August 2016 - Pink Snapdragons

Pink Bits & Titbits
Dragons Abreast Redcliffe Newsletter
Pinkies out and about
Flowers on the water
Our founding member, Jayne Coe, lost her battle and joined our other Angels on 16 th March 2016. On Sunday
the 15th May 2016 Jayne Coe’s family and friends gathered to conduct a Flowers on the Water ceremony and
celebrate her extraordinary life on what would have been her 59th birthday.
Remembering Jayne and celebrating her life.
Everything she was…singer, hiker, paddler, friend, daughter, sister, wife.
She motivated others and made a difference wherever she went, her enthusiasm and zest for life was
exceptionally well spent.
She gave us her friendship, our team and each other.
Always there to lend a hand, nothing was a bother.
We all have our memories of Jayne and her vibrant smiling face,
as she marched through life head on with her never ending grace.
Many words have been used to describe her and her achievements.
Steven said she was an angel, well, she was definitely heaven sent.
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Pink Bits & Titbits
Dragons Abreast Redcliffe Newsletter
Pink Dragons in Venice
Recently Jill Aplin and I attended the 3rd Venice Dragon Boat Festival and the 42nd Vogalonga in Venice Italy.
The 3rd Venice Dragon Boat Festival involved a parade on Friday 13th May followed by racing on Saturday 14th
May. Ten teams from around the world participated in the festival, including teams from Dubai, UK, USA, France,
Italy and of course Australia.
On Friday the 13th (if it wasn’t for the Spritz I am sure the alarm bells would have sounded) the teams who were
registered for the festival were invited to partake in the ‘parade’. This involved a hair-raising introduction to dragon
boat paddling on the Grand Canal in Venice during peak hour chaos. The DownUnder Dragons are a composite
team from around Australia and this was our first time paddling together. Thankfully our sweep kept her wits
about her and skillfully navigated us through enormous wakes from speeding water taxis & ferries while
managing to avoid actual vessels themselves. All of this while having an exceptionally rowdy crew who were
making as much noise as they could. Aussie, Aussie Aussie – Oi, Oi. Oi!
Saturday the 14th saw the DownUnder Dragons partake in the regatta, but only in the Social 200m sprint which
we won convincingly with the best time of the day. In hindsight most of use wished we had entered into more
races as we proved to be quite competitive, however, we saved ourselves for the Vogalonga.
Monday and it was time for this load of Aussies to do a Pub Crawl, Venice style…………OMG who knew paddling
could be such fun! We had a blast paddling around the canals, stopping here and there for drinks. Sometimes
getting out of the boat and other times having the drinks delivered. If our capacity for drinking and having a good
time left any doubt with the locals as to whom we were, we soon let them know.
Aussie, Aussie Aussie – Oi, Oi. Oi!
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Pink Bits & Titbits
Dragons Abreast Redcliffe Newsletter
Sunday – Vogalonga day. We made our way up the Grand Canal to the starting point at opposite San Marco
and joined the masses. There was all manner of water craft on display and it was a feast for the senses with
1,800 craft and about 4,000 crew creating a riot of colour. The sun was shining and the excitement was building
as we waited patiently for the start. At 9am the church bells started ringing followed by the boom of canon fire
and the 42nd Vogalonga was underway.
The course was 30km long and involved a run up to and around Burano which is famous for its brightly coloured
houses and handmade lace, then down to and through Murano Island which is famous for hand blown glass and
finishing in the Grand Canal opposite San Marco. With 1,800 craft on the water the start was quite congested
but once out into the lagoon there was more space and we could relax into our paddle. Some of the corners
around the islands resulted in spectacular traffic jams with boats and paddles all over the place. These however
paled into insignificance as in the final leg of the race involved cramming those 1,800 craft down the very narrow
canale di Cannereggio! Still – so much fun!
To honour Jayne Coe, Jill and I wore our Pink Snapdragons uniforms. We had a Flowers on the Water ceremony
just off Burano Island and sang the Pink Snapdragons song as we paddled back down the Grand Canal.
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Pink Bits & Titbits
Dragons Abreast Redcliffe Newsletter
Jetty-2-Jetty
On Sunday the 17th July the Pinkies were up bright and early to man a Jetty-2-Jetty water station and cheer on the
runners. We were very excited to see our fellow paddlers Kay Roper and Paul Hogg – well done to both of them.
Trivia Night
On Friday 22nd July the Redcliffe Coast Guard held a Trivia Night at the Redcliffe RSL to raise much needed
funds. So in the pursuit of knowledge and having a good time (not necessarily in that order) sixteen of our
members went along for a fun filled evening. We made up two tables with one table of Trivia Buffs coming in 6 th
place overall and the other table of Trivia Buffoons coming in last!
