18th SUN, SEA, & SLAMS

BARBADOS BRIDGE LEAGUE

October 16th-20th, 2007

Island Inn Hotel, Aquatic Gap, St. Michael

Just another week in paradise, forced to enjoy the sun and the sea, and of course bid some slams with our friends from the BBL :-)

First order of business was the Tuesday Morning Pairs, which had Bajans all over the leader board. However, the best score went to the Brits Liz Blande & Mike Rafferty who won N/S with 65.77%, while veterans Leslie Atherley & Bertie Callender were 2nd at 59.23%. Meanwhile, leading E/W were Roglyn Hinds & Harley Moseley with 59.52%, and second going to Barbara Hopewell & Ann Evelyn at 58.04%. The first slam of the week was bid by Michal Andrews & Janet Alleyne on the 4th round, when they reached 6 spades holding s AKJ63 h A76 d A82 c T4 facing s QT987 h KJ5 d 9 c AK97 - well bid ladies!!

Everyone got involved on Tuesday afternoon in the 1st Session of the Pelau Pairs. This popular event is scored at IMPs and offers so many prizes that our space is too limited to list them all :-) Leaders at the dinner break were some more members of the British Invasion - Chrissie Kempton & Phil Jones with 75.38 IMPs, but they were being closely followed by a couple of my favourite Bajans, Adelle Springer & Charles Hollingsworth, at 73 IMPs. At a distant third were a couple of more Brits, Peter Brook & John Youdell, with 52 IMPs.

The 2nd Session of the Pelau Pairs saw a couple more Brits and former champs, Karen and Malcolm Pryor leading the way with 77 IMPs. Back a little in 2nd place were some more former champs, Bermudan Alan Douglas & Bajan Ian Harvey, with 44 IMPs but being pressured by Blande/Rafferty at 41 IMPs.

When the computer finally spit out the Pelau Pairs - Final Overall, Adelle Springer & Charles Hollingsworth were well clear of the field with a total of 111.25 IMPs in 1st place. The Brits grabbed the next 3 spots with Kempton/Jones at 76.38 IMPs in second, just pipping the Pryors in 3rd with 74.75 IMPs. Dan Crofts & Andrew Thompson ended in 4th with 43.38 IMPs while locals Barbara Hopewell & Ann Evelyn rounded out the top five with 38.13 IMPs.

After a restful evening in the warm waters of the Caribbean, the locals were back at it in the Wednesday Morning Pairs. The Bajans took all the top spots, with Pat Cummins & Adelle Springer leading the N/S field with 65.48% and Yvonne Seale & Roglyn Hinds winning E/W at 55.06%. Second spots went to Bertie Callender & Harley Moseley N/S at 56.55%, and Leslie Atherley & Jeffrey Newton E/W with 54.46%.

With a small schedule change, the Round Robin Teams happened on Wednesday instead of Thursday. With 12 teams participating, it made for a couple of long sessions but when the results were finally tabulated and verified, the winning foursome was from the good old US of A - James & Darcy Parker and Baxter & Carol Clifford with 185 VPs and 8 wins. It was a close fought battle all the way, with both second & third place also notching 8 wins. Finishing 2nd were Bajans Nan Collins & Hyacinth Burton and Adelle Springer & Charles Hollingsworth with 182 VPs, while 3rd went to a European contingent of Brits Chrissie Kempton & Phil Jones and Germans Angela Vogel & Helmut Hausler at 180 VPs. Just missing the top 3 were Brits Dan Crofts & Andrew Thompson and Americans Richard Burns & Bob Carvin at 179 VPs and 7 wins.

The Thursday Morning Pairs were dominated once again by the hosts, except for the E/W winners (and best score) - Brits Chrissie Kempton & Phil Jones with 67.43%. Leading the N/S field were Roglyn Hinds & Ann Evelyn at 62.16%, while Livingston Chase & Tony Newton finished far back in 2nd at 52.59%. Taking the bridesmaid spot E/W were Jeffrey Newton & Campbell Blenman with 58.86%.

