Wednesday 16 November 2011

Off-Season Paddling Dates

If you are missing paddling you will be glad to know that Marla has organized dates for off-season paddling. They are:

November 19, 26, December 3, 10

We are taking the Dragonfly out so space is limited to 10 paddlers. Email Marla ASAP @ marla.taylor5@gmail.com to reserve your seat, otherwise you might be disappointed.

Paddles UP!

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Testimonials 2011 - A Great Paddling Season

I really enjoyed my paddling for the 2011season. Hats off to all those who were involved in the organization of the team. I look forward to the 2012 season and paddling with the band of sisters,


HAD A GREAT YEAR PADDLING BECAUSE:
1. MY TEAM IS A TERRIFIC FUN AND CARING GROUP
2. MY COACH IS FOCUSSED AND ALWAYS PREPARED WITH SOMETHING
NEW TO BRING TO THE PRACTICE SO WE ARE ALWAYS BEING
CHALLENGED. AS WELL SHE IS POSITIVE AND ENCOURAGING
3 I APPRECIATED THE DEDICATION OF THE TEAM TO SUMMER
PRACTICES. WE WERE NEVER MISSING.
4. THE SMALL BOAT IS VERY COOL AND CAN OPEN MANY MORE DOORS
FOR US.
5. HAVING THE BOAT MOORED IN THE WATER WAS A REAL TREAT.
6 PLANNING AROUND THE REGATTAS WAS THOROUGH AND WELL DONE
AND WELL COMMUNICATED.

I LOVE MY TEAM. WHAT MORE CAN I SAY.


Our paddling has been the best. I am sure, even with the small team, we did better in any/all of our races (even though we are not competative ha, ha). Keeping the boats at the dock has been so much better.

We have had fun with Carol's Hoe Down Dance and warm-ups. Natch... Nanaimo has always been a good "group" outing.


Is my absolute pleasure to actually belong to the paddle club. Did not think there is an outside activity I could participate in with a group of people that generates so much fun and enjoyment. First of all, I have never been a sporty person and so never considered anything like it and secondly I thought my age (76) is pulling me in the direction of "can't do that any more".

But here I am, loving every time I collect my gear and get ready to paddle. We were lucky this year with the weather holding out beautifully for the special events I was able to participate in. It started with False Creek and then Nanaimo. I thought I don't have a competitive bone in my body. Boy was I wrong. The team spirit caught on and we all did our best to give everything we had in us. And it worked. In Nanaimo our group received second price in the Women's Silver Division. We had a ball. At least once a week we get together after paddling to socialize and celebrate.

And then there was also our moon light paddle. We had a bright, full moon to guide us in the familiar, yet different looking scenery that became magic. Thought there were fire flies in the water until I was told the prosaic explanation of phosphorous in the sea weed. And whatever we saw in the water was mysterious and became of great interest to all of us! The lights from the pub in Sechelt reflecting in the water actually reminded me of my holiday in Venice I just had come back from and brought back lovely memories.

So, all in all paddling is great fun and I look forward to another season next year.
Thank you for donating your time also to make it a success.
Marianne (Sedlmeier)


Every year the team gets more energetic and more fun. We have such a good group and have been lucky to have some perfect people join us throughout the season. Our coaching has been more direct to each paddlers need, so that has been good for us all… Already looking forward to the season starting again



I am a member of Dragon's Abreast and this was my first season with the Club. I could not have better team members or a better coach. We have had a grand year. I enjoy the fellowship and the very positive encouragement and support and the good humour that we all share in and out of the boat. This positive atmosphere is the reason we are successful in meeting our goals of getting healthy exercise and competing with the best of them. We were the winners of a bronze medal in Nanaimo and it would be hard to find a team more proud of their coach and their team members. We do our best and love our time together. Yeah Dragon's Abreast, Yeah Sunshine Coast Dragon Boat Club.


Highlight was getting an actual medal!!!!!! And as always, our friendships.


