In 1996 our first drummer was Jacqueline Davis, a woman from the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba with breast cancer. We loved having Jackie on the boat because she was very vivacious and outgoing and was proud to represent First Nations cancer survivors. Her position as drummer was very important as it was part of her heritage that she shared with us.

This carving workshop was a pilot project; the brainchild of well-known carver Eric Neighbour who has taught carving to more than 4,000 people. The project originated from watching the dragon boats on race day, looking so proud with their beautiful heads and tails. Eric thought: “I bet some of those teams would like to make their own boat decorations”.

In 2005 Abreast In A Boat celebrated their 10 year anniversary. They invited breast cancer survivors from around the world to join them for a wonderful weekend of camaraderie, merriment and, of course, dragon boat racing.

Read through the crew bios that were in the Ten Years Abreast Celebration Souvenir Program. They were the welcome and valued guests of Abreast In A Boat.