Featuring our fancy fenced field

If you were not in San Rafael yesterday you missed a great day of pétanque.
Sure it was cool in the morning, but the rest of the day was absolutely splendid. The temperature never rose above 65° F but the afternoon was sunny and very pleasant.

Twenty contestants were fashioned in ten doublettes teams and they were as follows:

  1. Mark Shirkey & Larry Cragg
  2. Henry Wessel & Liza Moran
  3. Jacques Rattaire & Daniel Martinez
  4. Jean-Michel Poulnot & Yeisi Martinez
  5. Miller Zea & Alain Efron
  6. Jean-Claude Bunand & Wyatt
  7. Brigitte Moran & Charlie Davantes
  8. Jean-Claude Etallaz & Tamara Efron
  9. François Moser & Calvert Barron
  10. William LaVelle & Mireille Di Maio

You might have noticed that they were 3 newcomers, 3 congenial youngsters from Colombia named Daniel, his sister Yeisi and Miller. They are beginners but they show great promises. I promise you that in a few months and they will give you a run for your money. I also understand by the way, that they will become members of our club starting next year.

Pastries and coffee were offered before the beginning of the tournament that started around 10:30 am. Two games were played in the morning and 3 games in the afternoon. The winners were determined as usual by the number of games won and by the number of points accumulated.

I was paired with newcomer Miller Zea and we did all right in the morning. I played as a pointer and Miller was the enforcer. We won 2 games before noon. In the afternoon we did not do as well, losing consecutively 3 games in a row (2-11, 11-13, 8-13). That’s the way the croissant crumbles…

My wife Tamara and Jean-Claude Etallaz fared much better (she always does) snatching second place (and big money). I might have to take lessons from her… Drat!

Jacques Rattaire & Daniel Martinez

The top dogs were Jacques Rattaire (who you should know, comes all the way from Redwood City) and newcomer Daniel Martinez. They won 4 games and barely lost one 12-13. Congratulations y felicitaciones amigos!

If you did not notice, Jean-Claude Bunand was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the head of Johnny Hallyday, a French rocker who died a few days ago.
France honored him with a national tribute? This guy was never my cup of tea, but seems to be have been appreciated by a bunch of people… especially Jean-Claude.

Final results:

1st place: Jacques Rattaire & Daniel Martinez
2nd place: Jean-Claude Etallaz & Tamara Efron
3rd place: Larry Cragg & Mark Shirkey
4th place: William LaVelle & Mireille Di Maio
5th place: François Moser & Calvert Barron

And that was the day that was.

Alain

To look at photos of this event, click on the “My Photos” link located on the right side of this page. For best viewing, go Full Screen.