How to race with a dragon

HOW TO RACE WITH DRAGONS Over 2.000 years. dragon boats have changed very little. The main differences are in the wood used and decoration details. The way of making and racing a boat have changed little. DRAGON BOAT RACING TODAY In the 1970s. Hong Kong decided to stage an International Dragon Boat Festival and in 1976 the first Here are some steps in making a dragon boat the traditional way 10 Hong Kong International Races took place, an event recognized by dragon boaters worldwide as the start of THE modern era of ASSEMBLY 1. Select and link two straight, big cedar trunks as the bottom of the boat, usually called as the dragon backbone. dragon boat racing. It soon developed into an enormously successful annual festival, and dragon boat racing spread around the world. 2. Make and fix the "butterfly bottom"to the two sides of the backbone. 3. Curve the backbone to make it strearmilined. 4. Position the middle line to balance the butterfly bottom. Three major international dragon bóat associations 5. Install the flaps. The International Dragon Boat Federation 6. Install the upper board on the flaps. The European Dragon Boat Foundation 7. Make and install the crosspieces. Asian Dragon Boat Foundation. 8. Cut and install seat boards on the crosspieces. 9. Install long wooden board to fix and balance the boat body. The board, called the middle lath, is installed above the seats. The recent history of dragon boat making distinguished by the type of wood used to make the main body of the boat: Phase 1 Before 1911: Ge wood 10. Reinforce the middle lath and all the seats with bamboo slices imported from Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam Phase 2 From 1911- the end of 5 1990s: pine wood imported from the US Phase 3. Since 2000: cedar WOOD TREATMENT wood from Guizhou province, China 11. Fill all the gaps in the boat with a mixture of mu-oil (Vernicia montana seed ol) and ime. 12. Polish and sand the body to make it smooth. 13. Waterproof the body with coats of mu-oil The division of the races straight-line race, from 250 meters to 1 km, 5 krm, 10 km, 20 km 11 12 13 China 50 million participants 90,000 in Canada and the US 300,000 in the UK and Europe ORNAMENTS AND TEAM Each boat has an ornately carved dragon's head at the bow and a tail at the stern. A classic dragon has the head of an ax; a deer's antlers: the mane of a horse; the body and scales of a snake: the claws of an eagle and the tail of a fish. The Dragon Boat (Long Zhou) is defined within the Competition Regulations as a long displacement boat of an open design, that is based upon a ribless carvel form of hull construction, with the following distinguishing characteristics; no stems, hard chinebilge: W in cross section, minimum freeboard, punt-like entry and exit The tail shaft is made of white chinkapin log. Steerer or Helm/Sweep. The crew Drummer. The crew member whose task is to beat a drum on board the dragon baat. Paddlers. Crew members who power the boat with single-bladed paddles. member who steers the boat with the steering oar or paddle. The paddles syrrbolically represent the claws. 13 Carve the head of a dragon from camphor wood The hull is painted with dragon scales. The keel is set between twin rail boards which together form curved, sheer lines and upswept extreml ties. The boat is guided (steered) with a long steering aar held in place by thole pins at the rear of the boat or with a large paddle. GILLERMO MUNRO AND ZHANG YUCHEN / CHINA DAILY Sources: International Dragon Boat Federation, Chinu Daly