Gung Haggis dragon boat practices are back in action for 2010

The Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team in June 2009.  Red team shirts and a variety of kilts.  This is a team with a diversity of personalities and ethnicities to match our penchant for promoting cultural diversity through tartans and dragon boat racing.

First timers are welcome - Experienced paddlers are more welcome!

Sundays 11am - starting March 7th.
Tuesdays 6pm - starting March 16 (after the time change)

Meet at False Creek Yacht Club - underneath the North end of the Granville St. Bridge
See map: Click Here

In April - we will move back to Dragon Zone @ Science World/Creekside Park.

After an exciting 2009 season, where we had many exciting races!

Lotus Sports Clubs' Bill Alley Memorial Regatta @ Barnett Marine Park- Fastest time for a Gung Haggis team 2:03.12.  It's a fun way to start off the season.  Barnett Marine Park is a beautiful location on Burrard Inlet.  The race helps raise money for the Bill Alley Scholarship for junior paddlers of Lotus Sports Club.


Dragon Zone Regatta @ Dragon Zone - 1st in B Final. Highest finish for a Gung Haggis Team. This is a good cheap race.  3 races in 3 hours.

Rio Tinto Alcan @ False Creek/Creekside Park, Vancouver - Fastest time for a Gung Haggis team in False Creek at 2:16.33.  For our medal race, we heard bagpipes being played and it really pumped us up.  It was an army bagpiper, who just happened to be Japanese Canadian.  Alas, we didn't medal.

Richmond - 4th overall! This was the first time we entered the Richmond Dragon Boat Festival.  We only had 10 Gung Haggis paddlers, but supplemented with friends from other teams.  We made the A Final, and missed the bronze medal by 10ths of a second



Vernon Dragon Boat Race @ Kalamalka Lake - Fastest 200 for a Gung Haggis team at 0:53. Our final time was 1 sec behind the A Final Bronze.  This is one of our favorite races, and we enjoy spending time on the beach, in the water, in the hot tub, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, dancing, drinking, eating... oh... and... dragon boat racing.

Last Gasp Regatta @ Dragon Zone.  The Taiwan Dragon Boat Race was canceled, so we did this regatta.  The 200m was the warm up race and we came 3rd, pushing us out of the top half Finals - but we easily won our next two 500m races easily as we . Very exciting for the team to have such big leads.

UBC Day of the Longboat @ Jericho Beach, Vancouver .  We ran 2 mixed teams + 1 mens team.  Our teams were competitive - getting an early lead on our arch rivals friends.  Unfortunately, the Gung Haggis Fat Choy team hit the Gung Haggis Friends team at the beach and was DQed.  But we still almost caught our arch rival friends. 

Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta @ Ft. Langley's Fraser River Arm.  is always one of the most fun, that we have entered 2 teams for the past 3 years.  1 team made the A Final - our first time ever!  Our other team came 1st in B Final.  Everybody had incredible fun.

We are looking forward to another wonderful season of fun, friendships, fitness... and some medals!!! We deserve it!

Sundays 11am - starting March 7th.
Tuesdays 6pm - starting March 16 (after the time change)

Meet at False Creek Yacht Club - underneath the North end of the Granville St. Bridge
In April - we will move back to Dragon Zone @ Science World/Creekside Park.

Please RSVP to confirm you are coming... First timers are welcome.

email:   gunghaggisdragon at gmail.com
Todd's cell phone 778-846-7090

Gung Haggis dragon boat team paddles False Creek and takes in pre-Olympic sight-seeing.


We have a dragon boat team of keeners.... who wanted to paddle in February.  It was our first paddling practice since early November, when we had a few practices after paddling in the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta.  Fifteen people jumped into the dragon boat for 11am practice on Sunday Feb 7th,

And... I think... I really needed to paddle to get myself warmed up for paddling in the dragon boat flotilla that will accompany the Olympic Torch Relay on Feb 12th, for when Gold medalist Olympian Hugh Fisher will pass off the Olympic Torch from a dragon boat to Olympian Kamini Jain in a voyageur canoe.

I only paddled for half the practice. if that... I also coached some of the paddlers a bit for some 1-on-1 coaching  for only half the time.   I steered for the remaining half, after switching with Stephen Wong, who started off steering for the team.

The team met at the parking lot for False Creek Yacht Club for 11am, then had a quick warm-up, then headed to the boat for 11:15am, headed over to Alder Bay to pick up Debbie, then back to FC Yacht Club to pick up a paddler named Tony who arrived late after his morning meeting.  Next we paddled towards and past the Burrard St. Bridge to show paddlers where the lights are for the from the nightly spectacular light show.

I pointed out where the boat launch for the Burrard Marina is, where dragon boat paddlers for the flotilla that will accompany the Olympic Torch Relay will organize.

Next we paddled Eastward to Granville Island to identify the Ferry dock at West Side of Granville Island, where the torch will be handed to torchbearer Olympian Hugh Fisher.  We looked over at the bright yellow building, formerly known as Bridges Restaurant, that is now being transformed into the Swiss Pavillion.  At the North end of the Granville St. Bridge is a floating hotel lodge that has been towed down from Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) that is normally lodged at Langara Island.

