It's paddling, not rowing

I recently joined a dragonboat team (http://www.accadbr.com/) and it's a lot of fun...the first session nearly killed me (I ached all over the next day), but after that it got a lot easier. Which is to say, I only feel mild twinges the day after a training session, rather than aching all down my back from elbows to knees.

I even went in a (short) race the other day, and managed not to drop my paddle or even collide it with that of my teammate behind or ahead of me, which I consider a pretty good showing when I'm trying to paddle that fast. AND I've managed to absorb the fact that what I do is paddling, not rowing. Though I've still no understanding whatsoever of what the difference is.

It's brought to mind the fact that terminology to do with stuff on water is very pedantic. For example, I quite definitely paddle, not row, when I'm out on a dragonboat. And it seems there's a very distinct difference between a boat and a ship, though noone seems to be very clear on what that difference is. Does a yacht go somewhere in the middle?

It seems life these days is a perpetual struggle to try to understand the jargon.