One of my favorite times (and there were many) was the McKenzie Cup Day, it poured rain all day but I loved that everyone stayed cheerful and had fun, The obstacle course and guts and glory were a blast!

Fabulous year! Nanaimo was a great regatta for us in 2011. We won our heat in the Breast Cancer Survivors Races which gave us the bronze medal. We looked totally awesome in our Caribbean costumes, got chosen to go up to the buffet immediately after the farthest away team due to our team enthusiasm, enjoyed some great shopping, recorded our best times ever in the history of our team and best of all--believed that we were a team that could! Thanks for the memories SDA : )


Especially enjoy the comaraderie of dragon boating even though I have had to miss a number of things this summer. We are fortunate in having wonderful coaches and thanks to them and those of you who volunteer, the season has been a rewarding one. I am fortunate to be a Sea Gal and I treasure our boat time.

Judi


This was my first season paddling and I joined the McKenzie Mussels after seeing a notice in the Coast Reporter. I am a new full-time resident of the Coast so I was looking for something to do, a way to meet people and a bit of exercise. What I found at the Mussels was a group of fantastic and fun people who welcomed me with open arms. The coaches were magnificent and changed my goals from "not coming in last" to "I want a medal". Now I'm looking for ways to stay active and fit over the winter so I can be in better shape to start the season next year. Paddling has been an awesome experience and I can't wait until next season.

Catherine Gage



One of my favorite times (and there were many) was the McKenzie Cup Day, it poured rain all day but I loved that everyone stayed cheerful and had fun, The obstacle course and guts and glory were a blast!

Doug and Doreen Penn



There are too many highlights to pick one! What stands out for me is the camaraderie, energy and fun at every Club or Sea Gals events..

Raymonde



I love Sea Gals...a wonderful team...full of energy, fun and commitment.

Carol Stanfield

100% Participation = $100

Congratulations to the members of the Sunshine Dragons Abreast Team for having 100% of team members complete the Club survey. A remarkable participation rate! For their efforts the team won the prize of $100. Way to go SDA.

Dragonfly


At the Sunshine Coast Dragon Boat club AGM, held on November 3, 2011 at the Seaside Centre,  members chose a name for the latest addition to our fleet.  The small 9 meter boat's new name is Dragonfly.  Congratulations to Marla Taylor for suggesting the name.

Thursday 3 November 2011

Sunshine Dragons Abreast Fashion Show

On October 19th the Sunshine Dragons Abreast Team presented their annual Fashion Show at the Sechelt Senior's Centre.  A Huge thank you to all the volunteers who made this event such a success.  Fashions from the following local stores were modeled by members of the team:  Blue Magnolia, Palmeros, Georgia Trading, Source for Sports, Maribel's, Suzanne's, Monkey Chips and Thelma and Louise.  A big thank you to  Amelia of Hair Matters and Joanna of Joanna's Hair and Beauty and Make Up Artist Jojo Quan for donating their talents.  And a special thank you to the Upper Crust for providing a tasty variety of appetizers and desserts.  A portion of the proceeds from the show, wine sales, raffle and silent auction to the Sunshine Coast Hospice Society.





Monday 24 October 2011

The BuK and D-2 are resting for the winter

Thank you to Lois Pickard, Linda Dawson of MacKenzie Mussels; Chris Wilson, Celine Gilmore, Sally Haugen of Porpoise Paddlers; Marion West, Ron and Gillian Kydd of Sunshine Dragons Abreast; Jeanne Hage, Carol Stanfield, Margaret Laycock from Sea Gals. The team effort allowed us to complete the job quickly. Luckily the weather was in our favour and allowed us to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate (with a little Cointreau or Bailey's). There were pastries, Girl Guide cookies, thank you Chris and Carol. There never seems to be a shortage of food at Club gatherings!

