Over 40 people came down to the Godmanchester Recreation Ground on Sunday afternoon to have a paddle in a Dragon Boat.

Twenty two members of the Cambridgeshire Royals Dragon Boat Team paddled their boat "The Duchess" all the way from St Neots for a fun filled afternoon on 22 June of "How to paddle a Dragon Boat".  Families flocked to the rec and mums, dads and youngsters were invited to have a go.  Godmanchester Mayor David Underwood spent time with the team and his wife Wendy even had a go at paddling!

Chairman, Brian Samuel said " "I am so pleased that this event was a phenomenal success.  The local residents of Godmanchester turned out and made us very welcome.  I couldn't have asked for more, and even the weather was on our side.

"I would like to thank my fellow members of the Cambridgeshire Royals who gave up their day and make it all possible, and I would also like to thank the Mayor David Underwood and Godmanchester Town Council who helped us to promote and put this event on"

Oldest paddler of the day was local resident David Broughton, who despite being over 70, was not put off and loved every minute of his time in the boat.  After his paddle he left with a big smile on his face, and went off to his local pub to reward himself with a cold beer.

This was the first time this recently formed team "The Royals" had embarked on such a journey, which took them just over three hours along ten miles of river, and through three locks to get here.  It is believed that this is the first time that a 40ft dragon boat has explored this part of the Ouse and tackled these locks.

The team moored up at Brampton Mill on the way for a refreshment break, which in itself brought out several onlookers - a dragon boat moored up at the Mill is not something you normally see on this section of the river on a Sunday lunchtime.

But of course, after such a fabulous afternoon in Godmanchester the hardest part of the day was yet to come - they had to paddle the boat at the end of day all the way back to St Neots.

Paul Saywell, Team Manager said "We are such a young club and still developing new friendships with each other in and out the boat and this trip is all part of spreading the load of various tasks including the opening of lock gates and just getting on with people.  

"The Royals will very rarely go past anybody either on the water or off without a friendly gesture, so please give us a wave and a smile whenever you see the light blue shirts of the Royals.  This is what we are about, fun loving people that want to have a great time while getting fit. 

He added "The serious side of our club is racing and this is where the real fun begins as we believe winning is much more fun than losing, so our training is hard but the rewards will come with three training sessions each week.  We believe this is essential in building a successful race team."

If you would like to see the team in action then they will be taking part in the British Dragon Boat Association Race Event on 6 July 2014 in St Neots.

Further details about the club can be found on our facebook page www.facebook.com/cambsroyals or contact us either by email at: info@cambridgeshireroyals.co.uk or tel: 07736 311031.