For the fourth year in a row, the Stanley Warm-Up Races turned out to be a rather wet event! We are now seasoned pros at preparing ourselves for racing in rain and thunderstorms, from dressing in the ultimate warm/dry (but still lightweight) gear to digging up trenches with our paddles! We faced some tough competition in our first race and came in sixth with a time of 1.10.72, qualifying us for the Bowl Semi-Finals. We picked up the pace in our second race and came in second with a time of 1.09.41, which put us through to the Silver Bowl Final, a result we were really pleased with. (One of our fans noted that he could visibly see our Power Up from the beach!) |
Three hours (and a lunch and a coffee) later, we were energised and ready to take on the other five finalists in the Silver Bowl Final. The skies had cleared a bit over lunch and, while there were a few familiar competitors in our last race, we were feeling pretty confident. In the time it took us to pull into Lane 5, however, the skies turned dark, and, despite frantic calls by the race organisers on the megaphone to hurry, the other teams weren't able to get into position in time before the storm hit... We're used to being flexible with different calls for different race starts (Ready-Attention-Horn was what we were expecting here in Stanley), but this was the first time we have heard, "QUICK!! GET BACK TO THE BEACH NOWWW!!" All six teams scrambled quickly back to shore, crossing lanes, bashing paddles -- whatever it took to get us away from the lightning! After waiting almost half an hour in the pouring (red!) rain, we, and Stanley Dragon Boat Association, decided to call it a day.
The HKA Dragonflies family | The placement in our final race was determined by our Sem-Final race times, putting us in fifth place. As per tradition, we celebrated the work we have put in so far this season with a junk ride back to Central, and the annual Dragonflies Awards. Despite the weather and the long waiting periods between races, race day is always such a thrill. Looking forward to doing it all over again on June 20th! Stay tuned for more photos and videos of our races last Saturday... |