38th Annual Toronto International Dragon Boat Festival – June 13 & 14 2026
Well…today was certainly nothing like yesterday. The weather was horrendous. Thankfully not cold but man, that rain and wind didn’t want to stop. After an early arrival but late start, the team started positioning themselves nicely for a 500m showdown later that day, with chances of a medal.
After many interruptions, monsoons and soggy sandwiches, the team was called up from under the trees they were hiding at (multiple thunderstorm warnings had brought their boat back from the start line to the docks), and got ready for their last race, a good hour later than planned.
And what a race that was. The winning boat was <2 seconds ahead, but for the rest of the pack it was mere tenths of seconds…and Aloha came through with Silver. Sweet silver after a hard day’s work. Awesome! And the first medal of 2026, I might add. Now a bit of rest before the next race in a few weeks…see you then!
Today…was a totally different day 
Sharing the water 
Wilcox’s first run…and they won bronze in the end! 
How safe are the Toronto Islands? Pretty safe, as this person apparently forgot their keys on Saturday and a good Samaritan nailed them to a tree…they were later picked up on Sunday by the owner 
The sad state of our once wonderful campsite 
Nothing a cup of coffee can’t fix 
Aloha Action 
The prettiest shot I got because this swan was mostly underwater with his butt up in the air 
When it really started coming down 
Team IKEA represent 
Thunderstorms, torrential downpours, delays after delays…it was something alright 
Are you waiting for a kiss, little buddy? Fat chance! 
And that’s how close it was…Aloha in boat 5 and barely one fish ahead of the rest of the pack (boat 6 obviously won..those scoundrels) 
Smiles after such a hard day 
SILVER! Worth every raindrop and watery boat ride 
Congrats! Sounds like quite the challenging day. Makes the victory sweeter and memorable.
Thanks Dennis! It was indeed a sweet silver!