OR WAY TO STAY THE COURSE!

The Paddlefish participated in the Finger Lakes Dragon Boat Festival on July 11th in Ithaca, NY. After a rainy, gray month in Pittsburgh, the sunny day was very welcomed.

Paddlers arrived at our team lodging at different times, drifting into and out of Maxie’s Supper Club for our traditional, fabulous Friday night dinner. Then we headed to the race site to check out the boats and decide where to pitch the canopy. Since the team has been to Ithaca on several occasions, there were no surprises. It was a beautiful evening!

And some team members explored the many interesting sites around Ithaca:

Race Day! Our boat was balanced and included a few “newbies”. CJ was in his first race, Linda and Carol their second. Although we did not medal, the P’fish kept up with the pack and gave it our all. We broke a minute in our 200 meter race. But the highlight of the race was our 2000 meter. We were working hard to catch the boat in front of us, when the Team USA Premier Women with their incredibly fast stroke rate were approaching on our starboard side. They pulled up and we pushed ahead. The steerer for the women’s boat, known for her aggressive maneuvers, started cutting close and passing on the right as we were making a move on the boat to our left. Bernie, our steersman, is not one to be intimidated and he held the course. The women’s boat came within a paddle width of our boat and paddles collided. The back of the boats bumped. The rules state that their boat had to give us 6 meters. We have not yet found out if they were penalized.

As it turns out, the new paddlers thought this was very exciting. They are tough! True Paddlefish!

WAITING. WAITING. LOTS OF WAITING.

The team dinner, at Glenwood Pines, was near Cayuga Lake but tucked in the woods. We had our meal in a room on the porch. It was a very cozy place, sort of like being at a camp. The restaurant is known for its burgers and burger challenge. If a diner can eat four burgers in one hour, they win a T-shirt. No problem for our new, big, strong paddler who after finishing, ordered pie. We loved it!!!

TEAM DINNER