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BEMIDJI 鈥� A spattering of rain, a brief spell of hail, gusts of wind and the occasional bolt of lightning: weather conditions not exactly conducive to boat racing.

However, Saturday's storms only briefly delayed the 18th Annual Lake Bemidji Dragon Boat Festival races, and it was just another hurdle to clear for first-time race champions Wake My Day!

鈥淲e have quite a bit of grit on this team," Wake My Day! team captain Lori Manion said. 鈥淚n the morning we got the late races, (where) the wind was really blowing in our faces and we really dug deep and still had a good time. We鈥檙e a team that battles and comes together when we need to come together."

The newcomers made quite the impression in their first time in Bemidji's Dragon Boat races. Taking on festival greats like the HydraHeads and the Nordic Whitecaps in the championship finals, Wake My Day! finished with a course-record time of 1:59.42.

The newly crowned champs gave a hint of what was to come in the qualifying rounds, earning an impressive 2:00.64 time, the best among the 38 teams.

After some brief rain, the severe weather held off for the morning set of qualifying heats and cup races before a downpour started just as the lunch break began.

Things let up in time for the races to resume as scheduled for the second half of the day, but were cut short by mid-afternoon as the wind picked up and a thunderstorm rolled through the area.

With four qualifying heats still to go before the championship races, it was decided that the races would break until 5:30 p.m. to allow the storms to pass and it was safe for the paddlers to get back out on the water.

After some heavy rain, small hail and wind, the storm passed and races resumed.

鈥淲e loved it, we had a great day, we had some great races," said Sandy Koski, a Wake My Day! paddler. 鈥淲e鈥檝e definitely had long rain delays (during other races) before, so it's nothing new. It does kind of ruin the momentum, but luckily we got it back and kept it going for the finals."

Wake My Day! and the Gold Cup's fourth-place team, Perfect Catch!, are made up of the same group of paddlers hailing from Minocqua, Wis. Dubbed the Island City Dragon Boat Club, its members offer varying levels of experience and compete in racing events throughout the summer.

Just last week, Island City's mixed team barely finished second in a competitive race in Chicago. That tight loss added a little fuel to the fire heading into Saturday.

鈥淚t feels pretty good, because (in the) few races lately we鈥檝e been finishing second by just like hundredths of seconds," team coach Mike Mondrall said. "This was good for our team."

It was only fitting that a team priding itself on perseverance got back on track on a race day where Mother Nature wasn't cooperating.

鈥淭hat was awesome," Bruce Petit, a Wake My Day! paddler, said of the stormy weather. "If they let us go out there in that, we would鈥檝e. The tougher it is, the better we like it.鈥�

The Island City Dragon Boat Club votes each year on which races to participate in throughout the year, so Wake My Day's return to the Dragon Boat Festival isn't a sure thing.

However, with some fantastic race times and a good experience in the face of inclement weather, the group could very well be back to defend their crown in the 19th edition of the festival.

鈥淲e certainly were welcomed here,鈥� Manion said. 鈥淐an鈥檛 predict the weather, but I鈥檇 say it was a well-run festival and super friendly. We all talked about how friendly everyone was here. I would imagine it鈥檚 something we鈥檒l talk about for next year."

Wake My Day's time wasn't the only great finish of the day. Despite the less-than-stellar weather conditions, the races were some of the most competitive in festival history.

"This was by far the most competitive festival we鈥檝e had from a race perspective and race times," festival co-announcer Brian Bissonette said. "I don鈥檛 think we鈥檝e had that solid of times from one to 15 like we saw today."

The Nordic Whitecaps, made up of Nordic skiers from Bemidji High 歪歪漫画, notched second place in the finals just 1.45 seconds behind Wake My Day! The HydraHeads, the 10-time champion and Dragon Boat Festival dynasty, finished fourth just behind PYRO to round out a stacked championship final.

Though the weather was frustrating for those in attendance, it only delayed four races in the qualifying round and pushed back the start times for the championship races.

"I thought it went great," Bissonette said. "We鈥檝e been really fortunate through the years, we really haven鈥檛 had much weather to deal with during races, anyway. Honestly, Mother Nature threw a curveball (today). This is actually the first weather delay we鈥檝e ever had on race day, believe it or not. And even today we got lucky, we were able to get all but four races in before the weather hit."

Championship

1. Wake My Day! 1:59.42
2. Nordic Whitecaps 2:00.87
3. PYROS 2:02.24
4. HydraHeads 2:02.88

Gold Cup

1. Wave Runners 2:03.96
2. Broadbandits 2:05.40
3. The Need for Giga-Speed 2:07.56
4. Perfect Catch! 2:09.78

Silver Cup

1. Row Hard or Row Home 2:10.37
2. Purple Paddlers 2:10.56
3. Lakeland PBS Paddlers 2:13.57
4. Coyote 102.5 2:15.99

Bronze Cup

1. Midco Muskies 2:14.80
2. SnapDragons 2:16.71
3. Slow Boat to China 2:17.69
4. Seven Clans Casino 2:26.69

Sprint Cup: Pyros
Family Cup: Pyros
Health Cup - Race 1: Paddle of Paul!
Health Cup - Race 2: Birth Canal Cruisers
Bankers Cup: Security Bank Banccaneers
Civic Cup: BACCSC-Snow Dragons
Media Cup - Race 1: Giga Paddlers
Media Cup - Race 2: Broadbandits
Education Cup: Wave Runners
Best Team Village: Row Hard or Row Home
Best T-Shirt: Seven Clans Casino
Best Team Look: Village people
Best Team Name: Birth Canal Cruisers