There goes our combined Never Dry - RCC - Staatsbosbeheer team!
It was an unusually hot sunny morning as I cycled down the Rotte River towards Crooswijksebocht (literally: Duckweed District Bend, where "bend" refers to the bend in the River). As I approached the bend, I saw a colorful crowd milling on the riverbank. Overheating, I removed my sweatshirt to reveal a bright blue t-shirt: our club uniform. I locked my bike on one of the many temporary bike racks and wandered into the crowd, keeping an eye out for other blue-shirted people.
Last Saturday (September 1st) was the second annual Dragon Boat Race on the Rotte River, part of the Water Festival on the Rotte. The festival involves a number of fun activities in the vicinity of the races, such as free boat rentals, music, food, and games for kids.
Our team, "Rottekano" (Rotte Canoe/Kayak), consisted of members of Never Dry, the Rotterdam Canoe Club (RCC, our club neighbors), and Staatsbosbeheer (sort of like the Forest Service for the Netherlands). Anyone could sign up, as long as they had a team of at least 14 members. No prior experience necessary!
In preparation for our first race, Joost from RCC organized us into two rows, mimicking the seating in the boats. It's important to consider the weight distribution, both side to side and forward and backward. Once we were partnered up, we piled into the boat in an organized fashion - starting at the front row and continuing backwards. Everyone grabbed a paddle.
The races are organized by the Dutch Dragons, a dragon boating organization with boats and volunteers. Two volunteers helped with each boat - one in the front who beats a drum and calls out orders, and one in the back who steers. Before our first race, they gave us a crash course in technique and teamwork. The most important factor is that everyone paddles in synch. My initial thought was: "Great, that should be no problem for a bunch of canoeists and kayakers!" ... but boy was I wrong. When you have 18 people squished into a small boat, you can barely see past the person in front of you. So you paddle at their pace, but probably not exactly (maybe a bit slower or faster). This effect propagates down the boat, until all different frequencies and rhythms can be found. Another important factor is the start. Someone on shore counts down (something like, "Are you ready?! Set, Go!"), and on "Go!" everyone should make their first stroke. But is your first stroke the moment the paddle goes into the water? Is it the moment you pull the paddle? Or is it the moment the stroke is complete? You all need to have the same understanding and paddle technique.
We also learned a number of other useful tips like:
With plenty of tips and a bit of practice, we were off. Our first competitors were from Outdoor Valley - the incumbent winners from last year (Never Dry came in second last year)! After a somewhat rocky start, we paddled hard and passed the finish line in 48.44 seconds, coming in 0.51 seconds after Outdoor Valley!
There was quite a bit of down time between races, so we hung around while the ther 14 teams did their first races. In the second heat we improved our time by 1 second. Actually, we improved our time in all 5 races!
Our team, "Rottekano" (Rotte Canoe/Kayak), consisted of members of Never Dry, the Rotterdam Canoe Club (RCC, our club neighbors), and Staatsbosbeheer (sort of like the Forest Service for the Netherlands). Anyone could sign up, as long as they had a team of at least 14 members. No prior experience necessary!
In preparation for our first race, Joost from RCC organized us into two rows, mimicking the seating in the boats. It's important to consider the weight distribution, both side to side and forward and backward. Once we were partnered up, we piled into the boat in an organized fashion - starting at the front row and continuing backwards. Everyone grabbed a paddle.
The races are organized by the Dutch Dragons, a dragon boating organization with boats and volunteers. Two volunteers helped with each boat - one in the front who beats a drum and calls out orders, and one in the back who steers. Before our first race, they gave us a crash course in technique and teamwork. The most important factor is that everyone paddles in synch. My initial thought was: "Great, that should be no problem for a bunch of canoeists and kayakers!" ... but boy was I wrong. When you have 18 people squished into a small boat, you can barely see past the person in front of you. So you paddle at their pace, but probably not exactly (maybe a bit slower or faster). This effect propagates down the boat, until all different frequencies and rhythms can be found. Another important factor is the start. Someone on shore counts down (something like, "Are you ready?! Set, Go!"), and on "Go!" everyone should make their first stroke. But is your first stroke the moment the paddle goes into the water? Is it the moment you pull the paddle? Or is it the moment the stroke is complete? You all need to have the same understanding and paddle technique.
We also learned a number of other useful tips like:
- Count loudly with the drums - it helps you keep time
- Your water-side hand holds the neck of the paddle
- Your water-side hand should touch the water on each stroke
- Don't pull the paddle past your hip - then you're only pulling water up and getting in the way of the person behind you.
- Don't stop paddling until the drummer tells you to! I was surprised to see many people in other boats stop paddling and coast towards the finish line.
With plenty of tips and a bit of practice, we were off. Our first competitors were from Outdoor Valley - the incumbent winners from last year (Never Dry came in second last year)! After a somewhat rocky start, we paddled hard and passed the finish line in 48.44 seconds, coming in 0.51 seconds after Outdoor Valley!
There was quite a bit of down time between races, so we hung around while the ther 14 teams did their first races. In the second heat we improved our time by 1 second. Actually, we improved our time in all 5 races!
To answer the click-bait question in the blog title: the key is to have the best drummer lady sitting at the front of your boat, who helps you squeeze in a few extra practice starts before each race. The other key is to improve your technique in every race, always being fast enough to get to the next round.
The last race was after 17h. Many other racers and viewers had headed home - it was a long, hot, sunny day! But the finale (again!) came down to Rottekano and Outdoor Valley. We gave it our best shot, initially falling a bit behind Outdoor Valley, but shooting forward at the end, making it impossible to tell who had won (even for spectators!). The drummers instructed us to do one last celebratory paddle, which involved hitting the gunnels with our paddle, lifting the paddle in the air, hitting the gunnels, and taking a stroke (and repeat). And yelling!
Back on land we collected our things and waited for the race results. After a ceremonial introduction, both teams were called to the front for the announcement. The verdict: A TIE! TOO CLOSE TO CALL! I think everyone was secretly a little disappointed to not have won-won, but it was a nice friendly ending with lots of high fives and handshakes, and... there's always next year!
See below for a medley of photos taken by Marianne, Ivo, and myself. Click to enlarge.
The last race was after 17h. Many other racers and viewers had headed home - it was a long, hot, sunny day! But the finale (again!) came down to Rottekano and Outdoor Valley. We gave it our best shot, initially falling a bit behind Outdoor Valley, but shooting forward at the end, making it impossible to tell who had won (even for spectators!). The drummers instructed us to do one last celebratory paddle, which involved hitting the gunnels with our paddle, lifting the paddle in the air, hitting the gunnels, and taking a stroke (and repeat). And yelling!
Back on land we collected our things and waited for the race results. After a ceremonial introduction, both teams were called to the front for the announcement. The verdict: A TIE! TOO CLOSE TO CALL! I think everyone was secretly a little disappointed to not have won-won, but it was a nice friendly ending with lots of high fives and handshakes, and... there's always next year!
See below for a medley of photos taken by Marianne, Ivo, and myself. Click to enlarge.
Video of our team (see left) by Suuz:
The winning team! Showing off the trophy. A few of us had already left by this point, so the team is not 100% complete, oops. Photo by Suuz.
RSS Feed
