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David, Susan Race away with the 2003 Varuna Cup
Story and photos by Peter Cummins
The undisputed master Catamariners of Thailand’s Hobie Cat fleet, David
and Susan Race left no doubt whatsoever at last weekend’s Varuna Cup who
sails into the New Year as the Kingdom’s top sailors.
 The
happy winners.
At the recently-held Hobie Cat Nationals, it was a
desparate struggle between the Bates team, Aussies from Shanghai and the
Races, Aussies from everywhere, with Peter Bates just edging out David,
after this latter he fouled a mark, incurring a costly penalty.
So far were the Races ahead by Race Four on Sunday, that
they were back in Bangkok when Race Five was just finishing.
 Etched
against Koh Larn: a perfect picture.
They decided that Race Five was the allowable throwaway.
There is a certain poetic justice in the Race victory for
it was Davis who, as Commodore of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in 1996-1997,
designed the Varuna Cup, to “take advantage” as he said at the time -
and has been certainly vindicated most years since, especially this year,
“of the best sailing winds for the year which can be expected in
mid-December”.
 The
Races come ‘home’: clear winners.
But the Race dominance is not to say that there was no
one else out there; quite the contrary. Young Sam Phanpho, fresh from his
senior year high school in New Zealand and Bangkok Patana young lady
Virginie Lacrosse, both erstwhile junior champions in the Optimist Class,
were second, ahead of Royal Varuna Club Flag Commodore Robert England and
the svelte Sandra, third, with yet another England looming on the horizon,
Paul, crewing for New Zealander John Marten, finishing fourth.
 Tight,
close racing was the feature of a great Regatta.
In the fast-moving fleet of Nacra 16 Square solo sailors,
Queenslander Michael Guinea, who takes every available opportunity to come
back to Pattaya, certainly left his legacy again: five straight wins - even
being able to discard a first place as his ‘worst’ race, with Jan
Holldorf, Steve Forster and Les Nyerges, second to fourth, respectively, in
Mick’s wake.
 Lasers,
a Hobie and Nacra in contention (winner Race = #138).
Other frequent visitors, this pair from Singapore, Scott
McCook and the agile Alice Lim, likewise demolished the Open Catamaran
fleet, sailing the Taipan 4.9 to four wins, ahead of Varunian top performers
Clair and Simon Medd, second on the Nacra 5.8 (spin).
In any event, there is always a Baguley somewhere. This
time there were two. Just back from their successful show at the first
Phuket International Marine Expo, the Baguleys, Gary and Adrian, finished
third on the new Hobie Tiger (spin).
The Laser “Big Guns” fought to close finishes, with
Doug Morss, Kevin Whitcraft and Christian Wiedmann, first to third,
respectively, at the top of a 20-strong fleet.
Out
on the reach they go.
The juniors had their day of ‘triumph’ on Saturday
but, the wind and Principal Race Officer Richard van den Hervel had other
ideas and the Optimist were ‘grounded’ on Sunday, as the wind hovered
around 25-knots. So, at the end of the three races sailed, it was Sebastian
Lehmann, first, with the de Cuyper siblings, Antoine and Quentin, second and
third, respectively. The rest of the Optimist boys and girls were just happy
to survive!
Even to think that the last big regatta to round-up a
highly-successful year of marine sports in the Kingdom was not an
outstanding success, would be nothing short of heresy. The just-completed
Varuna Cup, sailed off the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in South Pattaya, was
sensational.
Two days of north-easterlies, gusting to 26-knots, were a
dream for most of the competitors, in the four classes comprising almost 70
craft in total; while for some - especially on Saturday, the races were a
test of man and machine - or, as Charles Darwin would have phrased it “a
survival of the fittings”. Some broken masts, shattered gear and forced
retirements were the end results for several. Nevertheless, the weather was
as perfect as only Pattaya can produce during the winter north-easterlies:
clear skies, big seas, warm ambient temperatures and cool nights.
After a year of the best sailing and regattas in the
Kingdom, and just in the wake of the highly-successful Seventeenth Phuket
King’s Cup, it is appropriate that 2003 goes out “under full sail”, so
to speak. Besides the annual Phuket event to honour H.M. the King on his
birthday, there have been major fixtures at Samui, Phang Nga, Hua Hin,
Pattaya and Sattahip.
Two other big events have boosted the marine leisure
industry even as the year fades. Primarily, the Royal Thai Government has
decided to abolish the punitive import, excise and sundry taxes which were
crippling the marine sector.
Then, just two weeks ago, the first Phuket International
Marine Expo, was successful beyond even the wildest expectations of the main
organizers, Grenville Fordham, Andy Dowden and Jan Jacobs, with their
respective companies.
Thus the stage is set for 2004, to ride on the crest of
an incredible surge in yacht racing, cruising and marine sports generally in
the Kingdom.
