The Liechtenstein Princely Navy goes from zero to hero in a day of hard - and wet - paddling at the Stanley Warm-Up Races.

The captioned event keeps growing in size every year, attracting an ever-growing list of teams in a multitude of categories. But in the only category that matters (to us, at least) 43 Men's teams were competing in a preview showdown of the main event barely two weeks away.

Our first heat already had us in very good (meaning competitive) company - Fire Services, Royal X, Hong Kong Sea School, UBS and a couple of others all rearing to go. And off we went - to a lumpy start straight into a sloppy Fast 15 followed by a poor transition into a heartless chug devoid of energy and urgency. Flat, rubbish, wasted. That's maybe a bit harsh, but that's what it felt like and everybody came off the boat feeling disappointed. Maybe it was a lack of focus, a lack of urgency and aggressiveness - or a simple shortage of Red Bull.

Whatever it was, it could - and would - be fixed. But not before a massive downpour combined with thunder and lighting - the wrath from above for such a poor showing in the first heat. It was a fourth place finish nonetheless and - crucially from a sponsor's perspective - ahead of UBS in fifth, which meant that we still qualified for the Cup semis and not the Bowel [sic] Semi-finals.

When the heavens calmed down it was time to redeem ourselves in the Small Boat heat, sending a core crew of ten paddlers to the start against a mostly Chinese competition. The Small Boats are great fun as their claustrophobic layout totally connects every piece of your body with the boat and thus the power transmission from water to paddle to body to boat is pure and perfect. And so was our race - a solid start and a superb Fast 15 put us comfortably ahead where we stayed and controlled the race with a smooth chug. P1 in 1:09.72, P2 came home in 1:13.76. Redemption indeed!

The Small Boat Championship was clearly ours to win, with no other boat having gone below 1:10. But it wasn't going to be easy, as the organizers had - again - slotted the Men's small boat races right between the Men's standard boats, meaning that we would race back-to-back in Race 47 and 48. With no spare paddlers - we were two short by now - the small boat crew would be properly warmed up for their final, to say the least.

The Standard Boat semis were crucial, too. Only P1 and P2 would go on to the Gold Cup Final, where we had a second place finish to defend from last year. This time, our focus was so single-minded I can't even recall who else was in the semis. We also introduced POFC Martin's pre-start LiechtenFocusCall: 3..2..1..LIK TEN STEIN! Sharp and short and hard to convey on paper. And all that voodoo worked great: we had another sharp start and a great chug until about 40. We pulled ahead of some boys in white on our right but then they crept back on us. The POWER UP call didn't really come through and the last twenty strokes seemed a bit gritty and out of control.

We were across the line in a short sequence of hoots - and straight off the boat into the small boat for that final. Flushing out the lactic build-up on the way to the finish line our hard core ten psyched themselves up for a 250m run for glory. Reports from the battlefield told a story of a messy start but a very composed effort to regain the upper hand. Watching from the safety of the shore it was impossible to tell the position, but it seemed like a much closer race than the first heat. The boys roared across the line and collapsed in a heap of LiechtenSweat!

The good news filtered through after a little while: P1 in the semis and P1 in the small boat final! LIECHTENSTEIN !!!

It was all to play for now in the Big Final. The heavens signaled their support with a faint glimmer of sunshine while down on earth we looked for a simple improvement on those last 20 strokes. Chief Racing Officer Barnaby was spot on with his instruction to change the POWER UP call to a READY AND REACH with the aim of sitting up, breathing air and taking timing from the front - as opposed to clenching teeth and gritting down.

It worked well. The start was as good as it gets these days and the chug was controlled and - as observers from the beach report - markedly slower then the competition. But speed is not everything - it's TIMING and POWER that matter and those came through nicely. READY AND REACH and recalling Barnaby's instructions I even managed a shout of BREATHE! at 50 (strokes, that is, not my age). Barnaby was right all along - even in his prediction of 'we can clearly place in this final'. And we did: P3 and a podium finish behind the FirePants and Royal X, ahead of Stormies. UBS was last.

So what started off as a weak and wobbly day turned into a solid Gold Cup podium and outright Small Boat victory. The Singha beer tasted particularly sweet that afternoon.

Admiral's final note: The Royal X are clearly the team to beat this season. We will work hard to close that gap in the next two and a half weeks. But it is obvious that they benefit from a depth of numbers (racing both A & B teams), something that remains a weakness of the Navy. We need to get bigger to get better - to have a full boat at each and every race and a healthy competition for a seat in the boat. Thus, if you're a fit and motivated paddler reading this report and you're tired of paddling with some mediocre outfit with ugly shirts and lack of fuel sponsorship - JOIN THE NAVY! We promise you a life of pain and hardship, briefly interrupted by great joys of glory and Singha beer! Get in touch with us now at admiral@navy.li