DRAGONS will be spotted in Weymouth Bay this weekend as a popular event makes a return.

The annual Dragon Boat Racing will take place from 10am on Sunday (AUG 30), and can be viewed from dry land at the Pavilion end of the Esplanade.

Rotary Club spokesman Ian Brooke said it’s all about having ‘an awesome amount of fun while raising money for the local community’.

The Rotary Club of Melcombe Regis has been putting on Dragon Boat Racing in Weymouth Bay for 18 years.

Mr Brooke said: “It’s enjoyed by the people who enter very much. It’s doing something great for charity and having an awesome amount of fun at the same time. People who come to Weymouth as visitors simply cannot believe the lunatic goings on in the bay – boats upside down, people jumping in the water.”

Donations on the day, which usually total around £2,000, are passed to charities in Weymouth and Dorset although the Rotary Club also donates to national and international charities with the proceeds from its other activities.

Mr Brooke said: “It’s not been decided yet which charities we’ll be supporting but in the past donations on the day of Dragon Boat Racing has gone to food banks, local theatre groups and others – including The Front skatepark the year it was vandalised.”

Organisation for the day long event takes place all year round.

“Once one event is over we start planning for the next. We have a lot of dedicated volunteers but there’s one business in particular whose help we would not be able to do without. PGL, which is based in Osmington, provides the boats, all the safety equipment, safety boats and people to man them. To say thank you we always give a proportion of the money raised for them to donate to their charity of the year.”

There’s still time to enter if you have a team. Email gill.ketchley024@btinternet.com for entry forms and details.

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