My race day July 6, 2012

The premier women division, which Huge is in, had 24 teams competing in the 200 meter races Friday. Race times today were determined by how the team placed in the first set of heats. There are 8 boats per heat, so it takes 3 heats to get initial times for each team.

The team  warmed up in the beer garden for their second heat at 12:30. I think they should have danced to warm up for the heat! 

Huge raced 4 times today. The last 3 heats were close together. No time for breaks of any kind, which meant limited water and no rest rooms for about 5 hours. If a team member is not present when it's time to go, the boat goes without them. The team put in a huge(!) effort in a short time. They made the minor final and finished in the middle of the field. 

The major final ran right after that. One boat ran into two others in that race, meaning that 3 of them did not finish that race.

A few notes from the day:

Saw a boat run over another this afternoon. Took both teams by surprise and capsized one boat. There were plenty of chase boats to pull the spilled team out of the harbor. Another boat hooked on the capsized dragon boat and pulled it in.
The regulation on these races is tight and they run close to schedule. When they run late there is good reason for it and they work to get back on schedule.
Some of the competitors are very muscular. Well, they're all muscular, but some teams are over the top. I watched one German guy rapidly windmilling his forearm at the elbow. I've never seen that before. It's OK, I dodged him and, as far as I know, everyone else did too.
There are fans set up along the viewing area, connected with tubs of water to spray droplets on the spectators. Fans good. Light rain better.

Tonight we went out to dinner at a splurge meal on the promenade on Victoria Harbor at Wooloomooloo Steakhouse.

Tomorrow is a free day, our last such in HK. Huge will race again on Sunday for 500 meters, which their usual race distance.