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Volvo Topcat World Championships come to Thailand
Story & pictures by Peter Cummins
The International Topcat Class Association (ITCA) will
sail the World Championships from the fourth to the eighth of March, 1997,
off the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, South Pattaya, Thailand.
Volvo, a long-time supporter of sports in Thailand, especially tennis, golf
and, of course, motor racing, has more recently been focusing on yacht
racing, a burgeoning sector in Thailand’s rapidly developing marine leisure
industry. Volvo is joined by two co-sponsors, thus ensuring the success of
the World Championships.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has also recognized the potential of
water sports in and around the Kingdom’s beautiful, friendly water-ways and
has joined Volvo to promote Thailand through its offices abroad, as a prime
marine tourism destination.
NOBEL Communications has promoted yacht racing in the Kingdom, particularly
junior sailing programmes in the Optimist dinghy. NOBEL Communications has
also joined as a co-sponsor for the Topcats which it considers as most
beneficial to Thailand’s well-earned reputation as a desirable venue for
championships - junior or senior.
This unique event represents two major innovations in ITCA’s yearly sailing
calendar: it will be the first time that Euro Topcats will have raced
outside of European/Scandinavian waters and it will be the first ITCA World
Championship ever sailed, in the 15 years of championships.
Anders Widen, Chairman of the Volvo Topcat Worlds Organizing Committee,
participated in the 12th Topcat Euros in Denmark in 1995, racing with his
11-year-old daughter Rosanna, the youngest out there in south-west Seeland.
This father-daughter team was the first entry from Thailand - in fact, from
Asia - to participate in a Topcat event.
Anders pointed out that for the Worlds, however, there will be at least
seven entries from host country Thailand. In total, 63 entries from nine
nations comprising of 107 sailors have been received.
Thailand presently has three Topcat 15s and the rest of
the Thai teams will race charter boats in the Topcat/Topcat F2 class, and
one entry has been received for the powerful Topcat 18 feet class with
Spitfire/K1 boats.
The staging of this event away from European waters is the initiative of
Klaus Enzmann, Topcat founder and former President of ITCA. Klaus visited
the Kingdom last April, during the Catamaran National Championships of
Thailand where, sailing the Topcat 15 he brought for the occasion, he had a
first-hand feel for the waters of the proposed racing area, and the tides
and monsoon winds prevailing during April in the northern Gulf of Thailand.
In a meeting with the Royal Varuna Flag Commodore, Suwan Poopoksakul, Anders
Widen and other Royal Varuna principals, it was agreed that Royal Varuna
would be the venue and host for the Volvo Topcat World Championships.
Following this, the Organizing Committee’s publicity man, Peter Cummins,
went to Biscarrosse, France to see the 1996 European Championships in July.
While there, Peter described some of the conditions participants will
encounter when in Pattaya.
The Royal Varuna Yacht Club (RVYC), founded on 1 July 1957, has been the
catalyst in the development of yacht racing and sailing, not only in
Thailand but in the Asian region at large. Although Royal Varuna was
constituted as a dinghy club and has remained so, it has close liaison with
keel boat racing in the Kingdom.
When His Majesty Bhumi-bhol Adulyadej, King of Thailand - and a renowned
world-class dinghy sailor (OK dinghy) - bestowed Royal Patronage on the
Varuna Club in 1966, Royal Varuna, under this Imprimatur, entered three
decades of intensive yacht racing and sailing.
It is thus most appropriate that the Topcat Worlds comes right after the
two-year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the H.M. The King’s
accession to the Thai throne in 1946. The Worlds event also coincides with
the year of the King’s 70th birthday and the 40th anniversary of Royal
Varuna’s founding. Walter Meyer, the founder of Royal Varuna, has agreed to
be the honorary chairman of the World Championships Organizing Committee.
Walter, a charming and highly active octogenarian, the doyen of the boating
fraternity in Thailand, still recalls vividly the days when the King, Queen
and the Royal siblings sailed constantly at Royal Varuna.
With its marvellous year-round climate and near-perfect sailing conditions,
RVYC has hosted a number of world championships and, in fact, the Volvo
Topcat Worlds is the first of four leading up to the year 2000.
From Bangkok, a very good four-lane highway allows for a journey of about
two hours to RVYC situated at Pattaya, some 150 km. south-east of the
capital city. With an average year-round ambient temperature of 28 C’ and
water temperature about 22 C’, yacht racing is a year-long pursuit.
The club and the racing areas are on open water, protected by a few islands
from high sea swell, to reap maximum benefit from the prevailing
north-easterlies from October to February and the south-westerlies from
March to August.
