If a picture is worth a thousand words John Whalen has already said it all!

Wow! What a weekend! A fitting conclusion to a wonderful week.

To carry on and conclude the journal from Caloundra, I'll report on Sunday's activities. Anytime for sightseeing or shopping was over (well, there were those fabulous opals for sale on site but I settled for some cards and $10 shorts.) We took the bus at 8:00 am and were whisked off once again to the magnificently designed race venue at Kawana Lake.

Sunday featured the Sandy Smith Global race to honour her role as the first global liason for Abreast In A Boat - a role that helped countless teams to become established worldwide. The race was run with mixed crews comprised of members from all the participating crews. This was followed by the "Flowers on the Water" ceremony, staged in a most dramatic way. The dragon boats all rafted together across the lake, perhaps 100 metres away and the outside paddlers brought the flotilla toward the crowd, stopping just offshore for the ceremony. It was extremely moving as the music played, the minute of silence was observed and flowers were tossed. The lake surface was dappled with roses, carnations, gerbera daisies and thousands of rose petals. A little extra delight for me, standing in the cool shore water, was the simultaneous jump of 10 silver fish among the petals. The feeling of some spirits flashing before me was almost eerie.

Back to the races....All the AIAB crews made an excellent showing. Unfortunately I'm now separated from my manager and her pages of statistics but I know we all did well and it was great to see the wild demonstration of support among the crews - loud cheering during the races and hugs at the end. I can't resist reporting the Cove's placement - 4th in the top tier finals and that by just a fraction of a second. The first three crews were all from Australia but we placed first over the rest of the world's 70 crews there.

Farewell speeches were made form the stage at Lake Kawana, drowned out somewhat by the raucous celebrants in the adjoining beer garden. Identical participant's medals were handed out to all crews. A nice egalitarian touch. We downed our Aussie beer or wine, got on the bus and returned to the hotel. The crews gathered for their own celebrations that evening still riding on an absolute high from this amazing, amazing experience.