Pasi Venalainen wins 2000 Canadian Jack-a-lope Open

Pasi Venalainen pasted beautiful Eastern Star Golf Club for 39 Stableford points on Friday, September 8, and won the 2000 Canadian Jack-a-lope Open golf tournament. Of the 90 entrants, no one was able to score in the 40’s and only seven golfers broke net par. It was a gorgeous day, but the wind was blowing briskly and steadily all day, keeping the scores down and the battles between golfers close. Four of the top trophies were decided by count back, including Pasi’s win over Norman Brooks.

Pasi Venalainen pasted the beautiful Eastern Star Golf Club and won the 2000 Canadian Jack-a-lope Open

For his day’s labor, Pasi will have his name engraved on the permanent Jack-a-lope Champion Trophy that now resides in The Haven. He also took home a handsome golf bag and an even more handsome bottle of whiskey.

When it came to taking home prizes, no one did better than Steve Mascari. For the second consecutive year, Steve won the Low Gross honors and his scratch 76, off five, won him a full one-year membership at Eastern Star. His 37 Stableford points took first place in Division One and a huge bottle of Canadian Club; his Long Drive won a shoe bag; and his two Near Pins pulled in a 1000 B. voucher from Delaney’s. Steve had so many Jack-a-lope trophies sitting before him at The Haven it looked like he was opening a pet store for demented rabbits.

In addition to donating a passel of 1000 B. vouchers, as they have so often done at local golf tournaments, Delaney’s contributed a keg of beer for the Near Keg hole. That was won by Serge Straeten who wondered aloud, “Do they give me a long straw to go with this barrel of beer?” Meanwhile, Fast Eddie Christianson won a year’s free Carvery Buffet at Delaney’s in the 50/50 Draw. After a year at the Carvery, Eddie will be looking for a new nickname.

There were an astonishing 33 trophies presented at the post tournament party held at The Haven. Norman Brooks took consolation by winning the first place trophy in Division Two for handicaps between fifteen and eighteen. Stefan Ryser was the winner in Division Three with 38 Stableford points and his wife Toy once again won the Ladies Long Drive to add to their warren of Jack-a-lopes.

George “One Ball is Enough” Jackson successfully defended his Seniors championship for old codgers over the age of fifty. George really is a sweetheart for a demi-eunuch and was all smiles over winning a first place trophy with 34 points. That was the point total for Vic “Oh No, Not Over There” Cross who took the premier spot for Super Seniors. Vic takes great delight in whipping younger golfers and it should be pointed out that he would have qualified for the Seniors Division back in 1976.

The under lying purpose of the Jack-a-lope Open was to raise money for The El Shaddai Center for abandoned children and The Garunyavet Center for disabled ladies. These organizations struggle to make ends meet, and the 160,000 baht that was raised by the local golfing community will go a long way to helping out. The Pattaya Sports Club alone donated 20,000 baht. Almost 60,000 baht was raised in the 50/50 draw thanks in part to Eastern Star, who in addition to a year’s membership for the Low Gross, donated a second year’s membership for the draw, and a Family Weekend at the resort as well. Certainly some credit for the success of the 50/50 has to be attributed to the salesmanship of Derek Reaper who was hawking tickets at The Haven while the golfers were wolfing down the food. “Reap” is a big boy and a hard person to say no to. Gordon McKnight didn’t say “NO” and ended up with half the moolah and a whole lot of new friends. Wherever Gordon went on Friday night he had a whole herd of Jack-a-lopers following right behind him.

When the day was done, Malcolm “The Snowman” Clare was sitting poolside at The Haven enjoying a much-needed drink. Malcolm was one of the stalwarts in running the tournament and he had been run ragged. The heart and soul of the Canadian organizers, including Mark Gorda, Eddie Henheffer and Moe Deverdenne, had all been unavailable because of work. “How is it that you, an Englishman, was so involved with this event?” Malcolm was asked. Without batting an eye and with a perfectly straight face Malcolm replied, “I am sure it was because of my very close resemblance to Mark Gorda.”

