The last weekend saw the firm's dragon boat team travel up to Penang to take part in the 30th Penang International Dragon Boat Festival. We had started our training since the end of April, the team putting in long practices at Putrajaya lake, so it was time to see how all that training was going to pay off. This would also be the first competition for a few of us, while this would already be my 4th dragon boat competition, and 3rd one at Penang.
We convoyed up to Penang in several cars on Friday morning itself. While the races were going to be on Saturday and Sunday, we wanted to put in a practice session at the Teluk Bahang Dam the day before. After a brief stopover for some food at Ipoh, we continued on our journey to Penang where we checked in to the official hotel, the Holiday Inn.
We assembled at the hotel and then made our way up to the dam for our practice session. The beautiful waters of Teluk Bahang Dam greeted us and even when some of us boarded the boat and started to paddle to the starting platform, we could not help but look around and stare at the surroundings.
During the practice, we had some difficulty with our steerer in keeping the boat straight. It is difficult to turn the boat, especially with a full 20 crew boat, and we tried our best in maneuvering to the starting platform and then aligning ourselves straight in order to try out the full 500 metre lane. The second attempt saw us veer to the right, and we did a quick steerer swap to try out one more 500 metre sequence. The boat was moving fine, and we called it a day for the practice as the team was exhausted.
Dinner was spent at the restaurant called the End of the World. Lots of seafood, and sponsored by one of the firm's partners. The service was so quick, and they were just dealing out the dishes and we stuffed ourselves so much!
The food was quite good but some of us were still yearning for the delicious seafood dinner we had two years ago in Penang, after the competition. I thought it was the End of the World, but the restaurant was different. The seafood that time was really good. It was back to the hotel, some bargain hunting at the nearby stalls at Batu Ferringhi, then a good night's sleep beckoned. The next day's first event would only be at 4.15pm, so had lots of time to sleep in.
Prior to our first race, and as part of a well-balanced diet befitting a dragon boat athlete, some us headed down into town to feast on all the yummy Penang food.
At the famous chai tao kuey place (according to the Star Food Guide)
It was yummy!
30sen apam balik, this was good too!
It was then time to suit up and get ready for our first race, the Malaysian Mixed-20 race. This was going to be a straight Finals event, as there were only 6 teams. I was worried as to how the boat was going to do, and I knew that the other teams in the Finals would be able to go fast. The aim that we set out for ourselves for the competition was to really not end up last in all our events. We had been beaten soundly in all our events at last year's Singapore River Regatta and we didn't want a repeat performance of that.
The atmosphere at the Penang competition was much more relaxed than the pressure-cooker setting in Singapore, with the teams all dead serious and packed in every corner. We were relaxing at our tent and slowly getting ready for our race.
Our team jerseys had also gotten slightly more advanced compared to the t-shirts from two years ago, and then the sleeveless ones from a year ago. We were now kitted out in Adidas Climacool tops.
The Skrine Dragons, the full crew
It was soon time for our race, and we made our way to the marshalling area and then finally boarded the boat. Our competitors in the Finals were the Malaysian Royal Police, the Navy, a strong Penang dragon boat club as well as another new dragon boat team, the Dragon Flyers. This did not bode well for the team but we gave it our all at the word "Go!" We had a pretty decent start but the Navy in the next lane soon surged ahead. We continued to paddle and the crew was really synchronised and kept to our strategy and sequence we had been training all this while. As we neared the last 100m point, I knew that there was another team still trailing behind us and as the drummer shouted to the crew that there was still another boat behind us, the crew tapped into another level of energy and then paddled even harder but still in time. We finished 5th out of the 6 boat finals with a very decent time of 2:38.
This was also a huge improvement of our time of 3:07 from two years ago, and the whole crew was cheering at the end when we realised that we weren't last. We were all smiles as we knew that we had paddled well and in time.
Another hearty seafood dinner awaited us that night, where we headed to Ocean Green instead. The team was still buzzing and discussing about the race that Saturday afternoon and we were optimistic about our races the next day. On the food and service at Ocean Green, I wouldn't recommend going there again. The service was really slow and the food wasn't all that fantastic. The place was packed though.
We had to have an early start to our Sunday, with our first race being at 9.15am, so we were up at 7am to have breakfast and then to slowly make our way to the dam.
Our first race in the morning was the International Mixed-20 crew heats. As we had made it into the Finals (by default), we had also qualified for the International heats for the same event. We would be going up against the Navy and the German Dragons of Singapore, so we did not have any illusions about beating those teams. We wanted to better our timing and see how well we could do.
Us getting ready to head to the marshalling area to board the boat
Paddles up and off to the starting platform
In this race, the team did not perform as well. The synchronisation was lost, with the boat at several points in time going off on its own timing. This was especially acute at the engine block in the middle of the boat, with the paddlers there speeding up much quicker than the paddlers in front. This led to clashing of paddles and we moved at a slower speed than the day before. We finished the heat in a time of 2:55. This left us a bit dejected and disappointed with ourselves.
