The Blue Water Raiders Story

The Blue Water Raiders Dragon Boat Club was formed to promote

Dragon Boat Racing and Endurance Paddling in & around Port Lincoln

Blue Water Raiders, a group of men and women with a passion for dragon boating have achieved much since the formation of our club in 2004.

With the guidance of Dragonboat SA (DBSA) we have successfully formed a competitive racing club that also enjoys endurance paddling, social paddles and setting goals to achieve on and off the water.

With no other team locally to train with, we have established our own race course at the local marina and, armed with a stop watch, we practice with a determination to succeed and put Port Lincoln on the map in the field of dragon boating.

Six months from the inception of the club we entered our first competition - the Port Adelaide Pub Challenge, in which we won the Women’s Ten category.

Since that first taste of victory we have had mixed men’s and women’s teams successfully compete in the 2005, 2007 and 2008 Masters Games, winning gold and silver medals.

In September 2006 we travelled to Broome and entered the Broome Dragon Boat Regatta and, in extreme weather conditions, won the Broome Cup!  An event we would all like to compete in again (see photo in our gallery).

In June 2008 a team of nineteen traveled to Kununurra to paddle in the Ord River Marathon - fifty seven kilometres!  This is a paddle which we will remember for a long time (see photo in our gallery).

Regular competition with other dragon boat teams in Adelaide is restricted, but with younger competitors joining our team we are making the effort to compete at least once or twice a year at West Lakes, the racing venue for Dragonboat SA.  This is a great opportunity to test our training efforts as well as socialise with other clubs in dragon boating.

Our club members decide at the beginning of each season which events they would like to enter or work towards for the year and so far, the events have been wide and varied.

Between our usual training times we try to paddle at different locations in various bays and coastlines around Port Lincoln. We generally have fun on the water with endurance and adventure paddles enjoyed by everyone.

Fundraising has been a large part of Blue Water Raiders.  Our efforts have been very worthwhile and we now own two boat trailers, as well as our own dragon boat “Raiders Ark” affectionately called “Arky”. 

Our club promotes a team and family environment for paddlers, and we encourage members to paddle and participate when their time and family commitments allow.

We are a young club and are all still learning ourselves, but welcome you to join us on the journey of promoting dragon boating as a sport in Port Lincoln.

Are you interested in joining us?