The Stanley Short Course Race brought an amazing season to a breathtaking conclusion. We had seven races on a hot sunny day, out of which we scored five P1s, one P3 and one P2! We successfully defended our Small Boat CHAMPION title from the Stanley Warm Up Races with Navy Black Ops finishing third in the same final. In the Standard Boat, the Gold Cup Final was as tight as it gets, with the Navy missing out on the big trophy by only 0.03 of a second.

During the post race celebrations, the Admiralty announced the following Promotions and Awards for the 2018 season.

The 2018 racing season goes underway at the Samsung 61st Festival of Sports - Dragon Boat Race.

The Stanley Championships can be summed up quite easily: P2 x 3 = P2. Yes, it was basically just us against the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and we gave them a run for their money in each of the three finals, narrowing the gap from 1.37 seconds to 0.75 and 0.44 seconds. And although our start was blistering hot and generally well executed, the Royal X came back at us in the chug and at the finishing piece.

So here we are again, defenders of the First Runner-Up Cup! But it was a solid performance and with all due respect to the remaining A Cup competitors, behind us no one else was in contention for the lead. And at the front, the gap is narrowing... So we'll come back next year and finish what we started 17 years ago...!

Part 2 of a gruelling paddling weekend saw the Navy in all-out action at the Lamma 500! And not only were we racing in our usual Open (i.e. Men's) category, but for the first time in Liechtenstein naval history we raced a mixed team, as the VRC ladies ran out of boys that day and invited our Sailors to team up.

The day didn't start too well as we messed up the start to the first Mixed heat and ended up third. But we learned quickly and executed a flawless start in the Open heat - P1. We restored our honour in the second Mixed heat with a P1 against the surprisingly competitive Sea Cucumbers and went on to power the VRC LIECHTENSTEIN to victory in the Mixed Plate Final.

Meanwhile the Boys Only Boat delivered another P1 in the second heat and a P3 in the 1000m race. The Open Cup Final was a hell of a showdown against the Royal X, with a dog fight all the way down to the line and the X stealing the cup in .54 of a second! Great fun, nonetheless and we're hungry for more!

A busy racing weekend starting with the Stanley Warm Up Races, where the Navy competed in both Standard Boats and "Half Standard Boats", aka Small Boats.

The day started well with a P1 in each heat. Semis in Big Boat was a P2, half a second behind A+ Dragon. In the Small Boat final Stormies beat us to the line with their big monster chug.

The Men's Gold Cup Final was an epic showdown with first to last separated by 1.5 seconds only. We ended up 5th, but the Admiralty was pleased with the overall effort and performance: well done boys for the first big race event of the season!

The Liechtenstein Princely Navy came overall First Runner Up in the elite Men’s A Cup at the Stanley Championships! Not bad for a team that essentially started off as half a team six months ago… Read the full Race Report.

The Navy proved today that it is still a force to reckon with, despite a year of rebuilding the team! Read about our performance at the Stanley Warm Up Races.

The HKIDBR is a tough set of races, where the best of Hong Kong - and internationally - battle it out in the pristine waters of TST East. It s where the likes of the Royal X find themselves in a Repechage!

A new start to the end of the season: read POFC Ken s report from the Stanley Short Course Race.

3 x 4 = 4. Read about the Liechtenstein Princely Navy's battle for fourth place at the Stanley Championships.

The Liechtenstein Princely Navy picks up it’s first Championship trophy of the season in Mui Wo.

Read Sailor Ken's report of the Navy's battles at the Stanley Short Course Race as well as the Deep Water Bay Regatta.

The Liechtenstein Princely Navy turns up at The Lamma 500 to defend its Championship crown, but things don't go quite according to plan…

The 2015 season has commenced earlier this week with a very committed turnout of 16 Sailors to the first Circuit Training session at 0530hrs!

And a similar crowd of both seasoned Sailors and a few new recruits found their way to Stanley for the first offshore session for the year. THD (Top Hand Drive) and FL@C (Fully Loaded at the Catch) are some of the new lingo this year. But one call remains unchanged: LIECHTENSTEEEEEEEEEEEEIN!

Stay in touch with the latest Navy news via our Facebook page!

The Navy White Xmas party has been another roaring success, with HKD 59,470 raised for the Hong Kong Sea School!

The Admiralty would like to thank all participating Sailors and donors for their generosity and creativity in raising these funds for our friends at the Sea School!

A spectacular season comes to an end in somewhat unspectacular fashion at the Stanley Short Course Race!

The Liechtenstein Princely Navy had come to the HKIDBR to establish dragon boat superiority, but was out-gunned and out-technique'd by the local fisherman, services and association teams.

It was hot, it was wild and it wasn't quite what we expected. Here's what happened at the Stanley Championships.

