By the middle of the summer, the Robusters realized that our dragon boat would have to be retired. The fiberglass hull had developed a leak and the boat was waterlogged and unstable. Because it couldn’t be repaired, it had to be replaced. That created a problem, because the boat we wanted to buy (made in Canada) had a two year waiting list.
We were saved by our dragon boat friends in Cranbrook, whose breast cancer team was no longer paddling. They had been fortunate enough to have a boat donated by a famous citizen, well known for community support, and they were happy to pay the favour forward to the Robusters. They even helped transfer the boat from their trailer to ours, so we could bring it back to the dragon’s den on Christina Lake. Now we have a sturdy boat to paddle and our old boat is heading for a new life in a garden near the lake. 