Hobie Cat Australasia representative, Gary Baguley, who
had a huge range of new Hobies on display at the Expo, is extremely
optimistic about the future. Even at the Phuket show, interest was very high
and a number of the new craft were booked for sale (read, ‘sail’!).
A big line-up of sponsors stepped behind the Varuna Cupassures the
regatta of maximum coverage: L’Oreal Thailand, Nantaburi Equestrian Sports
Club, CB Richard Ellis and the Fat Boys. Furthermore, so happy were the
Hobie Cat people from the recently-held Hobie Cat Championships of Thailand,
that they are again sponsoring, through Hobie Cat Australasia and Blue Wave
Water Sports Asia Company Limited.
Wednesday Quiz League
Lions Club of Jomtien holds indoor sports triathlon
Peacocks beard lions, Lions ruffle feathers
On the evening of December 12 the Lions Club of
Jomtien held a ‘Lions Versus Peacocks Triathlon’ at the Peacock Place
Resort. The evening consisted of three challenges, indoor bowling, darts
and snooker.
As expected the Peacocks silenced the Lions roar and
thrashed them at bowling and snooker. The Lions retaliated and plucked
the Peacocks tail feathers on the dartboard.
The evening was a great success and everyone enjoyed
the spirit of the challenge. An excellent buffet was supplied by Su and a
double round of beer ‘on the house’ from Derek. As a first event the
learning curve was steep indeed and a return bout will be held next year
when perhaps the Lions can improve their games!
The Lions Club of Jomtien thanks Su, Derek and all the
Peacocks for a wonderful evening!
Top four teams win three points each
Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League
The top four teams each won three points in their matches
and the league standings remained almost unchanged.
House of the Golden Coin took three points from Nice
& Sleazy with Mio once again leading her team with a 553 series. VFW
Post 9876 grabbed three points from Brother D with Bill leading his team
with 520 pins knocked over. Jack & Tar remained in third place as they
took three points from Caf้ Ole. Peter rolled a 503 series and Sven
added a 502-pin count for Jack & Tar. Mai was best for Caf้ Ole
with a 525-pin count.
 200
Bowlers Bill & Kran.
Kran led her Caf้ Kronborg team with a 203 game and
542 series to take three points from Alt Koelle and her team is still in
fourth. Suphan rolled a 523 series for Alt Koelle and Lenz had a good 557
series bowling as a spare.
Shakey Pete’s remained in fifth place but lost three
points to Night Life in a hard fought match. Somrak led night Life with a
531 series, and Dang rolled a 516 series. La was best for Shakey Pete’s
knocking down 540 pins and Ooy tipped over 539 pins. Shakey Pete’s were
bowling with one blind and a lower handicap, which made the difference in
the match.
Three Sisters beat Nam Tip three points to one with Bill leading his team
with his first league 200 game rolling a 206 game and 526 pin total. Aun
bowling with two blinds managed to win one point as she tipped over 522
pins.
Peacock Indoor Bowling and Snooker Leagues
No changes at the top of the mixed doubles bowls this
week with Yellowbirds maintaining their lead with an 11-3 win over newcomers
Gin. Gin also lost to the revived Love Nest 10-5 and Peacock defeating
Thaied 19-6.
Still the surprise is the Bakehouse who were given even
more than Double Trouble going down 13-6 to Gary and Tukta, a win which
jumped them up four places and left the Bakehouse firmly stuck holding
everyone up.
Snooker saw some changes where Danny had his first loss
to his partner Danny Sue 72-30, then came unstuck against Derek in a very
close encounter, going down 45-42. No Ladies singles this week as we were
all at the Pattaya Sports Club Christmas Party.
The leagues are:
Mixed Doubles
Yellowbirds 4 3 1 0 41 17 7
Love Nest 3 2 1 0 22 16 5
Peacock 3 2 0 1 33 20 4
Double Trouble 2 1 1 0 20 14 2
Gin 3 0 1 2 14 27 1
Thaied 2 0 1 1 12 25 1
Bakehouse 3 0 0 3 15 38 0
Snooker
Derek 7 6 0 1 366 317 12
Danny 6 4 0 2 328 252 8
Danny Sue 5 2 0 3 260 233 4
Daryl 3 2 0 1 162 116 4
Eddie 3 2 0 1 125 145 4
Peter 5 1 0 4 194 291 2
Bill 2 1 0 1 111 77 2
Mike 1 0 0 1 36 55 0
Brian 4 0 0 4 172 268 0
Poseidon from the Arksorn School of Technology takes out best Cheerleaders in the East
Suchada Tupchai
The vivacious team from the Thepprasit road’s Arkson School
of Technology took home 15,000 baht and the first place Minister of Sport &
Tourism trophy in the regional Cheerleaders contest, held at the Central
Festival Center last weekend. The Arksorn School has won the competition for the
fifth straight year defeating all comers in the competition.
