CAPE CORAL, Fla. — On Tuesday morning, The Cape Coral Dragon Boat Club launched out of the Burnt Store Boat Ramp.
Teammates like Neil Price told Fox 4 that while dragons may be fiction, the intensity of this sport...is fact!
“The thing about dragon boating is it's not the physical power of the individual...its the coordination and the synchronization of the team,” said Price.
Dragon boats are exactly that, a long and skinny boat decked out with Chinese dragon heads and tails, with teammates rowing to the sound of a drum.
Inside are 20 paddlers per boat.
The Cape Coral Dragon Boat Club started as the Charlotte Harbor Paddlers in 2006 but now calls Cape Coral home.
Price told Fox 4's Cape Coral Community Correspondent Colton Chavez, with an average age of 68, his club qualified for the World Crew Club Championship in France for 2020.
Carollynn Higley was part of the team in 2020 and credits her teammates for helping pull her to the surface when her life's challenges got a little too deep.
“Two years ago I had a major health issue and had to be off the boat for a whole year I am now back paddling… with one lung. People that aren’t whole can do this as well,” said Higley.
Price said Dragon Boating is a sport that can be pursued by anyone, of all abilities and at every level of competition.
George Gershowitz coaches the team and said his 20 dragon boat racers are now preparing for the Sarasota International Dragon Boat Festival in April.
“ I can't think of another sport that has 20 people like that who have to do exactly the same thing at once,” said Gershowitz.
The Cape Coral Dragon Boat Club says they are always looking for more people to join the team.
