The last event of the league races, it was a face off in the 200m standard league competition as both Typhoon and Rage needed to beat one another to walk away with first place..

I received an email from Jo three weeks ago asking me to turn to page 5 of the daily London newspaper, Metro. At first glance, it looked like just another unfortunate part of the UK hit with the flash flood served up by the freak summer time weather. But under closer inspection, I could make out the Worcester race course under a good few feet of water!

There were talks about moving the racing venue to Cardiff but as summer finally arrived, the water drained in time to allow the event to go ahead as planned. The last league race of the season would be at Worcester.

12th August 2007

200m

As it stood, both Typhoon Tigers and Raging Dragons held 4 wins each. It had come down to this, the last race of the league to determine who would walk away with 200m title.

200m Heat

As there were to be no repecharges nor semi-finals, we only had one chance to make the minor, or even major, finals. Moreover, we only had one chance to put enough distance between ourselves and Raging Dragons. If this was to be the decider, not only would this be the most important race of the day but this would be the most important race of our 200m campaign!



With fire in our hearts, we exploded of the start line and commanded an early lead over BA Hurricane and Henley. Into the lengths and we pulled away even further. The pace was fast and I could be forgiven for expecting a power drop half way through the race but it just did not happen! The team knew that 1st place would not be enough; we needed the fastest possible time to give us a fighting chance at the title. Never have I seen the team paddle with such passion as they continued to attack the water stroke after stroke until we crossed the line at 57.60s. This was the fastest time of the day so far but would it be good enough?

We eagerly watched the remaining heats. The three top crews were of particular interest. Amathus, Thames and Batchworth fought tooth and nail and crossed the line with less than 1s separating all three boats. Batchworth was the only team to better our time with 56.81s.



Raging Dragons won their heat but how would their time compare to ours? Knowing how crucial this was, the official posted the finishing times of every team… except Raging Dragons! He walked away just to tease us! But then returned with the result… 59.15… Raging Dragons were into the minor finals. It was confirmed, as we were the only standard crew to make the cut for the major finals, we had gained maximum points for the day. This was enough to snatch the 200m championship by a single point! Well done Typhoon!

200m Major Final

Having achieved a better time than Amathus, there was only one team in the UK that we were yet to beat this season. This major final was the last race of the 200m league and the last chance to take on Batchworth. Asked whether we should set a realistic goal of 2 nd place for the 200m trophy, the team who were still in high spirits, were hungry for 1st place instead.



A blistering start from Batchworth soon knocked us back down to Earth! Batchworth lead the pack with Thames and Typhoon in hot pursuit. Viceman Liu nailed the stroke rate to give us a fighting chance. In last ditched effort for the line, we began to close in on the other two teams but we had to settle for 3rd place and a time of 58.64.

What a fantastic way to end the 200m league. Our 6th major final, 4th piece of silverware and 5th maximum points in 8 league events at 200m.

450m

As we are a team whose strength lies in the short distance discipline, we were happy to hear that the usual 500m were reduced to 450m.



We had already secured the 500m title dropping only 1 point in 7 events. But not content with that, we were after another win today to give us a flawless victory.

450m Qualifying Heat

Our performance in the 200m provided a good seeding for our qualifying heats. We were up against Amathus Dragon Jockeys and Amathus Bees.

But disaster stuck as Wai-Hung, who carried an injury in the 200m races, had to sit out with an ice pack on his arm. In order to balance the boat, JC swapped his paddle for a steering arm as he took the position of helm. Having made a huge effort to be there for the team in the morning, Chi had to rush off back to London. We were low on numbers and had to race with an 18 boat.



What happened to our usual powerful start? We were neck-and-neck with Amathus Bees from to finish. They stuck with us like glue! Every time we pushed harder so did they. We just couldn't shake them off. Both dragon heads crossed the line together but who was through to the Cup? Amathus Bees had pipped us by a mere 0.35s as we got 2:03.57.

450m Repecharge

This was our last chance to make the Cup. We had not raced in the Plate category this season and we were determined not to start doing so now! We had to beat the home team, Worcester, who were only 0.24s slower than us in the previous round.

But disaster stuck again! Viceman Liu had been feeling under the weather all week, was now overcome with dizzy spells. This was a massive blow as we were without our lead stroke! Our head coach, JC, took up the challenge and took on the role in row one.



After resting for one race, Wai-Hung was ready to reassume his position in the engine room. With 10 lefties fit and raring to go, we were ready to take on Worcester with a 20 man crew.

Off the blocks we went with a powerful start. A fantastic stroke rate was set by our replacement pacer. We had full technique on every stroke; we had full power on every stroke. And we had enough in the tank to step it up a gear for the finish. We shaved 3.5s of our previous time and came in at 7.5s ahead of Worcester with a time of 2:00.13. We had found our form again.

We had done enough to qualify for the Cup. No Plate for us, not this season!