 The
TAT team from Sattahip Technical College came in second, managing to take home
8,000 baht and the runners up trophy.
Second place TAT team from Sattahip Technical College took home 8,000 baht
and trophy, while the Demon Team from the Thepleelar Temple school came in third
were also presented with their trophy and 5,000 baht for their efforts. Fourth
place was a tie between two teams, each taking home 3000 baht.
Pattaya Softball team gears up to enter Bangkok League
Dirk Brijs, team captain
After our maybe not so well prepared entry into the Bangkok
International Tournament a few months ago we surely learned our lesson. With a
new name “The Dollhouse Softball Team” we got started to get ourselves
prepared to enter into the Bangkok Softball league.
Currently we will only be entering for just half a season, as
we are a bit short on sponsors who could help us out paying the entrance fees
for this 5-month event. Anybody out there with a heart for softball please
contact me at 015754528. Anyway enough business like that as I said we had some
other business to take care of.
Last Saturday we started our preparation with a friendly game
against a Taiwanese team, which we invited to our Pattaya holy grounds. We
didn’t really field our strongest team possible, as we don’t want to get
people watching in our cards too soon before the season opening.
Though we started for the first time with our set infield for
the league and together with a pretty decent outfield we started the first game.
Soon it looked like the Dollhouse was on fire behind the
superb pitching of Doug Lindel we kept the Taiwanese bats silent and our bats
finished the job pretty fast. The game was called after only 5 innings as the
scores became too lopsided.
In game 2 we started a complete Pattaya based team and again
same story in the first few innings, this time pitching of Alan Rutsky held them
short and the bats kept swinging.
It seemed we were heading for another short game. Then the
wind started to get into the game, which made it hard to pitch. Together with
some lack of concentration, which leads to errors, the Taiwan team came crawling
back. Bottom of the 7th they even started a big rally but in the end came 2 runs
short of getting it into extra innings. This made it 2-0 for the Dollhouse team.
After that the fun part could start and teams were mixed up
and games kept going on till almost all lights were gone.
Again I would like to thank all players involved in this very
successful event and all the fun that came with it. I also would like to thank
our sponsor The Dollhouse situated in Pattaya Walking Street to make this team
possible. If any players out there would be interested in playing just step by
the Dollhouse and people will be glad to help you out one or the other way. Or
you can always contact me (Dirk) at [email protected].
Sunday Quiz League
Brian’s Holden’ the Monthly Medal
IPGC Golf From Lewiinski’s
Sunday, December 14
Green Valley - White Tees
Monthly Medal
1st Place A Flight: Brian Holden, net 68
2nd Place A Flight: Nick Mumford, net 68
3rd Place A Flight: Gerry Power, net 69
4th Place A Flight: Graham Johnson, net 70
1st Place B Flight: Pete Stonebridge, net 69
2nd Place B Flight: John Warren, net 69
3rd Place B Flight: Larry Nicholas, net 71
4th Place B Flight: Lee Adelly, net 73
Near Pins: #8 Steve Mulberry and #16 Magnus Johannson
The raider from Chaing Mai, Brian Holden, road off into
the northern sunset (?) with the last monthly medal for 2003.
He was well contested to the very end having to rely on
count back to edge one of the Sugar Shack European Tour Caddy Corp, Nick
Mumford. It should be noted that Nick’s 68 was accomplished with but one
handicap stroke as he was three under, off the stick.
Both Brian and Nick will join ten other qualifiers to
compete for the 2003 Gold Medal at Green Valley on the January 11, 2004.
Gerry Power and Graham Johnson both netted under par and
joined the qualifiers on the A Flight podium. Pete Stonebridge, who does not
get as much playing time as he previously did, served notice that it was not
having adverse effects as he edged John Warren on count back for the B
Flight crown.
Larry Nicholas and Wozzie’s caddy, Lee Adelly,
completed the junior podium. Steve Mulberry and Magnus Johannson copped the
day’s two Near Pins.
Monday December 15
St. Andrews 2000 - White Tees
Stableford
1st Place A Flight: Bob Patterson, 40 points
2nd Place A Flight: Brian Holden, 37 points
1st Place B Flight: Pat Manley, 45 points
2nd Place B Flight: Rich Garland, 39 points
Near Pin: #17 - Pat Manley
Pat Manley, on winter break from his caddying duties at
Whistling Straits in the USA, showed that he can play the game as well as he
went off the map with 45 points shooting a gross 78 on the par 74 Desmond
Muirhead test.
Rich Garland, just back from a trip to North and Central
America, waded right back into the action with 39 points and second in B.
