Dragon Boat West

The first big race of the season for ON and QB
also took place over the weekend in Pickering,
using IDBF standard boats, same as half of the
races on False Creek.  Too bad Gorging Dragons
wasn't in the line up too.

ON & QB A Division final & consolation times

A Mayfair Predators 2:03.63 1
B GG Draggons 2:03.64
C Eat Trout 2:04.64
D Scotia Rouge 2:04.66
E Skippers Plan Imperial Dragons 2:05.14
F SCC Team Chiropractic 2:06.48
G Hammerheads 2:07.34
H Hanalei 2:07.60
I Tempest 2:08.00
J Wong's DBC Dragonslayers 2:08.45
K Verdun DBC Adrenaline 2:08.68

BC A Division final times
(unofficial, no significant current)

A 2:04.33 FCRCC Mixed
B 2:05.60 Pacific Reach
C 2:13.34 ROLI Canada I
D 2:15.88 Swordfish  
 
BTW, what was the water taxi's time ?

interesting.  They were in Geminis not their "IDBF Standard DBs" (what ever model and make they are). Apples and Oranges man!
Also if you want to compare"times" At the Lotus Regatta the top team clocked 1:44 (with some signicifcant current) BTW it was a Junior team that did it. Heck my Rec C team did a 1:56 in a 6-16 with no significant current...... :lol:

There is no comparison between the boats used. I have paddled in the eastern boats and they are a cakewalk compared to the gemini's .

 Either way those who won back east are good teams so my congrats to Mayfair and the rest

True enough! I'd like to see them lunge and plunge in a gemini! With a littel wave action we are talking KNOCKOUT! Head on the Gunnel :lol:

Jing how did your team do???  Also how well have you adapted your Eastern style stroke to the Western style?  Which do you prefer or feel is more advantageous?

If you look inside any Gemini boat there is (or ought to be) a label that indicates that these boats are indeed IDBF-approved international standard racing dragon boats.  They have a serial and registration number.  Look for it next time you jump into one.
 
The BuK, the SRS, the Pelle and the Doneratico are other brands of DBs available in Canada which comply with the international standard as well.  I think there is also a brand from China now being used in North America as well.

(Milennium, 6-16 and Dynasty Dragon are not of the same design; nor are the boats at Montreal's Basin.)

About half of the boats being raced outside of Asia are of the IDBF pattern.

Whatever moves the boat the quickest is what I'll use (without bothering the others in the boat of course.) :?

Thanks
I am Aware they are certified!
My point is that they are not the same design as the Gemini (have you ever been in one?) You would see that BUK and Dynasty are completely different in seating and more importantly space and weight.
My point is that comparing times from different boats and water composition is not relavent. Tell them to come here and let's race for pink slips (they can have all the Gemini's!)

WHAT are not (of) the same design. Leth ?

Dynasty has a completely different hull shape from any other DB boat out there, never mind the seating.

All of the IDBF boats have basically the same length, hull and minimum weight.  (They have to be otherwise they wouldn't be allowed into the same race.  Like rowing shells of different brands which meet the standards, or outrigger canoes of different brands which comply with the class rules, different brands of DBs which meet the standard can be raced together within reason.  Each pool of boats would be matched, but I've seen several different brands all at the same race.)  There are seating differences but that doesn't affect the hull's maximum reachable top speed.

In sailing, boats can be handicapped to allow for the slight differences in design with times adjusted accordingly.

IDBF has 3 classes so far, 20 paddler, 10 paddler and wood 20 paddler.

;-)

BUK Boat Specs

length: 40.9 feet
width: 1.16 m
weight: 550 lbs
hull material:Glassfibre Reinforced Polyester, clam-shelled construction
tanks / seats: 10 seats, full legroom

Gemini Boats

Length 41 feet
Weight 550 lbs
Width - Damn Skinny (tapered )
 11 seats Limitedleg room

The big difference is leg room and width (Hard to find specs on the Gemini..(Help!)