Another weekend, another race, another Gold Cup Final. Read about our race in Mui Wo.

It's been a long and wet weekend of paddling! Read our short report from the Stanley Warm Up Races and Deep Water Bay .

The Liechtenstein Princely Navy clinches the Lamma 500 CHAMPIONSHIP for the first time, having competed at the event for the past eight years since its inaugural run.

Read all about the Navy’s first competitive outing in the 2014 season at the Sha Tin small boat races.

GRIN AND BEAR IT - training has officially begun at 0630hrs this morning! Well done to the 15 Sailors and New Recruits that turned up in pitch darkness for Circuit Training. And don't worry - there's LOTS MORE PAIN TO COME! ENJOY!

For more updates, follow us on Facebook!

Dressed in our finest White Uniforms, Sailors of the Navy raised just over HKD 100,000 for the Hong Kong Sea School at the 2013 Navy White Christmas.

And check out more pictures on our Facebook page!

It's official: 2013 has been the Liechtenstein Princely Navy's most successful season ever! We competed in nine events with a total of 13 different races/categories and in six of those we set our best results ever:

2nd place Lamma 1000m race
Champion Stanley 5000m race
Champion Stanley Warm Up Race, Small Boat category
2nd place Silver Cup, Mui Wo
2nd place Gold Cup, Stanley Championships
3rd place Gold Cup, Stanley Short Course Race

The Admiralty wishes to thank all paddlers, sponsors, supporters and other fans of the Navy for their staunch support and we look forward to another exciting season in 2014!

Read all race report of the 2013 Season .

What a great day to end a great season in style! Three times P1 in the heats and semi finals and P3 in the Gold Cup Final! We'll have to check the Naval archives, but the Stanley Short Course Race is quite likely one for the record books.

Read the report of the Small Boat Race and other events at the HKIDBR!

The Navy finishes overall second in the Men's A Division at the Stanley Championships in a solid day of paddling, with a P3, P2 and P2 in the three heats, edging out the Sea School Old Boys into overall third.

Watch the Oscar-worthy report on the Liechtenstein Princely Navy on TVB (skip forward to the last bullet point on the timeline)

The Liechtenstein Princely Navy achieves its best result in Mui Wo since first competing there in 2009 - finishing second in the Men's Silver Cup Final!

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

The Navy explores uncharted territory with the 5km Stanley Dragon Boat Summer Rally 2013. Read the full report by Sailor Woody.

"Scraping through" is not the most flattering way to describe our performance at the VRC Deep Water Bay Regatta, but it was quite accurate - at least for the early part of the event.

The Liechtenstein Princely Navy applies a handbrake turn and is rewarded with a massive pineapple trophy at the Lamma 500.

After a four years break, 'Operation Nightcrawler VII' took place once again on the shores of Hong Kong. Planned to 'inflict maximum possible pain to the minds and bodies of our Sailors' Operation Nightcrawler ('ONC') fully lived up to its self-declared goal.

Our first race of the 2013 season was at the lovely Sha Tin Riviera, on the pristine Shing Mun River, where the only sign of life is the e-coli bacteria bubbling on the surface of the water. Read the full report.

Having completely depleted all available Foster's fuel supplies in Hong Kong , the Liechtenstein Princely Navy has been offered a new fuel sponsorship by Singha Beer.

Singha will provide the Navy with performance-enhanced fuel for increased combat ability, stamina and post-operational re-hydration.

The Singha is a mystical lion, found in ancient Hindu and Thai stories. It is a powerful mythological creature. Together with the mystical dragon, ruler of rivers, lakes and seas, the Liechtenstein Princely Navy has combined two formidable forces to dominate the high seas going forward!

The 2012 Navy White Christmas was a roaring success, raising over HKD 50,000 for the Hong Kong Sea School.

And check out more pictures on our Facebook page!

Read the full report of the Liechtenstein Princely Navy's first Singapore Mission.

The Liechtenstein Princely Navy enjoyed a great weekend in our ongoing quest TO RULE THE WORLD, or at least the Dragonboat World. Super result on Saturday - 1st runner up in the 500m small boat category in the Gold Cup Final.

Good racing on Sunday too, especially the first race with only 8 guys, brilliant performance to clock the 3rd fastest time in the heats. The final wasn’t all that bad either, considering that LtCmdr Erne broke his paddle! And Sailor Robin also promised to get even more in shape and lose another 8 kgs!

Finally a final's win! Displaying some excellent early off-season form, The Liechtenstein Princely Navy brings home the Golden Plate from its first appearance at the Cheung Chau Dragon Boat Races.

