The Singapore Slings dragonboat team, which I’ve been steering for this year, took part in the Fall 400 in Carleton Place. With only 32 teams competing, it was a much smaller festival than the Ottawa Dragonboat Festival we paddled in at the end of June. But, it was a lot of fun! Each team took part in three races and the top six teams had one final race to determine the final rankings.

Our first race was at 10:20 and we paddled the 400m course in 1:52.87, which was a new team best for the Singapore Slings. Our second and third races we within two seconds of the first races. The weather started out grey and wet, but by the end of the day it had become sunny and not so miserable. The wind picked up as the day progressed, which was a factor in the slightly slower races. If the winds had been calm, I think we would have approached 1:50.0

From the perspective of the guy standing at the back of the boat, I can say that the three races were amazing. The team has never paddled better and that’s because of the dedication and committment of the people who came to practices every Tuesday since sometime in May. I’m looking forward to steering for them again in the future!