Lighthouse shines as bright as ever

Smiling property consultants Piyanuch Puangkhamnuan (left) and Prapai Sema (right) from Enjoys Property Co., Ltd.

Paul Strachan
After a month’s absence the Lighthouse Club Pattaya made a welcome return with a networking event held at the ‘Sun & Moon Deck’ above the Hard Rock Cafe on Friday the 7th of September.

With a brand new committee headed up by Joe Grunwell as the chairman, the event was, as ever very well attended with over two hundred social networkers joining the party.

(L to R) Peter Banner, The Happy Auctioneer, Cees Cuijpers from Town and Country, and Barry Main, director of sales for Thai Visa Expat Group Co., Ltd.

Much speculation was being made about the surprise sponsor for the evening; however, unfortunately the sponsor had to pull out at the last moment but the committee made the very wise decision to go ahead with the night anyway.

The staff from the Hard Rock made sure everybody’s glasses were kept topped up with either cold beer, wine or soft drinks, which went down very well as it was a very hot evening.

With the focus being on the networking aspect the speeches were kept to a minimum, with just a brief announcement introducing the chairman and a few of the other committee members.

(L to R) Remax Thailand Regional Director Eran Milo poses with Suwatna Sornthong, and Tony Barchetti, managing director of Remax Integrity.

The Lighthouse Club is a global organization that assists children who have been orphaned or disadvantaged by the building trade and here in Pattaya the LHC choose the Melissa Cosgrove Children’s Foundation to help local kids whose families work in the building trade.

The next event will be posted on the Lighthouse Club Pattaya facebook page: www.facebook.com/lhcpattaya and details will be printed in forthcoming editions of the Pattaya Mail.

(L to R) Joe Grunwell, Kay Mckeown, and Captain Tim Hicks celebrate each other’s company.

(L to R) Joe Cox, Tony Ryan, and Seamie English prepare for the upcoming raffle.

Tracy Cosgrove receives a hug from Paul Sutton, regional manager of NT Realty Asia Co., Ltd.

Vee Khaohenku brightens the night for Mix 88.5 FM’s Mark Rogers.

(L to R) Joe Cox, Terrence Allen Collins, Tracy Cosgrove, Paul Sutton, and Paul Johnson gather for a group hug.

Up the creek without a paddle, don’t worry

Gary Baguley provides information about the fully inflated kayak after his able assistant took only 5 minutes to remove it from its carrying case and fully assemble it ready for the water.

Up the creek without a paddle, don’t worry. Not if you have the latest technology in kayaking. This was the message from Gary Baguley, director & general manager of Blue Seas Marine located at Pattaya’s Ocean Marina at the September 9 meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club.

Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg introduced Gary, who was born in Melbourne Australia and began his life-long love affair with water sports at the tender age of six when he joined his local swimming club. At 16, he got his first racing boat when he joined the local sailing club.

Gary Baguley with Blue Seas Marine shows some of the finer points of the Hobie Mirage Drive feature on the inflatable kayak.

At 28, tragedy struck when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. His treatment was successful and he joined a local kayaking club to rebuild his upper body strength; a year later at the age of 29 he competed in the 1982 Murray Marathon, which is a five-day, 400km single-handed kayak race.

At 33, Gary and his family moved to Malaysia where he became involved in windsurfing. In 1993 after relocating to Thailand, Gary established his own company, originally called Blue Wave Water Sports. Later renamed Blue Seas Marine it has become one of the leading companies in Thailand for yacht maintenance, rigging and spare parts on the one side and is now the leading distributor of Hobie Cats to the resort and recreational markets on the other.

Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg admires the fully assembled inflated kayak at the PCEC meeting.

Gary began his presentation by noting that things have changed in the world of kayaking. You no longer have to be young and strong to enjoy this water sport. This is primarily due to a revolutionary drive system developed by Hobie called the Mirage Drive. The ungainly paddle has been replaced by the efficiency of the pedal making kayaking easier and more efficient than ever.

In the Mirage Drive, two pedals drive a pair of underwater fins - much like a penguin’s flippers. The Drive weighs about 6.5 pounds and it locks into place with the fins below the keel. It can also be adjusted for use in shallow water.

Roy Albiston calls on any new visitors to introduce themselves before opening up the Open Forum at the PCEC meeting where expats can ask or answer questions about expat living in Thailand.

Gary then showed a five minute video about the drive and how it operates. Some key points about the Mirage Drive - it is easy to use, quiet and creates no splash. It leaves your hands free for fishing, photography or holding a drink (that caught the interest of several club members). It is much faster and more efficient than paddling and best of all, no annoying dripping water from a paddle.

