CC DRAGONS WIN PORT MARATHON
When most people are warmly tucked in under their doonas on frigid winter Sunday mornings, the Central Coast dragon boat paddlers are putting in the hard yards in training for the next racing season. The club raised the pain level to a new high however, when it took a team to Port Macquarie over the recent long weekend to paddle in a 20 km “marathon” event in a mid-winter regatta on the Hastings River.
The 20km distance is unusual for dragon boat racing and most paddlers had not previously experienced such a physical and psychological challenge. The Central Coast Sea Dragons crew of men and women went into the race at 7.30am with few expectations other than to have fun, finish the race and to treat it as a good workout. They won by a generous margin in 1hr 32 minutes against the other local and Sydney dragon boat crews and came second overall only to a strong outrigger team.
Strokes Claire Bundy and Helen Mauric set a cracking pace which blew away the opposition at the start and then maintained the lead throughout the race.
Team Coach and paddler, Joe Iacono, praised the team, saying that it had “conquered another challenge and come out on top”. He emphasised the importance of rigorous training throughout winter in preparation for the next season and invited fit men and women on the Central Coast to consider dragon boat racing and the possibility of paddling for NSW and Australian representative teams.
The passion & the pain (Photo: Darrel Nash)