Dragon Boat West

Just Checking out the BIOS for the Aug 18-20 Festival. Looks like they have gotten another competitive field attending.  Anyone have any Predictions?

     My predictions.

     1- GD's
     2- Kai
     3- Dragonauts

     after that its anyones guess.

     Where are you Lethal Weapon? You seem to be the most accurate of anyone on here!!  :D

Some one mentioned the GDs wil not be at Victoria? Or was it the Island Championships?
I need to see the final Schedule to predict !
hopefully it will be out later this week!
I'm counting the days till the festival! Pumped and ready to GO!!!!

My understanding is that the GD's will NOT be at the Vancouver Island Festival this Saturday as many of them are back east paddling in Toronto with FC, or otherwise occupied.  They WILL, however, be at the Victoria Festival in a week's time.

Aaah that makes sense!
In that case here are the predictions!

1. GD (Duh)
2. Kai Kai
3. Dragonauts
4. Dragonheart Ultimate
5. Extreme Reach

the rest of the platinum field should be interesting. I am going out on a limb and saying VO2 max, Vic Iron, Portland ,Sudden Impact, Sweet and Sour and Swordfish (if they get seeded....)

Lotsa big boys not there but there will be lot of close races! Lets see how the predictions hold out!

i think you're giving an awful lot of credit to DH Ultimate there...  i suppose anything is possible, but i'd take capitol iron over them easily (assuming "vic iron" is capital iron, since they're from vic). 

I can only predict for the beer garden...Dragon Flyer/Water Warrior team with bring down the house..guaranteed! :D :D :D

On race day anything can happen but I think they are due to break it open. Of Course Vic Iron will kill them in the warm up and dance floor! Those guys and Gals can shake it!  :lol:
Let the racing begin!

I wouldn't necessarily agree with the "DUH". Will Kai be able to get their best squad to Victoria a week after the Worlds? If so, they'll be fearsome as always. Did the VI Championships change anyone's Top 10 predictions?

It should be a very interesting weekend! GD's will be strong... Dragonauts will be strong.. Kai will be strong. There will be lots of other strong teams as well. PI, Sweet and Sour, Xtreme and Capital Iron Dragons will be up in the top as well! Good luck to all teams!

The expected conditions for Victoria are (from Environment Canada):

Saturday Sunny  Low 10 C, High 23 C
Sunday Sunny  Low 11 C, High 23 C

Saturday  7:05 0.5 m 17:24 2.5 m 18:37 2.5m
Sunday 7:54 0.5m 17:55 2.5 m 19:38 2.5m

       time   24   01  02  03  04  05  06  07  08  09  10  11  12  13  14   15  16  17  18  19  20 21  22  23
Saturday 2.5 2.3 2.0 1.6 1.2 0.9 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.4 1.7 2.0 2.1 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6
Sunday    2.6 2.5 2.3 1.9 1.6 1.2 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.8 1.1 1.5 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.6 2.6

limited wind

As a reminder for flat water paddlers, tides make a huge difference to how long you paddle for.  The race course direction is upstream and runs along the top of a "T"-shape, whereas the stem continues north towards a body of water called the Gorge and Portage Inlet, a source of a lot of tidal water to the Inner Harbour.  As you ca see, we should experience a flood tide during the races, with an expected greatest push around 11am to 2pm on both days.

as for predictions, we'll use the Dragon Boat West ranking screen:
Rk     Home          Team
2        Victoria          Gorging Dragons 
4        Victoria          Dragonauts         
4        Portland         Kai Ikaika           
4        Victoria          Xtreme Reach       
6        Victoria          Precision Impossible
7        Harrison         Sudden Impact
9        Victoria         Sweet & Sour Dragon Balls
10      Vancouver      Swordfish
11      Victoria          ssSteam Heat
13      Victoria          Capital Iron Dragons
13      Nanaimo        Save-On-Foods Dragonslayers
13      Vancouver      VO2 Max
14      Vancouver      Dragon Hearts Team Ultimate
15      Nanaimo        Blu-By-U
16      Vancouver      False Creek Grandragons
17      Victoria          Navy Dragon Anchors
20      Victoria          St'Keya
22      Coquitlam       Dogwood Nothin' Dragon Seniors
23      Vancouver      Alpha Dragons
24      Chilliwack       Chilliwack Thunder Strokers
24      Seattle           Seattle 's Team Sake
25      Mission          Pirates
25      Victoria          Scurvy Dawgs
27      Victoria          Dogpaddlers

As for what I believe the results to be, I just have to remember every one of my coaches' speeches.  They would say to me, "Believe you will win, or get off the team."  I guess you know where I think Sweet & Sour Dragon Balls will place.

