When we moved to the Central Coast, I definitely wanted to get on the water. I found CCDBA by googling ‘water sport in Morro Bay.’ I signed up for a guest paddle, and knew half-way through the first practice that dragon boating was my sport! The dragon boat community is so lovely, and it was obvious from the start. Learning the sport is not scary; you can do it from the beginning, but you can also keep learning and improving your stroke.
My first race was at Marina Del Rey. It was great to experience the broader dragon boat community and the vitality of the sport. Other teams were high-fiving us as we got off the boat! Kids were competing, and also volunteering as drummers for other teams. I took my six-year-old and she loved it.
Being a part of the Central Coast SurviveOars team has a lot of meaning for me, because both of my parents and others close to me have battled cancer. I also appreciate dragon boat racing’s cultural ties, because of my Chinese heritage. But what I really love are the people; it’s just an amazing community of paddlers!
