Parkes' Endeavour Dragons may not have been to get to the Bei Loon regatta in Pittwater due to the uncertainty around COVID - but that didn't mean they couldn't bring a slice of one of Sydney's most prestigious areas to Lake Endeavour Dam on Saturday morning.
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The club held an eight kilometre race challenge on the lake for other clubs around the Central West including Dubbo Outback Dragons, Colour City Dragons, Bathurst Pandragons and representatives from Lachlan Dragons, Orange Pinnacles and Mudgee.
With a miniature Wild Oats XI sailboat and Scotland Island doing their best to invoke a spirit of Pittwater luxury and exclusivity (a house on the island will currently set you back over $2.5 million) under the warm January skies, around 100 paddlers took to the water.
Each boat recorded their own time and distance, with the results (in minutes) as follows:
- Dubbo Outback Dragons - 44:41
- Parkes Endeavour Dragons - 46:54
- Colour City Dragons - 47:53
- Forbes/Pinnacles/Mudgee - 49:50
- Bathurst Pandragons/Parkes - 54:32
Endeavour Dragons coach Beth Thomas was very pleased with everyone's efforts both on and off the water.
"There was just so much joy out there," said Thomas.
"There were about 100 paddlers from seven clubs who made up five teams, and everyone went home with a trophy and good memories.
"We had an absolute ball - the club has had so many emails and phone calls from all the other participants who are still buzzing over how enjoyable the day was," Thomas said.
Organised by the Endeavour Dragons, the event had a lot of support coming from the president and the board, and Thomas was keen to point out how much something like this is a case of many hands making light work.
"It takes a lot of hands to get something like this on the ground, so a huge thanks to Tony Gatt and the board for supporting all the people involved in getting this event off the ground."
The Dubbo Outback Dragons recorded the fastest time of the day (44:41 minutes) but Parkes weren't far behind (46:54) - something Thomas was very pleased with.
"We got the second fastest time and only had 16 paddlers (you can have up to 20 per boat) so we were pretty proud of that.
"As a coach it was awesome to see how dedicated the team was for training and getting ready for the race.
"They paddle with such good team work or team spirit," said Thomas.
That spirit was there for all the see after Parkes had finished their race.
The next team up, Bathurst, was short - so six Endeavour Dragons stepped up to complete another eight kilometres - meaning they completed two lots of 8 kilometres back to back.
For Thomas the best part might indeed have been out of the water.
"There were so many smiling faces and everyone loved their trophies from Nangar Gems - it was the happiest day."
