After the freezing conditions of the first race it was a slightly warmer collection of paddlers that battled their way around the course for the second of the 2005/6 Henley Winter Series for dragon boats. Not that the weather was ideal, thick fog blanketed the 7.5km course, in particular up near Temple Island, where, almost hidden in the fog, the race would take a dramatic, and deciding turn.

One thing the fog couldn’t hide however was the noise of eight drummers riding their respective dragon boats, beating out the time for the paddlers to follow, the eerie bang, bang, bang of each drum travelling ahead and echoing through the fog long before the boats themselves. Slowly they came into view, just grey shadows on the river at first, their bright colours appearing as they passed close, the strain showing on exhausted paddlers faces, before retreating away into the fog once more, leaving the sound of the drums hanging in the air.

The teams came from all over the country to compete and as an added bonus, sample the bacon rolls and hot cups of tea laid on by the organisers at the Eyot centre. The centre itself is badly in need of repair and so all the money raised from the Henley Winter Series will be going towards rebuilding the Eyot centre so it can continue providing water sports facilities for the youth of Henley and the surrounding area.

New faces trying the demanding course for the first time were a junior team from Rickmansworth, Batchworth Aspire, who gave a good show of themselves, finishing not far behind some of the adult crews in a very respectable time.

Receiving the local support were the Henley Dragons who, although they couldn’t improve on their time, still managed to finish in third place as top club team once again. They were spurred on no doubt by the supporters all around the course who shouted encouragement from the banks.

As for the winners, after the first race where one second separated the top two crews, the battle for first place this time was always going to be hard fought. Senior Contenders, the winners last time out, were determined to prove it was no fluke, and Masters International were out for revenge.

Racing hard from the start both of these international standard teams flew down the course, Masters International even overtaking Henley before Temple island and the first turn. As they approached the turn they were closing on BA Hurricanes fast and in their haste to shave seconds from their time they tried overtaking BA Hurricanes on the inside of the turn. It was tight, a little too tight as their tail hit one of the Hurricanes’ paddlers, a manoeuvre that would cost them a one minute penalty, and as the times were worked out back at the finish, the race.

The final results are as follows:

Place	Crew Name	Time
1	Senior Contenders	00:31:20
2	Masters International	00:32:02 * one minute penalty
3	Henley Dragons	00:34:18
4	Complete WRECKS	00:35:11
5	BA Hurricanes	00:36:06
6	Worcester Dragons	00:36:52
7	TIAMATS Secklow 100	00:37:25 * handicap winners
8	Batchworth Aspire	00:42:49

The organisers would like to thank Nick Eley from Toffee Apple who sponsored and presented the medals to the winners and also the handicap trophy for the most improved team, the winners of which were once again Complete Wrecks.

The next race takes place on 22nd of January, can either Complete Wrecks or Senior Contenders make it a hat trick or will Masters International get their revenge?

Race reporter: Dave Allen