The main event of the season, the Stanley Dragon Boat Championships, turned into a virtual lottery in very unstable and windy weather conditions. Unfortunately, Lady Luck was not on the side of the Navy today and thus our result did not live up to the expectations built on the successes earlier in the season.

The bad news already started on the previous day. After having secured a good spot for our junk along the race course early the previous morning and having set up all our flags and banners in bright sunshine, the weather deteriorated rapidly in the afternoon, forcing all junks to abandon position and seek shelter in nearby Tai Tam bay. The next morning, with the strong monsoon signal still hoisted, they were scattered all over the place. Ours was pretty much the furthest away from any action.

There was more bad news on the paddling front: due to the strong wind and very choppy conditions, crew size was cut from 18 to 12 paddlers, which would force all teams into having to make some tough crew selection decisions. Although the Navy follows a strictly top-down, non-democratic decision making process, this would still be a difficult choice since many team members had made a determined training effort throughout the season.

With a strategic target of making the grand Gold Cup Final, the Admiralty decided to put our strongest and most experienced crew into the first heat. The stakes were very high as we were in a strong field that included Jeb Fellas (lots of HKIPC guys), bgc Stormy Dragons, old rivals Fair Dinkum Shakers and the Dubai Diggers in lane 6 just to the left of us.

A few days prior to the event there was a boisterous flurry of email exchanges between the VB-fuelled Dubai Diggers and our own fuel suppliers at Foster’s to the extent that the Navy now not only had to defend the honor of Prince and Country, but also of Foster’s who had staked the first round of post-race drinks on our success over the Diggers.

Ready for our first heat, we sat patiently at the starting line. On the gun shot we blasted out of the water in a strong, controlled LiechtenStart. Into the fast ten, “ready and reach”, and we were off into our chug, clearly ahead of the field. But the Diggers came charging at us, literally, in a steep angle and hitting our boat on the port side. With frantic paddle slapping on the left and powerful pulling on the right we eventually managed to pull ourselves free, but the early momentum had obviously been lost. As we regained control and pace, we only managed to cross the line in fifth (actually not that bad, considering that none of the other ten boats were entangled in any collision).

The Admiralty obviously filed an immediate complaint with Race Control who agreed that the Navy had been impeded by the poor helmsman skills of the Diggers and awarded us their fourth place instead. Nevertheless, this was a disappointment as we were on course for a first or second place finish.

This year, the A Cup operated on a points system, whereby the combined points from the first and second heat would determine the classification for the three finals. With crucial points lost in the first heat, we would have to regain these in the second. However, we also had to think about crew selection. If we wanted to give all Sailors a chance to paddle today, we would have to rotate the crew. After some deliberation, the Admiralty came to the conclusion that this was really a team effort and we should try our best to allow each Sailor to paddle at least once. Leading by example, the Admiral thus stepped aside for the second heat together with four other Sailors to allow a second batch of paddlers to go for glory.

Watching from the shore, it looked as if the Navy’s start was a bit rushed, but it came together nicely in the chug. However, far more apparent was that the helmsman of the Dubai Diggers was yet again intent on taking out as many teams as possible, with their boat veering sharply to the left this time and thus cutting across the bow of at least two or three teams. While the Navy finished in a solid third or fourth position, this time Race Control decided to re-race the heat.

On the plus side, this meant that more Sailors would get a chance to paddle, but the downside was a potential loss of a good score. Worsening matters further was the fact that the organizer decided to stage the re-race after the customary eye-dotting ceremony and other formalities, which meant that we would sitting in our dragon boat for over half an hour, freezing and shivering in soaking wet uniforms, waiting for the race to resume. Neither did we have any lunch yet and it was almost 3pm before the re-race got under way.

Our start was fairly decent and we looked strong for the first half of the race but somehow we dropped into a hole in the second half. The race actually felt quite good as we closely raced the boats to our left and right. Further to our left, however, Jeb Fellas had pulled way ahead and had taken the Tai Tam Tigers with them, finishing a strong first and second while we only managed fifth. The Dubai Diggers were disqualified (presumably for jumping the start), so at least the Foster’s honor was saved by now.

Back on the junk, we finally had time for a late lunch – as always, expertly prepared by Chief Galley Officer Stefan – as well as to announce the Awards & Promotions for 2009.

With a fourth and fifth place finish we had collected a total of 17 points – the same in fact as the Tai Tam Tigers. However, the rules stipulate that if several teams have the same amount of points, their places will be decided by the second race which meant that we just missed the cut-off into the top eight for the Gold Cup Final. This was a major disappointment since the Gold Cup featured numerous teams that we had beaten at different occasions earlier in the season.

We thus had to focus (pronounced with a heavy French accent) on a strong finish for the Silver Cup, or Sun Life Cup Final as it was formally known. In a final twist, the organizer increased the crew size from 12 to 16 just shortly before the race, meaning that the Admiralty had to scramble additional crew who had already set their eyes on a very large supply of Foster’s fuel.

The competition in the Silver Cup would be no less fierce, with Lion Art Dragon to our left and the Buzz – A Cup Champions in 2005 – to our right. All eyes were locked on Chief Focus Officer Fred as paddles went up into ready position. “Go!!!” and sixteen blades hit the water in unison for three deep, long, powerful strokes. “Hot!” and the pace quickened for another three. “Hot!” and up for another four. “Let’s go!” and we nudged the boat ahead with ten quick strokes. Ahead of the Admiral, in row 2, Petty Officer Martin Sinclair’s paddle got stuck on a rope. Thinking this can’t be happening, he managed to pull himself free. But before long, the Buzz came closer and closer on our right. Smack and whack, paddles were starting to slam into each other. “Keep paddling!” We pulled apart, racing ahead. “30! Stay long!” The Buzz came up closer again – do they love us that much? Smack and whack again. Meanwhile, unimpeded by such close encounters, Lion Art Dragon pulled ahead on the left. “50! Keep going!” Frantic pace by the Buzz. Stay long! “60 – Let’s go!” We gave it all we got, stayed long and pulled with all force – mental and physical – across the invisible line and way beyond.

Lion Art Dragon had Lady Luck to thank for a clean race and thus the victory. The Navy had the Buzz to thank for attracting them into our lane twice in the race, but still managed to finish second ahead of them. Not a bad result – 10th overall out of 23 elite A teams – but obviously we had hoped for more.

It was time to crack open the supply of 15 cases of Foster’s (which was almost untouched due to the miserable weather and lack of guests on the junk) and reflect on a day of “What ifs”, “Could haves”, “Would haves” and “Should haves”. Yes, if the Dubai Diggers wouldn’t have taken us out in the first heat, we could have made the Gold Cup Final. And what if they re-raced the first heat? And if we could have raced with a full boat it should have looked differently. And if the Buzz had bumped into someone else, we could have won the Silver Cup. But, this is racing and the result is what it is. Luck is part of the equation and sometimes it’s with you and sometimes it’s not.

We also came together strongly as a team. Despite the restrictions, almost all Active Duty Sailors managed to get to paddle for the main event, which is the ambition of every paddler worth his weight. There were no arguments over crew selection and the team and Liechtenstein cause were put first.

The Admiral also had to remind all Sailors to stay realistic – we can’t just walk into the Gold Cup Final and expect to steal the trophy away under the nose of some very serious competition – yet! Let’s see again next year!