Launchings and landings are from and to the soft sands of Royal Varuna’s
private beach, with a team of Royal Varuna boat boys who launch, beach and
wash all boats, sails and gear after the racing. There is an expansive
sea-front grass area for rigging, storage and chandlery requirements.
Then, of course, Varuna can boast one of the best “viewing” areas for a
yacht race. With the 180 degree panoramic view from the club balcony, most
races are highly visible to the many “arm-chair” experts ensconced on the
balcony, usually with the starting line, in clear view, just 1/2 n.m. away.
There are numerous good three- to five -star hotels (ranging in price from
$US 25 to $US 100), five minutes easy walk from the club and the club
restaurant, at the top of the grass slope, provides seafood, Western,
Chinese and Thai food, with unlimited stocks of ice-cold beer - European and
Thai - all served by the pretty, smiling in-house waitresses and kitchen
staff.
Finally, after the day’s racing, comes “purple hour” at 18.00 every evening,
as the sailors settle in with a cold beer very close by, to watch the sun
set behind Koh Larn, a large island six n.m due west of the Club. Later,
some of the younger (?) sailors slink down the Pattaya hill (our “cordon
sanitaire”), to sample the “fare” of the South Pattaya strip - probably one
of the last bastions of hedonism left in our jaded world.
But, beware. Even as it sets quickly, the sun also rises very quickly at
South Pattaya.
One world championship, at least, was lost through a bold foray into the
Pattaya night life with its never ending temptations.
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Mitchell on a hot streak
While the rest of the members of the Pattaya Golf Society
struggled with the heat, humidity and windy conditions at Pattaya Country
Club, Roy Mitchell kept his torrid golf streak alive with a net 1 under par
performance on Tuesday, February 11. Even with tricky pin placements, Roy
was able to shoot under his handicap, the only PGS player to do so on the
day, earning him a spot atop the leader board. In the last four stroke play
rounds, all of which will count towards his final placement in the current
PGS season, Roy has shot 3 under par three times and 1 under par in his
latest effort.
Billy Russel came closest to Roy in the latest round, shooting a net 75 to
finish in second place for the week. Tony Davies finished third with a net
76, winning on count back over John C.C. Gibson in fourth, William Rice in
fifth and Peter Johannson in sixth, all also with a net 76.
Nearest to the pin honors were won by Max Garrod on #5 and William Rice on
#16.
The Pattaya Golf Society has set its date for the end of season awards
presentation party. The fun will take place on Saturday night, March 1 at
19:00 in the First House on Soi Buakao.
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PSC Softball
Doug’s Slugs continued their unbeaten streak by taking
two games from Kevin’s Stars on Sunday, February 16.
Doug Douglas led a strong line-up with Norm Benoit, Edwin, and Mike Berg in
the infield, and outfielders Kenny T.D., Paul Nolan, Canadian Bill and
Patrick. A big first inning highlighted by a John Macallen grand slam put
the Slugs out front. The Stars got 3 runs in the second inning but failed to
mount a scoring drive thereafter.
Doug’s Slugs 5 2 1 1 0 2 0 11
Kevin’s Stars 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 5
The second game saw Kevin’s Stars get off to a small 3 - 1 lead. A big third
inning put the Slugs ahead with a 2 run home run by hard hitting Kenny T.D.
and a 2 run triple down the right side by Canadian Bill. The Slugs added 3
runs in the fourth to seal the victory.
Jerry Caltex turned in the defensive play of the day with a running over the
shoulder catch in left field which brought the cheering crowd to its feet.
Kevin’s Stars 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 3
Doug’s Slugs 1 0 4 3 0 0 x 8
ames are played every Sunday at Pattaya School No. 7 on Sukhumvit Highway
just south of Greenway Golf Driving range and Caltex gas station.
All players are invited. Sign-in starts at 1:30 p.m. and games begin at 2:00
p.m. Cold drinks and Hot Dogs are available. Spectators welcome.
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Splinter Golf Group
Monday, February 10, Pattaya Country Club (Scramble)
A small but distinguished field played this Scramble at the tail
end of the Chinese New Year. Pattaya Country Club was, as ever, very
accommodating with reduced green fees and near pin prizes.
It was “Winning team take all” and congratulations went to the winning trio
of Banjob Khong-Nork, Mike Franklin and Gerard Lambert with a net 51.75.
Runners-up were Ciano Glavina, Werner and Neil Munroe with a net 55.75.
Near pin prizes of free green fees went to Ciano Glavina, Neil Munroe, Mike
Riley and Gerard Lambert.
Wednesday, February 12, Khao Kheow (Stableford).