Champion 2000: Pasi Venalainen, 39 pts. C/B Low Gross: Steve Mascari, 76 First Division (0-14): Winner: Steve Mascari, 37 pts, Runner up: Rick Sharp, 36 pts C/B, 3rd Place: Fabian Arp, 36 pts Second Division (15-18): Winner: Norman Brooks, 39 pts, Runner up: Steve Ross, 37 pts C/B, 3rd Place: Doug Powell, 37 pts Third Division (19-28): Winner: Stefan Ryser, 38 pts. Runner up: Pete Galle, 36 pts C/B, 3rd Place: Paul Hartley, 36 pts Ladies Division: Winner: Mam Trayling, 39 pts, Runner up: Banjob Franklin, 38 pts, 3rd Place: Urai Kongnok, 33 pts Senior Division: Winner: George Jackson, 34 pts, 2nd Place: Ebrahim, 33 pts Super Seniors Division: Winner: Vic Cross, 34 pts, 2nd Place: Arthur Bailey, 33 pts Rabbits: Winner: Len Jones, 34 pts Long drive: Div 1: Steve Mascari, Div 2: Steve Bullock, Div 3: Dennis Curtain, Ladies: Toy Ryser Near pins: #4 Div 1: Steve Mascari, Div 2: Doug Powell, Div 3: Urai Kongnok. #8 Div 1: Rick Sharp, Div 2: Russell Finch, Div 3: Ken Cooke. #12 Div 1: Steve Mascari, Div 2: (no winner), Div 3: George Meigh. #15 Div 1: Eddie Blackwell, Div 2: Wilf Latham, Div 3: Malcolm Clare. Near keg: Serge Straeten Best 2nd Shot: Kevin Taylor

Schumacher again

But proves he is human

The 14th round of the F1 World Championship was a day of crashes, chaos and tears as Michael Schumacher won his 6th GP this year in front of Ferrari’s home crowd, and a fire marshal lost his life in the first lap melee.

At the start, after qualifying 1st and 2nd on the grid, the Ferrari’s of Schumacher and Barichello were looking good, but a botched start by the Brazilian saw him in 5th as the field streamed through the first chicane. Well, most of the field, as Eddie “the Mouth” Irvine’s Jaguar attempted to eat Mika Salo’s Sauber and Eddie took the Jaguar slowly back to the zoo, while Jean Alesi’s Prost refused to leave the grid and had to be coaxed into starting by a pile of Parisian pushers.

Schumacher cruises home to victory, equalling Ayrton Senna’s record of GP wins.

As the field approached the second chicane, Schumacher and Hakkinen were safely through, but behind it was chaos. Both the Jordans of Frentzen and Trulli came together with Barichello, who in turn took out Coulthard in the McLaren Mercedes. Herbert in his Jaguar jumped on the brakes early as De La Rosa in the Arrows was on full noise, launching the Arrows 20 metres in the air as it cart-wheeled into the stationary cars of Coulthard and Barichello.

Amazingly, none of the drivers were killed, although an unlucky fire marshal was hit by a flying wheel from one of the cars and later died in hospital. Despite all the safety features in the cars, Motor Racing is Dangerous, as the admission ticket says.

Three laps after the restart, Villeneuve’s hopes of a podium finish expired along with his Honda engine. Meanwhile, at the front it was all Schumacher, who cruised home in front of Hakkinen’s McLaren Mercedes and little brother Ralf in his BMW Williams. There were surprises down the field, with both Minardi’s finishing and not last ones home, and Jean Alesi’s evil Prost finally made it through to the end of a GP - but in dead set last position - but at least it was a finish!

At the press conference Schumacher showed a human side to his ultra competitive nature, breaking down in tears after being told that he now equalled Ayrton Senna’s record of wins in GP’s, to be comforted by Hakkinen and Ralf. Nice touches in a cut throat industry.