Desperate for a decent paddling shirt and hoping to impress female co-paddlers, Shevy of the Canberra-based Ice Dragons contacted the Admiralty after the CCWC in the hope of obtaining a highly sought-after Navy uniform. The Admiralty took pity upon his pleas and sent him a shirt in the hope of re-claiming a bit of support for our fuel sponsor down-under, where Foster's does not appear to have many fans left...

Looking good, Shevy!

Ending the Official 2012 Navy Season in style, the Liechtenstein Princely Navy battle-paddles it out against the Chinese boys at the increasingly competitive Stanley Short Course Race.

Check out all the reports of the entire Race Season 2012.

A highly determined and specially trained Assault Team of the Liechtenstein Princely Navy takes the competition head-on at the Fair Dinkum Rush, trying to beat a key opponent at their own event.

Read the full report by Sailor Dan.

The Liechtenstein Princely Navy opens the Foster’s early as we fail to make it past the repechage in Sha Tin. But a look at the results alone only tells half the story.

Click here for the full story!

Amazing Thailand – Amazing Liechtenstein! That sums up the Navy’s first Bangkok Mission!

Click here for full report!

Click here for YouTube video!

The Navy set another record, this time in terms of fund raising, during the social highlight of the season - the Navy White Christmas!

The Navy competes in an exciting offseason event in Macau, but suffers from jetlag.

It's August and it's sizzling hot, but the Liechtenstein Princely Navy is out on the waters practicing for its upcoming offseason races in Macau and Bangkok. View the secret training footage!

Why shorter is better: the Liechtenstein Princely Navy finishes the season with another Cup Final appearance at the Stanley Short Course Race.

The Liechtenstein Princely Navy is Financial Insitutions & Banks CHAMPION in the small boat category, with two decisive victories in both heats. Read the full story.

Plus, why we were disqualified in the Open Championship for finishing a race with one person down.

“Veni, Vidi, Voster” – we came, we saw, we drank Foster. Of course, it should have been “Veni, Vidi, Vici” like the famous words of Julius Caesar, who came, saw and conquered. Read the full story.

Chief Petty Officer Dave "Marginal" Murray is developing the Navy's new offseason training technique - 'dry paddling' an LGT tram along the shore of Hong Kong island!

Race report from Mui Wo and how we got tied up at the start – literally!

The Lamma 500 and why coming fifth just isn't good enough!

Second race and second Cup Final in as many days. No sinking this time! Full story

The first race result is encouraging as the Navy makes it into the Cup Final in Deep Water Bay. The sinking drill is also well practiced.

The 2011 season went underway in earnest as the Liechtenstein Princely Navy conducted its first overseas Boot Camp.

Kicking off the 2011 season in great form and style, Admiral Colani and Commander Streun stormed to the top of South East Asia’s highest peak, Mt. Kinabalu, in a breathtaking 4 hrs and 20 minutes. Deciding on a day climb instead of the usual overnight mission, Commander Streun – for whom everything in life seems to be a race – set a blistering pace leaving the Timpohon Gate near park headquarters (1800m) at 0740hrs. Targeting to ascend 500m every hour, the Liechtenstein platoon sped up the mountain in fine form, reaching the summit (4095m) just before noon in bright sunshine. The descent on weakened legs and knees felt forever, although in reality only took just over three hours for the meandering Admiral (and considerably less for the kamikaze speed-descending Commander).

Petty Officer 1st Class Robin Wattinger completed the same mission a couple of days later at a more leisurely pace.

The Navy gets in the Christmas spirit and raises some hard cash for Operation Santa Claus at its annual Navy White Christmas!

The Navy conducts its most ambitious off-season training - the Ruedi Run!

The Navy goes undercover – and occasionally falls under the table – at Operation German Bierfest!

The location for the 2010 Official Post Navy Party was a closely guarded secret. The crew was assembled at Pier 9 in Central hoping for a nice boat ride. Instead, Sailors were required to climb to the top of the Peak to the residence of Sailor Kaspar whose house must be about the third highest on Hong Kong island. Covering this vertical climb from sea to sky in just under an hour, the crew was rewarded with a refreshing bottle of Foster’s and the most spectacular view – and by that we mean the Hong Kong skyline at night and not the sight of an entire boatload of half naked sweaty Sailors frolicking in a spa!

The Admiralty declares the 2010 season complete with the conclusion of the Stanley Short Course Race!

Read all the reports of the 2010 Season.

As confirmed by the following GPS data, the Liechtenstein Princely Navy has broken the water speed record in a dragon boat with a top speed of 299.8 km/h.

Our Post Ops Reconstruction and Komputation (PORK) analysis has attributed this astonishing result to a combination of carbon fiber paddles employed and one extra can of Red Bull shared among the crew prior to the session.

Seas were obviously pretty rough, as is evidenced in the elevation gain of 94m. The minimum elevation of -10m also suggests that the Navy went into submarine mode at one point, although we do not have any specific recollection of that. But it's hard to keep your eyes open when you paddle at 299.8km/h...

