Someone has been retying the ropes on our boats! This may be a well-meaning gesture, but the way the ropes are being retied could cause damage to the boats.

Over the past few weeks we have seen ropes retied so tight that they get under the stringer boards, pulling out screws and damaging the seat tops as pictured below:

We have also seen ropes retied to the foot braces which are very fragile and may break if a rope tied to them is pulled on:

The ropes are tied loosely around the stringers at the front and rear of the boats using a bowline knot to 1) not tug on any of the fragile parts of our boats when tied to the dock and 2) allow us to tow the boats to and from Willamette Park when we rotate our fleet. This is what they should look like:

Please, please, please do not retie these ropes in the manner shown in the first two pictures above. If a rope comes loose or is missing, retie it as best as you can as shown in the third picture and notify the maintenance hotline (via text of voice message) at (503) 479-5577 as to which boat / end may need further attention. Also, if you witness anyone retying our ropes, please ask them to stop (if you are comfortable doing so) and report the details to the maintenance hotline as well.

Thank you!

DragonSports is going to be conducting joint introductory steer training for the outrigger canoes and dragon boats. We'll be doing a classroom portion, which is the first step in learning to steer, at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, August 9th. The class should last about an hour and a half.
 
The class will be at PBS Environmental + Engineering, at 4343 SW Corbett, Portland, OR.
 
The materials for this class are available FREE online at our website; you will need to print them and bring them with you to the classroom.
 
Outrigger handbook is here. 
Dragon Boat handbook is here.
 
Please email Burton at steering@dragonsports.org to RSVP your attendance and/or if you have any questions.  Please include your team name and if you're interested in dragon boat steering, outrigger steering, or both.

We look forward to training you and getting everyone on the water! ​

Last call to register! Pacific Dragon Boat Association is pleased to provide you with the following training opportunity:

USDBF Race Officials Training Class
Date: Saturday August 5th, 2017
Time: 9am-4pm
Location: Beaverton, OR
Cost: $50
Instructor: Dr. Joel Shilling

This is the first step towards becoming certified as a United States Dragon Boat Federation Race Official. Once you have completed the class you will need to log hours at each of four stations.  See the USDBF website for more details.

To register for the class, please complete and email the Registration Form to Diane McCabe and forward payment to:

Diane McCabe
Treasurer, PDBAUSA
607 30th Street
Hermosa Beach
CA 90254-2212

If you have questions, please email president@pdbausa.org.  

​Note: it would be beneficial even if you aren't interested in becoming an official, but just becoming more familiar with the IDBF Rules and Regulations.

​Please join the OWLS (Oregon Women Lawyers) Dragonflies for their 7th Annual Fundraiser at the Lucky Labrador Quimby Beer Hall on Saturday, June 3, 2017 beginning at 4:00 p.m. Silent auction, wine ring-toss game, and more! Click here for more information or email info@owlsdragonflies.org.

Mark your calendars! 

DragonSports is going to be conducting joint introductory steer training for the outrigger canoes and dragon boats. We'll be doing a classroom portion, which is the first step in learning to steer, at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, May 31st. The class should last about an hour and a half.
 
The class will be at PBS Environmental + Engineering, at 4343 SW Corbett, Portland, OR.
 
The materials for this class are available FREE online at our website; you will need to print them and bring them with you to the classroom.
 
Outrigger handbook is here. 
Dragon Boat handbook is here.
 
Please email Burton at steering@dragonsports.org to RSVP your attendance and/or if you have any questions.  Please include your team name and if you're interested in dragon boat steering, outrigger steering, or both.

We look forward to training you and getting everyone on the water! ​

The Ross Island Bridge Rehabilitation Project is underway and during the past week, crews have been installing a new work platform on the west side of the river. We have been asked to steer clear of this area, especially while workers are present. It may make the most sense for teams to cross the river and avoid this area altogether. Please use your best judgment!

We understand that, as the water level recedes, the contractor will be bringing in a barge to lift additional work platforms into place and there will be additional restrictions in this area. We will keep you posted or you may check the project webpage for details.

At last nights meeting, the DragonSports Board voted to update our Safety Rules & Guidelines to give more specific guidance on the number of paddlers required at various stream velocities. The new guidelines read:

​Please contact board@dragonsports.org with any questions or concerns.

This past weekend, a number of teams had to cancel practice on the docks because of swift current and debris. While we can't always know what the debris situation is going to look like until we get down there, we can almost always look up the stream flow online.

Our informal guidelines are to cancel all practices when the Willamette is moving at more than 3 fps. The usual link we point you to hasn't been reporting data for the past few days for some reason, but there is another way to look up this information and even receive email alerts when the stream velocity exceeds a certain rate (we use 2.75 fps).

Go to USGS WaterAlert page and click on the station that looks like it's in downtown Portland (should read "WILLAMETTE RIVER AT PORTLAND, OR"). Click on "Subscribe to WaterAlert" and we recommend setting it for daily notifications the stream velocity exceeds 2.75 as pictured in this screen shot.

A few DragonSports members are exploring the possibility of putting together a
tour to China (complete with participating in a dragon boat race or two) in the coming year.

Please complete the following form or contact Don Boje if you are interested.
​

​Join DragonSports USA for our Annual Meeting & Dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory on Thursday, February 23 starting at 6:00 p.m. 

We'll provide a brief but informative update on the status of our organization, but this is mainly a social event for our members. We will also be giving away lots of fabulous paddling-related DOOR PRIZES!

For only $10, you’ll have a choice of 3 pastas (with Marinara sauce, Red Meat sauce or Mizithra Cheese), salad, bread, and your choice of coffee, hot tea, ice tea or milk. Dinner is topped off by Old Spaghetti Factory’s classic spumoni ice cream. (Specialty drinks, wine, beer or cocktails are also available on a no-host basis.)

Space is limited to 90 people. Click here to sign up to reserve your spot. You may pay when you RSVP (preferred) or at the door.