by Dr. Iain
Corness
What
is the longest event name in the yachting world is the Pattaya Mail PC
Classic Royal Cliff Beach Resort International Regatta, sailing in two
weeks from the Royal Varuna Yacht Club.
As the central figure is the diminutive yachtsman Peter
Cummins, I felt it would be interesting to see just how much yachting he
had done, where and with whom. When you then find that Peter Cummins has
sailed with His Majesty King Bhumibol of Thailand, at the invitation of
His Serene Highness Prince Bhisadej Rajani, it still does not make him a
‘giant’ of a man, but it certainly shows he is well connected!
Peter is Tasmanian, the island that Australia cast
adrift from the mainland, but it refused to float to New Zealand, so
Australia was stuck with it. Tasmanians call it the Apple Isle, but the
rest of the world remembers it more for extinct Tasmanian Tigers, about
which they have abandoned attempts to clone from fur. Poor quality DNA was
the official reason from the Department of Clones, but Australia just said
that the mainland knew of this DNA problem for some time and it applied to
the entire island.
Peter’s interest in messing about in boats came
early, as both of his elder brothers were sailors. In fact, he competed
against one of them. “He was a better sailor than I, but I had a bit
more cunning,” said Peter Cummins with an impish grin. It appears that
industrial sabotage was as much of an art form in Tasmania in those days
as legging it is in Thailand today. However, Peter was honest enough to
admit that his brother went on to become an Australian champion in the
Cadet Dinghy class, whilst Peter during his eight years before the Cadet
Dinghy mast in Tasmania, was well known for his fearless nature, other
than being phobic about capsizing in the freezing Tasmanian waters. Since
Peter lived at one stage next door to the swashbuckling celluloid hero
Errol Flynn, perhaps this was where the fearless nature came from, though
history does not record whether Mr. Flynn had aquaphobia.
After his six months compulsory National Service in the
Australian Navy (“Where nobody knew how to sail”) Peter left to try
his luck overseas, as all Antipodeans did in those days, as a protest
against the government 10 Pound Assisted Migrant import scheme.
He then did Europe on something less than the legendary
dollar a day, using a Vespa scooter as transport. “A full tank was 10
litres,” mused Peter, who probably also erected a spinnaker to get
cheaply from Norway to Gibraltar and then across to Turkey and Israel.
After Europe it was America and the Big Apple, where he
joined the United Nations. “There were lots of yacht clubs,” said
Peter, “but I had no money!” Yachting in the US was obviously a rich
man’s sport, even then.
Now part of the UN ‘scene’ he was transferred to
France where he went sailing in the large lake in Lyons, the “Le Grand
Large”, which was eight kays across, and Peter used to sail an Olympic
class 470. “With the very strong winds from the Alps it was great
fun,” said Peter.
After the Alpine gales it was a pleasure to be
relocated to Bangkok, where he then discovered the gentle breeze called
‘phatthaya’ which gave rise to the city that took its name from it -
Pattaya. “I had three children, so we went to the seaside. I rented a
boat to go fishing and saw all these dinghies, so I returned to shore,
hired a motorcycle and found the Royal Varuna Yacht Club. I joined
immediately!”
His talent at being “a bit more cunning” was still
with him, and he freely admits that, recalling winning the Enterprise
National Championship in 1974, sailed off Sattahip. “I was as small as
any of the Thai Navy guys. I just followed them because they knew where
the wind was. At the finish I just got my nose in front, winning four of
the six races in the three day championship.”
“But what about sailing with the King?” I asked
him. Peter replied, “It was 1986 and the King would hold a regatta at
Hua Hin. I was invited as part of the press corps, but then there was a
coup d’etat and the press were banned from attending - but sailors were
exempted. HSH Prince Bhisadej knew me and invited me. I was the only
farang there and I came fourth, but His Majesty said that he thought I
should have done better, with that wonderful dry sense of humour of
his.”
But what about the PC Classic? Apparently this started
off as a fun event on Peter Cummins’ birthday (March 27th), sailing off
the Royal Varuna and collecting balloons on the water. “It was called
PC’s race, and it just went on from there. The Pattaya Mail came on
board, and then the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, and then the Jomtien-Pattaya
Rotary to make it a charity fun day.”
And will PC compete? “I guess I have to. I have the
crowd in mind who want entertainment,” said Peter, who capsized in front
of the spectators a couple of years ago, and is not allowed to forget it!
Peter Cummins has come a long way from his native Tasmania, and the
race they named after him, the PC Classic, has come a long way too. Now
one of the premier water sports events in Pattaya it has expanded its
ambit to also be an important fund-raising activity for the needy in this
region. You are invited to be part of the event, either as a spectator or
even a sponsor, just contact the Pattaya Mail Publishing director Pratheep
‘Peter’ Malhotra, email pcclassic@pattayamail .com; Jomtien-Pattaya
Rotary President Judy Hoppe, [email protected] or the Royal Cliff Beach
Resort’s GM Alexander Haeusler, [email protected]. Come and share
a beer (or several) with the man they named the race after - PC - Peter
Cummins!