450m Cup Heat

With such little turnaround time, our warm-down from our last race also became our warm-up for our next! We found ourselves in one of the toughest heats; we were up against Batchworth and Bristol Empire. If we were to progress to the semi-finals, we needed to win or at least be one of two fastest runner-ups.

Another powerful start from Batchworth and another good attempt from Typhoon to keep it. With only a couple of metres difference, we paddled with hope. 3… 2… 1… REACH! The call came from Chinaman Pete and by the tone of his voice you could tell he was really going for it! The whole team showed their support as they lengthen the stroke further. 3… 2… 1… FINISH! We all respond to Pete's call and pushed for the line. We finished in 3rd place and a time of 1:56.29. We shaved another 4s off our previous race despite having no rest between the two races. Our gruelling training of back-to-back 500m racing had paid off.

As it stood, we were the 2nd fastest runner-up behind Bristol and if it was to remain that way, we would have a place in the semi-finals. Three more heats to go, could we hang on? The runners-up of the next two heats all failed to break the 2 minute barrier. One more heat to go. Thames and 3 River Serpents powered down the river hungry for a win. Both looked strong, both looked fast and both beat our time. Thames won whilst 3 River Serpents qualified as the fastest runner-up. We had lost out but 3 River Serpents thoroughly deserved it.

450m Cup Place

Last race of the day, last race of the league and one last effort to make a difference.

As usual, we found ourselves up against BA Hurricane in the final. But more importantly, we would also be competing with Colenorton, the only other standard crew to make it thus far. We had secured ourselves a minimum of 15 points but we would have to beat Colenorton if we were to take all 16 points. This was no mean feat as Colenorton were on form today.

An awesome start gave us an early lead but I could see BA Hurricane veering toward us. No doubt they were trying to catch our wash! As they did so, our wave gave them a sling shot forward ahead of us! 3… 2… 1… REACH! Chinaman Pete called for the team step it up a gear as we fought to regain our lead. But BA Hurricane dug in deep to maintain their position in front. All the while, Colenorton began to sneak up on our left. 3… 2… 1… FINISH! A last ditched effort to make a difference. Three blows of the horn in quick succession showed just how close the race was. BA Hurricane came in 1st but only 0.6s ahead of us (1: 59.76), Colenorton were only 0.69 behind.



BA Hurricane had managed to escape again but we got the win over Colenorton that we were looking for. Maximum points for the day meant maximum points for the season, a flawless victory that can only be equalled but never beaten!

Colenorton came over congratulate us and shake our hands after the race. They were surprised to see Phan and Jo at the front of the boat exclaiming "Gosh! Two girls on the team!". But they failed to notice the other three at the back! I think our girls were quite chuffed at that! Colenorton, what a nice bunch.



Achievements of the Day

Maximum points for 200m! (Our 5th in 8 league events!)
Maximum points for 500m! (Our 7th in 8 league events!)
Major Final for 200m (Our 6th in 8 league events!)
3rd place for 200m (Our 4th piece of silverware in 8 league events!)
Standard Division 200m Championship (Winning by just 1 point!)
Standard Division 500m Championship (Without dropping a single point!)

Special Thanks

· Batchworth - For the hire of their new boat. She's a beauty!
· Helms - For their assistance throughout the day.
· Kaye - For being our last minute drummer! Despite being scared to death and almost falling off, you did a fantastic job! Feel free to shout at us any time!
· Yong Pang - For being the first Hurricane Tiger to race with us this season. You did brilliantly! I hope you enjoyed the experience and thirty for more!
· Chi - For making a huge effort to be there for the team in the morning despite having family commitments in the afternoon. We couldn't have done it without you.
· Nilesh - For missing his brother's birthday party the night before in favour of a good nights rest and a hungover free day. I'm sure you would agree it was worth it!
· Wai-Hung - For paddling despite an injury. Even King Leonidas from Sparta would have been proud!
· Andrew - For paddling despite being ill. You are a true warrior in every sense!



Results

200m Heat
1. Typhoon Tigers 57.60
2. BA Hurricane 59.80
3. Henley 1:01.75

200m Major Final
1. Batchworth 56.85
2. Thames Taniwhas 57.82
3. Typhoon Tigers 58.64

450m Qualifying Heat
1. Amathus Bees 2:03.22
2. Typhoon Tigers 2:03.57
3. Amathus Dragon Jockeys 2:21.87

450m Repecharge
1. Typhoon Tigers 2:00.13
2. Worcester 2:07.65

450m Cup Heat
1. Batchworth 1:54.43
2. Bristol Empire 1:55.37
3. Typhoon Tigers 1:56.29

450m Cup Place
1. BA Hurricane 1:59.16
2. Typhoon Tigers 1:59.76
3. Colenorton 2:00.45


D Dhana's Sister
1 Pete Ng Andrew
2 Phan Chi
3 Sam C Ping
4 Jeremy JC
5 Ben Dan
6 Waihung Ed
7 Alan H Alan T
8 Kwok Jo
9 Dhana Jose
10 Nilesh Kalai
11 Helen
12 Yong S

Written by Shun-Ping Chan