Festival Day Arrives!!!

After 2 days of practice the festival day that we've been planning for so long had arrived!!! With only 18 paddlers in our boat sitting pretty (and pretty nervous), we paddled on our way to the team starting line with 10 supporters cheering and chasing after us along the shore. 500 meters looked so far away!! Hearing the blast of the horn the Dragonheart paddlers took off and never looked back, getting 1st place on their first race internationally!! Everyone was so excited and proud of each other especially being at their first International Festival.

Shortly afterwards they had another race and came in 2nd in their heat. Now they could take a break and get some lunch quickly returning to support their colleagues in a supporter race. Everyone was pumped and the adrenaline was running. Our supporter team came in 2nd also and everyone was excited about that.

After a few hours of walking around, trading buttons and whatever else we could find, shopping, having lunch, and catching some intense Australian rays, we raced in our final and 3rd race of the day. The winds had picked up, the water a bit choppy, and everyone a bit tired, we still managed to come in 3rd place. Everyone felt fulfilled and called it a day to go home and cool off in the pool, then have a homemade meal or go out for dinner. An amusement park evening was just not in the cards for the crew. It was a wonderful day and a great experience for all.