Boats planes and automobiles

from the Reno NABC Daily Bulletin, Day 8

“Planes, trains and automobiles” is a 1987 movie starring Steve Martin and John Candy. It’s about a man who struggles to travel home for Thanksgiving.

Martin and Candy have nothing on four players who came from Alaska to play here in Reno. John and Roger Schnabel, Gregg Bigsby and Fred Shields are bridge players from Haines AK (775 miles southeast of Anchorage AK). To get here they took a four and one-half hour ride on a ferryboat from Haines to Juneau. Then they flew from Juneau AK to Seattle WA to Reno. Finally, they took a shuttle from the airport.

This is the first NABC for Roger Schnabel and Shields. Bigsby went to the NABC in San Francisco a little more than two years ago and John Schnabel has been to several. “It’s been wonderful,” says Bigsby. “We’ve really had fun.”

The bridge club in Haines, population of about 2000, averages two to four tables, but that’s in the winter. During the summer, the club closes down – players are busy doing other things. Roger Schnabel is a construction contractor who builds roads. Shields is a jeweler and former mayor of Haines. Bigsby is a commercial fisherman. John Schnable, father of Roger, is 90 years old, but still works. He’s a gold miner who owns his own mine.

“My Dad has a little more than 500 points,” says Roger, “but he would have at least five times as many if he lived where there were more tournaments.”

Haines is part of Unit 428 and has only 51 players. It has one sectional each year during late April.

“Haines has a wonderful tournament,” says Shields. “The weather is great and we have terrific food. We have halibut and smoked salmon that Gregg provides,” he says, referring to commercial fisherman Bigsby.

How have they done so far this week? The four players have been competing in the knockout team games and have won some gold points. “We’re after the gold,” says Bigsby. “We’ve done okay, but we want more!”

The foursome plans to return to Alaska on Saturday. No word as to whether they plan to add a bus-ride to their trip.