Dec 2013 Issue - the Aberdeen Boat Club

Buzz dragon boat reportPreseason Training:“Just when I thought I was out …”The ABC teamBy Sebastian BitticksThe months between October and February are quiet forHong Kong’s dragon boaters. But as with everything indragon boating, when the season does start, it startsfast – POM – like a booming strike of the drum, or a franticblare of the race whistle, or with a mighty, collective heave asthousands around the territory give vent to the same thoughtat the same instant: break the paddle!!!So it’s only quiet until you start to think about it. Then youcan feel the drumming begin in your chest, and you know theseason is coming.I can feel it, despite being dug deep in my seasonal holidayaway from the sporting life (quality time with my belly is morelike it). But for my dragon boat teammates at Buzz, based atthe ABC, and for any of the generations-old fishermen teamswe have the rare privilege of paddling against in the flurryof the full season, these are the months that matter. Duringthese months, the serious dragon boat teams get down to thereal business of the sport: perfection.As with anything difficult, at a distance dragon boatinglooks ludicrously straightforward. But in a sport that isroutinely won and lost by a fraction of a second, every strokeof every paddle counts. For a club, this can be a challenge.“For a paddler, the chance topursue personal perfection, tohone your skill and strength toits peak, is deeply gratifying.”It’s your chance to find perfection.It’s also painful. To dragon-boat well, you must pushyourself, often until your arms and eyes are burning fromsaltwater and exhaustion. And yet many of my favouritememories of Buzz are not of the sun-soaked days spentbattling towards the beach against some of Asia’s very bestteams. They are of the dark, difficult, night-time sessionswhere I learned to bend that inch lower, pull a little harder, orsimply refused to give in and call it quits.Which is why this preseason you’ll see us Buzzians out there,as ever, doing jumping jacks in the car park and heave-ho’ingthrough the harbour: we’re addicted to perfection, in these small,hard-won doses. It can catch you quickly. Coach Henry Au-yeungtold me that already some of our rookies have caught the bug,and are on their way to becoming great paddlers.I kind of wish I hadn’t talked to the coach, though. I wasfeeling pretty good about my off-season rut (and gut). Now, likesomething primal, my body begins to remember its training. Ican remember the weight of the paddle in my hand, the waya wave breaks when I snap it back, the heat in my leg and itspreading across my back. And then there is the feeling ofclimbing out of the boat for the night, exhausted, but flush withthe knowledge that you went further tonight than ever. Howcan I describe it? It feels close to perfection.Sebastian Bitticks is starting hisfourth season on Buzz, sooner thanexpected it seems.Erdinger DunkelAlc. 5.3% by volume$42 per bottleThe world’s most popular wheat beer.Delightfully spicy with a hint ofchocolate. The light, sweet, malty baseis overlaid with warming spices, almondsand a gently tart fruit flavour.Erdinger Dunkel’s traditional bottlefermentation gives it a harmonicand sparkling champagne-like taste.With no preservatives, additives orpasteurisation, Erdinger Dunkel is anatural choice.Beer of the MonthAberdeen Boat Club 香 港 仔 遊 艇 會P.18