After finishing second in last year's Expat Men "B" Cup Final, the Liechtenstein Princely Navy was moved into the elite "A" category for the 2005 Stanley Dragon Boat Championships. Competing against some of the top teams in Hong Kong, the Navy was under no illusions that this would be a steep uphill struggle.

While competing in the "A" category posed some serious challenges for our Navy, it also placed us back in familiar territory: being the noisy underdog with a point to prove. Having gone from nothing to "A" category status in six seasons is of course an achievement in itself. However, the Princely Navy went to Stanley with an additional point to prove: that is, that you can compete seriously in the "A" category and still have fun (and the occasional Foster's fuel intake during the day).

Most of the competing "A" teams - AIA Southside Massive, Buzz EA Dragon, Tai Tam Tigers, Royal X-Men, HK Japanese Club A, Lamma Dragons, Extreme Bulldogs and the Nordic Dragons - obviously take things rather serious. The top title contenders train three times a week (as opposed to our single training session every Saturday) and they have strict zero fuel intake orders on race day - an impossible strategy for the Navy given sponsorship commitments and 15 cases of Foster's on race day !!

In an interesting twist of fate, our base for the day - the Liechtenstein Yacht - was moored right alongside archrivals AIA Southside Massive, who were the only team to beat us in every race last year. Following their success at the Short Course Race last weekend, it was clear that they were a favorite to win the main race this year. Their boat was in a correspondingly sober and serious mood throughout the day - in stark contrast to the Liechtenstein Yacht, which reportedly had the biggest party of the event, thanks to a fantastic DJ, excellent food, (almost) unlimited fuel supplies and, of course, the unquestionable party spirit that is at the heart and soul of our Navy.

As far as the actual dragon boat racing action was concerned, we were under no illusions. The goal was not to finish last in the two initial rounds, where we competed against the same eight teams twice. An additional challenge in the "A" category was that our first race was scheduled for the mid-day heat at 1145hrs, with the second round five hours of Foster's later at 1645hrs.

It turned out to be a sunny and hot day, with temperatures soaring particularly in the morning and over lunch. Our first round race thus turned into a grueling battle not only against the competition, but also against the heat. Lined up in lane 7, we shouted our final cries of "LIECHTENSTEIN!" before assuming Ready Positions for the race. On the shot of the starter's gun the Navy flawlessly executed our well-rehearsed but highly confidently starting sequence. Despite a decent start it was clear we were falling behind, causing the front row to set too high of a cruising speed in a desperate attempt to keep up with the field. In what felt like three kilometers (instead of the actual 300m), we raced our hearts out and eventually finished second - from last. Funny enough, the organizer erroneously put us down as second on the score board, until an overzealous member of AIA Southside Massive pointed out their mistake.

But we had achieved our target (albeit a low one) whereby we finished ahead of the Nordic Dragons who must have been at least a boat length behind us. This was enough cause for celebration back on the yacht, where the Chief Bratwurst Officer Stefan was preparing a sumptuous feast of risotto and sausages. Our DJ had also arrived in the meantime as our base turned into the liveliest party on the beach. In fact, it was getting so lively we had to start evicting uninvited guests from neighboring boats as our junk was packed to capacity.

With five hours to kill before our next race, it was clear to the Admiralty that fuel intake could not be restricted. In the contrary, the Navy's Fuel Research Division was convinced that a reasonable amount of Foster's intake would help to relax sore muscles and improve rhythm and enhance paddle stroke technique by reducing the brain's capacity to focus on irrelevant matters (such as how far ahead the competition was)!

At 1400hrs the Admiralty announced the Awards and Promotions 2005 to the assembled crew and invited guests. Congratulations to all Officers and Sailors on their excellent performance in the respective categories.

With minor adjustments to the crew line-up the Navy headed for the second round race at 1645hrs. The goal was the same (not to finish last), which would place us in the Stanley Dragon Boat Association Cup Final - the third of the top three Men's Joint Grand Finals. With the crew - and particularly the drummer - in high spirits, the Navy traded the usual insults and intimidations with our stern-faced opponents at the starting line. Again we enjoyed an excellent start and this time we changed the speed to a more measured and sustainable level at the READY AND REACH command. We maintained an excellent rhythm over the entire distance, proving the point of our Fuel Research Division. By all accounts it was a flawless performance and we finished second - from last - beating the Nordic Dragons once again. Maybe they are simply not used to these warmer climates.

However, unbeknownst to us (somewhere far ahead of our boat), there was a collision between the Extreme Bulldogs, Buzz and AIA Southside Massive, causing a dispute over the front positions of the race. In the event, Extreme Bulldogs were disqualified which moved the Navy into 7th place and therefore (against all expectations) into the second highest of the finals - the Southern District Council Cup Final!

According to the race flow-chart, the 18 Chinese Men's A teams would square off against the 9 Expat Men's A teams in one of the Men's Joint Grand Finals, according to their respective positions. Therefore, for our finals, we were now lined up against two Expat teams and six Chinese teams, including the Correctional Services Department (CSD) team of nasty-looking prison guards, against whom we squared off previously.

With the sun slowly setting over the horizon, the Navy showed its finest performance of a long, hard day of dragon boat racing. Far from being a sun set cruise, it was a fierce and hard fought battle to the finish line, with the race positions much closer than in any of our previous rounds. Again, thanks to a beautiful start (which we were afraid to miss due to the very loud music and supporter's noise coming from the Liechtenstein Yacht), the Navy was in a competitive position over the entire race distance. To our left, a team of under-aged skinny schoolboys from the Hong Kong Sea School was flying ahead and out of contention. But to our right, the CSD boys were struggling to keep the pace with the Navy and crossing the finish line many of us could have sworn we were ahead.

According to the official result, we came in 7th and the CSD in 4th, which did not quite correspond with our point of view. However, in the good spirit of the sport and in order to maintain good relations with our prison guard friends (you never know when you need it - especially in the Navy) we decided to accept the result graciously. It had been an excellent performance and it was clearly the Navy's finest hour in the season to-date.

We came with no expectations and we left as the 15th highest placed team in an event that attracts 166 corporate teams from around Hong Kong.