A team of cancer survivors in Morro Bay paddles down the Embarcadero to an upcoming World Dragon Boat Racing Championship in Italy.

“We are both breast cancer survivors and started paddling here many years ago,” said SurviveOars paddler Kit Mitsuoka.

On Saturday, two dragon boats were on the water as training for the SurviveOars intensified.

“We work on our fitness and endurance outside of training,” says Lynn Watkins, paddler at SurviveOars.

The Central Coast SurviveOars are a team of 148 dragon boaters, 23 of whom compete in the International Dragon Boat Federation’s Club Crew World Championships.

“The best thing about the trip to Italy is the camaraderie and the fact that our entire team was so supportive,” Mitsuoka said.

The SurviveOars are made up of men and women who have survived breast cancer, prostate cancer, lymphoma and other cancers. Kit Mitsuoka has been paddling for 15 years and says she currently trains five days a week to prepare for the competition.

“It’s the level of activity that really gives us the endorphins that make us happy and make us feel like we made it, you know, we survived,” Mitsuoka said.

And in case you’re wondering if the SurviveOars have to ship their own dragon boat all the way to Italy.

“They are always available,” Watkins said. “They deliver the boats wherever we go.”

This is the second time since 2007 that a SurviveOars team has qualified for the Club Crew World Championships.

The SurviveOars leave for Italy on September 3rd.