Dragon Boat Race: Pulling Together!

BLUE sky, turquoise sea and a strong wind to add a little chop to the waves- perfect conditions for the annual Haari boat races in Maeganeku Fishing Port. The OIST teams had been practicing in an academic fashion over the previous couple of weeks and their devotion was rewarded when, in their heat, to general surprise the first OIST boat surged ahead from the starting gun.  A deep understanding of wave functions and dopamine paid off at the last turn as the OIST boat, the crew paddling like young Gods, shot out two boat lengths ahead of their rivals. A famous victory; but regretfully not amongst the six fastest times and so the team left the competition unbeaten but unqualified for the next round.

The second OIST boat adopted a different strategy to make their mark. By cleverly using an asynchronous paddling technique and gales of laughter they obliged the commentator to explain all about OIST to the very large crowd during the rather longer than usual time the boat needed to complete the course.  If not the fastest boat the second crew certainly had the most fun.

Many thanks to Maeganeku for organizing the event; congratulations to this year’s very impressive champions from Hotel Moon Beach; thank you to all spectators who turned up to support the OIST teams. A special cheer for Imamura san, Teruya san and Captain Doya for their hard work and enthusiasm in driving the OIST teams to their very distinguished participation.