Bob Patterson held up the honor of the low handicappers as he battled the
course for his first place 40 points. Yesterday’s hero, Brian Holden had
to settle for second, despite bettering his handicap by three. It only
figured that, given “when you’re hot you’re hot”, Pat took the
day’s Near Pin as well.
Wednesday
December 17
Burapha - A & B - Blue Tees
Stroke/Medal
1st Place A Flight: Rich Garland, net 68
2nd Place A Flight: Jack Spencer, net 68
3rd Place A Flight: Walter Baechli, net 70
1st Place B Flight: Kevin Bowman, net 66
2nd Place B Flight: David Porter, net 69
3rd Place B Flight: Stefan Hoge, net 70
Near Pins: #A6 - Bob Patterson and #B8 - Vic Hestor
The young man from County Clare, Ireland, took a major
step towards realizing his golfing potential as he whipped the old course at
Burapha with a 66 off the challenging Blue Tees. He was followed by two
additional sub-par nets courtesy of consistent visitor Dave Porter and
resident Stefan Hoge.
A Flight was not to be outdone as Rich Garland, Pete
Murray’s son, needed a countback to sneak past Gen. Jack Spencer, both
impressive at net 68. Affable Walter Baechli took the remaining third step
on the A Flight ladder. Bob Patterson and Victor “The Inflictor” Hestor
were content with Near Pin vouchers.
It is always a subject of conversation as to whether the
Old Course should be played off the Blues or the Whites, but with one-third
of the field performing at net par or better it suggests that Golf Manager
John Emmerson made the correct call in mandating the additional distance.
Friday December 19
Century Chonburi - Blue/White Tees
Stableford
1st Place Blue Flight: Mark Joshua, 26 points
1st Place White Flight: Cory Neurohr, 36 points
2nd Place White Flight: Norm Robinson, 36 points
3rd Place White Flight: Tarja Kankainin, 35 points
Near Pin: #17 nobody
Was it the length of the ride out? Was it the small
Faldo-designed greens? Was it the 6,991 yardage? Was it the 2-3 club wind?
Were they just lousy golfers with unfounded visions of grandeur?
Whatever it was 25% of the field chose to take on Blue
tees of Century Chonburi in what has become an every Friday format at
Lewiiski’s. Calling Mark Joshua’s 26 point, successful countback, over
John Emmerson a “victory”would be like giving Custer the game ball. But,
as Mark would surely say, “the money still spends well”. Cory Neurorh
must have seen the train coming, as he chose the White tee Flight despite
his accomplished 8 handicap. He still had to go to count back to edge
Stormin’ Norman Robinson.
Finnish vistitor Tarja Kankainin brought home the bacon
for mate Risto as she netted the bronze in the White Flight. If any further
evidence of the day is required witness that nobody hit the Near Pin on
220/194 yard 17th.
Big Al’s week
IPGC TAGGS golf from The Haven
Monday December 15
Treasure Hill
Stableford
1st: Al Rolnik, 38
2nd: Dave Lee, 35
3rd: Rick Bevington, 33 cb9 16
4th: Fred Ewins, 33 cb9 15
Al Rolnik started off a great week of golf out of The
Haven by winning over the testing Treasure Hill layout by a clear three
shots from Dave Lee, the latter who is in the process of writing his first
novel entitled “ How to Play to a Twenty Eight Handicap”. Al’s
playing partners were so impressed with his stroke making that they asked
the handicap committee to double check his handicap in future events.
Rick Bevington just held off Fred Ewins to take third
after a very close count back for third place.
The twos were shared between Paul Marquis, Tony Quaid
and Al Rolnik.
Before presenting the prizes, Richard Livingston the
resident PGA Professional, welcomed new member Paul Marquis and also
welcomed back Mark Cooper.
Wednesday
December 17
Bangpra
Bogey
1st: Gary Austin, 5 up
2nd: Al Rolnik, 2 up cb9 A/S, cb6 2 up
3rd: Paul Hartley, 2 up cb9 A/S, cb6 1 up
4th: Martin Hayes, All Square cb9 1 down, cb6 1 up
5th: John Squitiero, All Square cb9 1 down, cb6 1 down
6th: Tony Quaid, All Square cb9 2 down
Gary Austin, who has seen his handicap plummet over the
last few weeks can expect another cut after returning a fine five under to
beat off the challenge of Al Rolnik and Paul Hartley who both came up a few
shots short and had to be satisfied with second and third respectively
after a countback.
Martin Hayes won his first prize with the TAGGS although
he also had to endure another long count back before being declared fourth
ahead of newcomer, John Squitiero and Tony Quaid, the latter who recorded
his second prize in two weeks after what seems to have been an age in the
doldrums.
Takeshi Hakozaki swept the twos pool with the only one
of the day.