The 9m is waiting for it's first off season paddle. Ron Kydd has offered to build two saw horses to store the boat upside down during the winter. Thank you Ron. Marla will be contacting the membership with options on winter paddling.

Sunday 16 October 2011

Sunshine Dragons Abreast Picnic

On August 4th, a warm, sunny summer morning members of the Sunshine Dragons Abreast Team paddled up to Piper Point Marine Park for a picnic lunch and swim. Thanks to Doug Penn for the escort up the inlet and tow back. Everyone enjoyed lots of good food, swimming and loads of laughs.






Minutes of the October 13th Board Meeting

The minutes of the October 13th Sunshine Coast Dragon Boat Club Board meeting are now available by request. Please contact your Team Reps if you would like to receive a copy.

Thursday 29 September 2011

Final Fling Race Results




Congratulations to Sea Gals, Pearl Warriors and Dragontinis for their 1st, 2nd and 3rd finishes.


TeamBUK TimeD2 TimeTotal TimePlace
Dragontinis1:491:452:943rd
McKenzie Mussels1:491:523:01
Paddling for Life1:432:083:51
Pearl Warriors1:441:502:942nd
Porpoise Paddlers2:011:583:59
Sea Gals1:491:402:891st

And, congratulations to Sally Haugen of Porpoise Paddlers for winning the prize for the best drummer's costume and to Ward Graham of Paddling for Life for winning the prize for the best steer's costumer.

And a big thank you to Sechelt Sign and Trophy, Coast Jewellery, Mr. & Mrs. E. Lush, Mrs. R. Worsfold, and Truggs for generously donating the prizes for our raffle, 50/50 draw and the costume contest.

Final Fling

The Final Fling was held Sunday, September 25th, a very rainy and windy day. We appreciate the Paddling for Life and Pearl Warriors Teams from Powell River, The Dragontinis from Pender Harbour and our three teams McKenzie Mussels, Porpoise Paddlers and Sea Gals for braving the wind and rain and making our first mini regatta such a success. Although the Obstacle Course race and the 'Guts and Glory' race had to be cancelled due to high winds each team had 3 races before we retired to the Lighthouse Pub for drinks, food and to warm up. Thank you to all the paddlers and volunteers for their efforts.





Monday 26 September 2011

Fashion Show

Sunshine Dragons Abreast
Proudly Present
Our Annual Fashion Show!

Wednesday October 19, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Sechelt Seniors Centre

Silent Auction (credit cards accepted)
Wine Raffle
Door Prizes
Sweet & Savory Snacks
Cash Bar - Wine, Beer and Water
Tickets $20 available from
Blue Magnolia            Palmeros
Georgia Trading             Source for Sports
Maribel's               Suzanne's
Monkey Chips                  Thelma and Louise
Doors open at 6:30 pm
Portions of the Proceeds to the Sunshine Coast Hospice Society                

Thursday 22 September 2011

Board Minutes - August 19th

The September 17th Board Minutes are now available by request. Please contact your Team Reps if you would like to receive a copy.

Monday 19 September 2011

Sea Gals Wine Festival

On Saturday, September 17th Darlene Kerfoot hosted the Sea Gals Team to a private Wine Festival. Darlene won 20 bottles of wine in a raffle during the Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival and invited us all up to her lovely home in Pender Harbour for a wine-tasting evening. We enjoyed lots of wine, great food, a spirited game of Bocci Ball - using our own rules - and we held a Silent Auction as a team fundraiser. The items were from a hamper the team won - 3rd prize for costumes at the Women's False Creek Regatta in May. The bidding on some items was pretty fierce and we managed to raise $410 for our team. Thank you first to Darlene for organizing and hosting this fun event and to all who participated and made it such a great evening. Way to Go Sea Gals!!!!!



Tuesday 13 September 2011

Board Minutes - August 19th

The August 19th Board Minutes are now available by request. Please contact your Team Reps if you would like to receive a copy.