We took a little stretch, then switched sides.  I took a turn at steering, and let veteran paddlers Stephen Wong take his turn for paddling.  Just East of Granville Island is the Spruce Harbour Marina, where nearby, is the area where Hugh will pass the torch to Kamini Jain in the middle of False Creek.    Hugh will be in the dragon boat, and pass the torch to Kamini in the voyageur canoe.  There are great viewing areas from both the North and South sides of False Creek, so it is perfect for cameras and television crews to set up for a unique photo opportunity.

We spotted the big black pontoon floats that are being used for security to block off the boat traffic in the East Bay, that are positioned along Cambie St. Bridge.  We paddled along beside it and waved to the officers in the Police Boat, guarding the perimeter, that includes the Olympic Village.

Next we paddled near the Yaletown ferry dock, where Kamini will hand the torch to a runner, after she climbs out of the voyageur canoe.   The torch will then proceed up the streets towards Georgia Street, where it will arrive at the First Nations Aboriginal Pavillion where there will be a blessing ceremony.  This will be one of the final stops of the Olympic Torch before it travels to the Opening Ceremonies about 2 blocks down the street to BC Place Stadium, later in the evening.

It was a good paddle, and our paddlers were happy and pleased that I would be a part of the dragon boat flotilla accompanying the Olympic Torch Relay.  But most of all, the paddlers were all happy to be paddling again, and in friendly company.  Many times I heard somebody say, "I'm just here for the social aspects" as we paddled back to FC Yacht Club.... by about 12:30pm.

The next plan was to have lunch.  I promised that I would treat everybody to dim sum lunch, if they came paddling.

We were at Floata Restaurant for dim sum, at 1pm, at least my car was.  Other people got re-routed by traffic diversions.  By the time they arrived, there were lots of dim sum selections on the table.  Haw-gow shrimp dumplings, Siu-mai pork dumplings, Lo-bak-goh pan-fried turnip cake.  We also tried a special appetizer plate that included jelly fish,  crispy pork skin and bbq pork.  There was also shanghai style dumpling with shrimp meat and green vegetable, steamed pork bun, sliced-almond covered shrimp balls, fish cakes, and more!  I also ordered house special chow mein with crispy noodles, and Geurng-chow-ngor-hah flat rice noodles with sliced beef.

This was Katie's first time having dim sum in Vancouver.  She's originally from Ontario, and only been in Vancouver almost a year.... and somehow never found her way to dim sum yet.

Georgia pronounced that the meal was "heaven"

GREAT LUNCH!!!  and we finished off with Chinese egg tarts for dessert.

Dragon boat to carry the Olympic Torch!

The last day of the Olympic Torch Relay Feb 12th will feature Dragon Boats and Canoes as Olympic gold medalist Hugh Fisher, from a dragonboat, will hand off the torch to Kamini Jain, in a voyageur canoe, in the middle of False Creek.   This event will take place on February 12th in Vancouver BC.  Details and exact times will be released soon.


Fisher won Olympic Gold and Bronze with Kayak partner Alwyn Morris at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.  Kamini Jain competed in K-1 single kayak events in 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Games.  Fisher is one of the founders of the False Creek Racing Canoe Club which has helped to shape dragon boat racing in Canada and also influence it's development in North America. 

Kamini is the current head coach of the FCRCC, and took the Mixed team to gold and silver in Sydney Australia for the 2007 IDBF World Championships.  FCRCC-cored Premier Mixed: 2nd at 500m (by 0.51 secs!), 4th at 200, 1st at 2K

It's going to be exciting as 6 dragon boats (20 paddlers) and 6 outrigger canoes (6 paddlers) make up the escort flotilla, that will accompany the torch bearing boats.  It will bring back memories of the torch first arriving in Canada after landing at the airfield, and then arriving to BC's Provincial Legislature Building in Victoria, carried by First Nations cedar canoes.

And I will be one of the paddlers in the flotilla!  Yippee! 


Here's the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team at the 2009 Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival.  One of these BuK boats will probably be used to transport the Olympic Torch in the final legs of the relay to the Opening Ceremonies at BC Place Stadium.

The six dragon boats and outrigger canoes will be paddled by False Creek Racing Canoe Club, and some other clubs.  I think I will be on a boat where paddlers from different teams have been invited to participate.  I am very excited at being invited. 

Back in the summer, I did a video audition to be a torch bearer for the City of Vancouver, as two library workers would be included amongst the selected workers from police, firemen, city workers and parks workers.  Sadly, I wasn't chosen - but I know our library workers are deserving and wonderful people, especially my friend Judy Caldwell, who is a librarian, and dragon boater.  Judy is one of the founders of the Abreast in a Boat dragon boat team of breast cancer survivors, and we were both awarded the 2008 BC Community Achievement Award.

I've been involved with dragon boats in Vancouver for many years.  I attended the first dragon boat races on False Creek in 1986 during Expo 86.  I joined my first team in 1993.  Soon I was coaching other teams, and competed in Victoria races in 1997 and San Francisco in 1999.  I was invited to join the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival Race Committee in 2000.  In 2003 I helped to found the Vancouver International Taiwanese Dragon Boat Race, as board member of the CCC Dragon Boat Association.  The Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team has been active since 2002, and dedicated to promoting multiculturalism through dragon boat paddling.  We have put Taiwanese dragon boats into the St. Patrick's Day parade in 2004 and 2005.  The team has been filmed for tv documentaries for French, German and Canadian television, and also for an upcoming documentary movie.



