London had just come back down to Earth after all the pomp and ceremony of the royal wedding. William and Kate tied the knot just a few days ago. But London was ready to put on another show- the second British Dragon Boat league event held at Royal Albert dock. It was reported in the media that the happy couple had postponed their honeymoon. So could this mean they may turn up at the dockside to watch some dragon boat racing. Lets hope they cheer on Henley Dragons!

Henley setup camp early in the morning. A circle of green camping chairs, kit bags and paddles formed as each team member arrived. Over the other side of the dock we could make out city airport. It was business as usual there today. Unlike last year when air travel was banned due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland.

Today's racing would see up to six boats competing in each event. This was due to the large number of crews, 26 in all, who had entered. With so many crews in attendance its a great sign of how popular dragon boat racing is in the UK. Thankfully it turned out to be a bright sunny day. But there was a strong breeze blowing down the race course. This was going to make it tricky to line up to six boats up on the start line. However the wind would make for some great race times.

To start the day off the 200 m distance race events would take place. Henley first saw action against two teams from Kingston (the Royals and the Pretenders), Thames Taniwas, Rasa Sayang and Ageing (not Raging!) Dragons. Our land warm-up started well before the race start time so as to ensure we did not miss our race. After loading the up the boat from the floating pontoons (which had a tendency to sink if too many people walked on them) we pushed off from the side and paddled up to the race course. We performed a couple of our Henley-styled race starts to help focus our mind on what we had to do. We were called by the race official to line up along with the other boats. After some expert helming by all the crews to get six boats aligned on a windy start line the race got under way. Henley made a steady start at the 200 m race course. It was hard to make out how we were doing against our competition due to all the spray kicked up by the wind. But we soon crossed the line in 3rd place. By the time we had paddled back to the bank, unloaded the boat and had a warm down on the dockside we were having to prepare ourselves for a rep race. 

In this 200 m rep race we were up against four other teams. Our aim in this race was to to do well enough to make it into the semi's. Fun and games were had again on the start line. The strong wind blowing boats down the course. Eventually the race was under way. Henley made a great start and piled pressure on the opposition to cross the finish line in 1st place. It's a great feeling to convincingly beat the opposition.

With barely enough time back on land to grab a drink and put on some sun cream Henley were back in the boat competing in the first of the 200 m semi races. Just as in our first race we were up against five other crews. With the sun still shining but the wind getting ever stronger the race got under way. As we ripped down to the finish our boat began to fill with water. This was due to all the spray whipped up by the wind. Henley finished in 4th place to put us into a tail race later that day. As we pulled into the dockside to unload the crew so much water had got into the boat. It was up to our ankles! But nobody was complaining though. Well, after all, dragon boat racing is a water sport!

We now had about a hour until the last 200 m race. A good amount of time to take a breather. The first three races of the day had seen us in non-stop action. Not that anyone was complaining. To compete against other teams is why we put so much effort into our training sessions. After some well-deserved lunch our tail race came around. It was against five other crews. One of which was Kingston Pretenders. We had competed against them in all our 200 m races that day. Putting on another solid performance we crossed the finish line in first place. This resulted in us claiming 13th place, out of 27 teams, in the 200 m competition.

Later that day the 500 m distance races were due to be held. But the weather had other plans. Subsequent racing had to be cancelled due to the strong wind making conditions too dangerous. Over a 500 m race course it was likely an open-topped dragon boat would fill with water making a sinking in to the murky depths of Royal Albert dock a strong possibility. So, earlier than expected, it was time for us to dry ourselves off, put on a change of clothes and to head off back home. Our 500 m race strategy would have to be tested another day. Well done to club member Andy Croskell who attended his first race event. 

Time to get ourselves thinking about the next BDA League event in Nottingham.

Philip Taylor