How We Came About ...     
Adopted as a baby, Debbie
Garcia met her birth mother, Doris
Rink, 14 years ago, after her mother
contracted breast cancer. The hereditary nature of the illness prompted the mother to contact her daughter. Doris had discovered dragon boat racing with her Pictou County Nova Scotia team through which she gained strength and inspiration. Before complications from breast cancer ultimately claimed her life in 2001, mother and daughter paddled together. Debbie was inspired to start a dragon boat team in the Fraser Valley and Spirit Abreast was born in January of 2002.