This is one of my favorite pictures of the Gung Haggis team, at the 2007 Vancouver International Taiwanese Dragon Boat race!  Imagine holdin the Olympic Torch from the head of the dragon - but these Taiwanese boats won't be used for the Olympic Torch Relay.


Here is information about viewing the Olympic Torch on False Creek from the False Creek Racing Canoe Club Website:


For more information on the Torch Relay and other Olympic events visit vancouver2010.com

http://www.fcrcc.com/events/olympic-torch-relay

http://www.canadianoutrigger.com/messsubj.cfm?pid=2721

http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/olympic-torch-relay/olympic-torch-relay-interactive-map/

http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/olympic-torch-relay/stories-from-the-road/day-106---alternative-modes-of-transportation-in-vancouver_236610kB.html

At Simon Fraser University, we invented "Human Curling" for the SFU Gung Haggis Fat Choy Festival, organized by the SFU Recreation Department. On October 25th, the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team went curling at Marpole Curling Centre.   more »

Cranberry Festival is a big fun and important event in Ft. Langley. Every year the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team attends. In the above picture our Gung Haggis Hot Chili team is caught in a boat jam, as a team pushes our stern forward, preventing us from turn the boat to go left.    more »

Our paddlers on the Gung Haggis Bacon Explosion and Gung Haggis Hot Chili teams proved their competitiveness, team spirit and sportsmanship. Gung Haggis has 2 teams: Gung Haggis Fat Chili in the B Division, and Gung Haggis Bacon Explosion in A Division. One team wins their division...    more »

UBC Long Boat race is a tough challenging race. Lots of strategy is important. Steering plays a big role. Experience makes a big difference. Strong paddling from everybody today - at points in both races Gung Haggis Chop Suey MENS team and Gung Haggis FRIENDS were in the lead.   more »

Gung Haggis dragon boat team posts two big 1st place finishes in Vancouver's inaugural Last Gasp dragon boat regatta.

The Dragon boat racing season isn't quite over.  With the cancellation of the 6 year old 2009 Vancouver International Taiwanese Dragon Boat Race, held in conjunction with the Taiwanese Cultural Festival, the new Last Gasp regatta found it's place on the Vancouver Labour Day weekend.

Gung Haggis team after the 2nd race, first 500m race of the day - photo T. Wong

10 person dragon boats were incorporated into the race grid alongside traditional 20 person dragon boats.  The race format featured one 200m. sprint + two 500m races with an optional 1000m. race.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy team was a competitive 3rd place (by 1/2 sec) in first race, a 200m sprint.  Facing tough competition from Starbucks Waverunners and Phat Phish who came 1st by 2 seconds, Gung Haggis was slow off the start, but picked it up for a strong finish.  Finishing so close to more traditionally stronger teams was a big boost to the confidence of our paddlers.

For our 2nd race, I sat off the boat, as a 10 person crew needed a steers.  We had brought in former Gung Haggis paddlers/drummer Julie - so she drummed our regular races.  Steven Wong and I shared steering duties, so he took over for the 2nd race.

Our 2nd race had a strong lead from the start.  After the first very tight race, it was hard to believe that Gung Haggis had such a big lead.  Our team kept up the pressure, calling power series and a strong finish. 

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team crosses the finish line in our 2nd race. - photo T. Wong

The final races, were ranked in order of combined times from the first two races.  We ended up in the D division, even though we were just .23 seconds slower than one of the teams going into C division. But that's racing.  We would have liked to have raced our friends The Pirates from Chilliwack. 

For our D Final race, we were lined up beside Aquarius Aqua Divas - a women's made up of paddlers from Shaggin' Dragons and Speediatrics.  I've known their drummer Guen since about 2006, and Charlene from 1999.  Also lined up beside us was Twisted Hips - a rookie team that was developed from the Paddlers Up public paddling program, that we helped start up back in 2006.

From the start, we took a slight lead.  The team paddled steadily.  We could feel the surge of the boat with each stroke.  I could hear veteran paddlers Tony and Dan calling "Backs Push" - keeping the backs strong and steady.  By the mid-point we had a comfortable lead, so Julie didn't call any more power series. 

"Finish Now" yelled Julie. And the team dug their paddles deeper.  "More" I called from the 4th seat.  And we all paddled harder.   We crossed the finish line, as Julie yelled "More!"  Next she called "Let it run" and we collapsed in fatigue, turning our heads to see the other boats approaching and crossing the finish line, following us by 5 seconds.  Our final race time was 2:25, very close to the 2:24 times of the C final above us.

There were 5 finals altogether. In the A Division Final Race -  A and B had four teams racing.  C, D and E had 3 teams racing. We were happy that our final time beat two teams in C and B divisions.