After the race
But we had to pick ourselves up, as the ladies had to also compete in the smaller boat, being the International Women-12 event.
The Women team
We were fortunate to be placed in one of the easier heats, among the 3 heats but we weren't sure how we would do. I was steering while the ladies would be paddling. We did not have a chance to even practice an all-ladies boat all this while so this was the first time the ladies were paddling together. We surged to a good start and then settled in to a long maintain stroke. I then had to get used to the feeling of actually seeing other boats behind us. We had left 3 other boats behind us, while the Boraccay Bumshells (yes, that is their name) from the Philippines were just edging in front of us. At the last 100m, they were still ahead, and I signalled for our boat to throw in our Power-5 sequence and to try to power to the end. The ladies did not disappoint and then started digging deep into the power. From what I was told from the other team mates cheering us on from above, they could see our boat surge and slowly catch up with the other boat. It was going to be close, and as we crossed the finishing line, I was still not 100% sure whether we had nicked the win.
We are the team just in front as we crossed the finishing line of the red buoys.
We had done it!
The ladies had actually clinched first place in their heat! Completely unexpected and completely surpassing our hope of merely not ending up last. I came across another blog with pics of how close the finish was. The blogger took really nice photos (and her blog has really nicely taken photos as well).
The final times showed how close the heat was in the end.
I had a look at the other timings from the other two heats and we were indeed fortunate to be placed in the significantly easier heat. But who cares, we were going straight to the Finals! We had qualifed for the top 6 positions. We were also the only Malaysian team in the finals and we were going up against really good teams from all over.
Qualifying for the Finals throw a spanner in our plans. We had prepared to be checked out by around noon time itself in order to head back to KL, but the finals would now be in the evening. We then had to reorganise our rooms, the men in our team also staying back to cheer the ladies on, and then quickly took a power nap in the afternoon, and we were back at the dam in the evening for our final event.
The Finals were tough, and we could see the really strong Thailand team pull ahead very quickly. They were just small women, some of them look like they were in high school but they sure could paddle. It really is not about how strong or how much muscles you have, but down to your stroke technique as a team. We finished last in the Finals but the ladies really gave it their all and threw their bodies into the event. We were again smiling and cheering at a job well done, and celebrating our best ever results.
There will be another competition at Putrajaya next weekend, being the 1st Putrajaya International Dragon Boat Festival. We are looking forward to keeping up the good performance at this competition.
We convoyed up to Penang in several cars on Friday morning itself. While the races were going to be on Saturday and Sunday, we wanted to put in a practice session at the Teluk Bahang Dam the day before. After a brief stopover for some food at Ipoh, we continued on our journey to Penang where we checked in to the official hotel, the Holiday Inn.
We assembled at the hotel and then made our way up to the dam for our practice session. The beautiful waters of Teluk Bahang Dam greeted us and even when some of us boarded the boat and started to paddle to the starting platform, we could not help but look around and stare at the surroundings.
During the practice, we had some difficulty with our steerer in keeping the boat straight. It is difficult to turn the boat, especially with a full 20 crew boat, and we tried our best in maneuvering to the starting platform and then aligning ourselves straight in order to try out the full 500 metre lane. The second attempt saw us veer to the right, and we did a quick steerer swap to try out one more 500 metre sequence. The boat was moving fine, and we called it a day for the practice as the team was exhausted.
Dinner was spent at the restaurant called the End of the World. Lots of seafood, and sponsored by one of the firm's partners. The service was so quick, and they were just dealing out the dishes and we stuffed ourselves so much!
The food was quite good but some of us were still yearning for the delicious seafood dinner we had two years ago in Penang, after the competition. I thought it was the End of the World, but the restaurant was different. The seafood that time was really good. It was back to the hotel, some bargain hunting at the nearby stalls at Batu Ferringhi, then a good night's sleep beckoned. The next day's first event would only be at 4.15pm, so had lots of time to sleep in.
Prior to our first race, and as part of a well-balanced diet befitting a dragon boat athlete, some us headed down into town to feast on all the yummy Penang food.
At the famous chai tao kuey place (according to the Star Food Guide)
It was yummy!
30sen apam balik, this was good too!
It was then time to suit up and get ready for our first race, the Malaysian Mixed-20 race. This was going to be a straight Finals event, as there were only 6 teams. I was worried as to how the boat was going to do, and I knew that the other teams in the Finals would be able to go fast. The aim that we set out for ourselves for the competition was to really not end up last in all our events. We had been beaten soundly in all our events at last year's Singapore River Regatta and we didn't want a repeat performance of that.
The atmosphere at the Penang competition was much more relaxed than the pressure-cooker setting in Singapore, with the teams all dead serious and packed in every corner. We were relaxing at our tent and slowly getting ready for our race.
Our team jerseys had also gotten slightly more advanced compared to the t-shirts from two years ago, and then the sleeveless ones from a year ago. We were now kitted out in Adidas Climacool tops.
