Navy explores uncharted territory with the 5km Stanley Dragon Boat Summer Rally 2013.

Friday 17th May; Buddha's Birthday. And what better way to celebrate this auspicious day than with a 5km Dragon Boat Race!

At 1030hrs a Joint Task Force of Weapons-grade Navy Sailors, Double 'ard SeaGod Mercenaries and a rogue HSBC Insurance Assassin congregated on the Stanley beach, ready to tackle the inaugural 5km Stanley Dragon Boat race. As it was the first time that a 5km race had been hosted by the Stanley DBA, attendance was a bit thin, attracting 3 Men's teams and 2 Mixed teams...or perhaps the thought of racing for 5km scared the brown stuff out of most teams. Needless to say, our mission was simple; win it and set the benchmark for future 5km races.

After a brief meet n'greet between comrades, LTJG Barnaby went about setting the crew composition; put big boy Piers from the Seagods in the middle (and boy was he a powerhouse; even the Hulk would quiver in his boots!)...and taper the weight outwards from there. Next, race strategy; 10 deep from the start line, relax into a comfortable chug, maintaining focus on position, rotation and lean. As it was a long race, the mind may wander. If boat speed or timing felt off, a call for a set of 20 'focus' strokes would be made to get us back in play.

1145hrs; Boom! We're off. Immediately The Navy and the 2 other men's teams took the lead, dropping the mixed boats faster than a fat kid at a cake buffet. A few minutes later and the Wind-Rider team succumbed to the faster pace. It was now a 2 horse race; the Navy Vs Team Chinese-summin-summin. Initial thoughts were that this would be a painfully close race all the way, each team nipping at the heels of the other. After around 5-minutes, Team Chinese-summin-summin edged forward slightly; their stroke was clean, their timing was poetic. But we're the Navy! And we certainly weren't having any of that! A call from the middle - "20 on the legs!" - Job done...we were back in contention and it wasn't long before we started to actually edge ahead! Confidence spiked instantly and this could be felt throughout the boat. The scent of intimidation made its way to Team Chinese-summin-summin and bang! they blew up; no longer in our peripheral. We now had a clear lead and all that lay ahead were calm waters. But the race strategy remained unchanged; comfortable chug and maintain focus.

The half way marker saw us execute a flawless sharp left 'LiechtenTurn'; a drill perfected at the recent Lamma 1km race. Anchor the paddles on the left, extend the reach on the right and don't fall out! Another 10 deep strokes to pick up boat speed and back into the chug. A quick glance behind us and no other team could be seen anywhere. The gap was so vast that even a missile launched by one of POFC Dan's Northern relatives would fall short at this distance! Thankfully maturity on the boat was high and everyone remained cool, calm and composed, not letting the almost guaranteed victory go to their heads.

Time to bring it home.....1,100!...1,120!..."20 full rotation!"...1,140!.......1,200!..."20 sit upright!".........1,300!............1,500! (jeez this is a long way!)......1,800! And across the line in a time of 25m14s. VICTORY! Team Chinese-summin-summin, would cross the line nearly 2mins later.

But the day didn't end there. To help promote the sport of Dragon Boating, a 'fun' and 'light-hearted' game of Tug-of-War was held. Each paddling team were allowed to enter one ToW team of 8. But being the Navy, we have special privileges, that range from the customary (such as free beers & red bulls, heaps of top-end sporting attire, junk boats, professional circuit training, free parties in private locations....you know, the basic stuff)....all the way up to the highly exclusive; in this case inviting two Navy teams to take part in the Tug-of-War contest! And what were the chances of both Navy teams meeting in the final? Given their competitive nature, i'd say fair to middling ;-)

Sure enough, each Navy team won their 1-min heat round and would face off in the final. But a single all male 'tug-off' round wouldn't cut it...no no no. A quiet word with the organiser and the 'fun' and 'light-hearted' game of Tug-of-War was upgraded to a 3-round Grudge Match! GAME ON!!!! Each round saw all 16 men tugging their hearts out, strumming their paddles until their palms bled, climaxing with explosive loads of raw power and grimace, but the ultimate 2-0 victory went to the team lead by the Navy's own LTJG Barnaby and Seagod Captain Ryan Whelan. All Tug-of-War videos can be seen on YouTube.

All in all, a great day. Massive thanks to all mercenaries for climbing aboard. The Navy will certainly be back next year to retain the title!