Lawyers take on Dragon Boat Challenge for charity

A team of Furley Page paddlers swapped legal briefs for buoyancy aids over the bank holiday weekend and braved the water to take part in the Medway Sunlight Rotary’s annual Charity Dragon Boat Challenge, alongside the Chatham Maritime Food and Drink Festival.

The annual event is one of the highlights of the festival and this year had 36 team entries. Teams paddle the forty-foot-long Chinese war canoes, encouraged by a drummer to speed across the 250-metre course in Basin No 2 in Chatham Maritime. Furley Page were Gold sponsors for the second year running.

The Dragon Boat Challenge is organised by Medway Sunlight Rotary Club and teams seek sponsorship for their efforts in aid of Rotary’s chosen charities. This year donations will be made to Marie Curie, We Are Beams, Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Services, and Wetwheels South-East.

Rebecca Crane, a Partner at Furley Page, said: “This is the second year that the firm has participated in this event and once again we all had a fantastic day at the festival.  The dragon boat racing was quite different to our usual day at the office, and we managed to raise funds for some great local charities – so a win all round.”

Dragon Boat Racing’s origins go back over 2000 years and began on the rivers of Southern China where it was a fertility ritual believed to bring good luck to the coming crop season. The race has been part of the Chatham Maritime Food and Drink Festival for the last ten years.