Dragon Boat West

We've invited the president of the NBDFS to check out DB West, and
this thread to invite others to express themselves.

Low tide, Lane 1 (& Lane 2)...Who had the pleasure of racing heats in the morning?

The story for those who weren't there is this:

At low tide (morning heats) the water is extremely shallow. I won't get into the physics, but there is 350m of this to paddle thru and it places huge disadvantages on the teams unfortunate enough to be placed there. Great start...cruising speed then WHAM! a wall of water...

Once your thru it, WHAM! forward like a rocket.

It costs about 15 seconds, which may as well be an hour.

I've had conversation with visiting teams who may not return...

We (Nanaimo-ites) promote this venue, but at 1000+ bucks, plus travel plus accommodation & food, but the coolest beer garden on the west coast ain't enough.

My hope is that the organisers will read this and put it on the top of their
list of challenges for next year.

If you must rant, then so be it, but ideas/solutions would be better.

The inside lanes in low tide definitely slowed boats down a lot, probably 3 or 4 boat lengths for Lane 1.

We won't return until the racing side is fixed. The festival is good but the racing has to be fair. If you put the lanes further out that may help, let us know when it's fixed and we'll consider coming back.

If the race organizers knew that Lane 1 / 2 were an issue why couldn't they squeeze boats 1 through 4 into lanes 3 and 4 (only on the start line) - thus avoiding the dreaded sandbar.

Solution: Explain to all teams that they will all start close together but once the teams get passed the 50M mark, allows teams to fan out, thus avoiding the sandbar.

Moving the race course will not have worked because of the Harbor Rules and the time it would take to reset the course (start line, finish line, buoys,etc)

To tell teams that they acknowledge the issue during the morning but to allow racing to continue was not helpful to those teams who were assigned that lane. We were in that lane, but knew about the sandbar. When we tried to avoid it (by going left), we were constantly told to move right. Very upsetting and frustrating to say the least.

In the big picture, in all festivals things happen. I know that these race officials tried to deal with the issue as best they could. I applaud them for trying to find a solution. However, whatever that solution was, it wasn't communicated to the outside visiting teams, nor did the visiting teams know about the sandbar until they HIT it. The race results will speak to the issue.  Some teams were regulated to lower categories because of the issue with the sand bar.

For any teams who did figure it out, they were constantly "Harped" on for trying to stay within their lanes. BTW, what lanes? The race course had no lane markers except for the start line, 50M (outside only) , 250M (outside only) and the finish line. This also caused some serious issues for some teams, which led to protest after protest.

I hope this helps and keep up the good work.

Nanaimo has such a fabulous venue in every other way, what a shame it has such a fatal flaw. If it's going to keep teams from coming back then desperate times call for desperate measures. I know this changes the economics and dynamics of the event completely, and realize how naive this suggestion probably is ... but maybe this needs to be a 3-boat race. Lengthen the day (sorry officials and volunteers), tighten up the entry limit but but make it a fair and truly competitive festival.

One more negative comment for the organizers (with the intent of improving a great festival). The tent layout this year really didn't work. It didn't allow for the realities of paddlers' village. Once teams set out their chairs in front of the tents there was typically a 2 or 3 foot space to access the tents in some areas. Very chaotic.

To end on a positive note, the festival was great once again in so many ways. Thanks to all the organizers, officials and volunteers who are unerringly enthusiastic, fair, fun and tireless. The level and quality of competition was impressive. The food vendors were great, the port-a-potties were well-maintained and plentiful (I never saw a line of more than half a dozen or so), and there was always enough fresh water provided free, which is impressive. The beer garden and dj were, as always, without equal. Thank you all for your efforts.

At the Alcan Festival the lanes are marked, and quite narrow. I would expect that you could fit maybe 6 Alcan lanes into the expanse used at Nanaimo. Keeping the boats tight and providing some lane markings, while keeping the outer edge of the course as far out as the harbormaster will allow would probably mitigate the inside lane disadvantage while still allowing 4 lanes...Other than that I agree with paddleho...Run with fewer lanes, longer days & fewer teams..

BTW check out Nanaimo Harbour on Google Earth. The sandbar issue is obvious.

