News
Three county women find solace in boat racing

For those struggling with cancer or losing a loved one to cancer, it can be hard to find a strong community to support them. But Eugenie Doyle, Rene Saenger, and Barb DeWitt found one in DragonHeart Vermont, a dragon boat racing organization based on the Burlington waterfront.
Now, in their own version of the Olympic games, the three Addison County residents will be traveling to Ravenna, Italy this Sept. 3-8 to compete with DragonHeart Vermont in the Dragon Boat Racing Club Crew World Championships.
This year is special to the three women because it’s the 20th anniversary of the Vermont organization, which will be commemorated at the 18th Annual Lake Champlain Dragon Boat Festival, to be held this coming weekend, Aug. 3-4, on Lake Champlain.
Started in 2004 by Linda Dyer and her husband, John, soon after they moved from Philadelphia to Vermont, the club now owns seven 40-foot boats and two 30-foot boats along with two community boat docks on the Burlington waterfront. This year, the Vermont club will send 100 paddlers to the world championship.

EUGENIE DOYLE
Doyle, a co-owner of Last Resort Farm in Monkton, found DragonHeart shortly after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.
“Treatment for breast cancer is really not that much fun. It’s actually not fun at all,” Doyle explained, “And on so many levels, you know, emotionally, physically, spiritually, it’s challenging. And at the table to sign up for this organization, it was a whole other tone set. It was about athleticism. It was about giving back to the community. It was about positivity.”
She has gotten so involved with the organization that Last Resort Farm is one of the biggest donors of sunflowers to their annual flower ceremony, a time to honor those who have lost their battle with cancer, which happens during the festival each year.
Traditionally, pink carnations are used at the flower festivals, but Doyle doesn’t like them much because they remind her of bad prom corsages. Therefore, she asked the founder, Linda Dyer, if they could use sunflowers instead. Now, almost every year spectators and participants throw Last Resort Farm sunflowers into the water to honor those who have passed.
All three women agree that DragonHeart Vermont has a beautiful persona of hope and resilience.
DeWitt joined the organization in 2007 at first to honor a friend who had passed away from breast cancer, but then in 2019 became a breast cancer survivor herself. She said this organization has brought a lot of beauty into her life.
“I think, if you’re in a bad place before you go to practice, when you get on the boat and you are out there with your teammates trying to stay together, to work, to get this boat up and moving, you know, you definitely come off the water in different spirits than when you went on,” said DeWitt.
Beyond the athletic component, these women make the trek to Burlington a couple times a week because of the community that DragonHeart has brought them.

BARB DEWITT
“I have met incredible people, so strengthened, so supportive,” Dewitt continued. “At any point in your life, whatever you’re going through, if you’re happy, they’re happy with you. If they’re sad, they’re sad with you, but they don’t let you dwell in the sadness.”
Saenger, the newest member of DragonHeart Vermont of the three women, joined only a year ago after losing her husband to colon cancer. Although she hasn’t been in the organization long, she feels the same way about it as Dewitt and Doyle.
“It’s just been so much fun to meet new people and do a sport that everybody is so supportive of you. You know, I’m not the best paddler. I’m still learning, but they’re all behind me,” Saenger said.
For Saenger, the annual Dragon Boat Festival is one of her favorite parts about the organization. “I just think that if somebody comes to the festival, if they try paddling at all, they’re going to be hooked, both by the sport and the beauty of being on the lake, and by the people.”
Just like the small communities in Addison County, DragonHeart Vermont supports, uplifts, and celebrates its members. “I would urge people to support DragonHeart Vermont however they can,” added Saenger. “They can go to the festival; they can make a donation … It’s an organization that gives back to the community.”
“We have the most giving people,” says Linda Dyer. “They give it all on the water, and they also give it all to help us with our community mission.”
The Lake Champlain Dragon Boat Festival is a charity event that supports cancer survivors in our local community. There are three divisions for racing: Community Teams, Breast Cancer Paddler teams, and Sport teams. Racing for Breast Cancer teams and Sport teams begins at noon on Saturday, Aug. 3. Community, Sport, and Breast Cancer teams will all race the 200-meter course on Sunday, Aug. 4, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Editor’s note: For a longer, in-depth story on DragonHeart Vermont go to VermontSports.com.
More News
News
Voters OK $3.5M to replace Vergennes/Panton water main
Residents of Vergennes and Panton on Wednesday voted in favor of spending up to $3.52 mill … (read more)
Homepage Featured News
Middlebury scientists are among Trump’s targets
Executive orders by President Trump have cast a shadow over millions of dollars in federal … (read more)
News
A dozen run for spots on Bristol library board
Without a doubt, the most crowded races on Bristol’s Town Meeting Day ballot this year wil … (read more)