So far, Environment Canada hasn't let me down.  I even have sunburns to prove the sunny weather.
The tidal currents with a shorter 470m race course has also been noticed in the finishing times.

In Dragon Boat West top 10 the day before VDBF 2006, only Swordfish and Sudden Impact did not make it to Platinum division (who are replaced by ssSteam Heat, ranked 11, and Capital Iron Dragons, ranked 13). 

My question is for last night, since I passed out from two beers and sunstroke . . . did Dragon Flyers / Water Warrior close the beer garden?  Who won the air band competition?  How was the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner at Golden City Restaurant on Fisgard Street?  Did anyone continue the ACME Canoe Club tradition of a post-paddler dance party by causing a rukus take place at Hugo's Brew Club?

Let's see who win the Kupie Doll this time.

Capital Iron won the airband competition - well deserved. Great costumes for their montage of Kung Fu Fighting, Mr. Roboto, and Ghostbusters. Does this mean that 'Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" is finally dead?? Paddlers have 2-minute attention spans! keep the material fresh! Seriously though, the airband thing was a hilarious addition to the weekend. Every team that entered put great effort and enthusiasm into it and the crowd loved 'em all. I think Conga Babe loved his flirty costume a little too much ...

CAPITAL IRON DRAGONS airband submission (http://www.irondragons.net/Pages/airband.html)

I tell you, Scurvy Dawgs are everywhere
Their secret website (http://www.purewebmedia.biz/ScurvyDawgs/Site/Yeearrghhh%21.html)

And a English to Scurvy Dawgs translator they have requested us to use.
Translator (http://www.talklikeapirate.com/translator.html)

And to our winners
Kai Ikaika (http://www.kaiikaika.org/)

To 3rd place
Dragonauts (http://www.dragonauts.ca/)

The Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner was incredible... and beyond expectations!

Attending teams were:
The Pirates  www.piratepaddlers.com (http://www.piratepaddlers.com)  
DieselFish from San Francisco    www.dieselfish.com/ (http://www.dieselfish.com/)  including 5 Ripple Effect paddlers in their travel contingent
Gung Haggis Fat Choy  http://www.gunghaggis.com/blog/_archives/2006/3/29/1847817.html
 (http://www.gunghaggis.com/blog/_archives/2006/3/29/1847817.html) (paddling in Victoria with the Pirates)
Cultus Lake Dragonfliers
some Wasabi Warriors paddlers on the side observing   http://www.wasabiusa.org/ (http://www.wasabiusa.org/)

It was a mini-version of the infamous  Gung Haggis Fat Choy: Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year dinner http://www.gunghaggis.com/blog/GungHaggisFatChoydinner (http://www.gunghaggis.com/blog/GungHaggisFatChoydinner) that served almost 500 people earlier this year,
and which inspired the    "Gung Haggis Fat Choy" CBC regional television performance special.  http://www.outtosee.ca/clips/index.php/ (http://www.outtosee.ca/clips/index.php/)

Clan Chieftain of Gung Haggis Fat Choy, Toddish McWong hosted a bonnie dinner and provided musical accompaniment with his accordion.

We sang rousing versions of Scotland the Brave and When Asian Eyes are Smiling, along with an extra chorus of When Dragon Eyes Are Smiling.   Yes... we served haggis, and debated whether its origins were truly in Scotland or historically in China (since we know that Chinese people don't waste a thing cooking and eat every part of the animal).  No haggis won ton served - but we mixed the haggis into our lettuce wraps and happily munched away.

8 brave souls tested their tongues reciting the word of Robbie Burns' immortal poem To a Haggis - masticating and chewing the words with authentic, faux and imagined Scottish accents that were washed down with drams of Scotch.

2 DieselFish paddlers initiated an impromptu haggis eating contest. Paddlers stood on their chairs cheering on the eaters... of the one pound little beasties.

The evening ended with each table group crossing their arms and linking their hands, to sing Auld Lange Syne (words by Burns) - both in English and Mandarin Chinese...   Okay... some table groups also did "the wave" or "octopus turns" - but every body had so much fun that they couldn't stop talking about it on Sunday...  

pictures appearing soon on http://www.gunghaggis.com/ (http://www.gunghaggis.com/)

I think we have started a new dragon boat tradition in Victoria... and will be back for next year!
Look out for a Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner next January in Victoria... as well as the big one  in Vancouver now set for January 27th, 2007.

thanks so much for posting the airband...great costumes and great coreagraph,

got anymore?

To everyone at Victoria this year. 

Thanks for the good times and awesome competition.  Our team always looks forward to the race in Victoria.  We know that it will be a ton of fun as well as ultra competitive.  It's always seems to be a fight at the end ... and each year there are no guarantees.  I guess that is what makes it exciting.