The Skrine Dragons, the full crew
It was soon time for our race, and we made our way to the marshalling area and then finally boarded the boat. Our competitors in the Finals were the Malaysian Royal Police, the Navy, a strong Penang dragon boat club as well as another new dragon boat team, the Dragon Flyers. This did not bode well for the team but we gave it our all at the word "Go!" We had a pretty decent start but the Navy in the next lane soon surged ahead. We continued to paddle and the crew was really synchronised and kept to our strategy and sequence we had been training all this while. As we neared the last 100m point, I knew that there was another team still trailing behind us and as the drummer shouted to the crew that there was still another boat behind us, the crew tapped into another level of energy and then paddled even harder but still in time. We finished 5th out of the 6 boat finals with a very decent time of 2:38.
This was also a huge improvement of our time of 3:07 from two years ago, and the whole crew was cheering at the end when we realised that we weren't last. We were all smiles as we knew that we had paddled well and in time.
Another hearty seafood dinner awaited us that night, where we headed to Ocean Green instead. The team was still buzzing and discussing about the race that Saturday afternoon and we were optimistic about our races the next day. On the food and service at Ocean Green, I wouldn't recommend going there again. The service was really slow and the food wasn't all that fantastic. The place was packed though.
We had to have an early start to our Sunday, with our first race being at 9.15am, so we were up at 7am to have breakfast and then to slowly make our way to the dam.
Our first race in the morning was the International Mixed-20 crew heats. As we had made it into the Finals (by default), we had also qualified for the International heats for the same event. We would be going up against the Navy and the German Dragons of Singapore, so we did not have any illusions about beating those teams. We wanted to better our timing and see how well we could do.
Us getting ready to head to the marshalling area to board the boat
Paddles up and off to the starting platform
In this race, the team did not perform as well. The synchronisation was lost, with the boat at several points in time going off on its own timing. This was especially acute at the engine block in the middle of the boat, with the paddlers there speeding up much quicker than the paddlers in front. This led to clashing of paddles and we moved at a slower speed than the day before. We finished the heat in a time of 2:55. This left us a bit dejected and disappointed with ourselves.
After the race
But we had to pick ourselves up, as the ladies had to also compete in the smaller boat, being the International Women-12 event.
The Women team
We were fortunate to be placed in one of the easier heats, among the 3 heats but we weren't sure how we would do. I was steering while the ladies would be paddling. We did not have a chance to even practice an all-ladies boat all this while so this was the first time the ladies were paddling together. We surged to a good start and then settled in to a long maintain stroke. I then had to get used to the feeling of actually seeing other boats behind us. We had left 3 other boats behind us, while the Boraccay Bumshells (yes, that is their name) from the Philippines were just edging in front of us. At the last 100m, they were still ahead, and I signalled for our boat to throw in our Power-5 sequence and to try to power to the end. The ladies did not disappoint and then started digging deep into the power. From what I was told from the other team mates cheering us on from above, they could see our boat surge and slowly catch up with the other boat. It was going to be close, and as we crossed the finishing line, I was still not 100% sure whether we had nicked the win.
We are the team just in front as we crossed the finishing line of the red buoys.
We had done it!
The ladies had actually clinched first place in their heat! Completely unexpected and completely surpassing our hope of merely not ending up last. I came across another blog with pics of how close the finish was. The blogger took really nice photos (and her blog has really nicely taken photos as well).
The final times showed how close the heat was in the end.
I had a look at the other timings from the other two heats and we were indeed fortunate to be placed in the significantly easier heat. But who cares, we were going straight to the Finals! We had qualifed for the top 6 positions. We were also the only Malaysian team in the finals and we were going up against really good teams from all over.
Qualifying for the Finals throw a spanner in our plans. We had prepared to be checked out by around noon time itself in order to head back to KL, but the finals would now be in the evening. We then had to reorganise our rooms, the men in our team also staying back to cheer the ladies on, and then quickly took a power nap in the afternoon, and we were back at the dam in the evening for our final event.
The Finals were tough, and we could see the really strong Thailand team pull ahead very quickly. They were just small women, some of them look like they were in high school but they sure could paddle. It really is not about how strong or how much muscles you have, but down to your stroke technique as a team. We finished last in the Finals but the ladies really gave it their all and threw their bodies into the event. We were again smiling and cheering at a job well done, and celebrating our best ever results.
There will be another competition at Putrajaya next weekend, being the 1st Putrajaya International Dragon Boat Festival. We are looking forward to keeping up the good performance at this competition.
5 comments:
Dude, props to you for writing a long post. And you got the photos uploaded to Photobucket despite the tardiness.
Two other things.
Adidas? Hellz yea... Impossible is nothing.
End of the world? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Photobucket giving me a lot of problems already lately. Going to find another photo hosting site.
Oh yah, Adidas-tagline-inspired performance by the team! Bring on the next competition!
End of the World that bad ah? Heard it's not that great anymore, but the food was OK. But not impressed by Ocean Green at all.
Actually, I dunno if the food's good. One word - MORBID.
Thanks for the mention of my blog. Wishing you and your team all the best for the Putrajaya races.
Thanks YuNiq! You can check out this blog in a weeks' time to find out the results of the Putrajaya competition.
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