Dragon Boat Practice Races and Camp Setup

Dragon Boat Practice Races

Every team had at least two practice sessions scheduled for them the week of the race. I scheduled ours for Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 6 o'clock. Being late summer, the sun was setting about 7:15 so I wanted our boat to be able to finish practice on the water before it got dark (it still got pretty dark before we finished each night). Good thing, too. There were several boats after our sessions that were paddling around Bayou Texar in the dark, and these boats do not have any lights on them at all.

A dragon boat company is contracted every year by NE Pensacola Sertoma to bring in the dragon boats including all life jackets and all paddles, train the teams during practice sessions and provide the steerers for the boats during all practice sessions and during the races. We had a very good experience with this company during our practice sessions. On Wednesday and Thursday, I arrived early and met up with all of our paddlers (dragons) in the parking lot at Bayview Park which backs up to Bayou Texar (pronounced Ta-Har, don't say the 'x'). Bob was our steerer both days for practices. Before we got on the boat, Bob walked us through all of the signals and commands we needed to crew our boat as a cohesive team - and listen, there are a lot of signals and commands you need to know. "Paddles Up" means to get your paddles in the ready position. "Hold the Boat" means to put your paddles straight up and down in the water in order to stop the boat from drifting forward. "Let it Ride" means to get your paddles out of the water and let the boat drift. There are a few more, but you get the idea and those three are big ones to know. Know your commands.

We only had about nine paddlers for our first practice session Wednesday night. There was a little drizzle of rain, but not much. Nine was enough for us to practice and it was probably a good number to start with. Having all twenty paddlers at the first practice session would have been a lot more difficult. We had a rough start as I'm sure every dragon boat team has in the beginning but we got the hang of it pretty quickly. Paddling in unison takes a great deal of effort and communication and focus. We paddled for a little less than an hour that first night. By the time we all got back to the dock, we were all sweating, panting and wore out. I think the youngest on our team was almost thirty years old. The oldest was over sixty years old. Even I, at a mere 46 years of ages, am not a spring dragon. I need to workout more (meaning I need to workout).

Great video recorded by Chris Tipton and Joel Smith.

Thanks fellas.

Our second practice session on Thursday had many of the same people from the first night of practice plus, happily, a few more. We still did not have a full dragon boat of paddlers though. It is difficult to get people together with so many different schedules. We did have more people this second night though but that also meant a boat of paddlers that were not as easy to coordinate into unison. Our paddling was choppy and very, very out of sync. We got better as the hour went on, but it was rough. Just like the previous night, we all left tired, sweaty and wore out. There were practice sessions available the next day (the day before the races), but I did not organize it with anyone. I told everyone that they could come out the next day for practice, but I left it up to them and I do not think anyone took the third practice option. Its not that it would have done us much good, but it would have been another chance for any of us to get out on the water in a boat which is always a good thing.


Camp Setup

Friday night before the races, all the teams were allowed to setup their tents in Bayview Park. The Pensacola Police Department provided security all night so we could set everything up and leave it overnight. It was the best thing to do. Since parking is limited at Bayview Park, all team tents had to be setup and vehicles moved out of the area by 7:30am Saturday morning before the races. Only a few teams did not setup Friday night.

The weather Friday night was fantastic. As soon as the sun went down, it was cool with a light breeze coming in off of the water and enough light from the moon to see our way around in the park. We had site number 30 which was located on the top tier of the park near the tennis courts. We had a great view of Bayou Texar facing south and could easily see the last half of the race length to the finish line. We setup our two tents, chairs and some supplies and then sat around watching the boats come in. If the weather is this good next year, we plan on setting up again that Friday night plus sticking around and grilling out. We may even bring tents or an RV to park overnight. Everyone's invited.

Here are a few photos from Friday night camp setup.

Fireball Cheers to Tent 30!

Our Mascot

Chris Mull and Tina Morrison

Chris and Tina

Kevin Clark

NOAH!

Noah and Kevin

Tent Site 30

Woohoo!

The next day was RACE DAY!

Page 4 - Dragon Boat Race Day

Pensacola Dragon Boat Races 2019

Page 1 - Pensacola Dragon Boat Festival 2019
Page 2 - Captains Meeting and Dragon Meets
Page 3 - Dragon Boat Practice Races and Camp Setup
Page 4 - Dragon Boat Race Day
Page 5 - Pensacola Dragon Boat Pictures
Page 6 - Thank You to Everyone Who Donated
Page 7 - Thank You to Our Dragons

Dragon Boat Team Supplies and Party Ideas

Are You Ready to Vacation?