South C Dragons to compete against skiff boat and whale boat at South West Regatta

But after triumphing in the annual Hopkins River Challenge last year, the South C Dragons, a team made up almost entirely of breast cancer survivors, are looking to defend their title at 9am on Saturday at the South West Regatta.

The Challenge started in 2017 after the Dragons got to bantering with members of the Warrnambool St Ayles Skiff Community Rowing Club about who had the fastest boat. 

A "novelty" scratch race was held to settle the matter, but with all three finishing in a dead-heat, each club went home believing they were the champs.

And this year, according to Dragons publicity officer Marg Cope, the stakes are higher, as the winners will take home a trophy, rather than just bragging rights.

"I think we won pretty comfortably last year, but anything could happen this time around," she said. 

"It's a strange feeling racing them because they have their oars out wide whereas just go straight up and down."

The South C Dragons' last major outing was the Chinese New Year Dragon Boat Festival, held on February 13 at Victoria Harbour in Melbourne, where they trumped other regional crews from Gippsland, Bendigo and Ballarat. 

But Mrs Cope said this weekend's Hopkins River Challenge required further training, as the race is 500 metres long, whereas the Dragons usually race in between 200 to 250 metres.

"We really need to pace ourselves," she said.