On Sunday 5 August 2018, the CYSM Sea Dragons participated in the first regatta of the 2018/19 season, the Battle on the Barwon (BoB) time trial. This regatta saw teams paddle 5.5km non-stop across the Barwon River in Geelong. Last year was the first time our club competed in this race and managed to complete the course in 30:22.00 with only 16 paddlers. This year, we managed to smash our personal best in not one, but two dragon boats! Our first Opens CYSM Masters crew was a combination of CYSM and our good friends, the Dragon Masters, and was able to complete the course in 29:11.87. Our second Mixed crew consisted of keen and determined CYSM members that managed to complete the course in a whopping 28:16.19, shaving off 2 minutes from last year! This was a fantastic result for our team but was even more rewarding for some of our regatta first timers Grant and Kevin. Read about their experiences below:

Pictured: Jonathan Low, Kevin Kesuma, Melissa Tan, Grant Deutscher, April Yeung and Richard Hu
 

The battle of the Barwon was my very first regatta experience. There were definitely some nerves and anxiety leading up to the event but I felt ready for it. Sure you're going to feel a bit of physical exhaustion, but it's the mental hurdles you need to push pass. We all trained hard. Whether it was on the water during the training sessions or in the gym. We ended up coming away with a 1st place position in the erg challenge, and 2nd place in both the mixed and open events.

Coming from a long history of team sports I can say that the support, encouragement, and team spirit that CYSM possesses is something I haven't experienced before. This is a team that loves to have fun and enjoy themselves but also knows when to knuckle down and put in the hard yards. The coaches, captains, and members are what makes paddling alongside the CYSM Sea Dragons a rewarding experience in itself.

While I'm still a relatively new member to the Sea Dragons family, I feel as if I've been a part of the club for years.  You won't find many clubs, regardless of sport, who will make you feel right at home from the very first Come and Try session. That's what kept me coming back.

I look forward to pushing my body to its limits, improving my paddling, representing CYSM in future regattas, and above all else, paddling alongside the CYSM family.
--
Grant Deutscher

I was asked to join my first regatta last year, a couple of months after I joined the Dragon boat team. Back in those days, I didn't feel I was ready and prepared for the real dragon boat challenges yet because my technique was still bad and I had poor strength.

Thanks to the support and encouragement from the whole team, who kept pushing me to do better, help me developed my paddling techniques, and created gym plans to help improve my strength, I feel that I found my second family that I could share my sweat and tears.

After a few months of rigorous training, I felt it was the time to put all my training into action. I did my first Regatta last week in Geelong, and I found it was quite enjoyable and fun. Besides paddling, I also made some new friends from other clubs and had the opportunity to visit the countryside, which doesn't happen every day.

I have a few regattas lined up for this season. I hope I can be better, stronger and gain more experience from each regatta, so I can share my story with the newbies.

Quote:
"You never know what regatta's like until you do it."
--
Kevin Kesuma

After all the madness from the day, our team was invited to the Meyer’s residence, for a good hearty BBQ and a chance to wind down. On behalf of everyone from CYSM Sea Dragons, thank-you to the Meyer family for your generous hospitality and your amazing cooking and baking skills! We had a lovely time exploring your farm and look forward to sharing memories together in the future.