Prior to the prize giving, Richard welcomed new members
Fred Chadwick, Norman Isherwood, John Teague, John Squitiero and James
Wilson and welcomed back Steve Mathews.
Friday December 19
Khao Kheow A & B
Stroke play
1st Division
1st: Norman Isherwood, 72 cb9 33.4
2nd: Chris Davisson, 72 cb9 34
3rd: Al Rolnik, 73
2nd Division
1st: Fred Ewins, 68
2nd: John Squitiero, 69
3rd: Henrik Johnsson, 73
In the first division, Norman Isherwood won his first
trophy out of The Haven as he just beat Chris Davisson on count back after
Chris had played a great 39 gross on the back nine to record what he
thought would be a winning score only to find Norman pipped him by half a
shot with his higher handicap after a final nine of 41 gross. Al Rolnik
finished the week off with another podium position, although not quite able
to match his previous two scores, which kept him from winning.
Fred Ewins went one better than his earlier success in
the week to claim first place in the second division from John Squitiero
who also had his second placing in the week.
Henrik Johnsson, after making a tremendous effort to
play the days competition, taking a baht bus alone to the course after
arriving 2 twenty minutes after everyone else had departed, found the
effort worthwhile as he claimed the third place prize.
The twos were shared between John Squitiero and Dave
Spendley.
Back at The Haven Richard welcomed new member Henrik
Johnsson and welcomed back Brian Wilkinson and Arthur Hancock.
Larsen & Hedblom eclectic winners at Green Valley
IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at the Bunker
December’s monthly Bunker two-day event was held at
Green Valley on 15-16th in fine dry conditions with a constant strong
breeze. This month the format was a triple challenge with two one-day team
better score events and an overall eclectic tournament. Organising the
results for such an event was a nightmare for the recorders and they managed
without too much heartbreak and, for this, Len Jones must be applauded
Monday saw Saranya Chaiyanont play superbly with an
individual round of net 65, and, supported by playing partner Len Jones,
they topped the table at the end of day one with net 71, which included both
players’ scores on two “mystery” holes. Close behind were the teams of
Michael Larsen and Tony Hedblom and Klaus Schackt and An Kaesavane, with net
73. A tense second day was guaranteed and, as the day developed, it became
clear that the outcome would be close.
Early clubhouse leaders were Joe Sebastian and Kevin
Wilson who bettered their first day scores by eight shots and it was only
when the final group returned that the situation became clear as Bob van Mol
and Doug Campbell posted a winning score of net 71, followed by Klaus and An
with another fine 73. Sorting out the eclectic element was a mixture of
mathematics and mayhem, with cards stained with blood, sweat and tears from
two days of tough competition, but eventually the leaders emerged as Michael
and Tony held sway with their fine score of 64, followed by Joe and Kevin on
65 and Len and Saranya on 66.
All twenty-one pairings ended with below par figures and
only four shots covered the first seven teams. Thirteen birdie two’s were
recorded and bunches of bananas were shared. Some harsh golfing lessons were
learned as players experienced a new format for the first time but at the
end of the day all had shared an excellent and exciting tournament.
Austin Motors to the front
at Plutaluang
On Thursday, December 18, the Bunker Boys sailed in to
the Royal Thai Navy golf course at Plutaluang for their weekly stableford
event and found the South and East courses well presented on a fine, breezy
day. The two divisions were cut at the usual eighteen and in the first
flight a returning Harry Cowling made his mark with 31 points, joined by
fellow Yorkshireman Bill Hewitt and amiable Irishman PJ Redmond. Ahead was
Keith Hector on 32 and Keith Smithson, playing off scratch, with 33 points.
Division two saw the better scores as Len Jones and Neil
Griffin vied for the minor places with their hard won 32 points and George
Redgewell with his solid return of 34. Leading the field, with the best
score of the day, was a man currently in great form, Gary Austin, for whom
his score of 39 points was his second below par score in two days.
The day’s only birdie two was achieved by Bill Hewitt
whilst playing partner Harry Cowling, using borrowed clubs, barely troubled
the scorer for the first nine holes and received the Bunker Banana Booby as
consolation. The rest of the field shared an excellent day and extend their
best wishes to all Pattaya’s golfers for a peaceful and happy New Year.
PSC golf from the Cafe Kronborg
Monday December
15
Pattaya Country Club
Stroke
Pattaya Country Club was host for a stroke play competition
in two flights, A Flight 0 to 17, and B Flight 18 and above in very windy
conditions.
Italian Chef Michel Sancillo took the A Flight with a fine
net 66 ahead of Ted Morris in second with a net 71. Finn Pekka Lindemann was
third with a net 72 beating into fourth place Brian Noguer, net 72, on
countback.
