Today we went to Bewl Water to participate in a dragonboat race to raise money for the church's school. A dragonboat is a Chinese water vessel that holds 16 paddlers, a drummer, and a steering/rudder person. The idea is that the drummer sits up at the front and pounds the drum; the paddlers are then supposed to stroke in unison to the beat of the drum and then the first team to cross the finish line wins. This is all theoretical however, as once you are on the choppy water near the back of the boat and getting soaked by the guy paddling in front of you, it is much harder to hear the drum and paddle in sync with everyone else. There were 57 teams in total, and ours was called the "St. Mary's Marvels." (although the guy keeping track on the scoreboard must have misheard someone somewhere along the line as it was originally written "St. Mary's Marbles") It was a big fundraising event and each of the teams was raising money for some kind of charity, be it schools, welfare programs, aid agencies or whatever. Each team and their supporters were set up in a tent on the field next to the water, and there were all kinds of fundraising activities going on (draws, games, etc.) See the pictures on the right hand side to get a better sense of the carnival-like atmosphere. It's also worth pointing out that each team is encouraged to pick an imaginative team name and related uniform. The St. Mary's Marvels were dressed up like old English women, complete with headscarves and hair curlers!
Every team participated in three races -- with about 3-5 teams competing in each one -- and then a final race for the top 10 placers. Two of the participants on our team were late arriving, so me and the daughter of one of the other members got roped into the first heat! We had a safety briefing and then practiced on the water for a bit before competing in our first race. We cleaned up in our first round, destroying the other two teams! I got completely soaked in the process, however it was quite enjoyable. We completed the race in just over a minute and five seconds. There was a large chunk of time between our first and second race since we had to wait for the remaining 30 teams to complete their first heat and by the time our second heat rolled around, the other participants had arrived which meant that I didn't get to compete again. I didn't really mind though...it had been cold and very wet. The second race was an extremely tight one, with our team and another neck in neck to the end. St. Mary's prevailed, albeit by only 0.4 seconds! The conditions were worse this time around, but with the practice from before, and the two new ringers in, they shaved 5 seconds off their previous time. They managed to take off another second to get it down to 59 in the final race, however this wasn't good enough to beat the team dressed as pirates in the next boat and in the end, the scallywags won. Although they got our time below one minute, many of the other teams managed to as well, and it just wasn't quite enough to make it into the finals. It was only St. Mary's second year in the competition however, and apparently they just keep getting better! Well, it's after midnight now, and I have to get up at 7:30 tomorrow morning to help Paul get his drum-kit from his attic and over to the church. After the service(s), we're going to some community picnic/participatory sporting event or something. I'm still a little jetlagged, and more than a little tired after today, but it was good to hear from my mom on the phone tonight, and I'm still really glad to be here!
I should also note that I expect journal entries to be rather rampant for the next week or so as I experience all kinds of new things, but then to die off a bit once I settle into a routine. It's not that I'm planning to be lazy, but rather that there won't be as much new or exciting stuff to document for you folks. Or maybe there will be....who knows?!? Just thought I'd warn you in advance....
I should also point out that my internet access is sporadic at best at the moment, however I'm supposed to be moving in with some new people on Monday or thereabouts, and that situation may or may not change when I get there.
Here is a picture of the crowd and the lake it was on. And here are some more pictures
of the dragon boats themselves (not of our group though). If you look closely you can see the guy with the big oar at the back, and the chair and drum for the drummer at the front. This is an example of what happens when you capsize the boat (though thankfully,this is once again not our group).
Here are some shots of the grounds and various tents and activities (including our own!) that could be found...
Next we have a fashion show of sorts. First up is Paul sporting a sweet "Taipei International Cricket Club" ringer. Then we have Zamira with her brand new polystyrene (that's styrofoam for you North Americans) hair catcher. Polystyrene continues to be in vogue this season as Prince Sebastian wears the official crown of the Royal Monarchy. His sister is not far behind.
Finally, we have shots of the scoreboard after the first and second heats. Our team improved its speed by about 1 second on the third heat, however by then it was starting to get cold and rainy (cold and rainy in England, can you believe it?) and we didn't place high enough to get into the finals, so we left without any pictures to prove it. Take my word
for it however, everyone gave it their all!
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