River Regatta 2007

It is a quiet Saturday morning where most people are sleeping. The ride down to Raffles Place seemed serene as the train seemed empty and quiet. This scene is a direct contrast of the scene in Boat Quay. River Regatta race is just about to begin and the entire UOB Building is filled with Dragonboat Enthusiasts from all over the places. Everywhere, you can see groups running together, shouting cheers and the morale is in the high. For a newbie like me, such grand scenes definitely took me aback. Knowing that I would be going down to row makes me even more nervous...

The first race began at about 0900 hours. Five boats gathered at the foot of the bridge near the Parliament House, eagerly waiting for the whistle to be blown. Soon, the quiet wates seemed bustling with life when everyone in the race began racing and rowing with all their hearts and might. The race was closed and I soon realized that the one and a half minute of thrill is really cool. Suddenly, I wondered, "What would it be like when you are in the water?"

Unlike racing in Kallang, the water is more uncontrollable here. The tide is always changing and this make the boat difficult to control. Every now and then, there would be crashes and collisions between the boats and this made the race even more intriguing. Soon, my turn came and I am about to enter the waters. Rowing from the mounting point to the race area is really cool. The movement of everyone is in unison and we are highly focused for the race.

Under the bridge, it is a total feeling as of being a spectator watching the show. Every boat seemed so competitive and eager to win and you can hear each boat getting ready with such strong morale and zest. When the whistle blow, the drums began and everyone was shouting away as they row. In the boat, there is no room for thinking. All we could do is row with all our might and concentrate in unison as much as possible.

Soon, our boat began to break away from the rest of the boats and we are confident that we would be able to make it through in this race. All of a sudden, during the last 100 metres, Boat 2 began to lose control and they collided and charged into our lane. The whole scene was in a mess. The boat totally lost control and water start gushing into the boat. Both parties are not willing to give up just yet and continued to row despite the accident.

The racing course begans at the bridge...

In the end, we came in third and did not qualify for the Semi-Finals due to the accident. Of course, we were disappointed. For me, it is my first race and it ended up in such a mess but as usual, we moved on for the next events and the rows were so much better. We picked ourselves up well in the other categories and went through to the finals for all the other categories Sea Hawk participated in!

Sea Hawk in the relaxing mood...

In the subsequent races, everything went off smoothly and we went on to win a few other races. The experience at Regatta is really an Eye Opener for me. You get to see students from all schools compete; Corporates like OCBC, ABN, Jurong Port; Sports Groups like Safsa, Sea Hawk; all geared up and ready to race off one another. The cohesion among the teams are all beyond words. I used to tell myself to treat it as a recreational thing where competition is secondary. Well, after regatta, I have to say racing is definitely addictive!

I really could not wait for training to start. For now, it is all about keeping myself in shape and ready for the next session every now and then...