The Liechtenstein Princely Navy set a new record in modern dragon boat racing this weekend - sinking three times in four races in the Hong Kong harbor in a race weekend full of contraversy!

For the second year in a row, the Liechtenstein Princely Navy was the only European team to compete in the International category, which attracts teams from the Philippines, Japan, Macau and the Mainland China. In addition, some 90 local teams compete alongside the Tsim Sha Tsui East waterfront, where the races have been moved after 10 years in Sha Tin.

Racing against the backdrop of the Hong Kong skyline is of course much more spectacular than paddling down the smelly Shing Mun River in Sha Tin. However, in return the event is exposed to the swells and waves of the open sea, making it a much tougher competition to race in. Despite the best efforts of the organizer to contain the waves with a line of barges, it nevertheless ended up to be the roughest waters our Navy has yet operated in.

Observing some of the other competitors, we noticed that some teams replaced their mid-ship paddlers with full time bailers - simply to avoid sinking the boat. Also, we considered the option of running a lighter boat instead of the maximum 20 paddlers, which we eventually did on Sunday.

Being enlisted in the Open International Championship meant that we only had one qualifying race on Saturday in order to set the time that would determine our position on Sunday. Lining up against the heavyweight teams from around the region, our humble Navy was under no illusions for the race result. However, the goal was not to come first, but to set a good time for Sunday.

While the start was again much of a surprise affair, we got off to a good race pace. This being a 500-meter race, it was clear that endurance was more important than sheer speed. We kept up a good rhythm and almost beat the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Association team to the line. (According to the official time, we were five seconds behind the Hong Kong team, but the Admiralty is convinced it was a lot less.) Macau came first in 01:54.90 while we were fifth in 02:24.88 according to the official result.

Having crossed the finish line the helmsman took a sharp turn to the right to avoid colliding with the spectator boat moored at the head of the race course, causing the boat to take too much water on and sinking the boat for good. Having tasted our first gulps of Hong Kong harbor water, we were nevertheless satisfied with our performance.

According to the times set on Saturday, the 72 men's teams (local and international) were divided into three pools of 24 each: Cup, Plate and Bowl. With the 50th fastest time of the day, we narrowly missed the cut for the Plate and ended up in the Bowl competition on Sunday.

Our first heat on Sunday - scheduled for 9:40 but already about one hour behind schedule - placed us in line 5 alongside arch-rivals HSBC, two CLP teams and other local crews. Fully motivated, warmed-up, psyched-up and ready to go, we tried to hold our boat in position for the start. On the shot of the gun we executed an excellent start and moved well ahead when suddenly the starter signaled a false start. Aparently boat number one had jumped the start.

We turned around and tried to move the boat back into the starting position - not an easy task in those waters. Finally, with everybody back in line, we were off to another good start on the shot of the gun, moving convincingly ahead of the field. However, we noticed our boat leaning hard to the right and eventually swinging back sharply to the left as the helmsman desperately tried to keep the boat in a straight line. Moving in a zigzag course from the starting line we tried hard to keep up ahead.

However, veering dangerously to the left we were heading onto a collision course with the boat of CLP Northern Dragon in lane 6. As we collided sideways and rubbed shoulders on our left, there were desperate shouts of "KEEP ON PADDLING, KEEP ON PADDLING", obviously intended only for those sitting on the right. We were momentarily separated and tried to regain control, but shortly collided for the second time. By now we had also taken a large amount of water onboard and there were frantic scenes of bailing in the middle of the boat. Sitting in the front right position, the Admiral was less affected by the collision and the water we had taken on and kept on paddling in vain until suddenly the bow of the boat - including a half amused / half scared drummer - lifted up into the air as the stern was submerging titanic-style in the harbor. Abandoning ship and using the buoyancy of the wooden boat as a life raft, we waited for the rescue to appear.

On dry land the Admiralty immediately lodged a protest with the Race Control, citing the fact that our race was compromised by the inability of the steersman - which we had hired from the organizer - to hold a straight line. We argued that it was therefore to no fault of our own that the boat collided and eventually sank. We demanded either a re-race or a place in the Bowl Final, for which we were in a strong condition to qualify. The judge panel, consisting of the Chief Umpire, the head of the HKDBA and a visiting mainland official mostly ignored or rejected our protest, arguing that it was nobody's fault and that they therefore saw no reason for a re-race. However, the Admiralty cited the fact the one of the Philippine teams sunk during the qualifying round on Saturday and was subsequently allowed to re-race. The judge panel argued that there was a difference between the Saturday and Sunday format, but the Navy insisted that there was only one set of rules which had to apply for everybody. Inflaming the situation further, the organizer offered to refund the HK$ 800 paid for the helmsman - without admitting guilt. At this point the Admiralty was so infuriated that we considered various more radical protest options. Meanwhile, Sailors started to conduct various interviews with the assembled press to voice their disappointment. Finally managing to get hold of the President of the HKDBA after two hours of arguing, the Navy made it clear that we would not accept leaving the competition on such a bad note. Eventually, the President relented and let the Navy defend its honor in the Repechage which would lead either to the Bowl Grand Final, 'B' Final or 'C' Final.

Having spent the past two hours arguing, we now urgently had to reassemble the team and head straight for the assembly area. Deciding on a lighter boat and having lost a few Sailors in the meantime, we lined up with a crew of 18 in line zero. Line zero being the one closest to the shore meant we had to deal with less traffic and could simply concentrate on a good race. We also had a strong point to prove now, after all the arguments of the morning. Fully fired up, we executed a perfect start and settled into a hard and unrelenting pace. Powering up at 40 strokes and again at 80 strokes we maintained an excellent pace and rhythm over the entire race distance, crossing the line in second position, a mere 1.06 seconds behind the Hong Kong Japanese Club and barely 0.2 seconds ahead of our prison guard rivals from the Correctional Services Department (CSD). It also turned out to be the only race of the entire weekend during which we did not sink, proving that if we stay afloat we are a highly competitive force to be reckoned with. Since it was one of the few races to be broadcast live by TVB, it was all the more important.

Unfortunately only the winner of the Repechage would make it into the Bowl Grand Final, and we were thus left to compete in the 'B' Final instead. We were again in familiar company, lining up against HSBC, the boys from the CSD and Bank of China. While obviously somebody jumped the start (as apparently they always do, according to one of the officials), we joined the fray trying to keep up with the field. But maybe the strains of a long season were finally starting to show as we clearly fell behind. The waters were also very rough by now and we jumped over a few sizeable waves on the way to the finish line. Taking on more and more water, it was becoming a fight to stay afloat and not come last. Spotting HSBC in line 1 on the far right, a final cry of "LET'S BEAT HSBC!!!" resulted in a last ditch power surge, which unfortunately was not sufficient to beat them to the line. We ended up 7th (and 2nd last) and promptly sank for the third and last time, Sailors and Drummer standing to attention as the boat disappeared below the water line.

While we could obviously have hoped for a better result, we were nonetheless satisfied with the racing action of the weekend. The Navy had proved its point when it mattered most (in the Repechage) and we successfully defended our reputation as the noisiest and most fun-loving team on the racing circuit.