Miller-Stirling splashes to inaugural Delaney’s Open title

Over 100 golfers braved the weather, reated to fun “Irish” day

by Dan Dorothy

As PSC Golf Chairman Mike Franklin put it, "It wouldn’t be a proper Irish golf tournament without a little rain". If that’s the case, than Delaney’s outdid themselves for the first Delaney’s Irish Open golf tournament at, where else, Rayong Green Valley on Friday, October 2nd.

A strong field of 105 golfers turned out to slosh around the course, which actually held up quiet well under the conditions, unlike some of the golfers. In fact, one certain glabrous golfer apparently wasn’t wet enough with just the rain and decided to "wash" his golf cart in one of the many water hazards on the course.

However, on a day that saw a plethora of slightly less than tremendous scores and a handful of remarkable ones, Jock Miller-Stirling shone through the clouds, carding 40 Stableford points to win Division I and the Overall Championship on count back over an equally fine effort by Sven Berthelsen.

Steve Mascari also had little trouble with the conditions, carding a great scratch 73 to win low gross honors.

Bill Callaghan led all Division II golfers with a scratch 93 and 37 Stableford points to win both low gross and best Stableford score for Division II, also on count back over a another fine effort by runner-up Skip Heinecke.

It would be remiss not to mention probably the "bravest" effort of the day. A performance put in by a man who stuck it out and completed his round in the rain, even though he knew there was absolutely no chance he would win anything. How wrong he was. Skip Ryan won a box of 15 golf balls for turning in the day’s lowest Stableford score, a massive 7 (seven) points.

Also at the other end of the spectrum, Mark Gorda achieved the dubious honor of "worst dressed golfer", awarded by Delaney’s Pattaya Manager Kim Fletcher (who didn’t know enough to come in out of the rain). Mark may have earned the award for lilies and mud he might have picked up while trying to fish his cart out of the pond, although, according to onlookers, that was probably unlikely as he was more concerned with getting a fresh Carlsberg than saving his cart or clubs. More likely he won the award for his Dalmatian head covers, noticed by the wrecking crew called in to tow his cart home.

Upon return to Delaney’s Irish Pub in Pattaya for the award giving ceremony, all competitors wearing their Delaney’s Irish Open commemorative polo shirts (fine ones at that) were treated to a fabulous "Sunday" Carvery, which your humble scribe got plenty of, as scribes are known to do.

PSC Chairman Mike Franklin superbly handled the award presentations, assisted admirably by Delaney’s "Big Cheese" Trevor Allen, down from Bangkok specially for the event. Never mind that Trevor won a couple of his own technical prizes, he truly earned them.

The lucky draw followed, with 14 prizes including a return airline ticket to Singapore.

After the awards presentation and lucky draw, while food was still being happily devoured and conversation reached its peak, Fling, the Australian-Celtic band (from Australai as it was announced on the board) entertained with such gusto that they got a few of the less-inhibited golfers bouncing around the dance floor in what more resembled a Radio City chorus line than an Irish jig.

Thanks for all who participated in the lucky draw prizes, including Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, D’MA Pavilion Hotel, Terrazo Restaurant, Sukhothai Hotel, Celadon, Galleria Restaurant, Orient Express, the Fortune Hotel, Raja’s Fashion, Sportathlon Ltd., Meridian Hotel, U-Thong Inn Ayutthaya, and Asiana Airlines.

Special thanks go to Trevor Allen, Kim Fletcher and staff of Delaney’s for hosting an all-round fun day. Mike Franklin and the Pattaya Sports Club for organizing the event. Richard Livingston who, left to his own devices, made sense out of over 100 soggy score cards, some barely readable, turned in by thirsty golfers at the end of their rounds.

Finally, special thanks to Carlsberg/Delaney’s for the beer on the course, and the Delaney’s waitresses who admirably stayed out in the rain to make sure, sometimes a little loudly, that all golfers got their share of the amber liquid. There’s nothing like a beer or two to calm the swing, and nothing like being in the middle of your back swing to hear a lovely lass yell out, "Hey! There’s beer here!" A truly special day.

The Pattaya yachting scene: lots of action despite the weather

During the months of the Monsoon, when winds range from zero to line squalls topping 35-knots at times, yacht racing continues with a fervour off the Royal Varuna Yacht Club at South Pattaya. Meantime, a Royal Varuna team breached the hallowed walls of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Squadron at Cowes, Isle of Wight, for the first time, to participate in Cowes Week - the "Super Bowl" of yacht racing. Finally, reports of the untimely demise of the "Pattaya Mail" yachting correspondent, were totally unfounded.