Not all teams had problems in this lane..

Agreed...by the afternoon, the tides had risen and the sandbar issue faded. 

Since the sandbar is an issue when the tide is low, why not setup the course as though the tide will be low and avoid the headache of having to move it, hence my previous suggestion.

I dunno...A couple of years ago (can't remember which event) a steersperson was launched from the boat because he dipped his till too deep and hit sand. I believe it was a one time circumstance, and the tide was particularily low. One thing I do know is that the 'kiss of death' presented by a lane 1 (and to a lesser degree Lane 2) assignment during low tide has been known about for over 3 years. Its time that something was done.

I am sure that there are readers of this thread who have not had the pleasure, and are thinking 'whats the big deal?' Review the race results on the morning heats. You will see a noticable trend.

Anybody notice that it seems to be the same team(s) that whine about every regatta/festival?  I am sure the offending team(s) know who they are, hmm, maybe they don't but there are definitely some that make excuses and never is it about their team(s) ability or lack of consistency.  I can think of one team who should change their name to "Team Whiners" or  "Team It Wasn't the Way We Race" or "W.O.W (Whiners on Water)".

I guess Nanamio is another festival to cross off everyone's list (if we listen to the whiners). 

I think Nanamio should move the racing to someone's bathtub, that way the depth and conditions will be the same for all of the teams.  Of course we can't race each other but then we don't have to since the conditions are controlled.

Nowhere is perfect, I can probably find something bad about every race course/regatta/festival out there but a good team overcomes the obstacles and prevails. Now who said that before?

Ok so publicly flaming people is the worst form of etiquette. Wanna chat then use the PM feature....

AFTER READING THE LONG WINDED COMMENT FROM I DISLIKE WHINERS IT IS EASY TO SEE HE/SHE DOES NOT GET THE GIST OF THIS THREAD.  WHAT WE AS DRAGON BOATERS WANT TO SEE IN NANAIMO (AND EVERY VENUE) IS A EVEN PLAYING FIELD FOR ALL TEAMS. WHEN TIDES ARE LOW, THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE THE WAY THE COURSE HAS BEEN LAID OUT.  JUST LOOK AT THE RESULTS ON SUNDAY AM.  ONLY ONE TEAM THAT HAD LANE 1 FINISHED BETTER THAN FOURTH. THE AFTERNOON WAS TOTALLY DIFFERENT.  LONG STORY SHORT LETS HOPE ORGANIZERS CAN RECTIFY THIS NEGATIVE SITUATION.

It's very clear that you don't understand what we are trying to do here. In this thread, we try to help festival organizers by giving input and solutions. We do not whine, however point out issues that we feel are important to us as racers AKA people who pay to join AND SUPPORT this festival.

If you are one of the race organizers and you posted this comment, please think before you make another comment.

We all agree that all festivals have quirks however, if you don't let the teams talk openingly about the points and just call them WHINERS, then you are either missing the big picture or you don't just get it.

Please allow people to voice themselves and if you see someone comment's that you don't agree with, then respond accordingly...don't just call them whiners.

Enough said...

Nanaimo was a blast....pure and simple.  The issue of lane 1 has been going on since the festival started several years ago.  However, I believe it is just a fact of life.  Both Nanaimo and Victoria are working harbours so shifting the course even more may not be possible.  At the same time, my reading of races at low tide, especially on the Saturday, is that higher ceded teams get centre lanes to allow them to get through...I doubt that a high end team lost due to allocations to lane 1 (we raced in lane 1 on Saturday morning and did OK...got where we should have been).  Race course conditions vary by venu, and there are constraints on what can be done to level a "playing field" --- but sometimes the potholes in the field provide challenges and interest...sorry for mixing metaphors.

Again, Nanaimo was great....well organized, well run, and the comraderie between teams at that festival is extremely cool.  We will go again.

     Hey St'Keya
   I am sure glad to see  lane 1 did not affect you  since  on Sat morning  you were  actually racing in Lane 3 (you were seeded to come first against Extreme Currents )
   Sunday morning again you were in Lane 3 .

Lane 1 is an issue at low tide and the organizers should address it...here are a couple of ideas.