In the afternoon, the one session Bajan Rum Pairs saw a tremendous battle in the N/S field with Brits Liz Blande & Mike Rafferty taking top honours with 57.29%, edging out Darcy & James Parker from the US at 56.04%. 3rd place went to Trinis Deborah Fletcher & Lisa de Meillac with 55.21%. Meanwhile, E/W saw the Bermudan/Bajan pair of Alan Douglas & Ian Harvey running away from the field with a fine 66.82% game. Taking 2nd spot at 57.50% were Brits Andrew Thompson & Dan Crofts, while the bronze went to another pair of Brits, Malcolm Pryor & Phil Jones, with 56.82%. After all the scoring was done and the winners congratulated, everyone was taken to the Plantation by our hosts and treated to a fine meal combined with a floor show that few will forget.

The Friday Morning Pairs was not well attended as the players were resting up for the start of the main event in the afternoon. However, out hosts continued to show their mettle as Bajans took the top spot in both directions. N/S winners were Eleanor Dottin & Brenda Gonsalves with 65.50%, while Leslie Atherley & Campbell Blenman led E/W at 60%.

After a fine lunch, everyone got down to business in the 1st Session of the Championship Pairs. Leading the field were Brits Andrew Thompson & Dan Crofts at 62.90%, closely followed by the TD's pick - Bajans Pat Cummins & Jackie Thompson, with 61.59%. Lying in a close 3rd spot were Darcy & James Parker from the US with 60.32%, while a couple of pairs from the British contingent were tied for 4th - Liz Blande & Mike Rafferty and former champs Karen & Malcolm Pryor.

One of the advantages of the schedule at Sun, Sea, & Slams is the long break for dinner. The participants took advantage of this to partake of some of the excellent dining experiences available on the island, and fortunately all of them returned on Friday evening for the 2nd Session of the Championship Pairs. The Bajan Bombshells (Pat Cummins & Jackie Thompson) had another good session with 66.85% to top the field, while the Brits Karen & Malcolm Pryor finished 2nd at 60.60%. Just back in 3rd were Floridians Carol & Baxter Clifford with 60.42%, while the Bajan Boys were showing some promise in 4th with 59.85%. Rounding out the top 5 were Darcy & James Parker 58.25%.

With two sessions played, the Championship Pairs after Two Sessions had the Bajan Bombshells with a solid lead with 64.22%. The Pryors' two top-five finishes vaulted them into 2nd at 60.36%, while the Parkers performed equally as well and were lying 3rd with 59.28%, just ahead of the Bajan Boys at 59%. Making the top five with 58.17% were the Cliffords.

After a restful evening and the first morning off all week, the players returned on Saturday afternoon for the 3rd Session of the Championship Pairs. This was everybody's last chance to catch the leaders, and Brits Andrew Thompson & Dan Crofts led the way with 62.12%. The Bajan Boys were making a run at another title with 59.85% in 2nd, while the Parkers notched up another top-five finish in 3rd at 58.59%. Liz Blande & Mike Rafferty broke into the big time with 56.06% in 4th, and my Bajan Bomshells cruised along in 5th with 55.49%.

With the room coming down around us in preparation for the evening banquet and prize-giving, the computer spat out the results of the Championship Pairs - Final Overall. My Bajan Bombshells (Pat Cummins & Jackie Thompson) laid back a bit in the final session but held on for the victory with 61.31% - well done!!! The Bajan Boys (Dave Blackman & Tony Watkins) parlayed their solid last two sessions into 2nd place at 59.28%, while Darcy & James Parker from the USA performed solidly throughout for 3rd with 59.05%. The Brits completed the top five with Andrew Thompson & Dan Crofts finishing 4th at 58.90%, pipping Karen & Malcolm Pryor in 5th with 58.49%.

In keeping with their cricket history, the hosts awarded the Man of the Match Trophy to the winner of the most masterpoints, a tie between Andrew Thompson & Dan Crofts. Perhaps they should have played in some of the morning games to break the deadlock :-)

I look forward to seeing you all at the 2008 Sun, Sea, & Slams!

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