Royal Varuna Yacht Club

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I post this not really about a yacht club in Pattaya, but because it has reference and photos of his Majesty when he was sailing. We were talking about this in another thread a few months ago. Part two of the story is next week and I will post then. Photos canbe seen at the link. Pete

http://www.pattayamail.com/current/sports.shtml#hd16
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The Royal Varuna: 50 years young
The first of a two-part story tracing the history and development of this yacht club

Story By Peter Cummins


The Royal Varuna Yacht Club turns 50 years of age today. It joins the ranks of such illustrious 50 year-olds as the European Union and, a little closer to home, the Pattana School. Even the Sydney Harbour Bridge is 75 this year. But, Royal Varuna is certainly not having a mid-life crisis - only some of the more ancient members are.

Royal Varuna is thriving with a new club-house and 26 years to go with the present lease on the best piece of land on the entire Eastern Seaboard.

Membership is pushing 450 with a back-up of racing events, national and world championships.


His Majesty the King in his OK TH 27 sailing off Varuna circa 1967.

But, let us start at the start. Prince Bhisadej Rajani was one of 10 people who answered Walter Meyer's advertisement in the Bangkok Post in April, 1957, seeking "Boating friends to form a boating club." The elements for one of those 'nationality' jokes were in place as the group gathered, appropriately enough, at the then Cosmopolitan Restaurant (later, Charly's), on Sathorn Road.

An Australian, an Italian, two Swiss and a Thai, among others, did not sit down to joke, however, for they had serious business on their minds.

By the end of that lunch 50 years ago, Prince Bhisatej, Sid Watkins, Robert (Rachiman) Gintzburger, Roberto Maestrini and Walter Meyer were the principal protagonists who, to use the correct nautical term, "launched" the Varuna Marine Club on the first of July 1957.

They had the aim of promoting all water sports, including power-boating, water-skiing, scuba diving and, of course, sailing, cruising and yacht-racing.

Walter was elected chairman of the board (really, the first Flag Commodore) and called the inaugural meeting of the Marine Club committee, on 7 August, 1957. The first circular issued by secretary Watkins on 22 August, 1957, pointed out that the entrance fee to the new club was 250 baht, with monthly subscriptions all of 30 baht'payable in advance. A Singha beer was then 12 baht per large bottle.

The major decision at the time was where to establish the club. Walter and his friends drove up and down a little fishing village called Pattaya which comprised of 20 fishing families and had a big tree in the middle of the road. Finally, a two-story wooden sea-side house, with a beach ideal for sail-boats was located, on a site subsequently known as Barbos V, now the Nang Nual Restaurant.

A deal was struck with the owner Nai Samrit. However, these captains of industry did not have enough cash for the deposit of 2,000 baht. Walter's wife came to the rescue with the amount and the Varuna Marine Club had a home.

Why Varuna?
The first Varuna clubhouse, sited at the southern end of Pattaya Beach.

In Hindu theism, Varuna is one of the most important gods in the pantheon. In pre-Vedic times he was the supreme lord of the cosmos, the keeper of divine order, the bringer of rain and the enforcer of contracts. The god Varuna was thus believed to possess multiple powers, ruling the oceans and the winds, and keeping under control the demons of the sea from his abode in the western vector.

"You cannot imagine how wonderful Pattaya was then," recounted Walter recently. "There was nothing there.

"There were no hotels, only two groups of bungalows around what is now Soi Eight.

"My main regret is that today's Varuna members do not know the old South Pattaya. You could leave your door open; there were no thieves.

"The water was as clear as at Koh Pai today. There were even shells on the beach from North to South Pattaya. The Varuna Marine Club was officially opened on the weekend of 15-16 February, 1958 with a dinner-dance on Saturday night where jackets and ties were forbidden.

It was in fact a water sports club, with sailing, motor boating, water-skiing and fishing sections. Walter was the first chairman but Prince Bhisatej was the first "captain of sailing", since Walter had no interest in this particular sport being a fisherman. There continues to this day to be a friendly debate as to who was really the first commodore of the club!

Indeed, the heart of Varuna was always sailing and Prince Bhisadej led its development

Angelo Gualtieri, currently the club's honorary treasurer and commodore from 1972-1974 recalls the first club facilities. One was a wooden two-storey house on the beach, and the other a wooden house across the road. The beach frontage was about 50 metres long, located next to the only bar/restaurant in Pattaya at the time, called Barbos V which has since gone.

No doubt, the popularity of sailing and racing were greatly enhanced when His Majesty and some of the royal family participated, along with such luminaries as Prince Bhisatej and the late Prince Bhirabongse Bhanubandh, better known as Prince Bira.

The first national event recorded in the Kingdom, the Enterprise National Championship, was held off the Varuna Marine Club in l964. US sailors W.A. Gleason and K.R. Thomsen were the inaugural winners, beating Rachot Kanjanavanit/Narong and Prince Bira/Princess Lom.

