PUBLISHED 24 May 2022
Our Dragon Boat Team took to Fairhaven Lake on Saturday 20th May in the inaugural Blue Skies Dragon Boat Festival in aid of our local NHS charity, Blue Skies.
The team was led by our drummer, Sharon Hobson-Woodhead and included: students (Kathryn - Year 6, Samuel - Year 7, Oliver – Year 8, Mathew – Year 9, Jack - Year 9 and Edward - Year 10); teachers (Sarah Burke, Christine Wright, Jess Grant); non-teaching staff (Andrew Parker, Sarah Shepherd and Abby Newby), members of the leadership team (David Harrow, Phil Hayden and Alex Brown), as well as Mrs IIhan’s husband, Hak. Many thanks to all members of our crew who generously donated a minimum of £25 participation fee to the Blue Skies charity.
After meeting at school, we walked en masse to the lake, where we established our home-base, next to the water’s edge. This vantage point also proved useful in gathering top tips and intel from the three heats which were held before ours. This, plus the briefing from the organisers (which included what to do if we capsized…) proved invaluable, given that this was the first Dragon Boat experience for many of our crew.
However, it also gave us a close-up of the all-mighty Warriors, a band of injured ex-military men, who moved through the water like a perfectly synchronised machine. Undeterred, we took a leap of faith and attempted to channel our own inner warriors as we tried to keep in time with Mrs Hobson-Woodhead’s drumming.
After a strong surge to the start line, we lost puff and pace half-way through the first heat to come a narrow second; unfortunately, our second heat saw us slow by a second, but, like all good come-back stories, our third heat provided us with our best time of the day. A three-second improvement in our time enabled us to beat the boat who had come out on top in heat one.
Sadly, our best time from our third and final performance was not enough to secure a place in the final, however, we felt proud of our improvement in our time and the fact that we’d held our own against all-adult, all-male crews.
Our youngest crew member, Kathryn, had initially attended to cheer her brothers on - but was enlisted at short notice when a position had become free in the boat. She enjoyed having the sparkle added to her hair, kindly donated by Mrs Grant, and being part of the team. When asked how she felt about being part of an older crew, she explained, “the paddle was heavy and I needed to put my hand in the water to pull it through as my arms are shorter than everyone else’s. It was good fun though and I’d do it again. I’ve been kayaking before, so when I heard another person was needed, it was a no brainer to volunteer”. Well done Kathryn, it was great to have you on board!
Thank you to the whole crew and especially to Mrs Hobson-Woodhead who led the group and crucially, for her drumming, which helped us to keep time. Many thanks also to everyone who came to cheer us on – we’ll hopefully see you in the boat next year!