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The Sea Dragons take to the water at Docklands ahead of Sunday’s regatta.Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui

Steven Nguyen and Michelle Delfos,club captains of the Chinese Youth Society of Melbourne’s Sea Dragons,describe dragon boating as “extreme canoeing”,with the emphasis on working together.

Traditional dragon boats carry 22 people. They are primarily paddlers,but one person drums to keep the crew in time and another acts as the ‘sweep’,steering the boat.

“The races are very exciting and personally,it’s been a very rewarding sport,you see lots of improvement from training along the way,” Nguyen said.

Dragon boats clubs from across Victoria will take part in the state’s largest regatta,including paddlers from Beechworth and Wangaratta. Sunday’s festivities will run from 9am to 5pm.

Before racing can start,the dragons must first be awakened. This is done in a traditional ‘dotting the eye’ ceremony at the beginning of the day. The bulging eyes of the dragon heads carved on boats will be re-painted,waking the beasts from their slumber.

Delfos said she joined the Sea Dragons in late 2019 to make friends after she moved to Melbourne from Perth – and was immediately plunged into COVID lockdown.

She said the opportunity to race on Lunar New Year on their “home turf” was special considering their connection to Melbourne’s Chinese community.

“Community is the big thing when it comes to dragon boating,but you get this added bonus of fitness,” Delfos said.

Dragon boats clubs from across Victoria will take part in state’s largest regatta on Sunday.Credit:Luis Ascui

Hard work has certainly paid off for the crew,with some selected for Australia’s national dragon boat team that won silver medals at the Asian Dragon Boat Championships in Pattaya,Thailand,last year.

Lunar New Year celebrations began on January 22 and usually run for weeks. In China,the festivities marking the end of winter and welcoming in spring are usually capped off with the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the new year.

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