Fort Langley's crew of breast cancer survivors paddled to gold earlier this month in the waters of Vancouver Island.

The Abreast with FORTitude dragonboat team took top spot in the Breast Cancer Challenge Race at the 10th annual Nanaimo Dragonboat Regatta.

With seven novices this year, Abreast with FORTitude had a patient training season. Perseverance and determination paid off at the final regatta of the season for the local paddlers, who dug deep and worked hard to beat 10 other breast cancer teams to win the 500-metre race.

This marks the first time in the 10-year history of the regatta that an Abreast In A Boat team has won the race. FORTitude is one of the six crews that make up Abreast In A Boat, a dragon boat team of local breast cancer survivors.