Masters of D'Zone prevailed, with the addition of our paddler Gayle, who used to paddle with them many years ago.  Gayle is the strongest and most experienced woman paddler on our team, and we feel very fortunate that she likes us and paddles with us for two years in a row now.  We nicknamed her "The Goddess".

Gung Haggis team passes under the Science World dock after their 2nd race of the day. - photo T. Wong

Gung Haggis did NOT race 10 person boats... just 20 person boats + 1000m race.

I also steered a 10 person boat for the joint Banana Fusion / Race Face / Dragon Z team -  We came 1st. for their final Mens team heat.  The 10 person boats also raced heats for womens and mixed as well.

This was my first time in a 10 person boat.  It is  very sensitive.  I needed to brace and balance a lot.  It would have been fun to do a barrel race in them!!!!

Our 1000 m was fun. We had a good start and caught up to the team ahead of us at the turn. But... they slowed down spiking the turn - where I steered a wider course to keep our speed up - trying to cut behind them, as they turned out.... BUT THEY SLOWED DOWN TO MUCH. I told our team "Slow Down" I clipped the outside of their stern... I should have yelled "BACKS HOLD!" We got forced to go outside around the ADD (Shaggin Dragons/Speediatrics) team.... Damn.  we will have to practice turning maneuvers with multiple boats as we prepare for the UBC Day of the Long Boats (Sep 27) and Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Regatta (Oct 12).

If I made the turn, we would have sling-shotted past the 3rd starting boat, and quickly caught the 2nd starting boat. 1st starting O2P was left behind on the first straightaway. 5th starting Strathcona Storm came behind us on the turn, caught up, and powered to the finish.

I am Very proud of our team's performance and that they are all wonderful good-hearted people who like being friends!

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team - Last Gasp edition:
l-r Dan, Sean John, Todd (front), Jim, Christine, Nancy, Joe (back), Stephen W., Tzhe, Walter, Carly (front), Raphel, Julie (almost hidden), Stephen M (back), Marion, Danielle, Karen, Devon (back), Debbie (front), Steve (back), Hillary, Tony, Georgia, Michael, Marshall - photo D. Martin

It's the final dragon boat regatta of the 2009 season in Vancouver

Last Gasp dragon boat regatta Sep 5 Saturday @ Science World/False Creek
This will be the first public dragon boat race in Canada that features 10 person dragon boats.  These boats were first used in Vancouver for the World Police and Fire Games in August.

The Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team started their racing season with practices in the last week of February, the first race on May 2 in Burnaby's Barnet Marine Park, the Dragon Zone regatta on June 7th, and the Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival on June 20 and 21st. 

We entered the Richmond Festival for our first time, and came 4th in the A division.  We traveled to Vernon for July 25/26, as it is our favorite race of the year on beautiful Kalamalka Lake.

We will next enter the UBC Day of the Long Boats and the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Regatta, to race in voyageur canoes.

But first.... we have to race Saturday Sep 5th at the Last Gasp regata.
Dragon Zone beside Science World, at Creekside Park, Vancouver BC.

Please come cheer us on!



Here's the message from our magnificient manager Tzhe Lam:

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team at the start line for 5th Annual Vernon Dragon Boat Races.

Steven Wong is steering our first race on Saturday.

Vernon Dragon Boat Races are one of our favorite races of the year.  We love the hot weather, lots of sun, the beach and the clean clear cooling water of Kalamalka Lake.  This was our 4th visit to these waters.

Our first race was a 200m sprint.  We finished in 53 seconds.... and some of our stronger paddlers weren't even in the boat.  I videoed the race on my camera.

Video of 1st Race - 200m sprint.

We were loaded in the boat for our 2nd race of the day. We had already posted a 53 second 200m spint... and we were ready for the 500m.

The winds picked up. Two other teams were already out on the water....

The race was post-poned.  We were told to wait it out on land. But the wind started to blow all the tents away. We were told to go look after our stuff.

We saw the band stand tent nearly getting blown off the stage.

The races were being post-poned for about 40 minutes.

I saw the big wave action at the beach, with lots of white caps, and encouraged the team to come "wave jumping" with me. I took two paddlers into the lake with me - and we tried body surfing.

Then the rain started.... Somebody said there was hail.

Captain Jimmy B. reported that the races were being canceled for the day. Our 500m race would rescheduled for 9am first race of the day....

The 1000m race was canceled :-(

We packed up the tents and equipment, loaded up our cars in a downpour, then went to Deb's parents' lakeside home, where we were hosting the team bbq.

We have a picture of 13 people in the hot tub... as the sun was coming out.

Hot Tub at Martin's Nest

At 5:46pm I received a phone message, "This is Vernon Dragon Boat Races, We are live... There is sunshine on the beach. Come down to the beer garden and help save the festival."

But we were already relaxed, and preparing our traditional bbq at Martin's Nest - childhood home of my girlfriend Deb Martin, former paddler/drummer/steers for the team.. Some of our paddlers went canoeing and kayaking.... at the private dock.

Sunday Races

Jane drums for the re-scheduled 500m race at 9am Sunday morning.

We were in the first race heat on Sunday morning, rescheduled from Saturday afternoon.  It was an easy 500m race.  I (Todd) steered. I think we came 2nd. After we got off the boat, I was quickly pulled over to steer for another team, then another team.  I had to take a break after being on the water for about an hour in the heat.

