Dragons Abreast : Tasmania

Dragons Abreast Tasmania – Hobart

General contact: 1300 889 566
or tasmania@dragonsabreast.com.au (Regional Representative Tasmania)
and hobart@dragonsabreast.com.au

Dragons Abreast Tas (Hobart) have been very active in 2008. Early in January, our second week back paddling after the Christmas break, saw us tackling the Huon River for the second year in a row. Last year we paddled from Huonville to Franklin. This year we started a little further south at Port Huon and paddled up to Huonville, stopping at Franklin for morning tea. We were blessed with ideal weather. A shared lunch at the end of the paddle saw us, as usual, with far too much to eat. We seem to over cater each time we have shared lunches.

Hobart, Tasmania (click for more)

The first Sunday in April we joined in the bicentenary celebrations for New Norfolk, a township in the Derwent Valley. We hired the pink BCNA bus (see photo) to travel to the boat launching spot then joined the flotilla of man powered vessels to paddle “bridge to bridge” – from the bridge at New Norfolk to Bridgewater bridge. We then paddled further on to our picnic spot, paddling a total of over 24 kms on the day. On both of these long paddles we had 2 boats – Boobialla and Dragon Fly. And once again, an over-catered shared lunch! Just as well we paddle these long distances with all the calories we consume!

We had a great time in Sydney in February, taking a full crew to Chinese New Year on Darling Harbour. We won our first heat and overall finished 9th. Our goal was to get into the second final (which we did) so that all the crew could participate in the “Flowers on the Water” celebration – a very moving experience for us all.

Sunday April 20 th saw the launch and blessing of our new boat, Weedy Sea Dragon, the third boat in our flotilla. Our other 2 boats, Boobialla and Dragon Fly, and our rescue ‘rubber ducky’, Chrissie Lou, were also blessed by the monks who conducted the ceremony. Boobialla, our first boat, will be offered to new DA clubs starting up in Tasmania or the existing clubs as they grow until they can afford another boat. Chris Van Beuren and Louise Woodruff, paddling angels, worked very hard in the early days to acquire Boobialla and we can’t bear to part with her. Our rescue boat, Chrissie Lou, is named after these 2 wonderful women.

We have now gone into winter training mode, training once during the week and on a Saturday morning. The midweek paddle is in the evening in the dark so we have lights on the both ends of the boat and many of us also wear head lights. We find the evenings are often very calm for paddling, although somewhat chilly!

We have had meetings with members of the other Tassie DA teams in Launceston and Devonport, including one that Michelle Hanton was able to attend.

The inaugural Dragon Boat regatta for Tasmania was held on Saturday May 17 th at Montrose Bay. Normally subject to winds, the Bay was calm, the sun shining and dragon boating the beneficiary of ideal conditions for the event. Organised by Linda Riedel from the Lindisfarne Dragon Boat Club who is ‘showcasing’ the sport in the state. Our thanks to Linda and her crews for the most successful first time dragon boat regatta.

If you are a breast cancer survivor and want to find out more about this most enjoyable sport, please contact our Hobart president, Rosemary Kerrison – pjkero@bigpond.net.au – for more information, or come along to the Lindisfarne Rowing Club on a Saturday morning at 9.15 and make yourself known to the girls. We welcome new survivor members.

Photos of our various activities are also on the site.