The Liechtenstein Princely Navy celebrated the season in style at its annual Navy White Christmas party, raising over $25,000 for Operation Santa Claus.

Read the full report.

Five elite troops of the Liechtenstein Princely Navy competed at the annual Hong Chi Climbathon, climbing 1,688 steps straight up to the 75th Floor "Apex" of Central Plaza in Wanchai and raising $1000 each for charity.

Four of the five Sailors finished in the Top Ten with the best time going to LTCMDR Streun who finished third in 12:21. Sailor Robin (15th in 18:04) was beaten by 70-plus-year-old Mr. Lam Lit Kwan (highlighted in yellow) who finished 14th in 17:57! Sailor Robin has been reprimanded for Unfit Conduct While On Duty by the Admiralty.

Click here for full race results.

The Liechtenstein Princely Navy successfully conducted its first pre-season fitness test – code-named The Ruedi Run, after its initiator Sailor Ruedi Wildi. Held in an undisclosed remote location in the New Territories, the Ruedi Run consisted of a steep climb from civilization up a rugged peak through thick bush land, covering a vertical distance of some 700 meters. From the peak, the Run actually lived up to its name with a steady downhill running section back to sea level. A dozen Sailors and new recruits concluded the mission in under three hours, indicating encouraging fitness levels for a tough 2009 season ahead. Equally important, all crew demonstrated an undiminished fuel intake capacity at the subsequent BBQ at Sailor Ruedi’s hideout.

The Liechtenstein Princely Navy had the exceptional honor of hosting our Commander-in-Chief, His Serene Highness Prince Hans-Adam II together with his sons, Hereditary Prince Alois and Prince Max, CEO of LGT Group alongside Prince Phillip, Chairman of the Foundation Board of LGT Group on the occasion of the foundation board’s visit to Hong Kong in October 2008.

Read the full report.

The highly acclaimed motion picture of the Navy’s 2008 season premiers at Admiralty HQ to an invitation-only audience of Navy celebrities and Sailors. The premier will be preceded by an exclusive screening of “Boot Camp 2008”, the gruesome yet inspiring documentary of the Navy’s most cruel Special Ops.

After nine long years and several seasons of coming second, the Liechtenstein Princely Navy finally clinched the title of B Class Champion at the Stanley International Dragon Boat Championships in a display of supreme teamwork, absolute determination and raw power!

Congratulations to everybody on a hard earned and well deserved victory!

Read the full report.

The Navy successfully conducted its annual sinking drill off Stanley Main Beach today. Practicing for their upcoming Operation White Beach to Boracay Island, Apprentice Sailor Fred Laine commandeered a fully loaded ship through a powerful “LiechtenStart” when the bow of the boat was hit by a succession of large waves caused by a careless speedboat. Taking on heavy waters, the Navy instinctively exercised its sinking drill, which consists of:

1) Secure the drummer and dry bag;
2) Secure Sailor Wyn;
3) Abandon ship, relax and await the rescue.

The rescue eventually materialized in the form of a fellow dragon boat which brought Commander Mei and Sailor Wyn back to shore while the rest of the crew tried to bail the fully submerged craft – a task tantamount to bailing out the South China Sea. The Hong Kong Marine Police, which regularly surveys the activities of the Liechtenstein Princely Navy in order to gain a competitive advantage for their own dragon boat team was alerted by the sudden disappearance of our ship on their radar screen and picked the floating congregation of Sailors out of the jelly fish-invested waters.

All Sailors were accounted for and practice resumed with some delay.

Nicole, the four year old daughter of Lieutenant Commander Streun was learning the alphabet the other day and when asked to come up with a word that starts with the letter “F” she said “Liechtenstein”. No, there’s no F in Liechtenstein, her father objected. Yes, there is, she said: “Foster’s”!!!

Information about Liechtenstein's confidential Nuclear Program has been leaked to the press. The Admiralty of the Liechtenstein Princely Navy had no comment other than saying that "[we] look forward to taking delivery of our first nuclear powered dragon boat in 2008."

The Liechtenstein Princely Navy is pleased to announce the successful marriage of Admiral Colani and Commander Mei. Operation "Get Hitched" was a complete success from the delivery of the groom by big dragon to crew marching down the isle in full uniform.

Liechtenstein surveillance satellites picked up the below footage of the sinking Buzz dragon boat during the 2006 Stanley Dragon Boat Championships, after allegedly being hit by a Liechtenstein torpedo. When pressed about details of the incident, the Admiralty had “no comments”.

Not needing the help of a torpedo, rival team Tai Tam Tigers are pictured below in a classic sinking maneuver, thanks to head-on collision with the Royal X Men during the Stanley Short Course Race.