The booked venue of Bangpra had to be changed at the last minute
as they had more visitors than they could handle, resulting in a swift drive
to Khao Kheow, who were delighted to see 20 unexpected golfers.
A flight: Winner, Gerard Lambert, 38 pts. 2nd, Tony Odlum, 38 pts. (lost on
count back). 3rd, John Naponick, 36 pts.
B flight: Winner, Arthur Bailey, 44 pts. (How does he do it?). 2nd, Mike
Riley, 38 pts. 3rd, Steve Ross, 36 pts.
20 played with the handicap cut at 17.
Friday, February 14, Phoenix (Stroke)
With a compact field of 13 players, there was only one flight,
and only three players were able to achieve net par or better. This was
un-doubtedly due to the punishing rough, extremely difficult pin positions
and a shortage of caddies (pre-sumably due to early Valentine celebrations).
Winner, Mick O’Meara, net 70. 2nd, John Naponick, net 71. 3rd, Gerard
Lambert, net 72.
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Pattaya Sports Club Golf
(middle L to R) Colin Hannah,
Don Richardson, Terry Pettit, Pete Coombs. (back L to R) Neil Youell and
Alec Chilcott. (front) Mashee Keneta.
Better Ball competition, Eastern Star, February 10, 1997
Once again proving a very popular form of play in fours and choosing your
own partners on a Stableford point basis. 54 ardent golfers set out in
perfect conditions to tame a course we all enjoy and found to be in its
usual manicured excellent con-dition.
Long hitter Jerry Pettit partnered Neil Youell, one of three brothers in
from U.K., to amass 43 points and on count back beat Colin Hannah and Don
Richardson into second place. Both teams scored 25 points on the back nine
holes and were even on back save the last three, which determined the
winner.
Mashee Keneta and Peter Coombs took third place with 42 points on count back
from Doug Douglas and Rick Montana and Sven Vistung and Jean the “Camembert
Kid”.
Uni Wack, Peter Coombs, Terry Pettit and Rick Montana won near pins. Ian
Halfpenny and Sven the long putts. Henry Walker, with his new driver,
powered on down 18 around 290 yards to win long drive.
Eastern Star presented 6 free green fees for the lucky draw to be used on
any day of the week.
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Pearce and Brizzell
HH pairs champs
Clive Pearce and Brian Brizzell combined for at net 11
under par 61 to win the Alternative Golf Gentle-men’s Society Pairs Medal
competition at Phoenix Country Club, on Wed-nesday, February 12.
Described as the “back-bone” of the team, Clive Pearce shot a scratch 93 off
his 24 handicap to give the team a base from which to work.
Brian Brizzell provided the necessary extra touch to give he and his partner
enough to win. Brian’s round re-markably began with a two and ended with a
two. On the first hole of the day, the par four #1 on the Mountain, Brian
was on in two and two putted for a natural par, which, given his handicap,
became a net two. On the final hole of the day, the par five #9 on the
Lakes, Brian landed his approach shot to within 3 1/2 feet, then holed the
putt for a birdie net albatross.
Due to a “quirk” in the pairings, Brian Brizzell also came in second place.
Since the numbers were uneven, Paul Nolan was also teamed with Brian, and
the two shot well enough to finish tied for second with a net 64 with Murray
Kerr and Dave Drew.
Murray Kerr shot a scratch 88 off his 13 handicap and Dave Drew shot a
scratch 86 off his 15 handicap to give the pair their joint second place
finish.
A good turnout of 20 golfers played the event on a course in good shape.
The next Alternative Golf Gentlemen’s Society tournament will be a 2 ball
scramble on Wednesday, February 26 at a course to be determined later.
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Improve your Bridge
by Barrie Kenyon
Let’s take another look at the Weak Two System. By prior
agreement with your partner, you open the bidding with two diamonds, two
hearts or two spades when you hold six cards in the suit and have six to ten
high card points. A bid of two clubs cannot be used in this way and is
reserved for very powerful hands of twenty two points or more.
Here is an example. As opening bidder you hold:
Spades Queen, Jack, 8, 6, 4, 2
Hearts 7
Diamonds Ace, 9, 8, 3, 2
Clubs 5
In traditional systems you will have to pass, but the Weak Two System
enables you to open two spades. The advantage is that you have made it
harder for the opposition to get together by your pre-emptive intervention.
As regards your partner, he will know the sort of hand you have and will not
dream of replying to you unless he has an opening bid of his own, say
thirteen high card points. But distribution must also be taken into account.
