WAGONGA Inlet’s reputation as the South Coast’s premier Dragon Boating venue was cemented last Sunday when Narooma’s Blue Water Dragons hosted a Dragon Boat Sweep training day.
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Southern Region Sweep coordinator, Pat Helmore, along with husband Charles and members of Sapphire Water Dragons once again travelled north to have a day of serious fun training South Coast Dragon Boat Sweeps. Pat and Charles have been stalwarts of Southern Region Dragon Boating for a number of years and never cease to be amazed at the qualities of Narooma’s Wagonga Inlet.
“Wagonga Inlet is a fantastic place to paddle a Dragon Boat and Forster’s Bay in particular is a great place to train Sweeps because of the calm water, lack of boat traffic and the openness of the Bay,” Pat said.
A number of trainee sweeps enjoyed the perfect weather and calm water of Forster’s Bay. The most difficult part of the day was that paddlers had to concentrate on their timing rather than enjoying the magnificent views.
Blue Water Dragons trainee sweeps present on the day: Sally Farrell, Donna Anderson and Heather McMillan did themselves proud and picked up a number of new skills, not the least being paddling a full boat with a largely unfamiliar crew. At the end of the day, Pat declared that all had bright futures as sweeps for Narooma’s Dragon Boat club.
Pat also congratulated head sweep, Peter Essex, on his recent upgrade to level 4 sweep status. Level 4 status recognises Peter’s advanced sweep skills.
Narooma Blue Water Dragons has successfully been promoting Narooma as a Dragon Boat destination, in part because of its scenic beauty, light boat traffic and proximity to other nature based tourist attractions. One thing commented on by almost all visiting paddlers has been the clarity of the water and the joy of watching the fish, stingrays and seals as they play in the water beneath the boat. This was again the case last Sunday and was topped off at the end of the paddle by the sight of an octopus feeding as the Dragon Boat pulled into shore.
If you’d like to be part of the fun of Narooma’s Dragon Boat club by having a go at Dragon Boating, contact the club at narooma.bwd@gmail.com or pop down to the club’s boat shed (situated next to the Quarterdeck Café) on Saturdays around 8.30am when members can answer all your questions in person.
Narooma Blue Water Dragons – Looking good, having fun!
