He is a true…Water Sport

When the Mayor’s Cup NYC Kayak Championships were suddenly cancelled on October 19 due to rough waters, one paddler from Forest Hills was among those forced ashore. He wasn’t complaining.
“The waves and conditions were so bad that … my partner [David Lamb] fell in twice, and then trying to get him back in the boat - that was a task,” laughs Ray Leung, who has been involved in water racing since 1991. “As soon as we got our act together and started heading up the Hudson, a cable to one of our rudders popped. It was lucky that we had a dual system. We paid extra money for that boat!”
For nearly two decades, malfunctions and close calls have defined Leung’s experience with dragon boating and outrigging. In his first outrigging race in 2001, he and his five teammates were coasting to victory on the Hudson River when their boat flipped over. They finished second.
“I looked over to one of my partners behind me, and it looked like he was drinking water. He didn’t have a life preserver,” Leung says. “I reached over and plucked him out of the water. I said, ‘You can’t swim and you’re not wearing a life preserver?’ ”
Luckily for all involved, Leung has been a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, on active duty and reserve, for 31 years. He’s a retired corrections officer from Rikers Island. And he got into the sport with the explicit goal of keeping himself healthy.
“I had to quit smoking. I had to lose weight. The dragon boat was my stepping stone,” he says. “I got involved with the YMCA and I was looking for some sport to get onto the health wagon with. Plus, I always like competition. I played basketball pretty much all my life.”
Dragon boating is a 2000-year-old sport that has found a significant place in East Asian culture. In December 2007, the Chinese government added three dragon boat festivals to its calendar of national holidays. Races consist of any number of long, narrow boats - often adorned with decorative Chinese dragonheads - and each boat contains a drummer, a steerer, and 20 paddlers. With each racer paddling rhythmically on either side of the boat, the scene is somewhat reminiscent of a slave ship from the Middle Ages.
“The dragon boat was perfect for me,” Leung says. “When you do the [full] distance it’s awesome. The cardio, the resistance workout. It’s like going to church on a Sunday - you’re out there in the elements. No matter what day it is, rain or shine, it’s a whole different perspective. It’s very addictive once you get into it.”
Outrigging, meanwhile, is more conventional to American racing. It can consist of one, two, or six racers lined up in a smaller kayak, often with a large rudder attached at the side. It’s the event that Leung and his partner were in when Lamb fell out at the Mayor’s Cup.
“The second time my partner fell overboard, his hat came off. I said, ‘Can you reach over and pick up your hat? It’s at a reachable distance,’ ” Leung says. “One, it was part of the uniform, and also, it was to distract him from being nervous or freaking out.”
It didn’t work.
“My life is in danger, and you’re worried about the hat?!” Lamb asked.
After the race, Leung and Lamb laughed about the incident. It taught them to keep cool when the elements are not.
October 19, then, stands as just one lesson that Leung has learned over 17 years of dragon boating and kayaking. The sports have enabled him to travel to regattas in Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington. They have also allowed him to spend quality time with his three children, whose ages range today between 16 and 21.
“I love water sports. I’ve got a lot of water stories,” he says. “I could take up hours of your time.”
If you hang out long enough at the Flushing Bay-World’s Fair Marina, where Leung used to drag his kids and where he keeps his boat today, you might just see a few more stories unfold before your eyes. Just make sure you bring your life preserver.