“LAST 100 METRES! Maintain! Last 50 metres! All out!” the drummer shouts. Like a well-oiled machine, we row hard in synchronised strokes towards the finish line.
The season for dragon boat races is once again upon us, a cherished bi-annual tradition in Penang that gathers local competitors at the Teluk Bahang Dam in June. But it is in December that the event is elevated to an even grander scale. With the arrival of international teams to Penang’s shores, the regatta becomes festival-like, extremely competitive and a visual feast to behold.
The dragon’s snout crosses the finish line and the blaring sound of an air horn fills the air. We made it! With oars raised in jubilance, we pat each other’s backs in joy. But we cannot rise from our seats yet. This is one of the many rules that have been drilled into us as dragon boat paddlers; doing so would immediately disqualify the team, even if we had finished the race.