In the example above, the partner of the two spade opener held:
Spades Ace, King, 3
Hearts 9, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2
Diamonds King, 6
Clubs 8, 7
No point in showing the long and weak heart suit and a bid of four spades is
in order which will almost certainly make against any distribution. Lucky,
maybe, but both partners would presumably have passed without use of the
Weak Two System. Also, the opposition could well make a contract of five
clubs if one of them happens to have a void in Spades: their only obvious
losers are Ace and King of diamonds.
But all systems have their drawbacks. Suppose the opening bidder in the
example above had been the player with the long, weak hearts. He would have
been entitled to open two hearts and you, with the long spades, would not
have dared to open your mouth except to say pass. In 99% of dealt hands you
would be in deep trouble replying to a weak two bid with such a poor hand.
This hand was an exception but it did not prove any rule. As bridge expert
Rixi Markus used to say, “Always assume that your partner has the worst
possible hand for his bid and never hope for the best.” Just so.
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Inaugural Hare House Open
March 7
Organizers and adminis-trators announced registration is
now open for what is surely to become another of Pattaya’s “Major”
tournaments, the Hare House Open, which will be held Friday, March 7, 1997,
at Phoenix Country Club.
The 1000 baht entry fee covers green fees, T-shirts, food, many trophies and
many extra prizes. All proceeds from the event will go directly back to
golfers in the form of trophies and prizes.
The tournament competition will be divided into two divisions, ensuring more
winners. Prizes will also be awarded for technical achievements including
nearest pins and long drives.
Organizers have stressed that this is an “Open” tournament and all golfers
are welcome to participate in the fun filled event.
To register for the Hare House Open, contact Wayne Tischbern, Richard
Livingston, or Stephen Beard at the Hare House, Soi Post Office.
Big week planned for Charity Soccer
The field was full of exciting
action when the “Lucky Ajax” team took the field for last year’s event.
“Terre des Hommes”, the international homeless
children’s relief organization based in Amsterdam, is once again bringing
top Dutch football stars and celebrities to play a charity soccer match in
Pattaya on Wednesday, February 26, to raise funds for homeless children in
Thailand.
Rob Van Cutsem, Owner and President of Tornado Computers, the main sponsor
of the event with a 300,000 baht contribution, himself a Dutch national,
told Pattaya Mail, “Because we are working here in Thailand, we have to help
the people in whatever way we can. Thailand has given us so much help,
especially with quality manpower, we want to make sure we can give something
back while visiting Thailand.” Rob will be one of the many local
“celebrities” attending the match.
The impressive line-up of former Dutch and Belgian professionals and
international football stars include; Werner Schaaphok, who played with Ajax
for 10 years and was a 5 time international player for the Netherlands;
Michel v.d. Korput, 5 year Feijenoord star, 3 years with Torino and 20 times
international; Dick Schoenmaker, 7 years with Ajax, capped 22 times on the
international squad; Henk Wery, 6 years with DOS, 5 years with Feijenoord,
20 times international; Ron Wijnstekers, 14 years with Feijenoord, 35 times
international; Johnny Rep, 8 years with Ajax, 2 years with Bastia, 1 year
with Etienne, 35 internationals; Wim Suurbier, 10 years with Ajax and an
amazing 64 internationals; Andre v.d. Berg, 5 years with Wagenigen; Piet
Wijnborg, 7 years with Ajax, 5 internationals; Pier Janssen, 10 years with
Anderlecht, 20 internationals; Rick Janssen, 5 years with Anderlecht; Dick
Visser, 6 years with Ajax; Janus Glowacki, 5 years with Ganih Zabre, 6
internationals; and Joop Leouwen-daal, 5 years with Ajax.
Although these players are now retired, they still possess impressive soccer
skills. Last year, they put on a virtual clinic against the best players
Pattaya could put together, and scored at will. The final 13 - 5 score could
have been more, especially since the Dutch squad “traded” a handful of their
best players to the Pattaya squad for the second half.
Even for those who are not soccer aficionados, the impressive display of
teamwork and athleticism was beautiful to watch. For those who love the
game, this is a chance to see some of the best in the world, close-up at
field level.
As part of the fund raising, a special “meet the stars” party and gala
welcome dinner is planned for Sunday night, February 23, pool-side at
Mountain Beach Hotel. Along with the soccer stars, well known Dutch radio
and television artists will make an appearance for the charitable cause. The
guest list will include Frans Bauer, Marjanne Weber, Tim Immers, and Andy
Best.
Major organizers and sponsors for the event include Tornado Thailand, Terre
des Hommes, Green Wood Travel Co., Ltd., Tulip House Pattaya, Bangkok Manila
Air, and the Rotary Club of Jomtien/Pattaya.
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