We had perfect weather for the Harrison Regatta on July 22! This tricky dragon boat venue never failed to disappoint with a spectacular visual feast of BC beauty, wild waters, and winds that increased as the day progressed and kicked sand up into our faces on the shore.
We appreciated the cheering from Roy, Joan, Elaine, John and Sophie!
Thanks to those who supported teammates by carpooling. We had a great tent spot at the far end of the village, which gave us lots of privacy, and a great view of the race action. The event announcer was set up close to us so we knew when to head to marshaling. We all brought potluck food, so feasting began after our first race.
Marshaling on the beach at Harrison Lake.
In our first race, (lane 1, closest to shore) our start was faltered by a buoy that hugged the boat on the right side. Once we got going, however, we came on strong, and our fans on shore said we were gaining and had a strong finish.
In our second race, we were placed in lane 6, far side, and the winds had increased. We had a very strong start, but our boat was being pushed by the current and winds, and our steer lost course, so we had to hold the boat, and then restart.
The venue at Harrison Lake showing the docks and boat loading area.
For race three (C final), we were determined to make it our best race. Winds are usually highest in the afternoon and often switch directions. We were once again in lane 1. Our start was strong and we powered down the course and finished well, almost matching our morning race time, missing that by fractions of a second.
Here are our team's race results:
Race 1 – 2:25:457 5th place
Race 2 – 2:37:892 6th place
Race 3 – 2:25:502 6th place in C final
To compare, our best race time at Concord this year was 2:20.041 (open team), so we did very well! With a smaller race event, our mixed competition was made up primarily of very young teams.
A big thank you to Henrietta who came out to manage our time and results board, and kept our tent area monitored while we were on the water. Thanks to Randy for transporting our equipment and making fast seat changes on the way out to the start line to balance our boats when needed. Thanks to our steers, Bruce and Linda, and our drummer Trish who took on and guided us through the beast we call Harrison!
Thanks to Steve for leading our warmups. To everyone that helped with setup and tear down and carry. Thanks to Coach Denise, who despite not being able to attend, put a lot of time and effort into our lineups and training.
No bling, but we know we gave it our all, and although we left with sand in our hair (and other places), we had smiles on our faces!
ps. We talked with teams from Washington and Seattle about our next Inlet Spring Regatta and they are very keen.
Photos on our Facebook page.
Our next race event will be in Victoria on Aug. 12 and 13!
