Linda Bond of Norway, front, lets go of the dock Wednesday as her husband, Steve, steers Maine’s first dragon boat onto Lake Pennesseewassee Park in Norway. Most who came to help Wednesday are new to dragon boating, but Steve and Linda Bond have seven years of experience with the sport. They have been paddling dragon boats for years in Florida, where they reside during the winter. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

People help launch Maine’s first dragon boat Wednesday came to Lake Pennesseewassee Park in Norway. Dragon boat racing and clubs are popular in many parts of the world, but new to the lakes of Maine. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Paddlers listen Wednesday to directions from Steve Bond before climbing into the dragon boat at Lake Pennesseewassee Park in Norway. Most who came to help Wednesday are new to dragon boating, but Bond of Norway has seven years of experience. He and his wife, Linda, have been paddling dragon boats for years in Florida, where they reside during the winter.Journal) Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Maine’s first dragon boat waits Wednesday for its crew of 21 people at Lake Pennesseewassee Park in Norway. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

The first dragon boat believed to be in Maine is paddled Wednesday across Lake Pennesseewassee in Norway.  Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Sally Gibson, right, of Fryeburg and Sherri Otterson of Norway place the head of a Chinese dragon Wednesday on the bow of Maine’s first dragon boat at Lake Pennesseewassee Park in Norway. “It’s the only one in Maine that I know of,” Otterson said about the dragon boat she owns. Otterson started the Maine Dragon Boat Club to hopefully expand interest in bringing more dragon boats to Maine. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Dragon boat riders paddle Wednesday across Lake Pennesseewassee Park in Norway. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Matt Robert of the club 22 Dragons traveled Wednesday morning from Montreal, Quebec, to deliver Maine’s first dragon boat to Lake Pennesseewassee Park in Norway. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

The 41-foot dragon boat arriving in Norway on Wednesday includes a head and a tail depicting a Chinese dragon. The boat was made in China, where each year the Dragon Boat Festival is held. Some boats eventually go to Montreal where a club races them and then sells them.  Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Sherri Otterson of Norway, front left, and Linda Bond, front right, lead a crew of 20 paddlers and one steerer Wednesday through the culvert under Crockett Ridge Road in Norway. Otterson started the Maine Dragon Boat Club and purchased the 41-foot dragon boat that arrived Wednesday at Lake Pennesseewassee Park in Norway from Montreal. “It’s the only one in Maine that I know of,” Otterson said. An open house for anyone interested in dragon boating will be held from 2-6 p.m. Sunday at Lakeside Norway on Route 118 just west of downtown.  Daryn Slover/Sun Journal