2008 Vancouver Island Dragon Boat Championships / Gorge Fun Fest
Ranked #10,250 in Sports & Recreation, #246,512 overall
The VI Dragon Boat Championships
The Vancouver Island Dragon Boat Championships ("The Gorge Fun Fest") is a premier summer dragon boat festival that takes place annually in August in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
The high resolution photographs displayed here are available for download from my online collection.
The lovely lady? She was the Drummer for the awesome Nusa'Lon Dragons.




The high resolution photographs displayed here are available for download from my online collection.
The lovely lady? She was the Drummer for the awesome Nusa'Lon Dragons.




The 2008 Gorge Funfest
August 9, 2008
The event is hosted by the Gorge Rowing & Paddling Centre.
This event has enjoyed tremendous success and received rave reviews from participating crews and the media. It is their hope to continue building a premier summer event for paddlers and spectators alike.
Each year over 50 dragon boat teams participate in a memorable day of racing and celebration."(Go Rowing & Paddling Association of Canada)
There are nearly 400 photos in this set, so grab a cool one, open a bag of chips, and relax while they flow over you.
This event has enjoyed tremendous success and received rave reviews from participating crews and the media. It is their hope to continue building a premier summer event for paddlers and spectators alike.
Each year over 50 dragon boat teams participate in a memorable day of racing and celebration."(Go Rowing & Paddling Association of Canada)
There are nearly 400 photos in this set, so grab a cool one, open a bag of chips, and relax while they flow over you.
The Colors of Dragonboating
I never seem to have enough time to capture images of all those t-shirts and flags the teams bring to their sport, but here are a few you might enjoy.
If it's racing excitement you're looking for, you'll find it here. (Slide show opens in separate window.)
If it's racing excitement you're looking for, you'll find it here. (Slide show opens in separate window.)
Dragonboat Racing
-- You Have to BE There...
Dragonboat racing brings the most amazing people I've ever met together in one place for perhaps 2 or 3 days, or, sometimes, just a few hours.The problem with photographing dragonboat festivals is that dragonboating isn't really about who wins or loses, it's about the people... at least that's the way I see it.
So you won't find all the teams identified, or the paddlers, and you won't see any slide shows of start to finish races.
To be honest with you, the only way you can really appreciate what this sport is all about is to attend a festival and see for yourself.
A video camera would certainly help, but there's nothing - and I mean nothing that will reveal the heart and soul of dragonboat racing like being there.
These photographs are an attempt to capture the colour and drama of the sport. I apologise for being unable to bring you the NOISE!
Enjoy.

PS: How DO you describe the primordal sound of hundreds of paddles being pounded on the dock to honour our memories?
TD Canada Trust Draggin Tails
Paddle Spectacular Vancouver Island - The Wild Coast
A Kayaking, Hiking and Recreation Guide for BC's South Coast and East Vancouver Island
The Scurvy Dawgs
These folks were memorable, not only for the fun they had and the noise they generated, but for the entertainment they provided when they all jumped into the water towards the end of the day. (Did I mention they were LOUD, and really, really NUTS?)
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2007 World Championship Race
Incredible World Record Shattering Display of Dragonboat Power
Nusa'Lon Dragons
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The Carnation Ceremony
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“We are family...”
We are Family...
The event featured a Breast Cancer Challenge Race, where Breast Cancer Survivors competed exclusively against each other to demonstrate that there is life after breast cancer.
After the Challenge Race there was a Pink Carnation Ceremony to remember those in treatment and those no longer with us.
After the Challenge Race there was a Pink Carnation Ceremony to remember those in treatment and those no longer with us.
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Dragon Anchors
The Canadian Forces Navy Team
Portraits of our Canadian Navy
NAVY Dragon Anchors Team
I feel I've done our Navy dragonboaters a great disservice, because they're so darned good at what they do, and I've taken so few pictures.
Don't let the paucity of images fool you - the Dragon Anchors won top prize in Nanaimo's SaveOn Dragonboat Festival just two weeks prior to a repeat performance here at the Gorge Fun Fest.
This is one of Canada's fastest and most successful dragonboat teams.
NAVY Dragon Anchors Team
I feel I've done our Navy dragonboaters a great disservice, because they're so darned good at what they do, and I've taken so few pictures.
Don't let the paucity of images fool you - the Dragon Anchors won top prize in Nanaimo's SaveOn Dragonboat Festival just two weeks prior to a repeat performance here at the Gorge Fun Fest.
This is one of Canada's fastest and most successful dragonboat teams.
CafePress
Pacific Northwest Dragon Boating
- Gorge Rowing & Paddling Centre
- The VIDBC is located at the Gorge Rowing & Paddling Centre - 2940 Jutland Road, Victoria, BC.
- GO Rowing & Paddling Association of Canada (GO)
- GO Rowing & Paddling Association of Canada (GO) is a non-profit Amateur Athletic Association, and registered charity, dedicated to sharing the benefits of sport with Canadians of all ages and athletic abilities. Concentrating on rowing & paddling sports, GO strives to encourage participation, personal challenge and the pursuit of excellence from the grass-roots to the Olympic podium. GO broadens access to sport by offering programs that encourage broad participation, by producing dynamic community events and by developing new and expanded facilities.
- Abreast of Life - Nanaimo
- Abreast of Life is a breast cancer survivors' team that formed 11 years ago in Central Vancouver Island.
They practice on the beautiful waters of Nanoose Bay twice a week, always accompanied by their marine companions - seals, salmon, hundreds of friendly jellyfish, and the occasional pod of orcas or dolphins.
They just returned from a Festival in Halifax where they celebrated "Bosom Buddies" 10th Anniversary of being a survivor team.
They broke all their team's racing records and had the distinction of travelling the furthest - representing sea to sea attendance.
They are strongly supported by their Sponsor; Peoples' Drug Mart in Parksville. This allows them to attend various Festivals where they promote awareness of life, love, and laughter after breast cancer.
"Pink is our colour for Victory! Pink is for my sisters ...my sisters and me!"

