Posted by space_dragon at Monday, April Fools, 2008
hahahah! Psyche!
The weekend started off great as Friday was a beautiful day for traveling. Most of us who were driving, had time to stop off at the outlet mall on the way out there and pick up a few things. (All for the team of course…like a coach bag that could be worn at the paddler’s party). As a result, some of us arrived a *tad* late to Friday’s dinner. Which wouldn’t have been a big deal if the planner knew what he was doing, but he forgot to ask if it was 21 and over, so part of our team had to relocated to a different dining location. Post dinner a celebratory “Space Dragons, Welcome to the Desert” party in the hot tub ensued and we got ready for a big day of racing the next day.
After tossing and turning all night long, Tourny time finally arrived and it was time to show the dragon boat community the brand new, shinny 2008 edition Space Dragons. Ripped up and ready to go, the blue team broke out of the gates and showed that the mighty Space Dragons were not to be trifled with, w/ 2 straight 1st place finishes. Not to be out done, Red team (below) pulled their own weight and had thrilling neck and neck races with strong teams such as KG and Wasabi, w/ a 1st & 2nd place finish.
The Men’s team came out strong and showed everyone that we were all well “above average”. While the ladies proved, once again, that they indeed are the Crown Jewels of the Space Dragons. But enough about the paddler’s party (below), on with the racing…
The highlight of the weekend paddling, for me, was calling the 250. Unfortunately, me on the bow seemed to raise the stern just a lil bit and cause us to plow a bit more than we are used to (see pic below). But rest assured…your caller could kick their callers butt…in a hot dog eating contest.
Aside from that, we drew some tough draws in the Sunday semis (where only 1st place moves on for mixed & women; 1st and 2nd for Open). We finished 2nd in both mixed races & women: mighty
(special shout-out & thanks to LARDies Andrea, Huay, Tiff, Yonnie, & Cathleen, who joined our women for SpLARD reunions!)
Our Men’s team was able to represent and make it to the Open Finals after a thrilling semifinal w/ our neighbors LARD & KG (Space in lane 2 below).
…a great start to our season.
But that is just half the story…We came to
Finally, want to give major thanks to all those who made
Don’t forget! Now that the tournament is over…Joe doesn't say "No" ...
Joe says “YES!!!!”
Check our Picassa Album soon for more pictures from the event!