Event: Exeter Dragon Boat Festival

Catherine Hurcombe soaks up the atmosphere at this popular charity fundraising event

To round off the June Boom celebrations, I headed down to Exeter Quay to watch the annual Dragon Boat Festival. This charity fundraiser, organized by Devon Air Ambulance, invites novice rowers to take to the water and race alongside teams from across the region. This year’s competitors included teams from Sidmouth Running Club, Burnham-on-Sea Gig Rowing Club, and Teign Trees and Landscapes (with the phenomenal team name, Smells Like Teign Spirit!) amongst many others.

Despite there being a little less sunshine than predicted, there was an air of excitement to the day, and from 10am, crowds were already gathering to watch the races and share their support. Each team competed in heats throughout the day, facing off against one another in 200m sprints along the river.

Go with the flow: the Annual Dragon Boat festival at Exeter Quay. Photos by Catherine Hurcombe

It was an impressive event to watch: each boat sat more than a dozen rowers, led by a drummer beating out the rhythm from behind the dragon figurehead. With commentary – and a dramatic soundtrack – from the watching judges, it was easy to get caught up in the excitement and start rooting for your favourite teams, even having never seen dragon boating before.

Perhaps the highlight of the day was seeing just how many people took part. Teams came with plenty of supporters in tow, and visitors to the quay flocked to local cafés where they could watch the festival proceedings. At the nearby Piazza Terracina, Devon Air Ambulance showcased more details of their work, and one stall even offered face painting for the event’s younger attendees!

Unfortunately, I couldn’t stick around for the final race, but all the competitors did a fantastic job, and brought a smile to everyone’s faces in their support of local charities.