Row, Row, Row Our Boat

Some 2000 years ago, Chinese statesman, warrior and poet Qu Yuan threw himself in the Mi Lo River as a last heroic act of protest against the tyrant government. His people rushed to their boats and tried to save him by beating their drums and throwing rice dumplings into the river to distract the fishes that might devour him but Qu Yuan still drowned.

Fast forward to the new millenium, the Dragon Boat Festival (Tuen Ng) was held every fifth day of the lunar month (June in the Gregorian calendar) to commerate the frantic search for the body of Qu Yuan.

In the Philippines particularly here at the Manila Bay (at the back of the Manila Yacht Club), dragon boat racing is fast becoming a popular sport and drawing a number of teams and enthusiasts alike. Laila a member of One Piece Dragon Sangres, one of the teams that compete in the Annual Dragon Boat regatta, has been very insistent that I should try out paddling as a guest in their women's team. For a while, I have been putting it off for a lot of reasons: foul smell of the Manila Bay, tight schedule and most of all, the activity itself is bawas ganda points (you'll get emusculated through too much sun exposure and physical exertion since to be good at it you need to practice everyday. Plus, you also need to be a strong swimmer, not just good swimmer, if you will be competing in open sea regatta.)

Probably it's the time of the month, a desire to be close to the sea or need to trim down my current body fat content all conspiring together so Laila did not exert much effort in dragging me and another newbie, Chiqui, to Manila Bay yesterday. We arrived at the Philippine Navy pier around 5 p.m. and after a brief orientation, we were led to the boat and I had to hold my breath (yes, good cardio) till we went closer to the breakwater walls of the Manila Yacht Club due to my morbid fear of inhaling microbes and further aggrevate my colds (yup, I'm a little bit crazy for going. :P).

Admittedly, it was not all that easy as it looks on TV. The rowing part needs to be properly coordinated and timed so you move smoothly and flawlessly in the water. The oar is a little bit heavier and trickier to manipulate in the water since the paddle is flat compared to the customized and tapered kayak oars. The movements are precise and more technical. With a minimum of 12 rowers in a dragon boat, teamwork is the key. You need to be really attentive on the movement particularly the lifting arm of the rower in front of you so you don't make a mistake and destroy the momentum of the team.

The fun though starts when you finally get the rhythm. It is when paddling becomes a joy, the smell of the Manila Bay starts its immunizing effect on you and the lull of the waves underneath the boat drowns away your stress. It leads you into a trancelike state until you paddle load home, see the murky water close to the pier, board off the boat, feel your saltish-tanned arms and ease your aching limbs through hot shower that you start questioning why you went in the first place.

But like most things unknown, the joy of knowing them pulls you back for more...