PHUKET: The general managers of Phuket's resorts have good weeks and bad weeks, then there are weeks like last week when sometimes they have both.
For Denis Thouvard, Friday night's party at Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket for the King's Cup Regatta competitors was a highlight.
Wednesday's death of 43-year-old resort lifeguard Pongsatorn Sea-Lim on the beach, just a few weeks after the first birthday of the large Karon resort, was a low point.
''I was the initiator of having two lifeguards on the beach since we opened,'' he said. ''I wanted people who were properly trained.
''The fact that one has lost his life is very sad, very sad. However, we have learned a few lessons in terms of protecting our people on the beach, as they in turn protect our guests.
''We want to make it so that this kind of accident doesn't recur. Having said that, when I talked to his wife at the Muslim ceremony in Kamala on the day of his death, she said to me that he had been in very good health.
''He was responding to a request for help from a windsurfer. Our man quickly reacted, jumped into the sea and helped the windsurfer, then headed back to the beach.
''We are still very puzzled as to the cause of his death. he actually made it back to the beach and was seen by his colleague in water up to the waist, then 10 minutes later, he was being swept back to the beach, dead.''
Mr Thouvard was called to the beach. The day's tragedy remains a sad memory.
''I have made steps to make the beach safer,'' he said. ''We will have three lifeguards. We also currently have a small dinghy which is impractical for rescue work.
''With the support of our management in Bangkok, we are going to push for a fast jet-ski with a sled, dedicated to rescue. When you go to other countries around the world, you see them.
''They use these jet-skis. I say our beach, but it is, of course, not ours.''
Mr Thouvard, a Frenchman, has a long relationship with Phuket going back to 1991, including time at the Yacht Club at Nai Harn under Starwood, coupled with a recent stint in Bora Bora in the Pacific, before he returned to Phuket and Centara.
''Centara owns and operates some of its Phuket resorts, others are partly owned and managed, and we manage the Centra in Patong,'' he said. ''We are owned by a Thai family with some key elements from the West, a combination which makes things happen.''
Phuketwan starts its days early, often at 5.30am, but this particular morning there is an email from Mr Thouvard, sent at 4.51am.
''People have the wrong idea about resort managers,'' he said. ''It's not all parties and champagne.''
Phuket has changed for the better by giving improved opportunity to Phuket people and people who come to work on Phuket, he says. ''Most importantly for me, the children of Phuket have a better chance of an education,'' he says.
''Back in the early '90s there was no refrigeration, no television. Time will fix a lot of things.
''We are at a turning point on Phuket, for sure. People who have a better education will more quickly understand that there are some things on Phuket that need to change.
''You don't suddenly accelerate to reach the 21st century in 25 years. I can see Phuket growing more mature in the future.''
He thinks it would be useful if Phuket resort GMs met more often, the way they once did in his early days.
''I know some of my ex-colleagues are running very good businesses,'' he says. ''We have a common interest in wanting to improve Phuket.''
And next week? ''I hope next week is a better week, all week,'' he said, smiling.
For Denis Thouvard, Friday night's party at Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket for the King's Cup Regatta competitors was a highlight.
Wednesday's death of 43-year-old resort lifeguard Pongsatorn Sea-Lim on the beach, just a few weeks after the first birthday of the large Karon resort, was a low point.
''I was the initiator of having two lifeguards on the beach since we opened,'' he said. ''I wanted people who were properly trained.
''The fact that one has lost his life is very sad, very sad. However, we have learned a few lessons in terms of protecting our people on the beach, as they in turn protect our guests.
''We want to make it so that this kind of accident doesn't recur. Having said that, when I talked to his wife at the Muslim ceremony in Kamala on the day of his death, she said to me that he had been in very good health.
''He was responding to a request for help from a windsurfer. Our man quickly reacted, jumped into the sea and helped the windsurfer, then headed back to the beach.
''We are still very puzzled as to the cause of his death. he actually made it back to the beach and was seen by his colleague in water up to the waist, then 10 minutes later, he was being swept back to the beach, dead.''
Mr Thouvard was called to the beach. The day's tragedy remains a sad memory.
''I have made steps to make the beach safer,'' he said. ''We will have three lifeguards. We also currently have a small dinghy which is impractical for rescue work.
''With the support of our management in Bangkok, we are going to push for a fast jet-ski with a sled, dedicated to rescue. When you go to other countries around the world, you see them.
''They use these jet-skis. I say our beach, but it is, of course, not ours.''
Mr Thouvard, a Frenchman, has a long relationship with Phuket going back to 1991, including time at the Yacht Club at Nai Harn under Starwood, coupled with a recent stint in Bora Bora in the Pacific, before he returned to Phuket and Centara.
''Centara owns and operates some of its Phuket resorts, others are partly owned and managed, and we manage the Centra in Patong,'' he said. ''We are owned by a Thai family with some key elements from the West, a combination which makes things happen.''
Phuketwan starts its days early, often at 5.30am, but this particular morning there is an email from Mr Thouvard, sent at 4.51am.
''People have the wrong idea about resort managers,'' he said. ''It's not all parties and champagne.''
Phuket has changed for the better by giving improved opportunity to Phuket people and people who come to work on Phuket, he says. ''Most importantly for me, the children of Phuket have a better chance of an education,'' he says.
''Back in the early '90s there was no refrigeration, no television. Time will fix a lot of things.
''We are at a turning point on Phuket, for sure. People who have a better education will more quickly understand that there are some things on Phuket that need to change.
''You don't suddenly accelerate to reach the 21st century in 25 years. I can see Phuket growing more mature in the future.''
He thinks it would be useful if Phuket resort GMs met more often, the way they once did in his early days.
''I know some of my ex-colleagues are running very good businesses,'' he says. ''We have a common interest in wanting to improve Phuket.''
And next week? ''I hope next week is a better week, all week,'' he said, smiling.