Peter Cummins reports from Pattaya

As the Royal Varuna Yacht Club sails into the last quarter of 1998, it is heading into relatively calm seas, after negotiating some hazardous waters and many a shoal along the way - politically and climatically speaking that is. The south-westerly Monsoons, typified by low, scudding clouds, ferocious line squalls and torrential rains, are starting to give way - albeit, grudgingly - to the north-easterlies with their promise of clear skies, moderate winds and pleasant ambient temperatures. Idyllic sailing conditions which also help calm the corporate nerves.

Sailing has a great advantage over every other outdoor sport: no matter how hard, or for how long it rains and storms, the field, arena or pitch is unchanged at the end of it. Water is water and a number of events have been spread over the rainy season.

The annual "off-the-beach" series, with the fleets occasionally heading out into the very ‘teeth’ of an incoming southerly squall, had its share of excitement, though the winners’ line-up was a little more predictable than the weather.

Actually, this competition should be based on a "height-adjusted" handicap, rather than the Royal Varuna’s wind-adjusted formula for, naturally, the ‘big guys’ like Patrick Helms can stand much further out from the shore for the start. The smaller ones, like kid sister Bianca, are struggling not to drown, even further in-shore with, consequently, a greater distance to sail to the first mark - if they haven’t already gone under, that is!

So, in the mono-hull division - all Lasers, apart from one Fireball which competed occasionally, for practice purposes - it was Patrick Helms, Charlie Zbinden, Don Mackenzie and Bianca Helms, in that order of placings - and that order of height, from Patrick’s 1.83 metres to Bianca’s 1.60 m!

The Multi-hulls were more evenly distributed height-wise, with Murray Maunder (Hobie Cat 16), Steve O’Brien (Nacra 16 Square), Simon Prattley (H-C 16) and Chris Whittle (H-C 16) first to fourth, respectively. There was no more than three cm height difference between them.

Then came the very popular Loxley championship, sponsored for the second year by Mark Kovalevsky’s Loxley Video Post Company, featuring a double long-distance event. Obviously, superior height was of no advantage here, for little Bianca Helms, with a third and first placing in the two races, bolted away with the mono-hull honours from Charlie Zbinden and Shin Suenega. Laszlo Nyerges, not exactly a giant either, just scraped in, sailing his single-handed Nacra 16 Square to win the multi-hulls from John Marten/Alexis Welsh (Hobie Cat 16) and Simon Prattley/Suzanne Merz (H-C 16), filling the minor placings.

In the New Olympic regatta, comprised of the tortuous trapezoid courses, the ‘trigonometric whiz kids’ Patrick and Bianca Helms had a better grasp of the geometrics than architect Charlie Zbinden who deals more in squares and straight lines and had to accept third place in the mono-hull division behind the Helms siblings.

The multi-hulls saw the Marten/Welsh Hobie Cat 16 to the fore, leaving single-handed ace Steve O’Brien trailing in second place on the Nacra 16 ‘Square’, which was also having some problems with a ‘trapezoid’.

While the Varunians were busy dodging Monsoonal fronts, a Varuna team went to Cowes, Isle of Wight, to participate in the inner sanctum of hallowed yacht racing events, Cowes Week. Although many members, such as Nick Moore, have raced individually at Cowes, this represented the first time a team has competed - this time in the inaugural Inter-Nations Youth Challenge, comprising 27 countries, including host UK - at the famous yachting week.

Nick and Chris Mackenzie, Ben Bulmer and Matt Curtoys did a great job for Royal Varuna, raising the Thai flag for a fourth placing in both the "Bronze" fleet and the "Silver" fleet navigation race on the Solent. It was the team’s first appearance at Cowes, competing with some of Europe’s best sailors, racing alternately in Etchells, Hunter 707s and Sonars, all highly-competitive craft. Pattaya man Don Mackenzie, who had organized the Royal Varuna team, was justifiably proud of his two sons and their team who did much to portray a positive image of the resort and its premier yacht club.

Finally, and definitely closer to home, this Pattaya Mail correspondent was amazed to wake up one morning recently - yes, HE DOES wake up, even in glorious retirement - to learn from a certain marine journal that HE was DEAD.

"Asian Marine", which carries feature stories on the Pattaya boating and yachting scene in the Kingdom, in its edition of September, 1998, published an item from Aussie correspondent Bob Wonders. In his monthly feature column "News from Downunder", Bob ran a head-line: "Farewell to a Cummins standout" in which he pointed out that "The boating industry lost one of its most respected members in August, with the passing of..."