- Angels Abreast - Nanaimo
- It took a little over a year for the Angels to form the Society and put together their dragon boat team. Their first meeting was in Sept. 2000 and their first competition was at the Gorge in Victoria in August 2001. And they came second in their first race!
- Dragon Divas - Cowichan Valley


The Essential Vancouver Island Outdoor Recreation Guide.- Hope Afloat - Comox
- Hope Afloat Canada is a dragon boat team comprised of all breast cancer survivors. Our team was formed in 2001 and we are now entering our 7th dragon boating season. Our current membership consists of 29 women who range in age from early 40s to 80 years old! We are of varying fitness levels. There is no age limit for joining our team, becoming fit and having fun!

- Island Breaststrokers - Victoria
- Island Breaststrokers of Victoria, British Columbia started paddling in 1997, the second breast cancer team in the world to make dragon boating their passion. For the past 12 years we have followed our quest for a high quality of life after breast cancer. We are committed to paddling hard, to promoting public awareness of breast cancer and stressing the need for early detection. We are proud to be models of a healthy approach to life; demonstrating that regular physical exercise plays a critical role in the return of women with breast cancer to an unrestricted, active lifestyle.

- River Spirit - Campbell River
- "As breast cancer survivors, we are a group of women in Campbell River who, through their non-profit society, wish to raise breast cancer awareness. Our society is the Campbell River Dragonboat Society and our team is River Spirit. We support people who are living with this disease to live full and active lives through paddling and provide an emotional network of hope for each other, our friends, and our community."
- Full Throttle - Nanaimo
- Boys and Girls Club of Nanaimo's Youth Dragonboat Team

- Nanaimo Dragonboat Festival Society
- The Nanaimo Dragonboat Festival Society is a non-profit, volunteer driven organization with a mandate to plan, organize, and manage an annual Dragonboat race and festivities on Nanaimo's waterfront. The goal of this Society is to raise funds to assist in the fight against breast cancer in the local community.
- Nusa'Lon Dragons - Nanaimo
- To refer to the Nusa'Lon Dragons as a "Woman's competitive team" is to do these feisty females an enormous disservice :-)

- Xtreme Reach - Victoria
- "Xtreme Reach is a competitive dragon boat team that, since its beginnings in 2004, has rapidly earned the status as one of the top competitive teams on the West Coast. Our team-mates range from members with years of dragon boating experience to those relatively new to the sport."
Now if we could only figure out how to whup the darned Navy! - Dragon Boat Gear!

- Waters Edge Sports Performance
- Water's Edge Sport Performance Inc. (Water's Edge), is a Vancouver based company that delivers a variety of services and products to the paddle sport community in the Pacific Northwest including clinics, corporate team building events, experiential corporate team development, coaching education, outrigger and dragon boat camps and dragon boat festival event management.
I have experienced the high value and outstanding professionalism offered by Waters Edge, and cannot recommend them often enough or loud enough. 'Nuff said! - Dog Paddlers - Victoria

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- Dragon Boat Paddlers' Blog
- This site offers free blogs to dragon boat teams.
- Dragon Boat Forum
- North American Dragon Boat Forum
Reader Feedback
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paperfacets Nov 1, 2011 @ 1:44 pm | delete
- Is it warm enough in the water up there in Canada?
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WifeLA
Feb 15, 2009 @ 9:48 pm | delete
- Fantastic Lens!! 5*'s and a lens roll to www.squidoo.com/sookeguru !! Be Happy All Ways, LA:)
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Steve-SEO-UK
Sep 4, 2008 @ 4:20 am | delete
- It looks amazing fun.
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BigJim
Aug 15, 2008 @ 7:55 pm | delete
- Very nice lens! Thanks for joining the Squidoo City Guide.
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KimGiancaterino Aug 13, 2008 @ 2:27 pm | delete
- Gorgeous photos! This really looks like fun. Welcome to All Things Travel.
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- 'MV Sun Sea' still tied up at Nanaimo wharf more than a year later
- Van Wachem was not immediately available to comment on how long the vessel will remain in Nanaimo. The derelict boat is a ghostly presence for dragon-boaters who paddle past it daily in summer. "We all comment on it every time we go by," said Holly ...
- Nanaimo thinks twice about Blue Community designation
- The move would also ban the sale of bottled water at municipal events, including festivals hosted on municipal property, such as the dragon boat festival and bathtub races, something Coun. Diana Johnstone, who is also the Parks, Recreation and Culture ...
- Dragonboaters use flower power to fundraise
- By Contributed - Nanaimo News Bulletin Whether it's on the water or solid ground, the Nanaimo Wave Babes dragonboat team always makes a splash in the fight against breast cancer. The team, formed in 2006, hosts its sixth annual plant sale May 5 at ...
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by kmcvay
I enjoy chatting with positive, intelligent people who are driven to succeed.
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