We raced our Semi-final around noon, but we spun out, after steers Dave Samis lost control. We clipped another boat - but finished under control.

This was right after, I had steered a boat for DRAGNUM.... and hit boat waves... losing control of the boat. DRAGNUM had posted a 2:12 quarter-final time, and was a top seed... but because of the spin-out, narrowly missing another boat, they got bumped down to B Final instead of A final.

Because of our spin out, Gung Haggis was bumped to D Final instead of C Final.

We had a good race final finishing 2nd with a time of 2:25.

Then I (Todd) steered again for the Kelowna Blazing Saddles.  The team had a strong race finishing 2nd, after catching up and passing a boat that had been neck and neck with us.  Final time 2:16.

Time for the beer gardens Gung Haggis team got the dancing going in the beer garden on Sunday with a "revised lyrics" version of 500 Miles.  eg.  "I WOULD PADDLE 500 MILES".  Lethal Weapon - we will have to teach your teams for improved DB spirit!  We even put a kilt on a Calgary paddler, known to this forum.

"I Would Paddle 500 Miles!" - Kilts in front of the stage. Bruce from Calgary, Debbie from Kelown with Dave and Todd.  more Gung Haggis paddlers on the right.

Colleen, Alissa and Debbie show our 2nd place ribbons!

Calgary Teams ruled the fastest times along with Kamloops' Extreme Currents, and Extreme Curves women's team.

Congratulations to all teams that participated and contributed to the truly friendly atmosphere, and willingly volunteered to help make these races run smoothly, in the wake of so many challenges (eg. Dynasty Boats ugh!)

Gung Haggis Fat Choy Team Captain Jim Blatherwick pointed out that:

1) Fastest 200m by GHFC at Vernon at 53 seconds.

2) Our 2nd place time in our final (2:25) was 1 second behind the Bronze medal time of the A Final. It was also our 2nd fastest time in Vernon ever for the 500m.

3) Our steerers raced with countless other teams. Todd, Steven, and Dave are to be congratulated as it seemed like they were somehow involved in every other race.

4) During our unfortunate collision of the semi-final, everyone followed instructions and Dave was able to keep his wits about so that we only clipped the other boat and didn't hit it in the middle. Bruised egos are better than bruised people and as a group we did well.

The Greater Vernon Dragon Boat Festival, is "THE FAVORITE" race of the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team.  This is the the 4th straight year we have entered, and the 5th annual race in 2009.

In 2007, the Gung Haggis dragon boat team won the gold medal in B Division.  In 2008, we finished 2nd in the C Division Finals.

We posted the 6th fastest time for 200m sprints this morning.

Coach/paddler/steers Todd Wong, and paddlers Dave Samis and Steven Wong are also helping out to steer boats for other teams.

On Saturday afternoon, the team had just gotten seated in the Calgary based Dynasty dragon boats, when the races were temporarily canceled due to
 high winds.  The team waited out the wind and rain in the racer's village.  But thunder and lightning storms continued the delay, until the races were canceled for the day.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team retired to Martin's Nest, the home of our hosts, and 14 paddlers jumped in the hot tub.

Now we have to paddle the first race of Sunday, and do 3 races on Sunday.... Team is in good spirits...  and now doing bbq.

Richmond was a good fun race...
We posted the fastest time ever for Gung Haggis.

The race couse was 425m.
our first race was 2:15
our second race was 1:26 - with incoming tide.
our final race was seconds away from 1st overall.
We came 4th...
fractions away from a 3rd place medal.

Here's the video of our 2nd race.

It was the 3rd fastest time of the day.
It put us into the A Final.  1:26

Here's another view

Here is our race in the A Final - filmed with better quality.

4th place overall in A Division is something to be proud of.
The other teams we raced were also conglomerate teams and/or were used to paddling at Rec A/B and Comp C/D levels.

Front Row (kneeling): Dominic, Tony, Todd, Jim, Tzhe, Oliver,
Middle Row: Gayle, Karen, Lisa, Danielle, Debbie, Christine, Keng, Harvey (steers), Ernest
Back Row: Richard, Dan, Kevin, Danny, Jessica (Drummer), Barb, Devon, Richard, Maggie

All the paddlers had never paddled together before - but we paddled as a team.  We stayed positive, made new friends, and put good effort into this.

12 paddlers from Gung Haggis Fat Choy
4 paddlers from PCL Centurions
3 paddlers + drummer from Flight Centre
2 paddlers from How Wet Can You Get
1 paddler + steers from Eye of the Dragon
1 paddler from Sudden Impact black (Gung Haggis alumni)
1 paddler from False Creek Grand Dragons (Gung Haggis alumni)
Some of the paddlers from other teams were old friends, some are brand new.
It was fun to share stories about paddling with Richard and Karen Mah from PCL, back in '99 in San Francisco.
Or about drumming/coaching the Nokia dragons team to a Rec B Gold in 2000, with Danny Issac's (Flight Centre) older sister.
Or about Richard Montagna's first time paddling dragon boats in Vernon with us back in 2006.
Or learning that Dominic has both Scottish and Chinese ancestry...

