by Peter Cummins
The arrival of the personable Mark Victor Tchelistcheff
at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club over the festive season gave me the golden
opportunity to use one of my ‘neglected’ clich้s: what goes
around comes around!
Some three decades ago, this young fellow was the best
Optimist sailor in Thailand, winning the national championships on more
than one occasion. Showing that he has lost none of his skills, Mark won
the “Opti Fund-raising race”, held for the over-18s. He had to fight
hard, however, to hold off Varuna Commodore’s son, Nik McKenzie - no
mean sailor himself, who has sailed the Cowes Week, the inner sanctum of
yacht racing - and eighteen other ‘oldies’. Jouke Postma was third.
Mark
shows can still sail an Opti - some 30 years later.
Added to the Opti event, it was a very tightly-packed
racing schedule over the New Year, with non-stop sailing, including the
Veterans’ Cup, the Al Chandler Single-handed Race, the Lankes Relay and,
for good measure, a “Round-the-Island” competition.
Writ large in the winners’ circle was the incumbent
Royal Varuna Flag Commodore Don McKenzie who, with son Nik on the McKenzie
Hobie Cat, bolted away with the “Veteran’s Cup”, the requirements
for which were 45 years of age for the skipper and a minimum combined age
of 80 years. Actually, this Pattaya Mail correspondent was
considering sailing solo but was a few years short of the 80. Reg
Chambers, clocking in at 75, very nearly qualified but was obliged to take
Marc Bogerd on board, thus racking up 100 years plus between them and
finishing fourth, behind ‘youngster’ Gary Baguley and crew Jouke
Postma on Gary’s powerful 5.8 Nacra and Thiha U, on a very un-powerful
Laser.
Lasers
in contention: more of the same in 2002.
Gary had his revenge, sailing solo on the Nacra 16
Square, to win the multihull division of the Round-the-Island Race, from
Antony Chapman/Ross (Nacra 5.5) and, there they were again, the ubiquitous
McKenzies, third on the family Hobie Cat.
Two
of the ‘migratory birds’: Swiss couple Gilbert and Marylou Leemann
were part of the Varuna New Year scene.
The monohull division was also a “comes around”
syndrome when two former Optimist sailors, young ladies Samantha and
Virginie descended onto an unsuspecting Varuna from their respective parts
of the world and won the monohulls on their Laser, ahead of Enterprisers
Tom Kleiss and Alan B. Yet another returnee, Cheerut Sudasna, down from
the land-locked wilds of Rajchaburi, soon found his ‘sea legs’ and
finished third on a Laser.
Pattaya
Mail will continue to support Royal Varuna yacht racing through 2002:
“It is environmentally - friendly” says managing director Peter
Malhotra, photographed here with Fireball World Championship sailors at
Royal Varuna recently.
The Chandler Single-handed Race saw the Commodore win
yet again, taking the honours ahead of Phillip Pauliac who was on a New
Year break from the mountains around Grenoble. But this event must go down
in the Royal Varuna annals as the triumph of hope over experience. With
Olaf Reese and Gary Baguley disqualified in the Open Cat Division, Simon
Makinson blasted through to the finish on a Nacra 5.5 to beat Stewart,
Jean-Pierre and his old balcony buddy, James Pitcher, second to fourth,
respectively. Some said it was Simon’s “finest hour”.
Varuna
closed out 2001 with a full programme - and a glorious Pattaya sunset.
Finally the Lankes Relay, sailed each New Year to
commemorate the late Christian Lankes, former Garman Ambassador to
Thailand, proved the most exciting of the numerous events. Sailed in
Optimists, Lasers, Hobie Cats and Nacras, the finishes were literally just
seconds apart. The winning team was comprised of Sam, Alain, Stewart,
Simon, Mario, Samantha and Mattheus. What a formidable combination.
The
winning Lankes Relay team: (back L to R) Sam, Alain, Stewart, and Simon;
(front L to R) Mario, Samantha and Mattheus.
As 2002 moves into the second month, it is a very solid
racing calendar, with the Topcat Multihull Challenge, the Koh Larn Classic
and, in March, the Pattaya Mail PC Classic. April will see the
Asian-Pacific Laser Championships come to Varuna shores - for the third
time.
And, as they say at Royal Varuna at Pattaya Point these
days, as development looms all around the Club: “Regardless, have a
Hobie New Year!”
Pattaya
Mail managing director Pratheep “Peter” Malhotra addresses the
students at a Diana Inn luncheon following the tour.
The
students took the trip seriously, taking notes and listening intently to
how a newspaper is made.
Boonsiri
Suansuk (seated foreground) explains how to put together artwork for
advertising as well as how to place news stories into the newspaper.
Executive
secretary, Primphrao Somsri gives the students a tour of the printing
press.
Tanachai
Wongsarod (right), assistant director of the Banglamung District Education
Center, presents flowers to teachers in recognition of the important role
teachers have in shaping the lives of future adults.