After the video, Gary described the different types of kayaks that are available whether for the single kayaker or for two. He pointed out that the kayaks made today are more stable and versatile. There are many models including one which has die-cast crossbars and side floats on each side - step the sailing rig and you have a stable sailing craft - but if the wind dies down, you still have the Mirage Drive to let you continue on your way.

Various accessories are also available for the kayak depending on how you want to use it; fun sailing or some serious fishing. They come equipped with a movable seat, which can be placed to accommodate kayakers of all heights and ability levels. They also come equipped with an easy to use rudder. Of course, they still have a double bladed paddle which can come in handy to fend off in tight places.

Gary also brought along an inflatable kayak and called on the young lady accompanying him to demonstrate how easy it was to unpack, inflate, and rig up with seat and Mirage Drive. It was all done in 5 minutes.

He then called on some owners that came with him to provide their own experiences and enjoyment of kayaking in and around the Pattaya area. The more people involved in kayaking allows them to join together in fishing or sailing groups.

Gary concluded by inviting everyone to a Hobie Demo and Barbeque at Mabprachan Reservoir on Saturday, September 22. For more information about the Hobie Kayaks, you can visit: http://www.blueseas-marine .com/watersports.php.

MC Richard then called on Pat Koester to give a brief update on actions taken at the last Board meeting and then he updated everyone on upcoming events. Roy Albiston concluded the meeting by conducting the Open Forum where questions are asked and answered about Expat living in Thailand, Pattaya in particular.

Visit the Club’s website at www.pattayacityexpatsclub .com to learn more about their meetings and activities.

Jam sessions in full swing at the Jazz Pit

International artists (left to right) Peter Couling on drums, Paul Erik on trumpet, Michael Sternbacher on guitar, Jair-Rohm Parker Wells on bass, and Thomas Reimber on guitar - synthesizer, jamming the night away at the Jazz Pit on Soi 5.

Sue K
During the last weeks there have been some exciting jam sessions at the Jazz Pit/PIC kitchen Soi 5. Joining Thomas Reimer from Austria, who had played with George Benson and performs at the Jazz Pit regularly from Thursday to Monday, were several international musicians, including Max Bedouelle on violin (France), Paul Erik on trumpet & vocals (Denmark), Neil on vocals (England), Michael Sternbacher on guitar (Germany), Jair-Rohm Parker Wells on bass (USA; Wells has played with Anthony Braxton, Karl Berger, Daniel Carter, Jaron Lanier and Tony Scott), and Peter Couling on drums (England).

Max Bedouelle, the jazz-violinist, reminds me of the gipsy jazz a la Django Reinhardt Stéphane Grappelli, who can also as quickly turn to modern funky grooves like Jean-Luc Ponty.

Max, Sue and Thomas take a break during the jazz evening.

The standard jazz numbers included “I can’t give you anything but love” sung by Paul with accompanying solo vibes by Thomas on the guitar-synthesizer; “Fly me to the moon” became a smooth bossa-nova with a bass solo in a virtuoso manner by Jerome on a special electric upright bass; a fast “All of me” led to some exiting drum solos in exchange with the rest of the band; while “The Girl from Ipanema” turned into an impressing guitar and synchronic scat solo by Thomas, just like George Benson did on his countless recordings.

Vocalist Neil was on hand to delight the audience with pop jazz songs. For some songs the musicians were joined by Sue who proved to be a singer as she is a speaker on PMTV.

But better news is that there will be a live jazz trio with Thomas Reimer (guitar), Jair-Rohm Parker Wells (bass) and Peter Couling (drums) every Friday 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. But come along any day from Wednesday to Monday for great music, and if you can play an instrument, you are welcome to jam.

Jazz Pit is on Soi 5, between Second Road and Beach Road. Tel: 038 428 374.

2,000 join to clean Pattaya Beach

More than 2,000 people , including celebrities, participated in a Pattaya Beach clean up day last week.

Vittaya Yoondorn
More than 2,000 people gave Pattaya Beach a sweep and shine as soft drink bottler Thai Namthip Co. sponsored the Coca-Cola Beach Cleanup Day.

Sakda Noppasit, secretary to the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry presided over the opening of the Sept. 15 cleanup with Sophon Thongdee, director of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Antonio Del Rosario, general manager of Cola-Cola Thailand, and Porawut Sarnsin, deputy managing director for Thai Namthip.

Volunteers were joined by celebrities including Pancake Khemnij, Aun Rangsit, Ko Wsin, J.J. Jakrot, Tengnueng Kritkan, Akh Akhrat, R Anatpol, and Nest. Employees from Central Festival Pattaya Beach and Krungsi Bank also participated in collecting garbage that was transferred to the marine department for recycling and disposal.

Sakda said Thailand produces more than 15 million tons of garbage per day and only 20 percent of that is recycled. Much of the waste is flushed into the ocean and the majority washes up again on Thailand’s beaches.