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Boating with dragons
Volume 50, No. 12, July 12, 2007 |
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| ACTION STATIONS: The Navy-led team gets ready for action in Penang. |
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Personnel from HMAS Cerberus drew on the talents of fellow “salts” and other Services to contest the 28th annual Penang International Dragon Boat Festival last month in Malaysia.
The two teams which competed were relatively inexperienced this year thanks to postings but found it a good learning curve and a solid foundation on which to build for future festivals – often referred to as the unofficial world titles.
The RAN team, which finished fourth in the mixed and open heats consisted of personnel from HMAS Cerberus, reinforced by three Air Force personnel and two from Army.
Of the 17 paddlers, 11 are still undertaking initial trade training and have been in the ADF less than 12 months.
Only three paddlers had previous competition experience. Most had been paddling for less than six months.
Army from Rifle Coy Butterworth also included five Air Force personnel from 324CSS (324 Combat Support Squadron) in their team.
Dragon boating is among the fastest growing water sports in Australia and the ultimate team sport, with perfect timing imperative to a crew’s success, according to Air Force dragon boating enthusiast, FLTLT Boreham.
“For this reason, dragon boating has become a popular team building activity for corporate days and an enjoyable cross-training or social day out for people who enjoy a bit of a challenge,” he said.
The HMAS Cerberus/RAN team comprised: LCDR Jane Bourke (team manager), CAPT Lisa-Jo Laing (Army), assistant team manager and paddler; WO2 Vanessa Attard (Army), coach and paddler; AB Thomas Challis, SMN Meryn Rayner, SMN Shuaib Ehsan, SMN Courtney Heeney, SMN Amir Shams, SMN Daniel Willoughby, SMN Nathan-Leigh Woods, SMN Shane George, AC Robert Vanzino (Air Force), captain and paddler; SMN Kodi London, SMN Peter Green, SMN Simon Gardner; HMAS Darwin, SMN Simone Longuet; HMAS Success, SMN Jessica Limbert; RAAF Base Richmond, LAC Daniel Stanbrook (Air Force); RAAF Base Wagga, FLTLT Peter Boreham (Air Force) sweep (steerer). |
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