2013 Bermuda Croquet Club
Invitational Tournament
June 5th – June 9th, 2013
Well it certainly wasn’t a boring tournament that is for sure. This year’s “Bermuda 8” more
resembled a small band of pirates, not croquet players. The swarthy crew started off by storming
Elbow Beach Hotel’s beachfront for cocktail hour, well, actually hours. As per usual, the
Bermuda weather was spectacular and the ocean was icy blue. Trust me; many a Dark & Stormy
was consumed. On to the croquet, Thursday started off with doubles…I think Chris Patmore said
it best, “A lot of deadness, a lot of dumbness.” The only team that had a winning record,
undefeated actually, was Eldon Trimingham and Rich Curtis. John Young and Doug Moore were
up to their usual antics, divorce was mentioned several times and it was obvious that marriage
counseling was way overdue. Friday singles began and the swashbuckling continued. Captain
John Young beat up on everyone and ended up undefeated. Chris Patmore was close behind but
was blindsided by yours truly, Doug Moore, in a bit of an epic battle of deadness, Arggggh!
Pretty much everyone had their way with Sandy and Ted Quimby, they got pretty hacked up.
Everyone made the playoffs, but one thing worth mentioning…Rich Curtis and I were separated
by only two gross points, Rich (not me) had to face Sherif in the first round of the playoffs. I
dodged a serious musket ball on that one. Friday night brought a real treat…The toast and tally
took place onboard the Bermuda Escape, a 65 foot yacht owned by Eldon Trimingham’s brother.
So the pirates were all right at home….double Arggggh! In fact, some of us even walked the
plank, the water was spectacular. Saturday brought on the playoffs. In short, John and Sherif
both won their first round matches (sorry Rich) and were set to play each other for a spot in the
finals. Also Chris Patmore and I were set for a rematch as well. Sherif edged out John 14-13 with
some amazing hoop shooting. I mean really…John is up by two wickets and Sherif is left with a
no angle hoop shot which he makes and then slams a 20 foot hoop shot to tie…well John, no
gold doubloons for you! Chris and Doug went back and forth for a while. But time was not on
my side as Chris ran a three ball break all the way around in final turn to beat me 22 – 18. Two
very good matches…unfortunately, Chris’ late run caused us both to be late for dinner, shame on
you Chris! In doubles, John and I had worked out our differences and we were set to play that
pesky Patmore character and his partner Sandy in the finals on Sunday morning. Saturday night
dinner was a spectacular event put together by John’s wife Alie at the Ledgelets, the previous
home of John grandparents, John and Nelga Young. Words cannot do it justice; it was simply a
fabulous evening. On to the finals…in doubles, Chris exacted more revenge on me while he and
Sandy defeated John and I, 15 – 7. Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty and John looked a little tired!.
In the singles, Chris ran some beautiful breaks but left the door slightly open for Sherif by
stuffing penultimate on the second break. Sherif made some great shots to try to make a
comeback, but fell short and the match ended 22 – 8. Congrats to Chris & Sandy in doubles and
Chris in singles, great tournament Pirate Patmore. Thanks so much to Bacardi Limited for their
contribution to the pirate theme and all the rum they supplied. Thank you to Eldon for organizing
that very special evening on the yacht and special thanks to my best friends John and Alison
Young, you host a very special croquet event every year, its keeps getting better and better.
Thank you.
Douglas P. Moore
Tournament Director
RESULTS:
SINGLES
1. Chris Patmore
2. Sherif Adelwahab
3. John Young III
4. Doug Moore
5. Rich Curtis
6. Eldon Trimingham
7. Ted Quimby
8. Sandy Knuth Walsh
DOUBLES
1. Patmore / Knuth Walsh
2. Young / Moore
3. Curtis / Trimingham
4. Adelwahab / Quimby
Pictures (courtesy Sherif Abdelwahab)
L-R: Sherif Abdelwahab, Eldon Trimingham, Chris Patmore, Sandra Knuth Walsh, Doug Moore, Rich
Curtis, Ted Quimby, and John Young
John Young
Doug Moore, Chris Patmore
Eldon Trimingham
Sandy Knuth
Sandy Knuth Walsh
John Young – mixing cocktails.