Dragons Abreast Central Coast

08/11/2026

🐉🩷 ALL HANDS ON DECK!

A lovely finish takes a lot of elbow grease! 💪

Today saw our Dragons Abreast Central Coast crew swap paddles for sandpaper as we kicked off Stage 1 of varnish restoring our much-loved dragon boat, New Spirit!

First challenge — the great shed shuffle!

Getting New Spirit into the Dragons Den was an operation in itself! Under the guidance of Andy and Belle from Central Coast Dragon Boat Club, everything else had to come out before we could carefully manoeuvre her inside. Talk about a tight squeeze — she practically took over the entire shed!

Then came the real work. Roll up those sleeves! 💪

Off with the old varnish! Plenty of elbow grease, lots of hands-on sanding, and a progression through the sandpaper grades — starting with coarse 120-grit, moving to finer 240-grit and eventually 400-grit for that smooth finish.

Thankfully, Ann Holland's husband David came armed with an electric sander, while Cameron, Anne Norgrove's husband, an experienced boat owner and engineer, was on hand to share his expertise and oversee operations.

Then there's the careful masking to protect New Spirit's beautiful decorative artwork before the varnishing begins. 🎨

Next up? Depending on everyone's availability over the next week and a half, we're aiming to apply up to six coats of marine varnish to get those timber gunwales looking shipshape again.

And judging by today's efforts, there's certainly no shortage of elbow grease or teamwork!

A huge effort from everyone who turned up, including The 3 Ann(e)s - Annie Fahey, Ann Holland, Anne Norgrove and Janice Kennedy - who lent a hand, shifted equipment, sanded, organised and helped get this project underway. 🩷

05/11/2026

💚 EXCITING NEWS FOR CENTRAL COAST CANCER SURVIVORS! 💚

Something wonderful is coming our way!

Life Force Cancer Foundation is expanding its cancer support services into the Central Coast and Lower Hunter, with a new regional team preparing to deliver programs in 2027.

🌿 So, what is Life Force?

Since 1993, Life Force is a small but powerful cancer charity has been helping people affected by cancer with something that goes beyond medical treatment.

Because cancer isn't just physical. It can bring grief, trauma, loss and enormous emotional upheaval, both for those diagnosed and the people who love them.

Life Force provides a safe, caring space to explore the emotional, psychological and spiritual side of living with cancer.

🌸 And the exciting bit?

Two FREE restorative retreats are already planned for our region in 2027!

More details will follow as the new team gets established.

💚 What a wonderful new resource to have coming to our community!

Find out more at https://lifeforce.org.au or follow Life Force Cancer Foundation on Facebook or Instagram for updates.

02/11/2026

🐉🎃 FROM FRANCE TO MIAMI — THE DRAGON BOAT CONNECTION! 🇫🇷🇺🇸

What a brilliant idea from Team SOS Miami!

For their Halloween paddle, members dressed in jerseys swapped with international teams at the IBCPC Festival in France — including one from a composite team connected with our Dragons Abreast Central Coast paddlers! 💕

Just goes to show, the friendships and connections made through dragon boating don't end when the festival does.

Different countries, different crews, one big international paddling community! 🌎🐉💗

Halloween paddle and social- members of the team dressed up as other teams. Shout out to the teams that traded jerseys with us at the IBCPC! Dragons Abreast Central Coast,AEDB Mollitian(Spain composite), Lagan Dragons,Dragons Abreast Brisbane - Missabittatitti, Alas de Aqua-Argentina, Pink Warriors Panamá, West Island Dragons-Quebec, Dragons Abreast Sunshine Coast, SOS(Survivors on Shortt’s Lake- Nova Scotia, Meninas Lua Flor. 🐉🛶💪🥰

31/10/2026

🎃🌭 BUNNINGS, BANGERS & BOO👻-TIFUL DRAGONS! 🐉💗

Our Dragons Abreast Central Coast ladies are busy sizzling snags at Bunnings Lake Haven today, raising funds to restore our much-loved dragon boat, New Spirit! 🐉

Plenty of smiles, sizzling sausages and great teamwork!

A special shout-out to Debbie, Pam's next-door neighbour, who's generously jumped in to help on the BBQ. What a legend! 💗

And we've already received $75 in donations! Thanks to everyone who's chipped in!

We're here until 3:30pm, so come grab a snag and say hello! 🌭

30/10/2026

🧅 MEET THE STANKY SISTERS!😂

That's what Cameron christened our hard-working dragon ladies after they tackled a whopping 20 kg of onions in preparation for tomorrow's Bunning's Halloween sausage sizzle!

