A long and arduous trip via Tokyo, meant that the team had already flown over Mongolia twice and so welcomed the landing in Ulaan Bataar. Training commenced the following day at an Army base four hours drive from the capital  where there was to be 3 days of polo coaching provided to the Mongolian Army team. Thankfully two interpreters had been provided as none of the players could understand English and, with waving of the arms to assist, rapid improvement was seen.  Capt George Walker proved very amusing to the Mongolians; as he mounted their much shorter ponies he found he could  help his pony go faster by putting his feet on the ground and running.

After the three days, the trip concluded with a polo tournament where a large number of dignitaries appeared to watch including the Mongolian Foreign Minister, the British Embassy Chargé D’affaires, and the Defence Attaché Brigadier Simon Levey LD. It was a huge success as apparently there had never been an occasion to date where so many diplomats had been together.  Thankfully the British Army Team that was providing the coaching secured first place in the tournament. The same can't be said for their wrestling skills, however, as Capt Walker was thrown to the ground by a man half his size in the post-tournament entertainment.

April saw a small group from the KRH embark on a long flight to Antigua to compete alongside and against professional, semi-professional and amateur crews. 

Antigua Sailing Week is the last hurrah for the sailing season in the Caribbean and as Zarafa, owned by Maj (ret'd) Schofield, of Royal Hussars fame, had been in the West Indies since January it was fitting that she would compete in the final competition. Upon arrival the crew took advantage of the two days to get some training done before the races began. When they did begin, it was clear that the other boats weren't going to make it easy and races quickly became hard work. 

A huge effort saw the crew take home third place on the Monday and second place on the Tuesday. After one poor and one brilliant race on Thursday Zarafa sat in fourth place and the team took the usual journey from Nelson's Dockyard to the start buoys on the final day eager to make the podium. In the end they were narrowly beaten as they came joint third to the second meaning they missed the podium by half a point.

It was a great end to the season despite the disappointing position but the trip wasn't over when racing finished. As it was her last week, Zarafa needed to be shipped home and the boat to Southampton was leaving from St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. After a long overnight passage the crew stopped off in Tortola, British Virgin Islands before the final leg.

A truly spectacular place to sail and one that made the boys back in camp bitterly jealous not to go on! Here's to the start of the British season in colder waters. 

The first match against Capt Hinton’s old club, Penarth RUFC, saw the team fight valiantly against an experienced side, with the score level at 10-10 at half time. However in the second half Penarth showed their superior skill and the final score was 32-10 to the home team. Determined not to let this setback be repeated, the team worked on their game plan and aggressive defence and in the second match against Barry RUFC their hard work paid off with a 29-5 victory to the Hawks. Particular Mention must go to LCpl Robanakndavu whose powerful runs were the key to many of our points and to our former RMO, Capt Dave Hindmarsh, whose return to the team saw his efforts rewarded with a trip to A and E to have his eyebrow stitched!