A White Christmas Party in support of Operation Santa Claus

Given the recent cancellation of U.S. naval visits to Hong Kong, the Liechtenstein Princely Navy had decided to step into the void and aid the local economy by holding its White Christmas Party at Stormie’s in Lan Kwai Fong on 8 December 2007.

In addition to supporting the local economy (which according to the Admiralty’s economic advisors was not in any urgent need of help), the Liechtenstein Princely Navy was also going to support Operation Santa Claus.

The party went underway at 2000hrs sharply, with Sailors of the Navy attending in full white uniforms – some of them missing their head gear for unexplained reasons (“We may lose them later”, somebody said…).

Making good use of an open bar for three hours, the party was quickly under way and many a Sailor in a happy mood before long. A reporter and photographer of the South China Morning Post (SCMP) were on hand to report on the festivities and the respective charity drive. While some Sailors had donated money online to Operation Santa Claus, the Admiralty decided on a number of creative auctions to raise additional funds.

The first such auction involved a truly ugly “Shirt of Shame” that was obtained from a Chinese team during a post-race shirt swap at the International Races a few years ago. The objective of the auction was to raise funds that had to be matched by non-attending Sailors (Able Seaman Frauenfelder in particular) in order to avoid having to wear this inferior and embarrassingly tight uniform for the entire 2008 season. Frenzied bidding raised $2800 quickly, which now must be matched by these Sailors. In addition, framed photographs and other mementos were auction off.

Sailor Wyn was the highest bidder for an ‘Italia’ shirt swapped with the Italian National Team in Sha Tin a while back. He later was subject of an auction himself – or better his rear end – which the attending ladies were bidding frantically to touch. CTA Charlie, Petty Officer Reto and Sailor Steve were performing an excellent – albeit unfinished – striptease that saw them taking bits of clothing off for each additional $100 donation to charity. By this time the reporter and photographer had fortunately left the scene as much of the activity could not be published in a family newspaper!

At 2300hrs the Navy relocated from the private confines of the Crow’s Nest into the open public of Lan Kwai Fong. Fully-uniformed Sailors of the Navy are always a sight to behold and quickly become the centre of attention. Therefore, the Admiralty decreed that anybody wishing to take a picture with or of the Navy had to donate $100 to charity. While some passers-by refused flatly (and thus missed their chance for a unique photo opportunity), most people were eventually swayed to support a good cause. Meanwhile, some of the ladies were selling kisses (and hopefully nothing else) in the street to raise additional funds.