 Cees
Bosman
Cees Bosman continued his fine form of late to win the B
Flight with a fine net 66 well ahead of Aussie Barry Kerr in second, on
countback, with a net 72, ahead of Alan Sullivan in third, also net 72. In
fourth with a net 73 was Kristinn Helgasson.
Near Pins: #5 John James, #12 John Cahill, #16 Pekka
Lindemann
Long Putts: #9 Pekka Lindemann, #18 Jimmy Flanagan
***Thursday December 18
Siam Country Club
Stroke - The Monthly Mug
For the uninitiated, most golfing organisations, for example
Golf Clubs, run a Monthly Tournament when the prize is designated as the most
prestigious that month. Usually it is called the Monthly Medal or similar, and
at the Cafe Kronborg it is called ‘The Monthly Mug’.
 Harvey
Samuel
The Mug is actually one of the local pewter mugs, and a fine
one indeed, donated by the Cafe Kronborg and inscribed with the month and year
etc. The completion is the only regular one where the players return to the Cafe
Kronborg for the prize giving. The slant on this one is that the winner has the
right to have it filled one time by all the other competitors, in the month they
win it. Indeed it has been known for past winners to collect the start sheet and
try to catch all the players during the month. Of course they never catch all
the losers, some may not be good golfers, but at ducking and diving are scratch
players.
 Derek
Brook
The competitions are now played at Siam Country Club, who are
most helpful, and this months competition was fully subscribed days before. Siam
gave us more tee times at the last minute and also allowed us to start on the
first and tenth tees, which with a large field certainly speeds up the play, and
this was most appreciated.
With this cavalcade on both tees, the competition got under
way on time and off both tees the competition flowed freely and got around in
fine time. The course is now starting to firm up and the ball run, whilst the
greens have been improved vastly this year. With the course in fine condition, a
smooth flow and a large field, some fine scores were expected, and we certainly
got some.
 Jay
Perrin (left) and Papa Ray (right)
As the scores came in the early leader on net 66 was Derek
Brook, and this is normally good enough to win, but near the end this was
eclipsed with the best round we have had in The Mug played at Siam C.C. when
Harvey Samuel came in with a super net 64, surely the winner!
Well not quite, with the very last round of the day, Dr Jay
Perrin came in, with a beam on his face that had to be seen to be believed, with
by far the best round of his life and a net 60. By far the best round we have
ever had in The Mug played at Siam C.C.
Back at ‘The Ranch’ Jay had to be sent to sit in the
corner as he was so excited to win his first ever prize and it was nice when he
was finally let out by the K.S.M. that Papa Ray did the presentation to a
beaming Jay.
Of course all the other players immediately dashed over to
fill it up, only to be disappointed to find Jay only drinks coke. Maybe that is
why he plays so well!
Winner of the Mug: Jay Perrin, net 60
A Flight (0 to 17):
Winner: Derek Brook, net 66; Second: Don Richardson, net 70;
Third: Bob Benda, net 71; Fourth: Ted Morris, net 72
B Flight (18 up)
Winner: Harvey Samuel, net 64; Second: Arthur Bailey, net 68
(c/b); Third: Norman Robinson, net 68; Fourth: Barry Kerr, net 69 (c/b) Ebrahim
Near Pins: #4 Franz Spenner, #8 Maurice Herberge, #12 Derek
Brook, # 16 Rich Montana
Long Putts: #9 Ebrahim, #18 Fred Theobald
PSC Golf from Bobby Joe’s 60’s Bar
Friday December 19
Noble Place
Stableford
The players at Bobby Joes being brave and adventuresome
by nature, they do drink at the 60’s Bar, decided to trek to the far
reaches of route 331 and face the difficulties of Nobel Place.
 Max
(center) presents to Derek Brook (right) and Rick Evans (left).
Along the way they would be faced by fearsome terrain,
previously called a road, and monstrous busses and trucks with flashing eyes
attacking them head on, in pairs, for most of the way. Of course they also
have to be wary of the lesser spotted undertaker which also abounds in this
region. And if you believe this you’ll believe anything. Still what a
dangerous road!
Nobel Place is in super condition and on the day the test
was the A & B courses, very tough in the very windy conditions. Still
some fine scores were recorded and the day appeared to be in the bag when
Derek Brook went out in a fine gross 37 and held on to finish for the second
day on the trot with a gross 80. This can be a tough group and Max played a
fine game to come in only one point behind with Eric O’Brien only a point
behind him, so Derek indeed held on.
 Max
with the Technical Winners.
The trip back was even more exciting with the road packed
and big truck hunting the name of the game. As one does, despite the attack
of the road pack, we survived once again due to the bravery of ‘Cur Tim’
our courageous driver who returned us safely to the 60’s Bar.
