like you are paddling in butter. As strange as this directive may sound, it is a bona fide learning tactic to train paddlers to work as a team without the force of the paddle pulling water.
The coach teaches us the start, the most critical part of the race. He explains that a dragon boat is like a barge. At first, it is low in the water and difficult to move. At the blow of the horn, we take five deep long strokes. The steersperson yells “Up!”. We take five faster strokes. We hear “Up” again and take five much faster strokes lifting the boat higher on the water, approaching racing speed. We practice these fifteen strokes several times in a row. It’s like doing a series of sprints – going from zero to a gallop. We are pumped, our adrenaline flowing, our hearts nearly beating out of our chests.
We slow down the pace and are told to “Let it Ride!” We sigh in relief thinking our exertion is over, but we are mistaken. “Hold the boat” barks the coach. “Now we are ready to practice a full race.” At the imaginary starter line, we hold the boat as directed. “Paddles Up!” We lean forward with our paddles tipped just above the water’s edge. “Take it Away!”, we dig into the first five long strokes. “Up!” The strokes speed up, and the boat lifts. “Up!” We are at full speed paddling to the drummer’s beat. We must keep up the pace for at least thirty more seconds, interminable seconds. “Go! Go! Go!” screams the drummer. We paddle as if our lives depend on it. The coach yells “Finish now! Only ten more strokes to go. Our muscles scream with the effort, as we finally cross the finish line. Phew! Our bodies slump in exhaustion, but we’ve never felt stronger.
Dragon boat practices are an incredible lesson in skills. Come experience the rush of race day at the
Cornwall 12th Annual Dragon Boat Races on August 10, 2024, held at the historic Cornwall Canal, at Power Dam Drive and Second Street West in Cornwall, Ontario. In conjunction with the popular dragon boat races, there is a unique market featuring local artisans displaying their wares. Delicious food and drink are served on site and DJ Shellshock will be spinning the tunes…
This year, Cornwall Waterfest is joining up with St. Joseph’s Continuing Care Centre to raise funds for its expanded rehabilitation space. St. Joseph’s Continuing Care Centre operates 150 Long-Term Care beds and 58 Complex Continuing Care beds and has been providing health care services to the Cornwall area for over 125 years.
The newly built 2400-square-foot space at 14 York Street will be a first of its kind in the community to assist with patient recovery and increase rehabilitation program options. Funds raised from this event will purchase new rehabilitation equipment for the program.
Better yet, why don’t you register a team or join one needing more paddlers? If you are unavailable on that day but want to find out what all the hype is about, don’t fret; You can volunteer for a practice to help fill a boat. For more information go to www.cornwallwaterfest.com and choose the “Contact Us” page.
SDG & A Cornwall Seeker, www.theseeker.ca, July 2024, page 24