91视频

For Marla Baker, yelling at the rowers of the dragon boat she captains three times a week is actually an escape.

On the water, she鈥檚 able to forget about her life challenges, whether it鈥檚 raising her 10 grandchildren, taking care of her sick daughter or running her boat repair company by herself. To her, life is easier on the bow of a 700-pound boat.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a release for everything. This is definitely my out in life,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檒l make you a happier person 鈥� on the jobsite as well as in life.鈥�

The jobsite is where Baker has spent a large portion of her life. For 20 years, she ran a successful stainless steel company that furnished kitchen restaurants across the country; she said she became known as the 鈥渉ood lady鈥� because of her expertise in kitchen hood installations. She has since spent time as a welder, a refrigerator mechanic and now 鈥� with hardly any formal training 鈥� a fiberglass boat builder.

Baker, who has raced boats for nine years, has plenty of company in the building business. In fact, she said many racers are either architects or contractors 鈥� such as her husband, Chuck Baker, who is an electrician.

Darrell Hames, owner of , one of Portland鈥檚 biggest dragon boat clubs, said the main draw of the sport is the camaraderie among team members. However, he believes that people in the architecture and construction industries are especially interested in the competitive aspect, the hands-on approach and the chance to exercise.

Other demands also suit contractors, in particular.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a sport where you have to have the ability to take time off and go to the races, and you have to be able to afford it,鈥� Hames said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we tend to get people more in the professional aspects or independent contractors or have their own business.鈥�

Baker pursued the sport to get in better shape. When she owned her stainless steel company, she spent half the week behind the desk and half in the field, lifting extremely heavy materials.

鈥淵ou just don鈥檛 get exercise from running pipe 鈥� maybe from pulling wire, but that鈥檚 not cardio,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is one of the healthiest things you can do. People that paddle 鈥� it prevents injuries on the job site.鈥�

Bryan Rott, a marketing salesman of landscape construction materials, said he likes the competition. He said people within the industry are naturally competitive because of the rivalry that occurs with the bid process.

鈥淎nybody running a business or doing marketing and sales is always going to be competitive,鈥� he said.

Contractors also join the sport because of the social networking aspect. Every week, 47 DragonSports boats are out on the water, each with 25 people aboard. Hames said participants sometimes are looking to build business.

鈥淭hese are people you see every day and you compete with and you trust; you can call when you need something done,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can have Chuck (Baker) come over and wire in a water heater, or Marla repair one of our boats; it really creates a professional network.鈥�

Of course, many rowers, like Marla Baker, participate to get away from work 鈥� not into it. She said the real draw to racing is that regardless of age, size or past, someone can make 24 new friends almost immediately.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really a wholesome sport and the people that (race) are really incredible,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also a really big drinking sport 鈥� we鈥檝e had some crazy times at the beer gardens.鈥