The great Chinese warrior poet, Qu Yuan, is the man at the start of the whole dragon boat racing tradition. After he committed suicide in the river Mi Lo, in protest over the political corruption of ancient China, his followers began to organise boat races in his memory, using ornate Dragon Boats which had previously been used to appease rain gods.
Fast forward 2,000 years, and the boat racing craze has spread like dragon fire across the globe. It is one of the world’s most popular team sports, with sporting associations everywhere from Canada to the UK and across Asia, including, of course, Abu Dhabi. While the modern boats rarely have colourful dragon head carvings at the bow anymore, they are still long and thin, holding 20 rowers and a boat captain.
We joined one of Abu Dhabi’s teams for a sunset session on Maqta Creek, an atmospheric setting if ever there was one, with those three imposing buildings – the Shangri-La hotel, Fairmont Bab Al Bahr and, of course, the fabulous Sheikh Zayed Mosque – all lit up and illuminating the waves. After a quick talk on techniques and team spirit from our captain, Mike, we helped carry the boat on to the water, and set sail.
The rowing motion is complicated and unintuitive, feeling awkward until you get it exactly right. Your body has to twist to allow both of your arms to reach over the side of the boat, or the paddle can’t hit the water at a nice clean angle. Since this felt like it was working one side of our body much harder than the other, we imagined long-term rowers might end up with overdeveloped muscles on half their body, and took a surreptitious peek at Mike’s back. It looked even enough to us, and when we politely enquired later, he laughed at us and flexed his matching biceps by way of answer.
As soon as we got the hang of the technique, dragon boat rowing felt smooth and exhilarating, especially when everyone got the hang of it. Pulling together, we had the boat racing along at quite a lick, the boat captain keeping everyone in time, shouting encouragement and instructions. The pace is amazing if you’re only accustomed to rowing in small boats, but after half an hour we were exhausted, covered in salt water, and completely spent. Looking longingly towards the shore, we were dismayed to hear Mike shout that we had now just finished our warm up and should move from 60 per cent of our energy capacity to 80 per cent. We confess we were tempted to lay our paddle across our knees and cry ‘newbie!’, but since the whole point of dragon boating is the team ethic, it would have been pretty bad form to slack off. So, energized by the magic of 20 people rowing together in a tight rhythm, we found our second wind, and when we finally made it back to the beach, we were almost disappointed the session was over.
Abu Dhabi Dragon Boat Festival
October 8-9
It’s not too late to sign up to take part in the capital’s dragon boat festival, which is coming up next week. You can register as a team or individually if you’d like to compete, or just show up during the weekend to watch the races, which will be taking place on Maqta Creek.
Signing up for team partici-pation will get you two dedicated training sessions with a dragon boat coach, the use of a dragon boat and all the equipment, as well as entry to the festival and the chance to win some prizes. Tickets for the Friday night Dragon Boat Party and barbecue are also included.
Visit www.dubaidragonboat.com for registration, or email info@sirenconsulting.com for further details.
