Viewfinder: Dragon Boats Take The Lake

For the past five summers, 40-foot long boats with a dragon head at the bow have raced 400 yards past the shore of Creve Coeur Lake on a Saturday morning.

Teams of 20 paddle the boats. It’s team-building, it’s fun and each team pays $1,000 to participate, with proceeds benefiting Operation Family Help—a Signature Healthcare Foundation initiative to assist families of patients with financial challenges.

On Saturday morning, the north end of the lake was buzzing with 18 teams, their entourages and spectators. The boats raced for time, three at a time, twice. The top 12 fastest boats went on to round two, and finally the top three match raced to determined the winner.

Team Tarlton won the race the first three years, lost it last year, and was back for blood. Teams representing , Casinos, DeKalb, Savvis, Fox2, Business Health Coalition, Synergetics and Ranken Jordan were among the other contenders.

In the end, the Y-Knot team from Monroe County, Illinois came away with the win.