Once back there we were met with an emergency as Bobby
had prepared the food and was stopping the roof fall down by holding up the
central pillar. As Bobby was so occupied Max did the presentation and then
we tested the Happy Hour. Exciting at Bobby’s is it not?
Winner: Derek Brook
Near Pins: Rick Evans (2), Derek Brook, Kevin Dunn
Long Putts: Derek Brook, Bill Lawrence
Lucky Draw: Eric O’Brien, Alan Lor.
3 Sisters Golf
With cool winds blowing and perfect golfing weather, it was a great day
for golf this past Monday. With a large field of almost forty golfers, it
was a tight field near the top.
 Terry
Curtis (right) won the bragging rights for the week with Dan Sell (left) holding
the bag.
Winning this week with forty points was Terry Curtis. Terry
finally got his game under control and shot a great score to pip the second
place runners by one point. With his approach shots and putter working well, he
was a hard man to beat for the day.
Tied for second place this week was Alan Pearce and Herb
Ishinaga. Both shot a great back nine but evidently their sticks were cold to
start with. Alan and Herb both fell one short of the leader posting scores of 39
for the day.
Holding the bottom spot this week was a newcomer to the position. Dan Sell
who has played a number of Mondays just could not put his game together. As Dan
put his card in, he was sure that he had earned his place in the cellar. Posting
a score of 19 points his nearest competitors for the cellar were five points
clear. Both Herb Schwieterman and Gene Rooney shooting 24 points were well clear
leaving Dan to hold the bag for the week.
The Square Ring
by Howie Reed
On this day after Christmas many awoke with the results
of having too much... well... too much Christmas Cheer. I awoke after having
too much “joy juice” as I watched Oregon State beat New Mexico in this
year’s Christmas Eve Las Vegas Bowl football game. Yes I did. That’s
what the season is all about. William Joppy, recently beaten to a
fair-thee-well by Bernard Hopkins, woke up the morning after his fight with
a face that he barely recognized as his own. In going the full 12 stanza’s
with the Bernard Hopkins he won a $50,000 side bet. The bet? That Joppy
wouldn’t be knocked out. He wasn’t, collected $50,000, looked in the
mirror and said, “I quit.” When the swelling went down he probably sang,
“Merry Christmas to me, Merry Christmas to me.”
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Patrick the Flying
Frog was training a lady boxer named of Tekin Zelda. It was also recorded
that she was going to be fighting soon. Well soon came and went. She won
when the referee stopped the fight at 1:47 of round one. “Referee stopped
the fight when Nonglek Lookburiram turned around after receiving a number of
sever body punches and a straight right to her chin.” Not bad for Ms.
Zelda’s first International type fight. She goes to the post again this
Sunday in Pattaya Park. This time she fights a “male” in Muay Thai.
Not enough goodies for Christmas? Well how about treating
yourself to a little live Boxing on the Beach? Is possible. No problem. On
Sunday there is just such an opportunity at Pattaya Park at 19:00 hours
(which for us farangs is 7 pm). It’s the first annual “Battle At The
Beach”. An evening of Muay Thai Boxing to suit everyone’s taste pallet.
We got Thai vs. Farang, Thai vs. Thai, Farang vs. Farang
and Lady vs. Guy. We got Farangs from Belgium, France, USA, Australia,
Holland and Japan. But there’s more. The main event matches the former
champions of Lumpini and Radjadamroen. “Is there more?” “Dam straight
Skippy.” There’s an all you can eat and drink buffet catered by Pattaya
Park Hotel. You get all this for the 2,500 Baht. My gosh how can they do it?
Is secret. “Be there or be square”. How about them apples?
As these couple of weeks, which we call holidays, drones
on there is not a lot of action inside the “Square Ring”. Alas there
were a couple of fights internationally last week of interest. In Kiel,
Germany Wladimir Klitschko extended his records to 43-2 when he took out
“Yank Warhorse” Danell Nicholson (42-5) at 1:14 of the 4th stanza.
Klitschko and his pals will herald this as a great win
but “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it ain’t nothing to write
home about.”
In days gone past Nicholson would be considered as a
“Oh by the way” fighter. It’s like kissing your sister. It’s OK but
don’t brag about it. Klitschko now gets a title fight with Lemon Brewster.
The fight in Montreal for the WBC Interim Supermiddle title was more
interesting and more noteworthy. Canadian Eric Lucas (36-5-3) got his clock
cleaned by Aussie Danny Green (16-1). Green battered Lucas almost at will.
In the 6th Green had Lucas on the ropes where he administered a
“whupping” that had Lucas on one knee unable to continue as the bell
sounded.
The win in Lucas’ hometown of Montreal now sets up a
Green-Markus Meyer rematch. The two fought in August. Green dropped Beyer in
rounds 1 and 2. That advantage disappeared when Referee Clancy penalized
Green 2 points for headbutts. The last one forced Beyer to retire giving him
the win by DQ.
