Dragons Are Warriors

Brisbane River Dragon Boat Regatta:

On 26 February the Wide Bay Warriors competed at the Brisbane River Dragon Boat Club’s annual regatta at Lake Kawana. You might remember from previous articles that the Wide Bay Warriors is the name of the team that results when the Cooloola Dragon Boat Club and the Hervey Bay Dragon Boat Club join forces to compete.

The team raced over the gruelling two kilometre races and then on the less demanding 200 metre races. Having said, ‘less demanding’ you should bear in mind that the teams have to paddle over 200-metres before the race to get to the start line!

The Warriors had a very successful regatta and managed to get into the finals. As usual a great day of competition, fun, and friendship was had by all competitors. A big round of applause to the Warriors for making it to the finals.

Cooloola Dragon Boat Club 20th Anniversary Celebrations:

It’s time for Cooloola Dragon Boat Club members past and present to put a note in their diaries for the upcoming celebrations of the club’s 20th anniversary. The event will be appropriately themed as a ‘Roaring 20s’ festivity and some outlandish get-ups can be expected.

The event will be held at the Tin Can Bay Yacht Club on 1 July 2023. All members past and present who wish to attend should contact Club Secretary Elaine Dimock (email: Secretary@coolooladragonboatclub.org or phone 0400 608 547) to book themselves in for the celebration.

Club Member Profile: Jan Hughes

Jan is one of the great personalities of the club. Words used to describe her often include ‘compassionate’, ‘humble’, ‘very caring’, and ‘family loving’. Jan joined the club in 2007 and has been a staunch supporter and competitor at regattas and training sessions.

She is a very fit person who regularly cycles the four kilometres to get to training sessions and then cycles home again. Jan was a team member in the inaugural Grand Masters Queensland Team which was held in Adelaide in 2010.

She is an ardent calligraphist who takes care of much of the club’s signage needs. Some of you may have seen the menu at the Dragon’s Lair Café which is a part of Jan’s calligraphy work.

She also takes great pains to ensure that for the club’s annual regatta the teams can view a well-presented drawboard so that visiting teams can instantly tell when they are due to race. In addition, Jan goes to a great deal of trouble to design and provide a personalised birthday card for each team member as their respective birthdays fall due.

Finally, Jan is a keen gardener and, when time allows, she can be found in her beautiful garden.  Well done Jan and keep the good times rolling and those beautiful birthday cards coming! They are very much appreciated!

Club Member Profile: Jan Low

‘J-Low’ as she is often called has been a member of the club since 2004. She was very deservedly voted to life membership of the club in 2021.

Jan is a foundation member of the club’s Dragon’s Lair Café which is now in its eleventh year. She still coordinates the monthly café set-up which includes ordering supplies from local vendors and setting reasonable prices for the goodies that the café sells to the public.

Jan loves to attend the Wide Bay series of regattas (especially the sleep-over ones) and often organises the in-house food for the team. Her version of spaghetti bolognese has often been a culinary winner with the team and stirs fond memories for those who have been fortunate enough to sample this delight.

In one instance several years ago, Jan was involved in a dragon boat roll-over (not her fault) and she still paddles with a degree of caution. It’s hard for us land-lubbers to imagine what it feels like to have a 10-metre boat upside down in the middle of the bay.

Amongst all the duties J-Low has undertaken for the club, she was also a long-time organiser of the club’s fundraising raffles which involved a lot of work in preparing and wrapping prizes in fantastic arrangements suitable for presentation.

Jan, many thanks from every member of the club for all the hard work you have put in over the years!

Toni Archer