📍 Bunnings Lake Haven — Saturday, 8am–3:30pm

Come grab a snag and make all those tears worthwhile!

30/10/2026

There's something in the water…

And on Friday afternoons, it's usually a boatload of fabulous dragons!

29/10/2026

🎃🐉 A SPOOKTACULAR SAUSAGE SIZZLE! 👻🌭

Our Dragons Abreast Central Coast crew are swapping paddles for tongs this Halloween! 🏴‍☠️🔥

Come down to Bunnings Lake Haven this Saturday, 31 October, and grab a sausage sanga for a great cause!

We're raising funds to help restore our much-loved 16-year-old dragon boat, New Spirit, and keep our dragons paddling for many more years to come. 💗

Every snag sold helps keep our boat afloat!

📅 Saturday 31 October | 8am–3:30pm
📍 Bunnings Lake Haven – Corner of Pacific Highway and Chelmsford Road.

So bring your friends, bring your family, say hello to our crew and help us turn sausages into boat repairs! 🌭🐉

No tricks, just treats (and snags)! 🎃

💗 Breast cancer survivor? Ever thought about giving dragon boating a go, but weren't quite sure how to get started or when in your recovery or whether it's for you? 🐉

This would be a great opportunity to mosey on over to our ladies at the sausage sizzle and ask them a few questions! They'll happily share their experiences and tell you what dragon boating has meant to them.

No pressure, no paddles — just a good old chat!💗

25/10/2026

☔🐉 RAIN, HAIL OR SHINE… DRAGON BOATERS KEEP PADDLING! 💪🚣‍♀️

A little rain won't dampen the spirits of a determined dragon boat crew! As long as the wind and water conditions are safe, we're out there! 💪🐉

Love this from our fellow paddlers at Gold Coast Dragon Boat Club 😂

Let's just hope their Mary Poppins-inspired sweep doesn't get *swept away! ☂️💨🤣

24/10/2026

🩷🐉💃 PINK LADIES, PADDLES & ZUMBA MOVES! 💃🐉🩷

Not only are our Dragons Abreast Central Coast ladies excellent paddlers, but it turns out they're also OARSOME at Zumba! 😂💃

After being postponed due to wet weather earlier this month, Dance in Pink finally went ahead today, Saturday 24 October, at Soldiers Beach Surf Club — and what a glorious sunny afternoon for it! ☀️🩷

Two of our Pink Ladies, Anne Norgrove and Janice Kennedy, swapped their paddles for dance moves and joined in the fun!

And don't they look fabulous in their matching Dragons Abreast shirts? Extra style points to Janice for that magnificent pink wig! 😂💕 They certainly weren't going to blend into the crowd!

Judging by the photos and videos, they definitely got their groove on! 💃 Anne reports that both their brains AND bodies got a proper workout! 😂

What a fabulous way for MEU Dance to bring the community together, have some fun and raise funds for Cancer Council NSW Central Coast, while showing support for everyone affected by breast cancer. 🎀

Maybe it's time we incorporated a few Zumba moves into our warm-up at weekly paddling practice?? 😂💃🐉

24/10/2026

🐉🩷 KEEPING THE SPIRIT ALIVE — ON AND OFF THE WATER!

Another fabulous Friday afternoon of paddling practice on Lake Budgewoi with Dragons Abreast Central Coast!

Sunshine, sparkling water, smiling faces, and a few photos that were just Too(kley) good to be true! 😂☀️📸

And at the heart of it all is our beautiful Dragons Abreast Central Coast dragon boat, named New Spirit!

But while we're out there enjoying ourselves, there's a lot going on behind the scenes to keep New Spirit on the water.

🔧🐉 GIVING NEW SPIRIT A NEW LEASE OF LIFE!

From 8–17 November, it's time for us members to roll up our sleeves and give New Spirit's worn gunwales (the timber edges along the top of the boat) some much-needed attention.

And it's no quick touch-up! There's sanding to be done, approximately SIX coats of varnish to apply, and 24 hours of drying time between coats.

At DACC, we're not just the paddlers — we're the volunteers and the fundraisers too! As a community club, we rely on our members' efforts, fundraising activities and generous supporters to keep New Spirit on the water. 💪

A bit like ducks gliding gracefully across the lake, there's an awful lot of paddling going on beneath the surface! 🦆😂

🩷 A BIG THANK YOU TO THE LIONS CLUB OF CHITTAWAY BAY!

A huge thank you to The Lions Club of Chittaway Bay for their generous $250 donation, raised through their fundraising activities, towards New Spirit's repairs and maintenance. Community support like this makes a real difference to our club, and special thanks to our DACC member Ann for helping arrange this wonderful contribution! 🩷