The course is very wide which is great because when the wind is blowing on-shore it allows room  for the teams to drift across the lanes a bit and not have to over-steer as much to stay on-track. 

Taking advantage of this wide course, one thing organizers could do is put in a centre bouy at the start, mid-way and finish (there was one at the finish but I notice it was gone by Sunday afternoon).  Then when the tide is low have boats 2,3,4  all run on the left side of the centre bouy until they are past the mid-way point and have boat 1 run just on the right side of centre...this should allow plenty of depth for boat 1.

Alternately...or additionally, perhaps organizers could schedule 200m heats during the low tide part of the day and avoid the shallows altogether.

BTW I like the way the water officials marshalled the boats during the wind...lining them up facing into the wind at right-angles to the course - then when all boats were marshalled having them turn a right - arc and move into their lanes and move up to the start line with a minimal amount of wind drift - the start was then fairly quick and seemed fair - good job guys!

The Nanaimo festival this passed weekend was the first festival that I have ever attended. I was recently asked by a friend to join a team, and if the Nanaimo Festival is a taste of what this sport has to offer than I am convinced that a I need a Dragonboat team in my life. I was blown away with the whole weekend. The competitors were amazing....it really opened my eyes. I understand that this festival was a huge fundraiser for the hospital foundation and an awareness campaign for breast cancer, but wow....the beer gardens were amazing. Is it always like this? I have never seen this much energy and comraderie at a beer garden. All I can say is thank you to all of the teams and the city of Nanaimo for giving me a preview of what will most likely become my new found interest!  Cheers to all of you!!!!!

We have heard that $65,000 was raised for Breast Cancer which is awesome.  A lot of out of town teams tell us that our beer garden is the best.  This is my sixth year doing this and have made a lot of friends over the years because of this sport.  Hopefully you find a team and can travel to other venues.  I am not sure if you had the experience of lane 1 on sunday or not, but i am glad that it has not made you any less enthusiastic.

I no longer paddle with St'Keya...have not for a couple of years.................I just can't seem to change my info on this site.

Bottom line is that my team paddled in Lane 1 on saturday...........it was brutal........but c'est la vie.....................

My apologies for the confusion.

 My apologies to St'Keya!!!If you were racing in Lane 1 on Sat a.m. then you were expected to place 4th and you did (Sat tides were really not the issue)
 A good example  would be Sun a.m. race with Eye of The Dragon . Teams are now on a more level racing field . Eye of The Dragon raced in lane 1 they are a team that potentially could have made it into Platinum A. If you were to compare times in that race I think you will see the issue .Eye of the Dragon is not a team 10 or 15 seconds behind any of these teams . You can review the times in their final to confirm this. So basically their race was predetermined ,they could have raced the race of their lives but their is no way to overcome that amount of time when teams are now so closely matched.The quality of your racing should always allow you to overcome lane placement. As you watch the races later in the morning as the tide is rises you will see things begin to change, lane assignment becomes a non issue and quality of your racing takes over. This is not a whine just the facts.

paddle20 that was nicely put.  This is the type of discussion we are trying to initiate.  It would be nice if somewhere amongst this talk we are able to come up with a viable solution.  It is also nice to see that you get the point of this thread. 

Actually, we raced at 10:20 on Saturday morning in Lane 1.  We came 3rd....by a nose...missed 2nd by 0.2 seconds.

paddle20, good analysis, and you have a point.  However, I can't see how Nanaimo can change much...moving the course further out could block the waterway and starting later to avoid low tide would either restrict participation or force a very late day.  I hope the issue can be dealt with (I assume dredging is not an option :D), but we will keep on going back to Nanaimo as it is a very fun festival.

Thanks for the comments.

While I agree totally that festival organizers must ensure that each race be as equal as humanly possible, the physics of nature will sometimes dictate otherwise.  So what can we do as a team to make the odds more favorable?

Race hard in festivals and hope organizers of other festivals recognize your results so that you will get more favorable seeding.

Race your heats hard.  What you do in the heats determines your subsequent lane selections.

The Eye deserved to be in lane 1.  Their first heat time was, well, not optimal and they were fortunate to get into Platinum as it was.