The Championship points now stand at Hakkinen with 80, Schumacher Snr 78 and Coulthard 61. No other driver has a mathematical chance for this year’s title, and Coulthard’s hopes are slim.

The next round is in America at a new track in the Indy complex.

Game fishing out of Pattaya

With the Pattaya Sports Club

Fishing For Cobia

Rachycentridae Family; also called ling, lemonfish, black salmon, black kingfish, sergeant fish, crab-eater, runner, cabio, is found worldwide in tropical and warm temperate waters both offshore and inshore. Adult cobia seem to prefer shallow continental shelf waters. They particularly like buoys, pilings, wrecks, anchored boats, flotsam, etc., and will sometimes congregate around these objects. It is the only known member of the family Rachycentridae. It has a long, broad, depressed head. The overall appearance of the fish is similar to that of a small shark, given the shape of the body, the powerful tail fin, and the elevated anterior portion of the second dorsal fin. Even more striking is its resemblance to the remora. The most noticeable difference between these two species is the suction pad on the remora’s head. The cobia is known to swim with sharks and other large species as the remora does.

Frank Pickett with 47 lb. Cobia caught Feb 6, this year.

The cobia’s coloration and markings are distinctive. The back is dark chocolate brown while the sides are lighter with alternate horizontal stripes of brown and silver or bronze and white. The markings on smaller specimens are more vivid; the black and dark stripes are blacker, making the lighter areas stand out more.

The cobia is a highly rated, hard-hitting game fish that is prone to long, powerful, determined runs and occasional leaps. Often when one is hooked the entire school will surface along with it. Preferred fishing methods are trolling with lures or baits, bottom fishing, jigging, chumming, and spin casting. They can be caught on crustaceans (which is why they are nicknamed “crab-eaters” in Australia) as well as on smaller fishes. Good baits are squid, crabs, small live fish, cut bait, and strip bait. Spoons, plugs, and weighted feathers can also be used. They rate high as table fare.

Come join the PSC in this exciting sport, with monthly fishing tournaments. For information regarding game fishing out of Pattaya with the Pattaya Sports Club please contact Carl Engel, PSC Fishing Chairman at phone 038-410228, fax 038-426121, or e-mail < [email protected] >. Or the Pattaya Sports Club phone / fax 038-423809, or e-mail < [email protected] >.

Asian Open Veteran’s Tennis Championships finals this weekend

TQ 1 Bob wins four points and moves to second place

Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League

TQ 1 Bob team with Captain Suda, Jim, Wan and Aun was the only team to win all 4 points in the last two weeks of PSC bowling and it catapulted them up two places into second place behind the league leader Lewiinski’s.

Bowling chairperson La got down on her knees and cleaned the lanes before the bowling started and it must have made a difference as no fewer than five bowlers recorded 200 plus games. Jon (Cafe Ole) 229, Kran (Cafe Kronborg) 211, Nok (Lewiinski’s) 210 & 203 and Fritz (VFW Post 9876) 206. Nok had a fantastic high series with a 587 pin count. It is not surprising that the Captain’s of the teams rolled all of the 200 games.

Team Standings Lewiinski’s Cafe Ole TQ 1 Bob Snowman VFW Post 9876 House Of The Golden Coin Cafe Kronborg Three Sisters

Points 21 - 12 21 - 15 20 - 16 19 - 17 18 - 18 17 - 19 15 - 21 10 - 26

8 Sep Results 3 - 1 4 - 0 1 - 3 1 - 3 3 - 1 0 - 4 3 - 1 1 - 3

Mr. Loy leads the way

Yorkie and Pleasure Dome garner lead

After 8 weeks of the ever-close Mickey Mouse Darts League, Yorkie and Pleasure Dome have eked out a slim lead in the standings.

Pleasure Dome beat Mick’s Place to keep a share of the lead, whilst Yorkie defeated Cheers to hold onto their position at the top and send Cheers down into 5th spot.

