On Saturday 30th of August, 18 of our club members and their families headed to Bewl Water Sports to take on Dragon Boat racing in aid of St. Wilfred’s Hospice.
For those that don’t know, St Wilfred’s Hospice aims for their patients “to live well at the end of life”. Our donation page is now closed, however, if you wish to support the hospice, please take a look at their site Home – St Wilfrid’s Hospice (Eastbourne) (stwhospice.org).
Following a safety briefing, our club members were given only a short distance to practise their new form of rowing before the first heat. We took on three other organisations to win the heat! With the second fastest time from the first heat, our rowers prepared for heat 2, now understanding that the fastest 6 crews would be entered into the final.
Our appointed Captain, Chris Murray, ex-GB dragon boat racer, offered our club members hints and tips as the heats got more serious for our rowers.
Despite the gloomy, drizzly day, our club made it into the final, with changing wind directions we knew this would be challenging. With one of our juniors on the drum, the club managed to clinch second place with milliseconds separating us from third place.
It was an excellent opportunity for our club to come together to not only raise funds for a vital local charity, but also be able to race together and with family. We look forward to returning next year to maintain, and hopefully improve our title.
Thank you to all those who supported us through sponsorship, which has now been passed across to St. Wilfred’s hospice.
