Liechtenstein Princely Navy | Official Dragon Boat Team

May 7, 2006: 7th Deep Water Bay Dragon Boat Races

Another day, another tough race event for the Navy. The 7th Deep Water Bay Dragon Boat Race was the 2nd event for the Navy in a busy racing schedule during May 2006. The Deep Water Bay race attracts all the top teams - including the Liechtenstein Princely Navy, of course!

The Navy as always of course had the best base camp, the most flags, the most beer, the best music, the greatest atmosphere but, the paddling wasnt where it was supposed to be.

Given, the competition in Deep Water Bay is formidable and the distance 500 meters is about 250 meters beyond the Navys peak performance, but still - we should have done better.

The first race was the luck of the draw against competitors way beyond the Navys torpedo reach, such as HKIPC and Windrider, but coming last out of six boats was still not an acceptable outcome. The start was messed up and the Navys famous traction control never kicked in. Also, after about 100 paddle strokes the boat went into a complete drifting mode with the waves slowly overtaking the boat.

Relegated into the repecharge, the Admiralty was optimistic that some revenge could be exercised against major rivals such as AIA Southside Massive and the Tai Tam Tigers. However, despite a more decent start the Navy did not manage to keep up the pace and promptly ended up again at the back of the field. Not a pretty sight indeed. Following such poor showing, CTA Charlie had a tough word with the assembled crew and the Admiralty subsequently suspended all Fosters fuel intake during the upcoming lunch break.

The teams mediocre performance thus put the Navy into the Minor Tail final, a huge disgrace for Prince and Country. Nevertheless, the Admiralty was determined to set the record straight and at least win the Minor Tail (although The Liechtenstein Princely Navy holders of the 2006 Minor Tail doesnt sound that enticing).

Lining up for the final showdown of the day at 1400hrs, CTA Charlie was prepared to throw down the gauntlet: On his command not the starter's the Navy was off to a blistering pace, doubling the normal 10 hot strokes to a total of 20, giving the boat a crucial early advantage. However, 160 stokes is a long way to go and despite all the cries of READY AND REACH and several POWER UP NOW calls, the Navy slowly slipped into a disappointing 5th place, only beating underdogs the Anzacs and the Hong Kong Institute of Architects both of which were a foregone conclusion. However, the crew gave it all, the start was well executed and there was little left in terms of extra power.

While the Admiralty is by no means satisfied with the performance achieved today, it is another step in the long journey towards the Navys ultimate goal in the 2006 season.