Sep 20 Castleknock College goes Dragon Boat Racing!

The annual Dragon Boat Regatta took place last Sunday in the Grand Canal Dock.

Castleknock College�entered two teams again one student and one staff. Ms. Mulcahy, a pro, was paddling for her own team, the Plurabell Paddlers in the experienced class. The weather was squally to say the least and conditions were exciting and dangerous, not to mention wet. The teachers began the day with a very impressive victory, romping home with a time of 54 seconds. The students followed that up with a win of their own and a time of 1:04. Next up was the big one, the head to head, students vs teachers.

Excitement grew as the teams loaded the boats but there was an agonising wait while the organisers had to decide whether the race could go ahead as conditions had worsened. Finally the teams were given the go ahead and we paddled out to the start in lashings of rain and a very strong headwind.

As the teams struggled to get to the beginning of the race the organisers made a safety decision and called off the event. Full of energy and excitement the teams made a brisk sprint to the end line only for the Irish weather to spring a surprise and clear up. We were tired but decided to try get the race done. The boats were turned and headed for the start line once again.

This time the wind caught the students boat and blew them off course by about 200 meters. At last the race started and the teachers pushed home victorious in a time of 1:01 with the students not far behind in 1:14.

At�that stage the whole event had to be abandoned for amateurs and times were added up to determine the positions. The students came 2nd in the U18 class and the Teachers 3rd in the Novice class. Ms Mulcahy's Plurabell paddlers finished up 3rd in the international class against teams from Great Britain and Dubai.

It's a really fun day, with a great atmosphere that everyone enjoyed. Hopefully next year the weather will be better so we can get more races done and rise up the podium to first place.