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dozen dragon boat races played out on the water at River Dunes Grace Harbor Saturday. But in the overcast background, another race was going on, against the weather. The skies eventually did open on the 5th Annual Oriental Dragon Boat Festival but not until the final race of the day.

In one of the last races of the day, four boats clustered as they bore down on the finish line at River Dunes’ Grace Harbor.

Thirteen teams took part, five of them made up of military personnel – Marines and Navy for the most part. They placed first and second in the overall scoring.

Throughout the morning and early afternoon of the heats, it was easy to pick out which team crossed the finish line first. Paddles went in to the air, as happened in this race that the Salty Serpents team of Marines won.

Fran Deaton returned for another year of drumming for Deaton Yacht Service’s Draggin’ Tails team.

Among the civilian teams, four of them were Oriental based. Deaton’s Yacht Service team, the Draggin’ Tails placed the highest of the Oriental teams, coming in at 7th. In 9th place was Oriental Dragon Masters, who noted that their teams average age was 63. A year of weekly and twice-weekly practices showed in their synchronized paddling. Also representing Oriental were the Gnarly Dragons and the ever-spirited Team Shipwreck.

Oriental Dragon Masters – the back half of the crew – after winning their heat.

In one of the odder mergers, the Neuse Riverkeepers teamed up with a crew from Piggly Wiggly as neither had enough to fill the 21 seats — 20 paddlers and 1 drummer.

The returning champions, the Cherry Point-based Neuse Freedom Riders, clusters near the dock just before their final and decisive race. They were edged out by another Marine team, the Devil Dog Dragons.

This was the second year that organizers presented the Dragon Boat Festival at River Dunes and the secluded Grace Harbor gave paddlers a calmer course than they had in the first three years of the races on the Neuse River at Oriental’s waterfront.

The 2014 Oriental Dragon Boat champions, a team of Marines calling themselves the Devil Dog Dragons. Top award was a golden oar.

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Posted Tuesday August 12, 2014 by Melinda Penkava