Thank you so much to everyone who took part in and supported the Bristol Dragon Boat Festival 2016. Whether you cheered from the bank, baked (and ate) cakes, paddled in the crew, helped with arrangements, or sent us good vibes on the day it was a big team effort and a great event!

We have now finished fundraising and have raised £1100 towards the The Green House charity based in Bristol.

Our experience on the day

Our crew of 17 Row-bots and Drummer Row-bot, Rahim took to the water in three testing heats, racing crews from a whole host of Bristol businesses and charities on the 200m course.

Wind, rain and a wobbly boat but a respectable second place in race 1.

The Row-bots take stock and discuss technique.

A PB for the Row-bots in race 3!

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Race 1

We were nervous novices, shivering in the wind and rain, with a wobbly boat, but with the beginnings of power and technique. We came 2nd with a very respectable time of 68.84 seconds.

Race 2

We felt like we had a clear grasp of the challenge, we were more silver than ever and we knew what we needed to do to improve our time… unfortunately so did every other team. Luckily we had experienced Helm, Yorkshire Chris, who joined the crew for our second heat and his wise words, elemental philosophy and technical tips saw us through our windiest race. We came third but we did shave over a second off our time: 67.66 seconds, or so the judges thought - controversy reigns around this race - were The Row-bots in fact in 2^nd place and awarded the wrong finish time? Judges decision was final - but what do you think?

Race 3

Fired up by the injustice of the second heat (as well as lunch, sunshine and new cheerleaders), The Row-bots took to the water feeling confident and ready to prove that BPN won’t be beaten. We were slick(ish), synchronised (mostly) and downright speedy! In our best race - and potentially the wettest - we finished with our best time: 66.81 seconds and… in a solid 1st place.

A special mention to Edwina for arranging everything even though she couldn’t make the event! Rahim for competing in all three races, on the most precarious seat in the boat, your forceful shouts of “REEAAAACH!” pushed us to the win. And finally to go to Dean Boyce who summoned the entire Boyce family for the day!

Three tough races, continuous improvement and victory over our neighbours Smith & Williamson - sadly we hadn’t done quite enough to make it into the top six teams and the semi-final , but out of 34 teams, we were came a fantastic 13th!

To the serious stuff

If you haven’t already please donate to help us reach the £1000 target, we have a little while longer before we have to send our donations and it is for such a worthwhile cause; The Green House work with men women and children who have experienced rape or sexual abuse at any point in their lives. The charity supports the victims and their families. Our organisation works hard with schools every day to improve the opportunities for children and young people, but when something as devastating as sexual abuse interrupts a child’s development, schools aren’t equipped to provide the level of support needed - let’s help The Green House make sure that there is a safe place for free, expert counselling and recovery. Donate now.