IT WAS like flying on the ocean! You felt the sun, wind and salt spray on your face. Everyone was in sync — like we were moving as one body."

Eleven years have passed since Isaac Lau raced with his Hawaii Dragon Boat Festival team, but he can describe it as clearly as if it were yesterday.

Now 31, Lau was diagnosed with a degenerative muscular disorder at birth and has been in a wheelchair most of his life. He thus hasn’t been able to participate in most sports, but thanks to the support of friends and relatives, he experienced the adrenaline rush of competing that summer in 2002.

"I was going to be one of the paddlers, but I had a bad blister on my thumb and couldn’t do it," Lau said. "Still, it was fun and exciting to beat the drum, set the rhythm for my team and to make it to the semifinals."

Kelfred Chang was the steersman for Team Isaac. He’s been involved with Hawaii’s Dragon Boat Festival since 1997, a year after its inception — for the first three years as a paddler and steersman and for the past 13 years primarily as a race official.

"What’s great about the festival is just about everyone can compete," Chang said. "I’ve seen people like Isaac who have physical challenges, kids as young as 10 and seniors in their 70s participate. The festival is a wonderful family event, whether you’re on a team or coming to picnic and to cheer for your favorites."

Although the Dragon Boat Festival originated in China (see sidebar), some 70 million people around the world compete in races today. Held over two days, Hawaii’s festival has attracted as many as 1,500 paddlers organized in 70 teams. Some participants have come from as far away as China, Japan and Australia.

Teams have 19 members (16 paddlers, a steersman, a flag puller and a drummer). They race in heats on a 200-meter course (a little longer than two football fields) about 50 yards off Ala Moana Beach Park.

As a boat nears the finish line, the steersman maneuvers it close to the float where the flags for each team in the heat are mounted. The flag puller reaches out to grab his team’s flag, which indicates its boat has passed the finish line. He must pick up the flag, otherwise his team is disqualified.

At the 2009 World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in the Czech Republic, Team Philippines raced 200 meters in 41 seconds, a world record. The fastest times at the Hawaii festival have been just under a minute.

The Hawaii Dragon Boat Association produces the local festival with the assistance of the Hono­lulu Chinese Jaycees, Anue­nue Canoe Club, the City and County of Hono­lulu, corporate sponsors and more than 200 volunteers who schedule practices, repair and equip the boats and help with security, among other things.

HDBA provides the boats, drums, paddles and personal flotation devices for the races. In its fleet are six 45-foot boats approved by the International Dragon Boat Federation, which means they can be used in national and international competitions.

HDBA purchased three of the $15,000 vessels in 2011; it received the other three last year as gifts from Hono­lulu’s sister city Zhong­shan, in China’s Guangdong province.

Constructed of fiberglass, the new boats are lighter, faster and more durable than HDBA’s former 16-year-old boats, which were made of wood and concrete ballast.

Teams begin practicing at Sand Island Recreation Area a month before the races. In the days before the festival, practices take place daily — all day on weekends and after work until the sun sets on weekdays.

HDBA’s goal is to buy three more boats by 2016 so it can offer year-round paddling opportunities.

"The festival has been a boon to the community," Chang said. "It educates visitors and kama­aina about Chinese traditions. It brings people of all ethnic backgrounds together for fun in the sun. It shows that everyone who enjoys ocean activities, no matter where they’re from, is part of our ohana."

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.