Nine paddlers and four support crew from Narooma Blue Water Dragons headed down to Mallacoota on Friday, May 5 for the end of season bash organized by Sapphire Water Dragons from Merimbula. The Mallacoota Lakes are part of the wilderness coast of Victoria and are a perfect setting for a day of paddling. This was a non-teams social event and at each rest stop paddlers swap boats to make sure they meet as many people as possible. With paddlers coming from as far away as Nowra and Jindabyne, as well as the Far South Coast and all over Victoria there were plenty of new people to meet.
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Four dragon boats with over 70 paddlers on board headed off from Gypsy Point Wharf on a fairly cold Saturday morning. The paddlers soon warmed up and enjoyed a range of fun activities which tested the skills of the sweeps and navigational abilities of the crew members. The first rest stop was at Sandy Point, a small but beautiful picnic area about 5 kms from Gypsy Point where the hard working road crew had set up morning tea complete with a fire.
Paddlers swapped boats then headed to Bucklands Jetty – a quick comfort stop where modern flushing toilets can be found! The final stretch leads into the Mallacoota Township…by then the sun was shining and the boats looked spectacular as they put on a couple of demonstration races for the locals. The paddlers were pretty exhausted after paddling 20 kms and were looking forward to lunch. But the fun didn’t stop there - on Saturday night all the participants gather at the Mallacoota Hotel for a wonderful meal and prize giving evening.
Congratulations to Sapphire Water Dragons for organizing a wonderful event and thank you to the partners of the Narooma paddlers who were part of the road crew. Dragon boating is a sport that people of all fitness levels can enjoy as the emphasis is on having fun and feeling healthy. If you would like to have a go at Dragon Boating, pop down to the club’s boat shed (situated next to the Quarterdeck Café) on Saturdays at 8.30am. For more information contact the club via email at Narooma.bwd@gmail.com You can also follow us on facebook.
