Some Mofos and Piranhas share a toast at the Olive Garden in Times Square during their first day in New York City

The T-Dot Paddlers, a collective of paddlers from the Piranhas, Cartier Partners Tempest, Scream'n Demons, and Mofos travelled down to New York City for the 2nd Annual Liberty International Dragon Boat Race Festival. Finishing third in both the 250m and 500m mixed finals, the team strangely placed fourth overall in the event. In the Open category, the Dragon Boat World Men, to which the T-Dot Paddlers contributed four crew members (San Yong, Willie Desintonio, Neil Bartley and Jason Au), captured the overall title in an epic race against the US National Team, the Philadelphia Men.

Day 1

The T-Dot Paddlers had some difficulty gelling together in their qualifying heat for the 250 metre races, finishing third behind the HSBC Red Dragons and the BA Hurricanes from the UK with a time of 1:25.5. However, their 500 metre qualifier proved to be much better as they finished second behind the Philadelphia Dragon Boat Team's Mixed entry in a time of 2:21.5. Finishing second to the Philly Mixed team yet again in the 250 metre races, the team showed signs that it was continuing to gel. The T-Dot Paddlers avenged their loss to the HSBC Red Dragons by finishing thirteen seconds ahead of the HSBC Red Dragons in a time of 1:09.8.

Meanwhile the Dragon Boat World Open crew, composed of eighteen men and two women from several crews (Imperial Dragons, Piranhas, Tempest, MAD NYC, Shogun) appeared to be completely outgunned after a tight 1.6 second victory over the Philly Men (1:16.2 vs. 1:17.8). In the 500 metre qualifier, DBW finished a full thirteen seconds behind the Philly Men (2:03.7 vs. 2:16.1).

Day 2

Many of T-Dot's paddlers came from Tempest and the Piranhas

Sunday saw the T-Dot Paddlers get off to a great start, narrowly nipping the Metro Athletic Dragons Mixed Crew by 0.2 seconds and coming a full 2.4 seconds ahead of the BA Hurricanes in a time of 2:10.1. This was preceded by a strong third place showing in the 250 metre final which saw the T-Dot Paddlers succumb to the effects of lane 1, which was flush to the walls of the shore. Dragon Boat World also lost its 250 metre final by five seconds despite racing side by side with Philly (1:12.8 vs. 1:17.7).

T-Dot finished third yet again in the 500 metre final, where the top three finishes were separated by 0.1 seconds between each placement. The race was reminiscent of the chariot scene in Ben Hur as our steersperson's refusal to move out of the way of the Philly Mixed crew made for paddles clashing each other and the Philly Mixed team stabbing at paddlers in our boat between strokes. Pushing and shoving ensued after the race and despite staying on the water longer to allow the situation to diffuse, one rather irate paddler from the Philly crew still wanted to continue arguing at the dock. With T-Dot, Philly and MAD occupying lanes 2, 3 and 4, Philly began the race by jumping ahead and cutting into MAD's lane. Their next move was to cut into T-Dot's lane and try to bump them out of the way. Despite the many voices from their boat which 'urged' us to move over, we did not allow them to commit another lane violation and that was essentially where the arguments began. They accused us of poorly trying to ride their wash and we paid the price, with cuts and scrapes, some of which were found on people's heads. This was not conduct begetting of a crew sanctioned to represent the United States at the World Championships, and it truly soured the festival experience. There was a clear tension in the air, and with the Philly Mixed crew having wrapped up the mixed division, it was time for them to take the 500 metre race.

Dragon Boat World pulls off a huge upset in the 500 metre final, edging out the US National Mens Dragon Boat Team

However, the Dragon Boat World Open Team, consisting of eighteen men and two women (one Imperial Dragon and one Shogun Warrior), did not quite see it that way. In the Open Final, the Philly Men shot off to a powerful start which gave them nearly a boat-length's lead, Dragon Boat World made its move under some intelligent steering by the Imperial Dragons' Jeff Bird. Dragon Boat World opened up its own near-boat length lead, and while the US Men's National Team made a valiant attempt to close the gap, it was not enough. The cheers and applause from the shore were deafening, and since the 500 metre race was the tiebreaker in the points standings, Dragon Boat World had taken the Open title. Humbled, the Philly Men quietly left the docks, while one member of the Philly team went around and congratulated the Canadian/American hybrid crew for a job well done.

At the awards ceremony, the T-Dot Paddlers were shocked to find out that despite their two third place finishes, they had finished in fourth place due to the point system. The BA Hurricanes had finished second overall with a 2nd place finish in the 250 metre race and a 6th in the 500 metre race, while MAD finished 5th in the 250 and 2nd in the 500. However, the MAD crew took us unexpectedly by giving us their 3rd place trophy and medals because they felt that we had been ripped off and they wanted to teach their younger paddlers a lesson in sportsmanship. The crew was completely taken aback and they refused to let us leave without the trophy.

MAD, Dragon Boat World, and the T-Dot Paddles pose for a gargantuan group shot

The events that took place during the festival took on the turbulent up-and-down quality of the Hudson's chaotic water, but our experience in the Big Apple was clearly a memorable experience that most crew members will not forget for a very long time.