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Reminder: FINAL FLING - September 25th

The Sunshine Coast Dragon Boat Club is excited to be hosting our first mini regatta on Sunday, September 25th at Porpoise Bay Park. We are expecting paddlers from Powell River, Pender Harbour, the North Shore and of course from our local Club. Each team will participate in several races, an obstacle course race and, if you have the strength left, a mini "Guts and Glory" race. After a strenuous day of racing we will retire to the Lighthouse Pub for drinks, appies and an awards ceremony - cost $15 each. Please contact your team manager to ensure you are registered on a team and have your tickets for the after paddling party. Come out and enjoy the fun!!!!!!

Monday 18 July 2011

July 6, 2011 Board Minutes

The July 6 SCDBC Board Meeting minutes are now available on request. Please contact your Team Rep if you would like to receive a copy.

The Board meetings are open to all SCDBC members. If you would like to attend the next meeting to be held August 19th please contact Raymonde Worsfold at raymonde@leyoga.com

The MacKenzie Cup Challenge

On Saturday, July 16th the 3rd annual MacKenzie Cup Challenge was held at MacKenzie Marina. Each participant was assigned to a team, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mean Green Machine or Moody Blues and participated in two races each and an obstacle course race. The times for all three races were combined to determine the winner. Congratulations to The Mean Green Machine for their first place finish.

1st Place - The Mean Green Machine 9:43
2nd Place - Red Hot Chili Peppers 10:35
3rd Place - Moody Blues 10:81

Thank you to the Sunshine Dragon Abreast team who raised $350 for the Run for the Cure from the bake sale, which included homemade jam supplied by Jeanne Hage and a wine raffle donated by Darlene Kerfoot.

Thank you to Don MacKenzie for his ongoing support of the Sunshine Coast Dragon Boat Club. Don hosted the event and arranged for a hot dog sale with all proceeds to the local food bank.


The event could not have been held without the help of many volunteers including Allan and the dock crew, Dennis with his boat, the timers who sat in the rain all day, Linda Van Egdom for taking some great video, the Pender paddlers, Darlene and the rest of the committee, the steers people, all the coaches, Sally, Gill and Marla for setting up the teams and going out with them, Max for showing us how to tie up the boats safely, John for playing the bagpipes and most of all the paddlers for braving the weather. Thank you everyone for making this such a fun event.


Sunshine Dragons Abreast Win Bronze in Nanaimo

>The Sunshine Coast Dragon Boat Club sent two team to the Nanaimo Dragon Boat festival held July 9th and 10th. Congratulations to the Sunshine Dragons Abreast Team who won Bronze Medals in the Breast Cancer Challenge Race. The Sea Gals team qualified to race in the Gold A Final coming in 4th with their best time of the regatta 2:41.30. Congratulations to all who participated.







Canada Day Parade July 1, 2011







Monday 27 June 2011

Learn to Paddle Session

If you are interested in learning to paddle and/or would like to join a dragon boat team please plan to take advantage of our summer "Learn to Paddle Program." The sessions will be held at MacKenzie Marina at 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm every Tuesday evening, July 5th to August 2nd. The registration fee of $75 includes: equipment, professional instruction, 5 hours on the water, the opportunity to spare for dragon boat teams for the rest of the season and participation in all Sunshine Coast Dragon Boat Club activities until December 31, 2011.

If you are interested please contact our Membership Chair - Cheryl Palm at palminbc@yahoo.ca

Try Out Day - June 25th

On Saturday, June 25th the Sunshine Coast Dragon Boat Club along with the Gibson's Paddle Club and Alpha Adventures gathered at Porpoise Bay Provincial Park to offer anyone who wanted to try out some water sport equipment the opportunity to try standUp paddling, kayaking, outrigger canoeing and dragon boating. Although it was chilly and the rain clouds kept circling and dumping rain on us we had a great time take several lots of would-be paddlers for a ride. We even introduced each group to racing by practicing our race starts.