Captain's Day was on its way at 7.57 on Friday 15th September when the first three ball, Alan Winstanley, Mick Girling and Roger Willis arrived at the first tee.  They were greeted my members of the Events Group, Breege, Yvonne and Margot  and provided with a golf cooling towel, a shot of Whisky, Port or Irish Cream whereupon they made their way to the first tee box for a quick photograph in front of the new SICG banners.  Despite a little initial rain, the weather behaved itself and the sun had come out by the time they arrived at the 9th hole for refreshments.  

 

Members were greeted at the Halfway House by Captain Margot and Yvonne with sandwiches, rolls, pastel de nata along with beers, wine, soft drinks and water and of course a chat about their performance so far.   The Captain's Consort, aka Rikki, was very speedy in a buggy chasing after members to ensure they were kept hydrated or, for those that weren't playing particularly well, topped up with beers.  A good day was had by all and it was surprisingly perfect golfing weather. 

 

On Saturday 16th September, members and their guests arrived at 7pm for Welcome Drinks in the beautiful surroundings of the Gumtree restaurant in Carvoeiro.  Dinner was called for 8.00pm and with 68 members seated around the pool it was all rather tight and there was speculation as to who was going to fall in first. 

 

President Tom welcomed everyone to the Captain's Day Dinner and outlined the running order for the night.  After a great meal prepared by Bela the Chef, Captain Margot with help from Vice-Captain Stuart announced the previous day's winners. 

 

Winners

 

Nearest the Line (Ladies) - Helen Boyle 

Nearest the Line (Men) - Jukka Kolho 

Nearest the Pin (Ladies) - Sharon Lyons 

Nearest the Pin (Men) - Frank Wilson 

Best front 9 - Lars Persson - 21 points on countback

Best back 9 - Sharon Lyons - 22 points

2nd place - Mick Girling - 39 points on countback 

1st place and very worthy winner of the Captain's Trophy - Tom van der Ham - 40 points. 

 

Very well done to Tom VDH for a fantastic performance!!  Michael Boyle should also be mentioned in despatches for a great performance.  Sadly he missed out in countback for second prize and also in countback for the best front 9 . 

 

After prize giving, the fabulous band,  'The Basement' who mainly play for charity and the love of music had everyone up dancing between the tables including Chef Bela and her amazing staff. Thankfully everyone, despite the wine and beer flowing, managed to stay on firm ground and there were no casualties in the pool.  A collection of €375 was raised for the Bombeiros, so sincere thanks to the members for their generosity in contributing to the Captain's Charity on night. 

 

There was a very special surprise at the end of the night when Del, lead singer of The Basement handed over a cheque for €1,000 to the Captain's Charity. That was definitely the icing on the cake. Once again many thanks to The Basement for their extreme generosity. 

 

Hopefully a good night was had by one and all!!