The press ran such headlines as "25 yachts entered in first national regatta" (Bangkok World, 14 July, 1964); "Yachting in Thailand enters the big time" (Bangkok Post, 12 July, 1964).

His Majesty became an enthusiastic and skilful helmsman, tutored by Prince Bhisadej who assisted the King in building his own Enterprise, the "Rajpatan". One of the memorable outings was in March of l965, and consisted of a race from Varuna to Koh Larn, with the British Royal Consort, Prince Phillip as guest sailor.

The Prince, a Dragon sailor of great skills, was not exactly covered with glory being the last to finish in this race to Koh Larn. Nevertheless, he so enjoyed the hospitality and the informality displayed by Their Majesties the King and Queen, that, upon his return to the UK, he sent a catamaran as a gift to the King. It was the first multihull to enter Thailand. And what did His Majesty name the Cat? Pla Duek (Thai for a Catfish, playing on the words Cat and Duke, a typical example of His Majesty's sense of humour).

It was in March 1965 that the Varuna Marine Club membership was invited by His Majesty to the King's own newly-established Royal Chitralada Yacht Squadron at the Klai Kangwol Palace at Hua Hin, to participate in a regatta celebrating the formation of the Yacht Squadron. There were, and still are, 100 OK dinghies, kept in mint condition, housed on the spacious lawns of Klai Kangwol.

On the Saturday after the race, when all the sailors and supporters were gathered at the large reception hall of the palace, Prince Bhisadej Rajani announced that His Majesty had conferred Royal Patronage upon the Varuna Marine Club. Thus, a month later, on 26 April, 1965, the Varuna Marine Club officially became the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, with His Majesty The King as the Patron.
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"What America needs is a huge hypodermic needle of morality." Alice Cooper 21 Sept. 2007

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Below is part two. This one is more interesting as more about His Majesty than in part one, and the Trans-Gulf race from Pattaya to the Kai Kangwol palace in HH. This article says the distance is 64 nautical miles, I thought longer. Pete

http://www.pattayamail.com/current/sports.shtml#hd16
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Royal Varuna Yacht Club: An oasis in the Pattaya concrete

by Peter Cummins, Special Correspondent “Pattaya Mail”

This is the second part of a scheduled three-part series of the history of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club which reached the half century last week.
The first story examined the founding and early days of the then Varuna Marine Club culminating in His Majesty the King conferring Royal Patronage on the club. Thus, on April 26, 1965, the Marine Club became the Royal Varuna Yacht Club. His Majesty the King remains the Royal Patron, and, during those exhilarating years, the King, members of the Royal Family, other visiting Royalty and diplomats were all enthusiastic and skilful sailors at the club.

The Varuna Marine Club was bestowed Royal Patronage on April 26, 1965 and officially became the Royal Varuna Yacht Club on that day.
Slowly, but inexorably, development started to overtake Walter Meyer’s pristine Pattaya and Royal Varuna stalwart Poul Weber, for one, saw the inevitability of the club re-locating or being engulfed by the all-conquering march of concrete.

Second Commodore, Sid Watkins (l964-l966), was inclined to agree with Poul and a number of the members who feared being engulfed by Pattaya developments, as the concrete marched up Pratumnak Hill and up and down the Pattaya shoreline.

It soon became apparent that Pattaya Bay was developing as a weekend resort for Bangkokians. The bridge across the Bang Pakong River was improved and cut almost two hours off the trip from Bangkok, so Pattaya was filling up on weekends. The first resort hotel, the Nipa Lodge had opened, another, the Chalet Hotel at Wongse Amat had just started and the Bay was rapidly filling with power craft.

In 1967, the owner of the land then occupied by the club wanted to double the rent to about Baht 24,000 per year, which was considered a great imposition and the members were very indignant. It was becoming clear that the club needed to move. It was during third Flag Commodore Denis Lowry’s tenure (l966-l967), that the contentious issue of leaving South Pattaya became confrontational and eventually split the club.

Fourth Commodore, Rachot Kanjanavanit (l967-l970), secured the present site - no doubt one of the best on the Eastern Seaboard - designed the club-house and, in October, l967, led the move “over the hill,” to what many thought at the time was a “wilderness, with no power, no water supply and no amenities.”

Dr. Rachot never failed to tell newer members that some of the membership at the time, thought “we (the Committee) were a bunch of madmen”.

Dr. Rachot, an active member who sailed an OK, announced that he had discovered a plot of land suitable for a new clubhouse just around the corner of the headland south of Pattaya Bay, and in typically fractious Varuna fashion, the great debate began.

One group was keen to move the club to the middle of Pattaya Bay, where a site was available. The other group wanted to move to the new site over Pratumnak Hill. There were furious debates and, when it was learned that the rent for the proposed new site would be Baht 2,000 per year, a great cry of ‘We can’t afford it!’ went up.

Eventually at the Annual General Meeting it was finally decided to take a 10-year lease on the newly-identified plot of land (the present site), with an option to renew for a further 10 years. Dr. Rachot undertook to design the new clubhouse and commission the construction.

