Months of tough Circuit Training have finally shown some tangible results as a much fitter and more competitive Liechtenstein Princely Navy gave the competition a run for their money at the Lamma International Dragon Boat Festival 2008. The result: a very rewarding second place in the Plate Final.

The Liechtenstein Princely Navy has historically been known as a sprinter force with its best results over shorter distance races of 200 – 300m. However, thanks to a rigorous fitness regime initiated in early January, a much leaner and meaner Navy is finally ready to take on the competition in the longer 500m races – first results of which were already seen in Boracay.

After having completely been washed out by bad weather in its inaugural year, the Lamma 500 – as it has become to be known – was staged in much better weather conditions this year: calm and flat waters off the beautiful Lamma power station with even the occasional sunshine breaking through the clouds. All the problems from last year had been ironed out, including a smooth transfer service from the Princely Yacht to the shore.

Having arrived in style with its massive inflatable Foster’s can on the roof, the Navy made its way to the beach for the first heat at 1100hrs against Open University, HKUST Alumni and BGC Stormy Men. Like the Navy, the Stormy’s team – especially their ladies – have made a big step forward this season and were the clear favorites for this heat, which they finished in an undisputed lead of 2:05. The Navy however was locked in a fierce battle for second place against HKUST Alumni. The result was a photo finish (see left) with the tiniest of margin: the Navy was beaten by one hundredth of a second in 2.12:13 for HKUST versus 2:12:14 for Liechtenstein.

Despite the marginal defeat, the race was an important confidence booster for the crew, as the power and fitness levels were clearly there to take on a lot of teams out there. After lunch, our second heat was against ABN AMRO, Castle Peak Power Station and, again, the Stormy boys. Finishing again in the 2:12s, the Navy won a clear second place this time around despite a strong challenge by Castle Peak Power.

The combined times of the first two heats meant that the Navy had to compete in the Repechage for a place in Plate Final. Out of five teams, only the first two would go through so the objective was obvious – fight for live and leave nothing behind. Alongside a mixed bag of teams were the Royal X-Men, a formidable competitor at best of times. But, as always, the Navy would focus on its own boat, its own strategy, and its own race. Heads in the boat, and we were off to a good start but fell into a small hole at around 30-40 strokes, but powered up at 50 and again at a breathless 100 for the sprint to the line where we gave it all to secure our place in the Plate Final, which we did with a respectable second place finish (again!) behind the Royal X-Men.

Psyched up and pumped to the limit on a fresh supply of Red Bull, chocolate and bananas, the Navy was hungry for more in our first final of the season. Despite having run the distance of 500m three times already in a single day – an unimaginable feat a few years ago – our battle-hardened Sailors were fit and ready to take the fight to line one more time. The Lamma Men had qualified for the Plate Final through their first two heats and were thus a race “fresher”. The Royal X-Men were there again, of course, together with Ocean Park and MTR from the other repechage.

Fully loaded with twenty paddlers we lined up for the start for the usual “line 1 go back, line 3 come forward, etc”, but with our paddles at the ready and our minds focused on the target 500m ahead. Apprentice Sailor Fred executed a magnificent LiechtenStart straight out of the Charlie Riding School of “Let’s Go” Starts that put the Navy ahead and the competitors into a panicked frenzy. Chugging along with the last ounce of power in our bodies, the crew tried its best to maintain the momentum, finding the reserves deep down inside to power up at 50 and switching off all non-essential life support functions – including the brain – at 100 to divert all blood, energy and power into the final spurt to the finish line.

Breathless, brainless and aching from head to toe an amazed crew looked upon the feat just achieved: a second place finish less than a second behind the Lamma Men, but some five seconds ahead of the Royal X-Men and miles ahead of the rest of the field.

Despite another second place finish and nagging questions of what-could-have-been, it is fair to say that the Navy was giving its all and that a 7th place finish out of a strong field of 16 men’s team is an excellent result and a huge improvement over last year.

Deep Water Bay – here we come, ready for more 500m action!

Download the Full Race Results