26 July 2008 - J.I. race - Of gold, ghost, and goals.

This year, we landed our first-ever gold medal,

An awesome race that saw us banish the ghost of 2007 J.I.

From words to reality - our goals came to life.

Heats 1:22:45

Semis 1:21:11

Final 1:20:38

Mixed Category Champion:

Papillon

Sounds like heck of a season!

= Chief Editor signing off =

19 and 20 July 2008 - This is sheer intensity.

19 July, Saturday, Kallang Basin

Today was at Kallang as usual. But unusually, we were in our battle gear. Ahhh - it's for the camera. (Everyone now - look cool and row properly - die-die must synchronize ah! Now SMILE and wave!)

Coach Patrick decided to try a new charge called the PRESSURE charge. After a few attempts, we abandoned it. Simply because the phase was too long - we lao4 hong1* in the midst of our charge to the finishing. So we reverted back to the good old 'hard-10, kiyah' charge. With the distinct preparation and execution phases, it showed better results.

* lao4 hong1 = punctured.

With Pierre cameoing as our coxswain of the day, steering was done with great precision - afterall he is the most expensive imported coxswain in Singapore (for the day la). Estimation and instructions were excellent - most importantly, we didn't notice his presence much - which is good! (Like referees, the good ones are those who stay unnoticed while facilitating a smooth flow - ie. no zigzagging, no crashing, etc.)

Cosy Bay was not so cosy today with the tremendous atmospheric noise from nearby construction work. Our lip-reading and God-of-Gamblers-style 'ear-twitching' skills were put to the test as we strained hard to hear Patrick. (Guess it's good practice for our ears to listen out for charge calls next Saturday!)

Our favourite sparring partner - Vets! - then floated alongside to bask in the noise and challenge us in three pace sets. (Excellent neck to neck stuff! - Well done to both teams.) In our desire to win, everyone pulled out all the stops - but Ah Ben wins hands down for maximum effort - he collapsed in the back seat with a little toe cramp.

During this time, we found ourselves in a unfamiliar area towards the Aljunied/Geylang side - it was quite a peaceful scene except for the occasional dragonboat scurrying by in the canal.

All in all, there was good pace and progress, though something seemed to be missing. Nevermind... we'll look for it tomorrow. Sunday at Lower Seletar Reservoir - preparation at the actual battle ground!

_______________________________________________

20 July, Sunday, Lower Seletar Reservoir

Today, we turned out in our finest too - but there was no camera crew. (What the..!?) To think Christy went to set her hair and we all secretly did 500 push ups in the morning to improve muscle definition just for the camera.

The place was much better than yesterday - it was an idyllic sight with sprinklers creating dancing mists at the golf course in the distance, and bright orange slimy algae on the pontoon and boat hull - which Dawn gleefully scraped off amidst exclamations of "grossss..."

We rowed towards the starting buoys, rehearsing what to expect next Saturday for the Jurong Island race. We counted the buoys, marked out where the alert zone for charging was, and did many MANY starts and race sets. Searching for that 'something missing' from yesterday - aha - it's the aggression during charging. Strangely, with each set we did, it seemed to pick up. By the final few sets, Papillon was roaring with each charge we did. "YES! - that's what I want to see." - Patrick.

Friendly Vets were again out in full force today. So we paced with them, with good result. Could have something to do with imagery - we imagined them as our No.1 opponent - the Police, with very muscular and intelligent* ladies.

* High forehead = intelligent... (Note: This is extremely disguised humour for the select few who get it.)

Finally achieving what we had set out to do, and finishing strong, Patrick decided to release us. Papillon whoosh and paddles/life vests/bum pads all packed into Ken's car (Thanks Ken!) - we were finally off for the weekend!

__________________________

Paps - remember - although Patrick might not be in time to steer us for the first 2 races, it doesn't matter - we are ready.

In fact, we have already done everything that we could have done - build up of race experience in the weeks before, gym, water training, final recce and practice at the race site - we cannot be any more prepared.

So, have great faith in yourself, in us - that Papillon is ready for the big one.

Rest well and recover by Friday. And most importantly, let's be mentally strong. I know you will be feeling a tingle inside you from now until race day - but fear not. For that is not nervousness - that's Excitement.

Make it happen.

= Chief Editor signing off =

12 July 2008 - CCG Dragonboat

Yes - the day has finally come. After a week of killing stomach butterflies, Papillon (oh, the irony!!*) gathered at Bedok Reservoir this Saturday for CCG dragonboat.

* Irony because, if you recall, 'papillon' = 'butterfly' in french.

We were in good time to catch our guy teams in action during their semi-finals, doing well to secure 3 of out 6 slots in the Final and eventually emerging proud winners of the Silver and Bronze medals. Congrats all around!

With the Men's category done and dusted, it was now Show Time! for the Mixed cat. The opening ceremony was made more lively by some Rather Boisterous Spirits amongst the teams, and it was with good cheer we dispersed to get ready for our events.