Weight and length are about the same but the 11 seats in the gemini's makes a huge ass difference in paddling style. Stick those easterners in the Geminis and lets see the same times.....

You obviously have not been in a gemini as of yet otherwise you would know the differences .The 1 major difference is the number of seats .... the buks, srs are 10 and the gemini's are 11 which means their is far less room and forces you to go way outside the person in front of you . I guess Jetstart from back east is going to find out soon enough as will you .


 it's hard to find the spec's because Gemini does want you to know what they are like before a sale ,lol .

 Btw : was that your seal/dog I saw this weekend ?

So here are the differences I see:

a. Between each seat there is about 2-2.5 inches less in a Gemini than a BuK (because there is an 11th seat).  Now that is in theory, there may be a little bit more because there seems to be a lot of room for the steersperson in a Gemini, so maybe there could be 3-3.5 inches different.  

b. The way the seats are done in a Gemini ensures the long legged have a problem.  In a Buk they have a board across the boat where as the Gemini has the plastic mold.  I think if they opened that up (i.e. got rid of the arch) the long legged would get more room (again a theory).

c.  Foot rest in a Gemini consists of 2 large ridges whereas the BuK has one small ridge.  If there was only one small ridge offset from the seat that would give the long legged some more room again.

Now when I say BuK I am refering to the North American Buk.  Elsewhere the Buk is just as cramp as the Gemini but we only think North American.

Now the major difference between a Buk/Gemini and a 6/16 is that a Buk/Gemini requires proper technique whereas the 6/16 a team can be sloppy and just use raw power to get it down the creek.

AMO

Oh I get it now, thanks.  :wink:

If there's less leg room then the boat will go slower.
(That would explain why the Germans, the Russians
and the Poles for example race so slowly I guess.)

So who's decision was it to get the same boats that are used in international competition ?  Would it not be of benefit before going off to a major world race and paying for all that airfare, to at least have a chance to actually practice "cramped leg" style paddling ?  

When the Toronto national team came out here, they found the
leg room (and the width) in the 6-16s awfully huge.  I guess it's
whatever you get used to.

I think it could be the boat's length along the waterline - and not the overall length of the part of the boat that is sticking up above the water - that counts the most.  The weights are the same and the molds are similar.  Too bad about the reduced number of seats.  I guess we just have to be different from elsewhere.  Hey, but at least we don't have to take out those wooden boats  :lol:

Poznan 2003 World Cup
Premier Mixed 500M Final

CAN 1:54.96
RUS 1:55.60
GBR 1:56.00
AUS 1:56.58
GER 1:57.59
SUI  1:58.79

D_mn those are such slow times in cramped boats  :roll:
(Sorry, it was the Brits and not the Poles who bronzed.)
Must have been a headwind.

Probably a strong tide as well  :roll:
I guess we'll have to wait and see if any of the "eastern" teams show up to show us the goods.....Except Jetstart . who by the way are a kick ass bunch of great paddlers and party people!. No problem with Cramped Leg space as in case you haven't noticed the Gemini times are getting faster and faster as the teams adjust. 6-16's have there place on a real water course...not a pond or an enclosed bath tub.....



We don't pick the boats, we just paddle them!


Nah, called the wife and she said the dog/seal was resting for Alcan....

I hope you were being sarcastic there, because Jetstart is not a bunch of great paddlers! They are mediocre, and definitely do not represent the best the east can offer. Not to mention their psycho coach. The only reason they are going over is probably because they got cheap airfare since they are sponsored by air canada or whatever...

btw which regatta are they entering?

They are entered in Alcan ..........

Not being Sarcastic
. I have paddled with them in San fran (Our team joined with them for some men/women races)  on a few occasions and found them to be quite pleasant and friendly. As being the best the East has to offer , no, they are not the best but they do come out (cheap airfare or not) and race hard and give us a peek at a different style of paddling.
Not sure which ones they are enetering but I think they have a website
http://www.geocities.com/jetstartdragon/

Sun you're from TO right?  I always thought the Westcoast DB scene (small as it is) has always been welcoming of teams from abroad.

