From the Editor

Martin Luther King Jr. had it right, judge a person by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin (outward appearances). But in so doing it is the one area where a lot of people don't like to be judged. In model boating, we call character sportsmanship. Our society loves sports - baseball, football, basketball, etc. and in so doing we revel when the game is played fair and sportsmanship is being followed. In this issue you will find several articles on sportsmanship and why it is important to us as model boaters.

I would like to welcome a new column writer, Bill Parker to Model Yachting Resource News! Bill has written an article before for MYRN [see The 750mm Class, Issue 5] and his goal is to write on design topics of model boating. I look forward to reading and presenting Bill's column in upcoming issues of Model Yachting Resource News.

Also found in this issue is something new. During a recent conversation, the topic of "extras" for newsletters came up and a person volunteered to create a maze. After a couple of days Karen Ane produced a maze for us to enjoy. Not only does Model Yachting Resource News provide you with informative articles on model boating, it also provides a little fun for your spare time. Thanks Karen, looking forward to your next one! _/)

Good Sportsmanship Required,
Others Need Not Apply

Good sportsmanship is as important to sailing as Stinger missiles were to the Mujahideen in their war against the Russians in Afghanistan. Without good sportsmanship, sailing as a competitive sport goes right in the dumper.

The Youth Sailing Program at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron inculcates kids in what it means to be a competitive sailor. The young sailors, most

of them, know that no race is truly won unless the winner also earns the respect of his fellow competitors. It’s written on the wall where the young sailors meet.

The sport of racing sailboats has a rather complex set of rules that are updated regularly—every four years—to keep them current. All racing sailors are required to abide by them, because they are fundamental to the success of racing and races.

However, it doesn’t always happen quite like it should.

All of us probably violate the law on a regular basis when it comes to driving our cars. What I am talking about is a "rolling stop." You know the drill. You roll up to a stop sign, look both ways, and, if there is no traffic coming, you don’t actually stop. You just keep on going. So many of us have been at it for so long that we can’t tell the difference anymore.

The reality of that situation was brought home to me when I moved from Aspen, Colorado to Hamilton, Illinois about a hundred years ago. I had to take an Illinois driving test, in Carthage, which I promptly flunked by not actually stopping at a stop sign. I was allowed to take the test again, with an additional fee, a week later. I passed. I had learned the lesson.

You either stop at a stop sign or you do not. It’s like being pregnant. You either are or you are not. It’s one of life’s absolutes. And so it is with sailing.

You either play by the rules or you do not. If you can’t or won’t play by the rules of sailing, you belong in another sport. If you’re big enough, maybe you can play NFL football, because the rules are flaunted all the time in professional football. It has gotten to where fouls that are missed by the refs seem to be just part of the game. There is lack of honor in that kind of behavior. Maybe that is why some of the hot sports news has migrated off the sports page and onto the page wherein the press reports drug dealing, rape, robbery, larceny, felonious assault and DUI.

It may seem quaint in this day and age to be involved in a sport such as racing sailboats, where one is obligated to withdraw from a race for a serious infraction. This is a time in history wherein militants commandeer airplanes and kill thousands in one day. This is a time in history wherein the killing of innocent civilians is euphemistically referred to as "collateral damage." It’s a tough world, and it isn’t getting any more genteel.

So, it may seem old fashioned to expect the people you race against to know the difference between right and wrong and to act with a sense of decency, but sailing demands it. There is no room in sailing for the competitor who modifies his boat to make it faster and does not report the modification to a recognized rating authority.

Oddly, the first time I ever came across a case of cheating to make a boat’s rating more favorable was more than 20 years ago, and it happened on a boat I had sailed on. The boat’s name was Williwaw. The skipper was Dennis Conner. The event was the 1981 SORC. I had sailed on the boat in a tune up race out of St. Petersburg. After SORC was over—there were about six races in the series, which ended in Nassau—Williwaw was given a second righting test, and the boat didn’t measure as it had in a previous test. It turns out that someone—to my knowledge the guilty party was never named—had put sash weights up inside the mast to make the boat measure out as more tender than it actually was. After the test, the sash weights were removed. The sailing authorities landed on the boat’s owner, who was banned from entering a boat in competitive sailing for several years.

