It was a promising yet challenging opening to the 2005 racing season - the 6th Deep Water Bay Dragon Boat Race, organized by the Hong Kong Island Paddle Club and attracting some of the top teams locally as well as a strong contingent from Singapore.

Having missed last year's entry deadline, it was the first time the Navy participated at this 500-meter event. It was only our second 500-meter race, following last year's participation at the Hong Kong International Race over the same distance. The races in Stanley, by comparison, are over a 200-300 meter distance, which has generally seen the Navy's peak performance.

However, the longer race distance is compensated by lighter and faster fiberglass boats, as opposed to the heavy wooden variety used in Stanley. As a result, the number of paddle strokes used for the 500-meter race (ca. 140 including the start sequence) is actually similar to the shorter race in heavier boats. Furthermore, the paddler capacity for the men's event was increased from 20 to 22, giving additional power to the boat.

In the Men's Category, there were 24 teams joining the Liechtenstein Princely Navy in a veritable Who's Who of local dragon boat racing, including many top Chinese teams from all corners of the territory. Our first race at 0915 hrs therefore provided a prompt reality check of the Navy's standing in its fifth season of competitive racing.

We were lined up next to the HK Fire Services Dragon Boat Team, which eventually went on to win the event, despite using a seemingly gay drummer in tight shorts that cannot possibly have been approved by the Fire Department. Gay drummer aside, their performance was stunning: by the time we put in our third stroke they were already a boat length ahead and by half distance they were sailing into the horizon! But they were still beaten by the South Eagles, a light blue/yellow pyjama-clad team that eventually also made it into the Cup Final. In a field of such formidable strength, the Navy had to settle for a hard fought fifth place finish.

This put us in the Men's Repechage at 1100hrs, where the field would now be more equalized. Again, out of seven teams we were the only 'foreign' faces - and as always the most vocal competitor (pre- and post-race intimidation is one of the Navy's great skills!). Starting in lane 6 next to Windrider and Tai Po Fung Fo Tong (who?) it was our best race of the day with a fight for first, second and third going all the way down to the line. We had a good start, consistent rhythm and excellent speed. But 500-meters is a long way and despite only a small margin, we were never able to close a small gap to the other two teams, finishing third in 2.06.88. The rest of the field was more than five seconds behind.

Feeling strong and highly motivated, we retreated to Camp Foster's on the beach for lunch and a strictly limited single can of Foster's per Sailor before the Bowl Final at 1500hrs. The HKIPC must be congratulated for putting together and excellently organized event, with a good party atmosphere on the beach in Deep Water Bay, which these days is much more pristine than Stanley Main Beach, where the government has erected a monstrosity of a Water Sports Center smack in the middle of the beach.

Judging from the finishing time in our second race, the Navy had a fair chance to actually win the Bowl Final. However, it was obvious that a certain tiredness had crept into the team during the four-hour gap before the final. Winds had also picked up quite a bit, but this was obviously affecting everybody to the same extent. After a lengthy repositioning at the starting line, the race was off to a false start thanks to the HKUST Alumni Team. After repositioning the six boats, we were off to a decent start. However, two boats were clearly leading and it thus turned into a grueling race for a podium finish, which unfortunately we marginally lost to the orange Towngas boys by less than a second.

While we could have hoped for a better result, it is of course still early days in the season and racing against such formidable competition has provided the Navy with valuable experience for our upcoming contests. In fact, the second race has shown that the Navy is in good shape, training has paid off nicely and more can be expected as we fight for Prince and Country in the next two months!

The Admiralty would like to extend a special round of thanks to the Buzz EA Dragon team, which has kindly loaned the Navy some of their excellent paddlers to make up our numbers; the Chief Bratwurst Officer Stefan for providing an excellent lunch; Naval Photographer Becky for selflessly putting herself in the line of action to capture our battles; and Captain Widmer for providing mission crucial logistical and transportation support.