Dragon boat club recovers five of seven missing boats after river surge

The Edmonton Dragon Boat Racing Club has recovered five of seven boats that were torn away by the North Saskatchewan River early this week, though the vessels remain spread across the river and in need of repair.

Late Monday night or early Tuesday morning, the club's dock — chained to anchors near the Dawson Park clubhouse — was ripped away by the raging river, taking seven dragon boats along with the dock and ramp. Club vice-president Troy McLeod said the boats are worth tens of thousands of dollars.

After the club put out a public alert Tuesday asking for help locating the missing vessels, five boats were found downstream and recovery efforts began that night. McLeod worked until 3 a.m. to claim the recovered boats. At least one of the recovered boats has a hole in it.

"We're hoping today we'll somehow find and recover the other two, and the dock pieces," McLeod said Wednesday. "Unfortunately, those are still floating the river. We have to locate those. It's a bit of a process."

With no dock to moor them, the club is rebuilding. "Essentially, we have a group trying to look at rebuilding the dock," McLeod said. "In case we don't find all the pieces, we're going to have to figure out another plan. Now we have boats and hopefully they're in decent enough condition to get in the water."

Anyone spotting the two missing boats or dock pieces downstream from the club's site near Dawson Bridge can contact info@edbrc.club.