Early in the new year there are couple of Thai Champions
(that would be 2 out of 2) that will go searching for “Big Baht” in the
“Land of the Rising Sun and Let the Daughter Sleep”.
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (49-2) will be making the 9th
defense of his title on January 3. Coming in from the Philippines to do the
refereeing task is Bruce McTavish, a familiar face and friend of some of
Pattaya’s finer establishments. This is Pongsaklek’s third trip to Japan
and will probably be as successful as his other two (TKO 5 & UD 12). He
faces Masaki (Trash) Nakanuma (23-4) who is on a two bout loosing streak
which will be come three sometime on the 3rd. That aside “Trash” gets a
shot at the WBC Flyweight belt against the best at the weight in the world.
Think old Pongsaklek will haul the Trash out? U bet. I’ll drink to that.
Yodsanan (3-K Battery) Nanthachai (35-1-1, 20 KO’s) the
WBA Super featherweight champion is one of the actually better than good
fighters from the Kingdom. His problem, and I promise that this is the last
time I’ll mention it this year, is that he’s fighting in either The Land
of the Pole Hangers or in Japan. That would not be too bad except he’s not
fighting quality opponents. That won’t change when he gets in the ring on
February 8 with Ryuhei Sugita (25-1-2) in “Gifu” Japan which is 25 miles
from Nagoya. The 29 year old challenger has had only two decent opponents.
He lost to Tiger Ari (61-7) and got a hometown draw with a tougher than a
bar girls heart Javier Jauegui (47-10). But it’s said, “A win’s a
win’s a win”. If this were anyone but “ole 3-K” a word of warning
might be inserted here. But 3-K “Not to worry”. From the press release
“Let cheer Yodsanan out loud and also witness this exclusive controversy
on Feb. 8 next year!” I’ll drink to that.
Speaking of having a few cool ones again... may I be the first to write
(Thanks to Aoi Will’s Daughter, Monkey House Fred from Nevada Club and
Patrick the Flying Frog) “Sawat Dee Peemas”.
Tanya and Pud hit the bull’s eye
Tanya
(left) won the “PEA Ladies Single” division at the recently held PEA
Darts Tournament in Bangkok. Pud (right) came second. Both were representing
Pattaya and it proved the high level of darts played in the local leagues.
Tanya and Pud were sponsored by the Pattaya Sports Club and Simon Simms,
Tanya’s manager.
PH3 Run 1032
This is my first time as scribe. If I make a botch of it too much please
forgive me.
I want to thank Skiing Finn and Sir Chicken F. for their
help. I had a little trouble keeping up with the names and they did try to
help me.
It was dark and I had already had a few too many. The
circle started out with the usual raffle. This is another week where we
didn’t have one of the sexy girls Ewok or Energizer Bunny so we had to
settle for Dr. Pinky. Oh well maybe next week.
I don’t know why but before the raffle started T4 is on
ice. He seems to spend lots of time on the ice. It wasn’t much time before
he was joined on the ice by Missing Personality. What ever he did he
deserved it.
Next the Bad RA is up, Sir Airhead. He calls out the
Norwegians. Is there anyone still in Norway? Now Sir Airhead tells the story
of how the Norwegians abused Uncle Fester. They kidnapped him and used the
ATM to take all his money. He calls in the hash s**t Prince Of Spin and
removes his hash s**t status.
Visitors and the Returnees were called in for down downs.
Next the hares on the ice O.J., F.B. and Jazzer. It didn’t take long for
everyone to agree it was a great run. They were lucky not much time on ice.
I must have been sleeping because next thing I know
Charlie Manson is on ice. Why? Because he forgot to get the Beer Police. His
answer is we have Beer Police. Next question was where are their helmets?
Charlie blames Sir Chicken F. Sir Chicken F. on ice! Sir Chicken F. said I
left them in my bedroom. He must have some kinky sex. Maybe I’ll buy a
helmet and give it a try.
Next Fini the F. on ice. It seems he likes to scare
little children by undressing around them. Free W. on ice while the
Norwegians are called in. This was to prove that Free W. wasn’t dead as
the papers claimed. Sir Chicken F. takes the circle. John Smith The Elephant
Shagger and Rosie on ice for animal abuse. S.S. and his lady get called in.
His lady is given his history about being a katoy. S.S. leaves and comes
right back in this time with U.T.B. It seems they broke rule 6. They get a
nice song sang in their honour by Sir Chicken F.
S.S in again with lady. Lady gets Hash name I think it
was Silicone Valley. Another hasher was named P. Flaps. Hares song next then
the Hash Hymn and on the bus for the journey back into town to The
Classroom. Thanks to Compost Heap and his staff.
On-On
M. Worm
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