Harvey did a great job steering the boat.

Jessical was our wonderful drummer

 

Special Thanks to Jim Blatherwick for captaining and Tzhe Lam for managing.

Let's bring this wonderful experience to the rest of the team, and take it up to Vernon with us!!!

Congratulations everybody, you are ALL truly Gung Haggis paddlers! You conveyed a sense of teamship, caring for each other, and for community. You paddled your best, adapted to changing situations, changing rosters, and changing race conditions. You improved with every race, both individually and together. Very little separates you from the teams that we know who finished in Rec C (O2P, Hmmm Sea Monster), Rec B (Pirates, CBC, Strokin' It Hard, Flight Centre, CC Riders) or Rec A (Metro Vancouver, Banana Fusion, Shaggin' Dragons) - except maybe a little bit of testosterone, a little bit of cardio and muscle work, a little more attention to detail such as rotation, reach, entry, paddle angle, etc. 4 seconds faster and you could have medaled in Rec C Final. 10 seconds faster and you could have medaled in Rec B Final. But it is more important to be part of a great group of people, that had fun, did their best, and can be friends together, and share meals together. I am personally very proud of everybody on the team, and I know that everybody each has something special that adds to this team. It was great to have Manfred in the boat with us this weekend. He has been a coaching friend and rival competitor and occasional teammate for many years. He says this is a good team. He likes your attitude, your paddling ability, your friendliness... and sense of fun. Manfred will not take off his pants for "just any team" you know... Special thanks to Commodore Stephen Mirowski, team manager Tzhe Lam for helping to organize the team, roster and leadership. Thanks to Keng and Gerard Graal to step in to drum and be land manager, after spending the past 3 weeks in Holland. I am sorry I couldn't spend more time with everybody over this 2 day weekend of racing... but you had to share with: * my coaching Killarney Cougar Dragons Junior Team * our being filmed for the "Chinatown Canada" tv documentary series * my being interviewed for the "Chinatown Canada" tv documentary series * my steering for out of town teams (I used to be on the Race Committee, so they know I am a good qualifited steers) * my social involvement and networking with ex-paddlers, friends on other teams, race organizers, Festival past-presidents, friends on out of town teams, friends who cheered us on, But these are also qualities that makes Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team and myself, amongst the first choice to be involved in film documentaries and books on dragon boating! How about that "Paddles Up!" book??? The very first picture is the Gung Haggis team, racing Taiwanese Boats to grab a flag..... and a testimonial by me, in a Toronto-centric book. Now about the next race.... June 18th Richmond. We can do it... one day only, put up your hand if you want to beat UniPHARM. July 25/26 Vernon - our FAVORITE! Already confirmed. Aug 8, Cultus Lake Women's regatta - With 16 women on our team... we just need 4 more. As lang's me arm... Todd   more »

Dragon Boat Festival Chail Jas Kalsi talks about importance of a boat house for dragon boats on False Creek to sponsors, politicians and dragon boat festival organizers.

The VIP tent was packed on the eve to the Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival.  Politicians and digniteries walked in from the eye-dotting ceremony conducted by Taoist priests.  Parks Commissioner and former Gung Haggis dragon boat team paddler Stuart Mackinnon dotted one of the eyes with a paint brush.

Lots of great food was served in the VIP tent.  Sockeye Salmon, Tuna on wild rice patties, corn chowder - all provided from the VCC culinary arts program.

But this year's VIP party also had a serious tone.  On Tuesday, the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society had sent a letter to Vancouver City Council, stating that because of development on Falser Creek, the 21 year old festival was in jeopardy.  Festival Chair Jas Kalsi talked about the issue to the audience. 

The VIP party was attended by Mayor Robertson, councilors Ellen Woodsworth, Suzanne Anton, Raymond Louie, George Chow, and Andrea Reimer, as well as Parks Commissioner Stuart Mackinnon, and Sen. Nancy Green Raine who said that the federal government will pledge $100,000 to the RTA Festival. 

Mayor Robertson said he supports councilor Raymond Louie's statements, that city council supports dragon boats on False Creek, and things are moving through the planning stage.  Robertson also shared that his son is paddling in his first dragon boat race.

Terry Hui, CEO of Concord said that Concord is committed to the Festival.
See Concord's commitment in yesterday's 24 Hours story
http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/local/2009/06/18/9835626-sun.html

Members of the Festival board and Race Committee talked to the politicians.  I also talked with Concord Pacific's senior vice-president of planning - Matt Meehan, who wants to come to the next Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner, as he remembers seeing me perform at Jenny Kwan's scotch tasting parties.

I chatted with Mayor Robertson (who has attended the last 2 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinners), and he told me which team his son is paddling on.  I informed him that his son was being coached by one of our Gung Haggis paddlers Gayle Gordon.

Dragon boat coach and former Olympic sprint kayak paddler, Kamini Jain, brought me 5 copies of the new dragon boat book "Paddles Up! Dragon Boat Racing in Canada."  You can bet that the other paddlers/organizers/coaches were all jealous when they saw them.  Kamini had written the chapter on coaching, and I had asked her to autograph copies for myself and my friends (Gayle and Stuart).  And.... I was able to introduce Kamini to Sen. Nancy Green Raine (former Olympic ski gold medalist) - just before Sen. Nancy left the party.

Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival
Creekside Park, Science World & False Creek
June 20/21 2009

First race for GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY dragon boat team.
Saturday June 20
9:50am Race #11, lane 6

Look for us in the afternoon in race 30, 40 or 42. between 1:30 to 4pm

On Sunday, times to be determined by Sat 6pm
Semi finals in the morning, Finals in the afternoon.

Look for our kilts and tartan sashes... followed by film crews for IN THE SAME BOAT doc film... or CHINATOWN CANADA - to be seen on Omni TV

Call Coach/Clan Chieftain Todd Wong at 778-846-7090 to find us!

4 days to go, and the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team is ready for the biggest dragon boat festival in North America.
Wonderful practice tonight on Vancouver's False Creek waters.. we even had 30 paddlers show up for 20 paddling seats in a Gemini boat.

Not everybody is racing Rio Tinto Alcan Festival, so 3 paddlers went out on the GVRD/Metro Vancouver boat... We traded our Gemini for a 6-16 boat with Concord team.

We had 24 paddlers, then rotated drummer and steers throughout the practice. 
It's not the best way to build team consistency, but it is a way to share responsibilities, build in flexibility and teach paddlers to adapt.  By having our Commodore Stephen Mirowski at both steers and drummer positions, as well as paddling - if gives him a better view of how seating arrangements and paddler abilities will be arranged.

Thank you to Gerard Graal, who will step into our manager position.  He and Keng have just returned from 3 weeks in The Netherlands - Gerard's native home.  Keng also did a nice short job on the drummers seat, despite being a bit jet-lagged.

We started practice doing some warm-ups, and saw Alissa, Nicole and Devon paddling with the Metro Vancouver Team.  Didn't they all look good.  I swear the best looking paddler on the left side of the boat was Alissa...  With that dazzling new smile of hers!

Video of a race start for a Gung Haggis dragon boat practice a month ago.  Tzhe and Jane are lead strokes in this video - photo T.Wong.

We did a race start lined up beside the former Comp team formerly known as Scotia Dragons, now called How Wet Can You Get - which is ranked #24 out of 148 teams that have raced in regattas so far this year.  Guess what?  Gung Haggis Fat Choy is ranked #31, ahead of #33 CC Riders and #35 Metro Vancouver.
See the rankings here: http://www.dragonboatwest.net/index.php?page=14

We are doing pretty good for our development this year.  We hit the waters in March, wore our toque hats and have pushed our veteran paddlers while nurturing brand new rookie paddlers.


We worked on some race strategies, and some basic drills.  The key thing is to keep a  consistent rate.  The only improvement you can make as paddlers is to keep reaching a little bit more, get your paddle in a little bit quicker, pull with a full blade in the water, and keep your heads up to stay in time. 

Fun surprise of the evening was singing Happy Birthday to Danielle.  Today really was her birthday.  Great dedication by a rookie paddler to come paddling with us, before going out to dinner with her husband.

Here are rookie paddlers Karen and Katie paddling and looking like veterans (almost) - photo T.Wong

"News" of "In the Same Boat" has finally hit the dragon boat forum at www.dragonboatwest.net  Check out this topic:
http://www.dragonboatwest.net/index.php?topic=5581.msg52013;topicseen#new

You can identify a few of our paddlers in a "In the Same Boat" youtube trailer here:
tp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zs0eQp81Mc

Tonight, after practice - the Gung Haggis team had a dinner social at The Clubhouse japanese restaurant.

I showed dvd's of the documentaries we had been involved in previously.
It was great fun to identify the paddlers who were on the teams in 2005, 2006 and 2007.  Some are still with us, some are paddling on other teams.  We could also compare and contrast our paddling styles.  I do believe that our 2009 team is good and strong.  We have a group of core paddlers that has improved a lot since 2005.  And we have some great rookies and second year paddlers now too!

"Thalassa" is the 2005 TV series produced by France 3, which followed False Creek Women's Team and Gung Haggis Fat Choy - contrasting the premier Women's team with a mixed recreational team.  You can see us doing race visualizations, and even our one-finger lift of then coach Bob Brinson who also steered for us.

In 2006, CBC film crew shot us at the Vancouver Taiwanese Dragon Boat Race for the documentary Generations: The Chan Legacy.  Basically the story was about my great-great-grandfather Rev. Chan Yu Tan and his descendants - 5 generations of Chinese Canadians including Todd Wong.  So they interviewed me, and filmed some of my many  community activities including dragon boat racing, speaking at Terry Fox Runs, being a cancer survivor, helping to save author Joy Kogawa's Childhood home, and the cross-cultural phenomena of Gung Haggis Fat Choy, Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner.

And we also showed footage of the 2007 Dragon Zone Sprint Regatta, captured by ZDF TV (German) for the doc - From Toronto to Vancouver by Train.  Not much footage actually made it into the aired edits - but ZDF was kind enough to make me a dvd with all the footage of our team.

