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£12,224 was raised at the 2013 Salford Dragon Boat Festival on Sunday 12th June as twelve teams battled to see which team would be crowned Dragon Boat Champions of Salford 2013. Manchester based charities The Christie, the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, The Booth Centre and Francis House Hospice were supported, along with The British Heart Foundation, Shelter, The Stroke association, Sue Ryder and Homeless International.

In an epic battle spread over three rounds of racing, the teams bravely raced despite rapidly deteriorating weather. Early leaders after the end of Round 1 were “Nice Legs Shame About the Boat Race” from Barclays Bank, who were supporting The Stroke Association and lead the way with 1.11.35. At the end of Round 2 however, new leaders “Dapow Fitness” from Vestas who were supporting Christies took the fastest time of the day with a 1.10.85. That time was briefly beaten in Round 3, first by Fujitsu Tatsu from Fujitsu, who were supporting The Christie with a 1.09.14. In Race 15, Fujitsu Tatsu’s time would have been snatched back in a thrilling 3-boat race when “Nice Legs Shame About the Boat Race” put in a 1.07.02 if it had not been for “Dapow Fitness”, who were also in the same race. “Dapow Fitness” put in an even more impressive 1.06.84, which was also the fastest qualifying time of the day.

The three finalists were Fujitsu Tatsu who went into Lane 1, Nice Legs Shame About the Boat Race on Lane 2 and Dapow Fitness in lane 3. At the start of the Grand Final, all three teams were neck & neck for the first 50 metres or so when Dapow Fitness started to pull away. Despite a valient effort from the other teams, it was Dapow Fitness who crossed the line first with 1.04.51, closely followed by Nice Legs Shame About the Boat Race (1.09.84) and Fujitsu Tatsu who were just 0.23s behind with a 1.10.07.