Beer Put and Rising Sun took both match and beer leg over Palmer’s and Devonshire respectively to settle into a tie for second.

Ian from Yorkie maintains the league’s highest out, 138.

This week (15 Sep) sees Rising Sun v Mick’s Place, Yorkie v Pleasure Dome in the battle for the top, Cheers v Palmer’s, and Beer Put v Devonshire.

	Won	Lost	B/L	U10s
Yorkie Pleasure Dome Beer Put Rising Sun Cheers Mick’s Place Palmer’s Devonshire	6 6 5 5 4 3 2 1	2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7	5 5 4 4 3 4 3 4	51 40 52 44 56 36 54 73

Fitness Tips

by David Garred
Club Manager Dusit Resort Sports Club

G’day Pattaya,

This week is another of those let’s see how broad a scope that I can cover in the column weeks.

Any Fries with that?

A growing body of research into the impact of breakfast on academic performance suggests a breakfast rich in carbohydrates and high in fiber can enhance students’ alertness and concentration, far more than the traditional fry up of bacon and eggs or fatty pastries. In a recent study at the human nutrition unit at Sydney University, Dr Susanna Holt compared the effects of four different breakfasts, containing equal amounts of calories, on feelings of fullness and alertness in university students. She found that high carbohydrate breakfasts increased alertness whereas fat rich breakfasts proved less effective in increasing both fullness and alertness. So if you want to increase your brainpower, stay away from the bacon and eggs. Why limit it to students? Don’t you think that it would be easy enough to take these results and apply the same findings to any person who uses their brain throughout the day? I don’t mean astronauts and brain surgeons, but who doesn’t use their brain during the day? Don’t we all require some sort of performance from it? Why not give yourself the best chance to get the right answer and quickly every single day. Have a real breakfast; don’t fill your body and your mind with garbage food.

Germ Alert

For those of you who cook regularly here is something to consider. Did you know that the chopping board in your kitchen is one of the most germ-ridden surfaces you will ever find?

Members of Dusit Resort Sports Club wishing long time friend and popular instructor Bridget Moore good luck and fare well back home in England.

Kind of scary when you consider that it is the surface that you feed your family with. Scientists have put the cause down to the fact that the traditional chopping board, made from wood and more recently plastic, remains damp after cleaning. A damp area, particularly in a hot, humid climate is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. A more hygienic option would be to buy a glass chopping board - not only easier to tell if it is clean, but it is also easier to dry after it has been washed.

All stressed out?

It’s no secret that people react differently to stress, but did you now that those who generally get more stressed out are putting themselves at greater risk from suffering with certain diseases?

If you are someone who doesn’t handle stress particularly well make sure you get plenty of sleep and exercise, just to make sure you don’t over-react to the smaller things in life just because you are tired. Another tip is to find someone you can trust and let him or her help you maintain a little perspective, a friend as opposed to your partner or even a professional counselor would be even better. Often your partner will get upset even if they are nothing to do with your major source of the major stress, so as to save adding a further problem, look for a third party. Discuss certain stressful issues with them; let them give you an honest and valid opinion. That way you may find that half the things you get stressed about really aren’t worth the hassle.

Carpe’ Diem

Latest Quiz League Tables

Indefatigable Cheers Bar is still on top in the popular Sunday league, but is currently tying with the whiz kids at the Bunker in the Wednesday contests. Don’t forget to support these events. They are the best contribution to keeping academic learning alive and kicking in this otherwise hedonistic resort.

Wednesday Quiz		Sunday Quiz
Cheers Bunker  Rising Sun Fawlty Towers Rose Garden Bob’s Palmer’s Londoner Tommy’s Rovers’ Return	10 credits 10 9 9 8 8 8 8 6 4	Cheers  Rising Sun Bunker Palmer’s Tippy’s Bob’s Pleasure Dome Yorkie Mick’s Londoner	718 points 702 696 676 676 646 630 616 600 598