The Liechtenstein Princely Navy applies a handbrake turn and is rewarded with a massive pineapple trophy!

With temperatures still in deep winter territory, we boarded HSH Liechtenstein and headed for Lamma island for the first of our two 500m events. Aside from being a bit of a fitness test (given the distance), the race would also provide a first opportunity to measure ourselves against the usual suspects.

Our first heat had us up against the SMUGz, Lantau Boat Club, DBS Old Boys and Royal X-Men B. Despite a fairly weak start, we dominated the race for most of the distance, finishing in 2:03.38 ahead of Lantau Boat Club in 2:05.18. The key take-away was that it was a very well controlled race, i.e. we kept our pace and timing well in check, aided by the fact that we were clearly ahead from the start.

Heat 2 on the other hand was much messier. The main threat was the BUZZ in lane 2 and they had a blistering start, putting us on the back foot from the go. As a result, our race piece never came together properly as we chased them down the course. The finish time of 2:05 was still quite respectable, especially considering that we only paddled with 18 Sailors. But it was still only second place behind the BUZZ with the remaining boats far away.

Next up was the 1000m race which we would purely use to fine-tune our timing and technique. In fact, we decided to make it two 500m races with proper starts at the bottom and top of the racecourse - and a handbrake turn at the buoy. The latter was quite a feat with the left holding the boat at full speed and the right turning the 12-meter boat ninety degrees! It was all good fun and it showed that fitness levels are definitely up there where they should be. As we learned later, the 'bit of fun' actually turned into the 2nd place finish of the Open 1000m Race and earned us a massive trophy (and a long wait on the beach to collect it, buy hey, we'll do anything for a bit of silverware!)

Back to the 500m Cup Final, for which we had qualified with a total of 10 points from the first and second heat. AMS Dragon Boat Team (apparently the re-named South Eagles) had won both their heats as did the home team, Lamma Dragons. Buzz was there too, as were the Royal X Men A , who managed to scrape in with 8 points.

To get the most out of the final, we decided to apply some Black Magic by changing into our long-sleeve dragon shirts (the return of chilly winter conditions also had something to do with it). We were now the outsiders in Lane 1. The strategy was to stay cool, apply control and composure and let good timing and technique drive the boat. Sitting on the right and thus looking at nothing but the long wall of the Lamma Power Station meant that most of the clues of our race position came via audio, not video. The first interesting audio observation was at about 110 stokes (out of a race distance of about 130) when the finish line hooter went with AMS crossing the line in 1.56. I say interesting, because at that time I couldn't even see the finish line yet. Quite a long time later two more hoots for Royal X (2:03) and the BUZZ (2:04) and then one for us (2:05) and later one for Lamma.

Obviously not quite the result we had hoped for but then again, we really did go to Lamma for the 1000m race (yeah, right!). The AMS boys clearly came from another planet, also winning the 1000m in 4:04 while we were second in 4:21. I mean, think about it: 4:04 means that they did each way in under two minutes, given that you need at least a few seconds to for the turning bit. That's just nuts!

What else did we learn? Ah yes, you can get a really bad sunburn on a cloudy day and still be cold on the beach! What's up with that?