I know I love it, the more the merrier, regardless of how good or 'needing improvement' they are.

Actually, I don't recall anyone over here ever saying anything bad about visiting teams.  Holsten Hamburg came over last year and won a division, everyone seemed happy for them.  (Specially the ladies, I think they enjoyed looking at their tight short shorts.)

You seem to be worried about how badly Jetstart might reflect on Easterners?    Not very sporting.

hey nothing bad towards jetstart! i didnt mean to make it sound like i'm defending the east, any team that goes that far to race is a good team to be on! i'm sure they are great paddlers, just that when you said it i was thinking they are not great in the sense they are not the best the east can offer so i just wanted to clear that up. :)

it's always great to see teams come from abroad, last year the killer guppies from LA came to TO to race and they got a loud cheer!

That far????? You got to be kidding me.....it's not like you're crossing the ocean and needing a passport....oh wait....maybe you do.....you're from Toronto .....right....."Capital of the Universe"...I see now.  So....with all that money you guys still can't afford to come here.....right.

We can afford it, we just can't be bothered. :P
Since we're the centre of the universe you guys should come here to the big city. (i'm so gonna get flamed, lol)

I dunno man... paddling in false creek water where you might break out in hives/rashes, or paddling in ontario's radio-active pond where you might get off the boat with a 6th finger.  

you pick your poison  :lol:

I think you're referring to the St. Catharines races with the radioactive pond.  It's still a couple hours drive from "the centre of the universe".

I must say.. I'm quite surprised that there's not that many unhealthy dragonboaters around.. what with the crap in False Creek, the radioactive waters in St. Catharines and the dead bodies in the Hudson River to name a few...

I like flaming, so I'll start it in good fun :)

Ahh Toronto. The land where the skies are red from smog, during the summer, and the grounds are white from 5,000 feet of snow during winter. Maybe that's why the canadian flag is red/white.

It's quite interesting really. There's underground cities downtown where you can walk 20 blocks without ever going outside. Subway systems that challenge the usefullness of the skytrain systems here. Countless sports teams that think like americans and believe that they're better than the rest of the world. *cough* btw, Toronto produces only a very small fraction of Canada's best athletes *cough* I could go on forever but where's the sportsmanship in that :).

I was born in Toronto, but thankfully I was saved from the Torontonians when I promptly moved to Vancouver. Here I get to experience the constant rainfall that feels like everything needs to take a shower 24/7. The greenery that makes me feel like I live in a middle of a forest. The wonders of paddling in other people's feces. It's like craping in my toilet then sticking my hands in it.

Ahh I live in the west, which the east refuse to believe exist, but cannot because they depend on us for their supply of marijuana.

Just so this post is somewhat on topic. Where do they paddle in Toronto? Do you paddle in the great lakes? Or are there artificial indoor facilities that you use. Or are there other bodies of water that I don't know of. I'm sure Toronto produces many awesome paddlers, and anyone who travels semi-across Canada should get some kinda props whether they suck or not.

Always good to be reminded what we are racing in......and I was just starting to like the sport  :?

Hey, at least the radioactive waste water kills off any diseases in the water and keeps it warm too... but yeah, my team practices right beside the nuclear power plant in Pickering. There are 3 main dragonboat practice sites in toronto, they are all connected to lake ontario (giant pond) but usually sheltered in a bay or breakwater...

So yeah, i rather grow an extra finger than lose a finger due to infection by feces. Maybe i can sell my extra digit to you guys. :) and who needs glow in the dark condoms when we got our own lightsabers :!:

yup, you dont see the canadian flag representing vancouver so we must be more important. :) now if the flag was to come from vancouver, it'll be two peeks for the mountains and a bush for the forest... :twisted:  wait no wonder it's not!



traitor.......




that's the only reason we let you into confederation!



when it's cold we use indoor paddling facilities, otherwise we paddle in the lake. and small towns paddle in their own little lakes. :)

i have to admit, i want to try the ocean, if that's where you guys paddle!

err sorry man.  False Creek is more like a toilet bowl.