Another day, another tough race event for the Navy. The 7th Deep Water Bay Dragon Boat Race was the 2nd event for the Navy in a busy racing schedule during May 2006. The Deep Water Bay race attracts all the top teams - including the Liechtenstein Princely Navy, of course!

The Navy – as always – of course had the best base camp, the most flags, the most beer, the best music, the greatest atmosphere… but, the paddling wasn’t where it was supposed to be.

Given, the competition in Deep Water Bay is formidable and the distance – 500 meters – is about 250 meters beyond the Navy’s peak performance, but still - we should have done better.

The first race was the luck of the draw against competitors way beyond the Navy’s torpedo reach, such as HKIPC and Windrider, but coming last out of six boats was still not an acceptable outcome. The start was messed up and the Navy’s famous traction control never kicked in. Also, after about 100 paddle strokes the boat went into a complete drifting mode with the waves slowly overtaking the boat.

Relegated into the repecharge, the Admiralty was optimistic that some revenge could be exercised against major rivals such as AIA Southside Massive and the Tai Tam Tigers. However, despite a more decent start the Navy did not manage to keep up the pace and promptly ended up again at the back of the field. Not a pretty sight indeed. Following such poor showing, CTA Charlie had a tough word with the assembled crew and the Admiralty subsequently suspended all Foster’s fuel intake during the upcoming lunch break.

The team’s mediocre performance thus put the Navy into the “Minor Tail” final, a huge disgrace for Prince and Country. Nevertheless, the Admiralty was determined to set the record straight and at least win the “Minor Tail” (although “The Liechtenstein Princely Navy – holders of the 2006 Minor Tail” doesn’t sound that enticing).

Lining up for the final showdown of the day at 1400hrs, CTA Charlie was prepared to throw down the gauntlet: On his command – not the starter's – the Navy was off to a blistering pace, doubling the normal 10 “hot” strokes to a total of 20, giving the boat a crucial early advantage. However, 160 stokes is a long way to go and despite all the cries of “READY AND REACH” and several “POWER UP NOW” calls, the Navy slowly slipped into a disappointing 5th place, only beating underdogs the Anzacs and the Hong Kong Institute of Architects – both of which were a foregone conclusion. However, the crew gave it all, the start was well executed and there was little left in terms of extra power.

While the Admiralty is by no means satisfied with the performance achieved today, it is another step in the long journey towards the Navy’s ultimate goal in the 2006 season.