Much as I like the accolade - and with all due respects to the deceased - I was rather happy that the next two words of the report were not "Peter Cummins", but, rather, were "Frank Kent" who had been a Cummins Diesel marine engine expert for 40 years and had gone to his diesel workshop in the sky.

I feel sure that if there IS indeed a paradise, there will not be too many entries for "Cummins" in St Peter’s book, anyway; much better to look for such entries in the OTHER PLACE.

I am most happy to confirm at press time, that I am indeed alive, well ... and still filing for the "Pattaya Mail."

First Charity Mini-Golf Challenge

The First Charity Mini-Golf Challenge will be held from 1 to 8 November at Fairplay Mini-Golf, Thappaya Road.

20,000 baht in prizes will be up for grabs with categories for ladies, gentlemen, and children, for the purpose of raising funds for the Louis Fassbind Foundation, Pattaya Orphanage, and various local charities.

The tournament will be hosted by the Rotary Club of Jomtien Pattaya and concerned local businesses, in cooperation with Echo du Siam, Der Farang, Pattaya Mail, Ferien Magazin, Jesters MC, Pattaya Sports Club, and PILC. All sponsorship & donations welcome.

How it started

As with many great ideas, this one also started at a bar counter where French, Swiss and Belgian local business people gathered after a game of mini-golf. The topic was the poor, the handicapped, the homeless, and the orphans in and around Pattaya, and the necessity to help the charity organizations that take care of these people. Fairplay proposed the free use of the Mini-Golf for this fund raising action and the base was laid for the Charity Mini-Golf Challenge. Help was found with the Rotary Club of Jomtien Pattaya and soon many other businesses and clubs joined.

The Aims

The main aim of the "Challenge" is to generate funds for local community charities such as the Pattaya Orphanage, the Louis Fassbind Foundation and many other small local charity organizations to support their good work. The Rotary Club of Jomtien Pattaya will oversee the fair distribution of funds to the various charities.

The Target

The target of the "Mini-Golf Challenge" is to generate Baht 250,000 and more. This goal can only be reached with all of you helping and supporting this event.

How can you help?

a. By becoming one of the head-sponsors (6 meter banner + money-prize)
b. By sponsoring, privately or through your company, a banner at one of the 18 holes.
c. By giving some prizes for the Charity Raffle.
d. By helping to promote the first "Charity Mini-Golf Challenge".
e. By participating in the Mini-Golf Challenge and bringing many friends along.
f. By volunteering to be a judge during the Mini-Golf tournament.

How does it work?

Every Mini-Golf competitor has to play 4 rounds of 18 holes during the period of 1 to 8 November (children 8-11 years - 2 rounds, and 12-15 years - 3 rounds), where all points are added to get the final score results. A judge will mark the score of all players. Unlucky holes (with too many strokes) can immediately be replayed against a payment of a "Joker" (Mulligan). A player can buy a maximum of 18 Jokers over the whole competition (10 for children 8-11 and 14 for children 12-15). Jokers are sold by book of 3. A book of 3 Jokers costs 200 baht before starting, 300 baht during the first round, 400 baht during the 2nd round, 500 baht during the 3rd round and a final price of 600 baht during the 4th and final round. The presentation of prizes and the raffle-draw will take place on Sunday 8 November at 17:00 (5:00 p.m.). The tickets for the Charity Mini-golf Challenge are sold at 500 baht for adults, 200 baht for children 8-11 and 300 baht for children 12-15.

Tommy’s lose the edge in Wed quiz

What color is the Bourbon rose? What was Mrs Thatcher’s maiden name?

Until September 23, they had never lost a mid week quiz this season and were level pegging with the doughty Cheers team. But, alas, Tommy’s Bar went down to the Rising Sun and are trailing modestly behind the leaders. Cheers meantime continue unabated with an unblemished string of astonishing victories which would have left even Magnus Magnusson totally gobsmacked. Meanwhile, Rovers Return, Fawlty Towers and Billy and Da’s Bar are locked in a desperate fight for the wooden spoon. However, the oncoming high season may yet produce surprises as professors and scientists pour into the resort to strengthen Pattaya’s reputation as the Asian Center for Learning and the Arts. Answers to the questions are above are White and Roberts.

Cheers Tommy’s Rising Sun Bob’s Palmer’s Sixties Last Resort Rover’s Return Fawlty Towers Billy and Da

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