Enter the Dragon.
One of the gnarliest races in Asia, welcome to the Hong Kong Dragon Run.
If you haven’t visited Hong Kong, you need to put it on your life list of places to go. With the summer of 2019 being a time of great divide in the city, many tourists have decided to stay away. Unfortunate as this current situation is, it does not take away the fact that Hong Kong is one of the greatest destination cities in the world when it comes to food, culture, shopping and most importantly outdoor activities. From land to sea, Hong Kong has got it all.
“Be like water”, a fitting statement from Bruce Lee that applies to water athletes. Paddlers from around the world, now living as expatriates, and locals, have worked hand in hand to grow the water sports community. Hong Kong is an amazing place to paddle with tons of conditions to challenge yourself and plenty of events running almost the entire year. From great community events such as “Paddle For The Planet”, an environmental awareness cause, to the Victoria Recreational Club’s Race Series, that runs all summer for OC and Surfski paddlers, to Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s annual ATIR, an international invite 40km OC6 change race around Hong Kong Island. We haven’t even talked about Dragon Boat festivals which are the largest attraction.
However, amongst the top marque events Hong Kong has to offer, one of the best, bar none, is the Steelecase Hong Kong Dragon Run.
Established in 2008, The Hong Kong Dragon Run is a premier World Surfski Series event. The spectacular 24km paddling course from Clearwater Bay Beach to Stanley is a recognized and respected world-class challenge, attracting paddlers from around the world
Outrigger Canoe has become part of the race and this year, one of the most exciting battles took place between two of the world’s greats, Tupuria King and Karel Tresnak Jr. They battled for the covenant title of 2019 OC1 Dragon Run Champion. We sat down with Tupu to get more insight into what really happened on the water.
Tell us about your experience at this year’s Dragon Run.
The Dragon Run race in Hong Kong was an awesome experience. It was awesome to be back for a second year, and to take the win over Karel was a cherry on top. Since August, I have been out of the single craft and mainly focused on six man paddling which made it difficult to find a good feeling in the single craft. After a pretty good season from Karel in Hawaii, and performance at the Gorge race, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, especially if there was a big surf. Turns out the weather put it on for us and the surf was pretty decent. It was similar to last year just not quite as crazy. Soon into the race, I realized that Karel was in pretty decent shape as we were neck to neck all the way out to the ninepins. When we entered the big surf on the downwind piece Karel pulled in front and really showed me his skill on the big swells.
I didn’t gain good control of my canoe until towards the end of the downwind piece. When I did, I found that when I relaxed and paddled smoother I went faster and that’s when I managed to connect some of the bigger swells and catch up to Karel. Then from there it was pretty much a neck to neck battle to the finish.
What do you think about the Hong Kong paddling scene?
The paddling community in Hong Kong is awesome. They are so eager to learn which makes delivering coaching clinics there so valuable. It’s also great to experience Hong Kong and the culture that it holds. Great food, great people, and great experiences equal a good time. I’ll definitely be coming back next year.
With an amazing OC1 race, this year’s Dragon Run gathered the most amount of professional paddlers to date, producing a very exciting event for all. Talis Crew sat down with Bruce Seymour, waterman and DR organizers, to learn more.
Please tell us who you are and about the Dragon Run event.
My name is Bruce Seymour, and I’ve been a member of the Dragon Run organizing committee for approximately 8 years now, the last 4 as Race Director. The Dragon Run is a challenging ocean race which was started in 2007 by a group of expatriate surfski paddlers. The race started as an exclusively surfski race however we are delighted to report that in 2019 the Dragon Run participation was 50/50 between surfski and outrigger paddlers. The course starts in the Clearwater Bay Marina (previous start location was off Clearwater Bay Beach) and heads straight out into a technical 5km 1st stage out to the 9-Pins islands. The course then turns downwind for 11km, and culminates in another technical stretch, from the famous Kissing Wales, into the finish line at Stanley Main Beach. The total distance is 21km.
How was the turn out for 2019?
The turnout for 2019 was the best ever with the men’s and women’s gold, silver and bronze medalists from the recent ICF Ocean Racing World Championships, all in attendance. We were fortunate to also welcome back our defending women’s and men’s outrigger champions, as well as 5 time champion, Karel Tresnak Jr.
What were your thoughts about the ski race and the OC race this year.
2019 will go down as one of the most competitive ever both in the ski and OC divisions. Cory Hill seems to thrive in the Dragon Run conditions and 1st timer, Danielle McKenzie showed that she is a new force to be reckoned with in women’s ocean paddling. Tupuria King and Karel Tresnak had an epic battle with Tupu’s strength in the flat giving him the edge in the last few kilometres. Unfortunately, our women’s OC1 leaders who were locked in another titanic battle, drifted off course and ended up not completing the race.
Any words for the paddle community?
The Dragon Run is an iconic race and definitely one which should be on every ocean paddlers bucket list. The entire experience, both on and off the water is unique and special and will challenge even the best amongst us. While we would never intentionally exclude anyone from racing, the Dragon Run is not suitable for inexperienced ocean paddlers who will need to prove their competency before gaining entry. Race date for 2020 is Saturday November 14th.
For more information about the Steelecase Dragon Run, please visit their website at http://hongkongdragonrun.com.hk
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