The Annapolis Dragon Boat Club (ADBC) kicks off its season with a new launch site, at Pier 4 Marina in Eastport.
The group of dragon boat racers is made up of breast cancer and other cancer survivors and supporters. ADBC started in 2010, when breast cancer survivor and former McGarvey’s Saloon owner Mike Ashford learned that dragon boat racing could help breast cancer patients rehabilitate.
The team practices year-round, with fitness training through the winter and and a full racing schedule in the summer (Read More: Paddling to the Beat of a Shared Drum). They traveled all the way to Europe to compete last year, at the 2018 IBCPC Dragon Boat Festival in Florence, Italy. Their 2019 schedule takes them up and down the Mid-Atlantic, as well as to Toronto in September.
They hope to start practicing on the water by the end of April, depending on air and water temperatures.
The club is growing, and its new, prominent location on the Annapolis Harbor, gives the team room for even more success.
Annapolis Dragon Boat Cub Chair Louise Kirk calls the move a great new chapter for them:
““We are absolutely thrilled to be opening our season at Pier 4 Marina. We are a growing club, and Pier 4 offers us the chance to expand our operations and also continue to be a vibrant part of the fabric of Annapolis and Eastport,” says Kirk.
To find out more about ADBC, click here.
-Meg Walburn Viviano
