My Perfect Day | DieselFish Dragon Boat Team

DieselFish’s Minister of Newbie Happiness describes his perfect Saturday.

By Alex Ling

It's Alex's perfect day, so he gets to supply his own photo.

9:30 AM: I never sleep in on Saturdays because I don’t like wasting my mornings. I need to get out of bed and do something. Today, I’m psyched because I get to paddle with my dragon boat buddies.

9:45 AM: I arrive at DieselFish's practice site in Redwood City. I live nearby and there’s no traffic, so it only takes me 15 minutes to get there. DieselFish is a Silicon Valley team—we service the South Bay and Peninsula.

I walk through the gate, and it feels like home. I’m instantly greeted by my teammates. We kill time by talking about random stuff—our Friday night adventures, new restaurants and our favorite episodes of “Game of Thrones”. I love hanging out with these people.

10:00 AM: Practice starts. A newbie has joined us for her first dragon boat practice! I’m the Minister of Newbie Happiness, so I get her loaner equipment and provide a quick lesson.

10:30 AM: We are on the boat and paddling hard!

The newbie is doing OK. I show her how to improve her form. I'm not a drill sergeant. I never yell at the newbies, because paddling should be fun. Instead, I offer lots of encouragement.

10:40 AM: I spot a seal! We see lots of critters while we’re paddling. A while ago, we saw a shark!

It feels amazing to be outside on a day like this. The sun is out, but it’s not blazing hot. The water looks as smooth and shiny as glass. A slight breeze blows through the air and my hair. You can’t get experiences like this when you work out in a sweaty gym.

11:00 AM: The crew is dead quiet and on edge, because we’re about to practice a race piece.

“GO!” yells the coach.

The boat begins to chug through the water, gaining power with every stroke.

“UP! UP! UP!” we yell. We shorten our strokes to quicken our pace.

Every stroke feels heavy. Each gasp of air isn’t enough….

We finally reach the finish line. I’m exhausted, but I feel great.

I’m proud because no one in the crew dropped out to rest—not even the newbie. Moments like this make me proud to be a DieselFish. We worked hard together and overcame a difficult challenge. That is what dragon boat is all about.

 

12:00 PM: IT’S LUNCH TIME. This is my favorite part of the DieselFish experience. We head over to Zadna, a casual Mediterranean restaurant in Redwood City.

I order the lamb shawarma, which is always tender and flavorful.

The table eats slowly and talks excitedly about a variety of topics. Some of us are playing the new Destiny video game. Many of us are going to see the new “Star Wars” movie tonight. A few of us talk about the new tax bill that was passed.

1:30 PM: I head home for a warm shower and short nap.

2:00 PM: I think about my day, and realize how lucky I am. Then, I start writing a blog post about my perfect day. Sometimes, the posts write themselves.

Saturday mornings with DieselFish are filled with fitness, food and friends. Email me at dfcaptains@gmail.com for free dragon boat lessons in Redwood City!

What Did You Do To Your Uniform? | DieselFish Dragon Boat Team

DieselFish changed its look because it doesn’t follow. It leads.

By Alex Ling, the Minister of Newbie Happiness

 It’s getting hard to tell dragon boat teams apart, isn’t it?

Green, green, green…. Everyone is wearing neon green.

Now, we all look the same!

DieselFish feels these teams diluted their branding (and ours) by adopting our signature color. We did it first and best, way back in 2007.

At a recent race, we looked around, saw the sameness, and knew we had to change.

Because teams should never follow. They must lead the way.

To grab the lead, teams must use every resource available. DieselFish has some talented designers on its roster. Anna and Angeline created a striking new uniform loaded with design details that are practical and symbolic.

How can you miss our new signature color? It’s an ultra-bright shade of blue that we call “DieselFish Electric Teal.” “We picked this color to stand out from the crowd,” said Anna. “It’s so bright, you can’t help but notice us. It will also be easy to spot us from the shore when we’re racing.”

We’re also proud of the biomechanical fish swimming on the front of the uniform. “It’s a diesel-powered fish,” Anna explained. “This fish is powerful in the water, just like us!”

DieselFish has also received compliments about the mighty ocean waves that pound our sleeves. “We added the waves because the water at our practice site gets choppy sometimes,” said Angeline. “The waves also make the sleeves visually pop out more.”

“It was hard to get rid of our old uniform,” said Coach Marynka Rojas. “I’m going to miss the bright green, but it had to be done. We can’t lead if we blend into the crowd. The team had to let go of the past and look toward the future.”

DieselFish has never been faster or more fashionable. Look for us at our next race. We’ll be the electric teal streak surging towards the finish line.

DieselFish will paddle during the Fall/Winter 2017 season. Email me at dfcaptains@gmail.com for free dragon boat lessons in Redwood City.