One fateful Sunday at the new site, before anything had been built, the only approach was a dirt road down from the hill, deeply rutted by rain in some places. Rachot stood on the beach looking up the hill, and said, “Now I’m going to site the clubhouse.” He walked up towards the north side of the area, stood on a hillock, looked round and said “Here!”
Noting the relative isolation of the site, Dr Rachot also incorporated the first of the accommodations behind the clubhouse. That is how the old clubhouse came to be positioned, facing west south-west overlooking the lawn and the beach. The new clubhouse has followed the same approach.
In fact, many did not join the move to the new site but rather broke away to form a fishing club at Bang Saray. This is still relatively active. But, at the new location, Royal Varuna quickly consolidated its position as the premier sailing club in the Kingdom.

On September 14, 1968, The Royal Patron, His Majesty the King, accompanied by HM the Queen, the Crown Prince and the Princesses, officially opened the Royal Varuna Yacht Club. It was to be almost 40 years later when HRH the Crown Prince opened the splendid new clubhouse, still located on the same prime site at Kasetsin Beach, South Pattaya.

It was a festive occasion with racing, and Her Majesty graciously presented the prizes. In the late afternoon it was announced that His Majesty would like to meet and talk with the members, who were told not to be shy but approach and talk to the King.

Club Treasurer Angelo Gualtieri still remembers the occasion well: “A crowd of us was gathered on the upper floor with the King in the centre of the group talking animatedly with the members. We knew that the King had personally built his own dinghies, an Enterprise, and an OK, and was building his own design of an International Moth, called Mod.

“One of our Swiss members asked His Majesty if he was planning to go into production with these boats. He smiled and said no, but that he would lead the way by showing it could be done in Thailand and then leave it to others to develop.

“Dr. Rachot produced a large photograph of His Majesty sailing his OK. He asked the King to sign the photo, which he did with a felt pen. The picture has hung on the wall of the staircase ever since. Unfortunately the ink of the felt pen faded until it can no longer be seen. However, there is a photograph showing the King signing the picture.”

The Vega Rudder Trophy Race:

To commemorate the occasion when His Majesty the King sailed his OK dinghy solo across the Gulf from Hua Hin to Sattahip, on 19 April, 1966, Dr. Rachot proposed a Trans-Gulf race from the club to Klai Kangwol Palace at Hua Hin. This would be 64 nautical miles in length on course 248 from the club, past Koh Rin and across the gulf, out of sight of land (mooted, at the time, as the world’s longest race in an open dinghy).
Dr. Rachot asked for the King’s approval for the landing at his Palace and His Majesty agreed, offered a trophy, and asked Rachot what he would like.

Rachot asked the King if he would be kind enough to donate the rudder of his OK Dinghy. His Majesty was baffled, “Why do you ask for that? It is only a piece of wood. I can give you a large silver cup.””
“Please, Your Majesty,” replied Rachot, “we ask for your rudder blade because you have made it with your own hands, and it is therefore very precious to us. It would give us great honour and pleasure.”
“Well, I suppose I can always make another,” the King conceded. “So if you really are sure that is what you want, I will donate my rudder blade, but I repeat, it really is only a piece of wood!”
That was the genesis of the famous Vega Rudder Trophy Race which again, with the King’s advice, was eventually discontinued as a Trans-Gulf race.

Angelo Gualtieri recalls the inaugural race which started at 6 am in front of the club just as dawn was breaking. The winds were very light south westerly, and the aim was to make as much distance to the south as one could. By the time the fleet had passed Koh Rin, the wind dropped and in the middle of the Gulf the fleet was almost becalmed. Then gradually the wind filled in from the south and soon was reaching towards Hua Hin.
As the boats approached Hua Hin, His Majesty came out from the palace flying past on a Tornado Catamaran – a gift from Prince Philip to commemorate his great day with the Royal Family and the race-picnic to Koh Larn, several years before. Prince Bhisatej Rajani was crewing for His Majesty on the “Pla Duek” Tornado.

The Trans-Gulf race was repeated twice more, but subsequent races saw the fleet spread out across the Gulf and along the coastline, to the point at which it was judged too risky to repeat. Indeed, on greeting the exhausted sailors on their eventual arrival in Hua Hin, His Majesty himself said that this was dangerous, and that the sailors had better not do it again.

So the Trans-Gulf, as a true crossing of the Gulf, came to an end. The race and its name continue each year to this date, and for the same trophy, the Royal OK Dinghy rudder, but it is now sailed in sight of the coastline. It has been run from Paknam to the club, from the club to Sattahip, from Sattahip to the club and round some of the Gulf islands, but no longer out of sight of land. More recently, since 1989, it has been included as an integral division of the annual Hua Hin Regatta.
The third part of this saga, will report the Varuna Club’s rapid rise as the Kingdom’s – and the region’s – prime yacht club, becoming a chosen venue for numerous world and regional championships, right up until this year.
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"What America needs is a huge hypodermic needle of morality." Alice Cooper 21 Sept. 2007