Papillons warmed up for the heats (haha), listening intently as Coach Patrick quickly schooled us in the art of 'Drifting to Victory'. We were duly confused; but Ah Ben, with his extreme intelligence, condensed all that into a simple: 'Ah Beng Ah Seng Start' - in other words, no room for gentlemanliness. Ah... understooded.

Time's up - off we went - Initial-P* drifting smoothly down Lane 1 in Heat 1. When the command was given to 'GO!', we burst off to a good start with our gears nicely engaged. After the 30 strokes, we maintained a strong rhythm before launching into a short charge towards the last 50m. Video replays captured a phenomenal surge that pulled us clear ahead of the other boats. What a finish! - 1 min 18 sec - NICE.

* P for Papillon la.

Next up - Semi-finals. It was to be... a heartstopping race. Having been very prim and proper all our years in EM, Papillons were not used to the 'Ah Ben Ah Seng' start and were flummoxed by the not holding water during 'Hold water', paddling during 'Are you ready', etc. When we finally shot off, we were not able to gain the edge like in our heats. It was a nail-biting race to the end, but we managed to edge out Citibank by a whisker, to book a slot in the Final.

A serious debrief awaited us - which we solemnly absorbed and resolved to do a Perfect Start in the Final. By this time, limbs were limp and lactic acid was oozing from our pores. But we steeled ourselves for what was to come.

The start of the Final was a noisy affair. Loudhailers blared away with new rules and warnings and blah blah... but Papillon was focused. Focused on Patrick's calls.

This time, it was Perfect.

We got off on a good start and rowed hard. A charge was called in the middle, and we squeezed out 10 hard strokes to try and pull ahead. (What seemed like) mili-seconds later, came the final charge. The feeling was incredible - it's like your head, lungs, arms and muscles were gonna burst. Crossed the finishing line, we finally looked up and around. It must have been very close, because there was an uncharacteristically subdued moment - much like when a striker that looked offside scores a goal and everyone is wondering if it would stand.

Credit to OCBC (haha!), they were the faster team and deserved the Gold.

But let me say, my Papillons - You can hold your heads high, with your valiant effort that has brought us one better than last year's bronze. I know each and everyone of you 'hocked' out everything you had, so there is no shame in that - be proud of yourselves!

CCG now over - let's look ahead to the J.I. race. There is still room for improvement - and that is in pulling our efforts together when charging. Remember I said that we all threw in everything we had? - Yes we did, but if we can time our gut-bursting strokes together even better... oh, what terror we would cause!

So Paps! Let's all work on that during next training. Build the habit of listening for and echoing out the charge calls - so that during the mayhem of actual races, we are alert and ready to charge together - RAAARRR!

Last but not least - a Special Mention to: Eddie Tan! who gamely took up the highly dangerous position of Papillon drummer, quietly stood by us throughout the races, and did a swell job each time without falling into the water.

PS: We had a little celebration at Pierre's place, where helicopters flew the national flag in our honour and the RSAF Black Knights did a nice air show for us (loop-de-loops, 'arrow in apple' [off-spec heart, actually], and the works) before they popped by the NDP rehearsal. How nice. Dinner was a tad late as the four Golden Pillows had to be constructed from scratch - waiting for the chicks and lamb to grow before they were qualified to be cooked as our dinner, collecting the charcoal to bake the bun, etc. Luckily, the food was GOOD and it was great fun. Thanks Pierre for hosting us! And Ben for ordering the food!

= Chief Editor signing off =

05 July 2008 - Bang4 zai3 zai3 *.

* Bang4 zai3 zai3 = 'BE STEADY' in hokkien.

Right - quick summary.

Basically we did a good long warm up row, then went in search of the Vets to do pacing. It was a difficult rendevous, because whenever we rowed towards them, they rowed in the opposite direction. BUT but, finally finally, all our EM boats gathered and it was a nice heartwarming scene which would have been even better if we had sung "I lub choo, you lub meee, we are happy familyyyy..." But no, we replaced that with an "Are you ready. Attention... GO!"

So off we went. It was a breathtaking race (literally, too) which saw Papillon in a photo finish with Vets, Blades and Ace. Our adrenaline was bursting through the roof so we went for another round. This time, Paps were BRILLIANT.

Key takeaways:

• We're sticking to the 30-start.
• Although it is a sprint distance, let's not work ourselves into a frenzy by rushing the strokes - instead, focus on catching the water well then pull hard to the hip.
• During maintenance, catch our breath and recover quickly as it won't be long before we go on our final blaze to the finishing line..!
• Finally - above all - Let's work the perfect Paps coordination.

Coach Patrick's words to remember:

Other teams do not matter.

You are your greatest enemy - can you focus enough to row your best?

Looking back, we saw how we have progressed since training started in March. We used to struggle against Lilies... now we give our mens teams a run for their money.

Let's maintain that strong, unwavering determination that has brought us thus far - in the next two races it will lift us to greater heights.

Finally, Paps: Gym this week to be no later than Wednesday. Leave Thurs-Fri for recovery and we'll be in good shape to swipe some serious water this Saturday at CCG.

= Chief Editor signing off =