See everybody on Saturday
Please arrive early with your wristband... and get lots of sleep the night before!
Cheers, Todd

It's the last practice before the race: Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team
Gung Haggis team line up at the Dragon Zone regatta on June 6th - photo Todd Wong

The Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival is the largest in North America. Dragon boat racing began in Vancouver BC, when the Hong Kong pavillion at Expo 86 donated 4 teak boats to the City of Vancouver.  I started attending the festivals for the great entertainment and shows.  It wasn't until 1993 that I first joined a team and started paddling.

The Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team has been racing at Alcan Dragon Boat Festival since 2002.  Prior to that I coached and paddled on many different teams at the novice, recreation and competitive levels.  The Gung Haggis team emphasizes fun, fitness and multiculturalism.  That's why we wear our kilts while paddling a Chinese dragon boat tradition.

We have been asked to participate in two film documentaries.  One is a feature film titled "In the Same Boat", directed by Alfonso Chin and produced by Jacqueline Liu for Rosetta Entertainment.  Alfonso used to paddle for the CC Riders team, and our paddler/drummer Keng Graal used to be one of his teachers.

Katie, rookie Gung Haggis paddler is interviewed for "In the Same Boat" dragon boat documentary film - photo T.Wong

The second film is a multi-part series called "Chinatown Canada" produced by Kerri Beattie of Image Pacific.  They will be interviewing me about Vancouver Chinatown, and filming our Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team in action, as one of the cultural off shoots of Chinatown.

We are having our final pre-race practice tonight  5:45 to 7:30pm at Dragon Zone (50 paces south of Science World - at the Green Trailer Building).

We will be working out our final race strategies, and finalizing seating arrangements.  Some of the paddlers have been away, but have returned just in time.  We have four brand new paddlers who raced their first races ever in May and June.  We have two more brand new paddlers who have yet to experience a full race with 7 or more boats. 

Our core veterans have been with the team for 4 years or more.  We have added some paddlers who have experience with other teams.  This could be the best Gung Haggis team ever.  But our roles at drummer and steers are not settled yet, and we might be rotating people.

Tonight after a debriefing... we are having a team social at "The Clubhouse Restaurant" on West 2nd - across from City TV, and on the same block as Bazzaar Novelty.

There is a dvd machine in the upstairs party room.
I will be showing documentary footage of the team from
France 3 "Thalassa" 2005
CBC Generations: The Chan Legacy 2006
ZDF "From Toronto to Vancouver by Train" 2007
but not from the 2008 Global News "Best of BC"

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team raced Saturday afternoon in the Dragon Zone Regatta


Every June the Dragon Zone regatta is run 2 weeks prior to the Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival.  This allows the race officials, race organizers to know that the equipment is working, and that volunteers are trained.

On Saturday morning, the top teams raced.  These teams are expected to be in the Competitive and Rec A division during the festival.  On Sunday afternoon, teams that have finished in Rec B-E or Novice Divisions raced.  Junior teams are raced on Sunday morning, along with teams that couldn't race on Saturday.

Katie is interviewed, after her first-ever dragon boat race, for the film documentary "In The Same Boat" - photo Todd Wong

It was a busy day for the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team.  We were also filmed for the documentary film "In the Same Boat."  This is a film about dragon boating, and is following a few teams that will race at the Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival.  We were chosen because we specialize in promoting multiculturalism, and the film makers liked the fact that we are the only dragon boat team wearing kilts.


1st Race - lane 3
We were 1st or 2nd in our first race by fractions.
Very good race, trading places with Chilliwack Crusaders right beside us.  Good steering by Commodore Mirowski.
Our friend Manfred Preuss, was paddling on the Crusaders.  In 2005, Manfred raced with Gung Haggis at the Alcan Festival.  He is the founding president of the Fraser Valley Dragon Boat Association, and created the Fraser Valley Dragon Boat Festival at Harrison Hot Springs.
Crusaders 2:39.870
Gung Haggis 2:40.150
That's a difference of 0.280 seconds.

2nd Race - lane 2
We made changes, putting Jane on the drummers seat, moving Todd to steer, and Stephen Mirowski to paddle.  The team adjusted to the changes, but our rate was a bit high, and we lagged from the start. Our friends GVRD 44 Cheeks took off from us at the start.  Their steers Dave Samis, often paddles with us in races that GVRD doesn't enter.
Gung Haggis - 2:43.190 - 5th place
Crusaders - 2:41.560 - 4th place
GVRD - 2:30.860 - 2nd place

3rd Race B Final - lane 2
We decided to keep Jane on the drummers seat.  Devon spared out to go to work, and Debbie Poon came in after spending the morning doing research on the ferries.  We had a strong start, and took an early lead.  We surged farther by midpoint, and pulled away with a strong finish by TWO BOAT LENGTHS. 1st place in B division - by 2 lengths... It's a good demonstration that the team could actually race well in A Division.  This does wonders for the confidence of our paddlers.
1st place Gung Haggis 2:36.110
2nd place Hmmm Sea Monster 2:46.300
3rd place Crusaders 2:46.330

Way to go Gung Haggis...
And everything was captured by the documentary film crew shooting "In the Same Boat."

Please post pictures to Flickr and join the Gung Haggis dragon boat team flickr group.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/584030@N22/