PHOTOS: JESSE HENDERSON, CURVED SPACE STUDIOS; KONRAD DOERRBECKER; ONTARIO TOURISM MARKETING PARTNERSHIP CORP. From top: A drummer yells for the paddlers to pick up the pace during a race in Ottawa; Dragon boats raise money to fight breast cancer in Toronto; a team and its dragon in the nation's capital. The starter gun sounds. Half a dozen huge boats that had been sitting motionless on the water explode into action. Two dozen paddles per boat slice the water in unison. Slowly at first, then faster and faster the boats pick up speed. The fierce-eyed dragon heads tipping the prow of each boat seem almost alive as the boats drive forward to the throb of drums and chants of the paddlers. Shouts from thousands of people standing on shore cheer t...