In Chinese mythology, dragons live under water. When they travel to the outside world, they bring water, luck, prosperity and health -- which may explain why hundreds of racers, vendors and crowd members didn't seem to mind the cloudy skies Saturday and Sunday at the third annual South Florida Dragon Boat Festival.

''It is a water sport so no one is worried about getting wet,'' said Winnie Tang, president of the United Chinese Association of Florida in Miami-Dade.

The two-day event was under way at 11 a.m., a two-hour late start because of rain Saturday at Haulover Park, 10800 Collins Ave. Opening ceremonies included greetings by Miami-Dade Commissioner Sally Heyman.

John Wai Kung Fu Academy dancers, wearing a two-person lion costume of black and gold, performed the Chinese Lion dance for joy and happiness.

The festival was started in 2003 as a way to promote community unity among South Florida's Asian population and other ethnic groups in the area, said Johnson Ng, executive director of the South Florida Dragon Boat Festival and reporter for the United Chinese News of Florida.

''We try to bring the different communities together. We have a children's corner to encourage the younger community to be involved and to appreciate the culture,'' Tang said.

According to the 2004 U.S. Census, about 50,402 Asian Americans live in Broward County and 34,740 in Miami-Dade.

With a population of 35,553, Indian Americans represent the majority of people of Asian descent in the two counties, followed by Chinese Americans, who total 17,441 in the two counties, according to the Census' 2004 American Community Survey.

''It's not too large, but we are very close,'' said Simon Ho, a University of Miami engineering and economics senior. He also is an assistant instructor at John Wai Kung Fu Academy in Plantation.

Dragon boat racing is a tradition dating back to ancient China when poet Chu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River after being exiled from his kingdom. The village people raced through the water to save him; now the symbolic gesture of the sport.

But it is not just the Asian community that enjoys the festival, which sported 28 teams, with participants from as far away as London. Teams were divided into categories of mixed competitive, mixed recreational, men and high school.

Eric Maranda, a senior at Michael M. Krop High School in Miami, is captain of the Brazilian Dragons high school team.

''The drum is like the heart of the dragon, and it's not only about being fast but being together,'' said Maranda, who has been on the team for two years. The Brazilian Dragons won a gold medal Sunday in the high school category.

Maranda, 17, brought similar speed to the egg roll-eating contest this year, beating out four other competitors including last year's champion. The contest was one of several non-boat racing events at the festival, including a and children's drawing contest.

But it is the brightly painted boats with dragon heads and tails that attracted most of the participants and attention. The boats, which cost about $7,000, are purchased from China with donations given by members of the Asian community. Typically a boat holds 20 paddlers, a drummer and a steer person. Races are normally 500 meters, which can be completed in less than three minutes.

For the third year in a row, Haulover Ocean Dragons, made up of Miami-Dade lifeguards, were the overall champions as well as the men's division gold winners with a time of 2 minutes and 43 seconds.

''It's a great honor to know that we are participating in this sport that is dominated by the Chinese community,'' said team captain Luiz Morizot-Leite, 35.

The team includes one Chinese member, but is mostly made up of Brazilians, Argentines and Cubans. They have won the dragon boat championship for the past three years, not so much for their synchronization as their physical strength, Morizot-Leite said.

``As lifeguards we are a group of professional people who depend on our physique and the fact that we are great swimmers, runners and paddlers.''

Saturday's turnout was about 2,000 people, and the turnout was slightly higher Sunday as people came to enjoy the racing as well as the different vendors offering everything from Thai food to enormous colorful kites.

Jackie Kellog, public relations manager at ArtCenter in Miami Beach, invited friends and family to celebrate her son's 5th birthday Saturday.

''John Mark was born in the year of the dragon, so I thought it would be fun to have it here,'' said Kellog, who was wearing a bracelet with each one of her three children's Chinese birth year signs on it.