Pink Snapdragons AGM
On Saturday 25th June the Pink Snapdragons held the Annual General Meeting with a new committee being
voted in for the 2016/2017 year as follows:
President:
Maureen Hyde
(advised that she could only accept
the position until May 2017)
Vice President:
Christine Law
Secretary:
Rosetta Lynis
Team Manager:
Lyn Grigg
New Members Liaison:
Uniforms:
Fran Heales
Treasurer:
Eva Anna-Marie
Events/Fundraising: Calling for nominations
Web/IT/Newsletters:
Committee Members:
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Sarah Firman
Wendy Weeks
Karen Hitchcock, Barbara
Flynn, Karen Rolfe and
Anne Matthysen
Pink Bits & Titbits
Dragons Abreast Redcliffe Newsletter
Kawana
DAA National Regatta – notes from a “virgin” paddler!
I have only one word to describe this whole experience –SPECTACULAR!
After just 3 months of training I couldn’t believe that here I was, competing as part of a team of fabulous women
at such an awesome event. It was a bit surreal at first, but then I & the other “virgins” settled in to enjoy the
atmosphere, camaraderie & “pinkness”! So much inspiration, colour & laughter in one place.
Nerves were soon overcome once we started the 2km race, putting into practice everything learned in training –
the sweat & toil of our Saturday morning 2km paddles out in the bay paid off, with a great result! Isn’t it amazing
how adrenalin, competitiveness & team-work can make you rise above the pain & exhaustion when you’re
paddling against fierce competition?
The 200m races were a frenzy of flying paddles & water – excitement plus! And passing the finish line each time
to the sound of cheers & roars just makes you feel proud & on top of the world – no wonder this sport is so
addictive!
The atmosphere, love & friendship & “togetherness” of the Pinkies, and being in the presence of other likeminded teams was unimaginable; something that I will always cherish. I couldn’t think of a better initiation.
The whole event & gala dinner was extremely well-organised, & everyone involved deserves a special thankyou, in particular the volunteers which included some of our very own.
Ann Matthysen
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Pink Bits & Titbits
Dragons Abreast Redcliffe Newsletter
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Pink Bits & Titbits
Dragons Abreast Redcliffe Newsletter
Tin Can Bay
The weekend of 9th & 10th July found us back at Tin Can Bay for the annual Cooloola Regatta.
The increasingly popular Diamond Dash was held on Saturday afternoon with 16 teams registered including 2
teams from Redcliffe.
The Redcliffe A team took out the fastest times of the day. It just goes to show that all the hard work and
dedication with trialling different combinations of paddling styles paid off. Congratulations and Well Done!
The Redcliffe B team was predominantly made up of Pink paddlers with a couple of virgin paddlers in the mix
and adeptly swept by Doug. This was the only all-female team in the Diamond Dash and we came in at a very
respectable 8th place overall. What an amazing feat.
We broke with tradition this year by renting out quite a few local houses. Saturday night found most of the
Redcliffe paddlers at a BBQ at the OarSome house. There was lots of good food and good conversation. As the
evening wore on and the good wine flowed freely so too did the good jokes – albeit, subjectively.
Sunday saw us up at the crack of dawn and back at the regatta sits. Lyn Stainlay sent a replacement paddler
this year (see photo below). Pinky Parton made quite a statement. The weather was perfect and in the warmth
of the sunshine and close knit friends, we cheered on our teams.
Quite a few Pinkies paddled in the sports team as well as the pink challenge race. This is a great way to really
be able to appreciate the effort that goes into all of our training to be able to have the stamina to paddle both.
We won our first two pink races with great times but go pipped at the post by the lovely ladies of the Sea Serpents.
Still, there is always next year to win it back and or have fun trying.
Jill Aplin.
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Pink Bits & Titbits
Dragons Abreast Redcliffe Newsletter
Upcoming Events
Date
Day
13th August
Saturday 10am Snapdragons Meeting
15th October
Saturday 10am Snapdragons Meeting General
21st January
Saturday 10am Snapdragons Meeting General
22nd April
Saturday 10am Snapdragons Meeting General
2016
2017
Time
Team
Event
Description
Planning for
Florence
Location
Jill Aplin’s house 161 Mein St
Scarborough
Redcliffe RSL Peacekeepers
Room
Redcliffe RSL Peacekeepers
Room
Redcliffe RSL Peacekeepers
Room
Annual
Redcliffe RSL Peacekeepers
24 June
Saturday 10am Snapdragons Meeting General
Room
Meeting
For a full list of all upcoming events please see the calendar on our Website
http://pinksnapdragons.com/page4.htm
th
2018 IBCPC Participatory Dragon Boat Festival, Florence Italy
Time to get excited. The Redcliffe Pink Snapdragons will be attending the 2018 IBCPC Dragon Boat Festival
in Florence Italy. A Florence Regatta committee will be established to manage the fundraising and event
arrangements.
Our Sponsors
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