In the final battle of the season, the Liechtenstein Princely Navy came up against some fierce competition – and more inclimate weather! The race against the competition was tight, but the race against the elements was hopeless!

The Stanley Short Course Race marked the sixth and final event of the Navy’s 2006 season – the longest ever in terms of races participated in. The 2006 season will also go down in history as the Navy’s wettest and most rain-soaked as the crew was battered by rain, wind and storms at almost every event.

While it had rained heavily the week before, early on Sunday morning it looked like we may end the season on a (dry) high. Although still cloudy and overcast, the sun was peering through the clouds, sending the crew into a frantic scramble for sunscream. With our base established prominently on the beach, banners and Liechtenstein flag raised high, Red Bull and Foster’s chilled for the occasion, the Navy was rearing to go one more time for Prince and Country in 2006.

Heat 1 was scheduled at a civilized 1100hrs, giving Sailors ample time to sleep off the previous night’s activities. Sailor Joerg’s nocturnal actions must have been particularly strenuous as he overslept by about two hours. Sailor LiechtenSteve was also not in shape, complaining about jetlag and nausea before scratching his tummy twice and retiring from the event.

Thus reduced to the required crew size of 18 paddlers, the Navy lined up in boat 4 alongside HSBC, the Institute for Human Performance (!?), HKHS Fire Dragon and Kaiser (!?). On Charlie’s command 18 paddles hit the water in unison, but strangely there was a complete lack of traction in the first few strokes. It felt like starting an old car up an icy slope. By the fifth stroke the boat finally gained some momentum, leading the Navy into a short and frantic sprint to the finish – only 50 cruising stokes to the line – which we eventually crossed in third (56:94), just ahead of HSBC (57:28).

There was clearly some room for improvement for the next heat at 1310hrs which would see the Navy (lane 4) pitted against arch rivals Tai Tam Tigers (lane 5). The objective of this heat was clear: to beat the Tigers.

Lined up for the race, the starter was clearly under Charlie’s orders – and not the other way round. As he went “Paddles Up!”, the starter obliged with “READY!” and as Charlie went “LET’S GO!”, the starter followed up with the horn – a classic LiechtenStart! And this time, the traction of our V18 engine worked 100%. As we moved into the fast-paced “power strokes” the Navy edged gradually ahead of the Tigers. “READY… AND … REACH!” and the crew locked down into the powerful ‘chug piece’ of the race, fully aware of the Tigers’ presence barely a meter across.

It was a dead heat down to the line – the Tigers’ powerful, but heavier, destroyer against the Navy’s lighter and better synchronized cruiser. A classic and brilliant battle to the finish – seperated by 0.13 of a second as we stormed across the line. Unfortunately, race control deemed the the 13 hundredth of a second in favor of the Tigers, although the Navy’s Geothermal Observation and Tracking System (GOAT) clearly put the Liechtenstein boat a dragon’s neck ahead of the Tigers.

The remaining three boats of the heat were over a boat length behind, presumably enjoying a spirited race for third place.

Having accumulated 9 points from a second and third finish, the Navy was ranked 16th out of 39 men’s teams, securing a place in the Gold Plate Final against a formidable line up that included Windrider (winner of the event on May 1st), Stanley Mates and Freudenberg & Vilene. Hopes of winning against such heavyweight (not literally – in the contrary) Chinese opposition were slim. Weather conditions had also worsened significantly with rain (surprise, surprise!) and rough seas. While our start felt sufficiently good, within a couple of strokes we were already in the wake of the quicker local teams. Surfing our way through heavy swells, we took on a lot of water, adding more weight to what felt already like an aircraft carrier. We crossed the line in sixth and last, although less than five second off the pace.

Ironically, the Tigers also came last in the Silver Cup Final while another arch-rival, AIA Southside Massive came last in the Gold Cup Final. A fitting result to the last event of the season!

But no result is bad enough for the Navy to celebrate, which as usual we did in style (depite the rain) at a BBQ hosted by Chief Galley Officer Stefan with plenty of Foster’s curtesy of the Admiralty.