Dragon boat paddlers brave rough conditions on Manatee River

BRADENTON -- The water was rough Saturday on the Manatee River, but it wasn't harder than the illnesses many dragon boat paddlers have already overcome in life.

"It was the worst conditions, but we probably had the most fun we've ever had," said Denise Gardner.

Gardner, 60, was one of the newer paddlers on the Paddlers From Paradise, the AMI dragon boat team, but she said she gets an incredible, empowering feeling out on the water.

"It keeps me coming me back for more," Gardner said. "It's addicting."

Nine teams of paddlers competed in the third annual Bradenton Dragon Boat Festival racing in different classes on the Manatee River.

JoAnne Hampton, 46, was all smiles after competing with her team, Sarasota Survivors in Sync.

"It was a little scary. It was extremely wet, but was fun," Hampton said.

Hampton works with an organization called Breast

Investigators, which helps take the mystery out of breast cancer for those newly diagnosed.

"This is just another way of getting survivors together," she said referring to the competition.

The experience has been amazing, she said.

"It's people of all ages, from all walks of life, that I would never have encountered in my day-to-day life and have become some of my closest friends."

The Pan American Dragon Boat Association event features the ancient Chinese sport of dragon-boat racing, which involves paddlers sitting in a boat framed with the traditional decor of a dragon head and tail. It has rapidly been gaining in popularity locally.

For Gardner and fellow paddler, Gail Tromley, 63, the experience trumps everything they have ever been through.

"We come for our team. We come to enjoy," Gardner said.

It really didn't matter if they won, Tromley added.

"It's taxing and exhausting but we feel so validated," she said.

Kathleen Cabble, with Pan American Dragon Boat Association, was so proud of all the paddlers, she said.

"The conditions were rough," Cabble said. "The hardest part of the race was the start, getting all of the boats lined up because of the waves and wind, made it very difficult."

Cabble looked at the bright side.

"The highlight of the day was even with these rough conditions, all the paddlers stayed in the boat and no one capsized," Cabble said laughing. "And everyone had a good time."

Conditions did force the event to wrap up early without holding the 2,000-meter race.

One of the great things about dragon-boat racing, she said, is how respectful and helpful the paddlers are of each other.

"On the water, they are competitors," Cabble said. "Off the water, everyone is friend and genuinely care about each other."

Jessica De Leon, Herald law enforcement reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7049. You can follow her on Twitter @JDeLeon1012.

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 10:40 PM with the headline "Dragon boat paddlers brave rough conditions on Manatee River ."