There is no room in our sport for regatta organizers who essentially rig the racing, or attempt to, by placing boats in their regatta in competitive classes disallowed by the very same sailing instructions they themselves have written. I have personally come across this anomaly twice.

There is no room in sailing for competitors who scull small boats to make them move in light air conditions when all the other sailors in their class are sitting still, like ducks on a millpond.

There is no room either for skippers who put their engines in gear to gain an unfair advantage in light conditions. It’s never done in an obvious fashion. It’s an "Ooops, who me?" kind of thing. It smells.

If we let these sleazy people pollute our sport by their lack of ethical behavior, then we are as culpable as they. Treat them like the garbage they are. When their behavior begins to stink, throw them out. _/)

by Dave Acree

A lot skippers have a love-hate relationship with the rules. What I mean is if a skipper is following the rules and the decision of a protest is in their favor, the rules are loved. But if a skipper is found breaking a rule, the rules are hated. In this article I will explore some interesting observations when it comes to the rules and racing.

The rules break down into two groups - construction and operation. Both groups have a definite impact on sportsmanship and competitive racing. If either or both rule groups are loosely followed or ignored, then the enjoyment and trust of the hobby/sport is tainted.

In competitive model racing, nearly all model boats are placed into classes. Doing so provides control to what can and can not be done in designing and building a boat in a class. If there were no class rules, then it would be left open to each builder to decide what would be best for them. Class rules keep the construction honest. Not following the class rules in the construction of a model boat is unfair. There is nothing wrong in building a model boat with as much performance as possible, so long as the class rules are not violated.

The rule of operation, (or sailing model sailboats in competition) is the area where most violations occur. Breaking a rule during competition sailing is handled with a protest. If a skipper breaks a rule, they can either do a penalty turn or take it to a protest hearing. It is as simple as that.

One of the reasons why rules are broken is because in the heat of competition fouls occur. It behooves everyone to keep the rules and to avoid problems on the water at all times. If a rule is broken, it best serves a skipper to quickly get to clear water, do a penalty turn, and get back to racing.

What about infractions that occur in the construction of sailboats? Does a skipper have the right to call a technical protest if a building rule is not being followed? Some say yes while others say no; some skippers say local races are not at the level of regional or national events, and so it is not as important to keep all of the rules for local events. Should we care, do we care, that is up to each one of us.

If a skipper cares to have his boat within the rules or out of the rules, that, I guess is his business. Who to say who has the authority to enforce the rules? That is a good question. If a club does not care to follow the rules during its events then, I guess it is up to each skipper to keep the rules as they see fit. If that is the case, all local regattas just needs a score keeper, and that is all. It would then be up to the skippers to judge themselves.

Now don't take the above words like I an a judge over anything. The only judge I am over is my own boats, and that is all. I'm just saying if there is a problem of having an "authority" to govern local events we need to come to some form of compromise. If a boat is constructed within the rules, that is great. If a boat is constructed outside of the rules then the boat will be illegal.

Some may say this is not the way it is to be. But if all participants are not in accord, then enforcement of the rules is impossible. In the final analysis, it is up to each skipper to decide what they are willing to follow the rules or not. _/)

by Cliff Martin, Minuteman News
Minuteman Model Yacht Club

Nobody was more surprised than I when a picture of my US1M (under construction) appeared on the cover this quarters "Model Yachting News" (Issue #130). For a brief moment, it seemed that the spotlight was on and my "15 minutes of fame" clock was ticking away.

I considered the possibility that local newspapers might pick up the story from the API, so I prepared a little speech and practiced it on Max, the Golden Retriever. Max, usually an enthusiastic listener and genuinely interested in anything I had to show him, at how they had built their boats. These drawings and ideas, which I had gotten from other people, were mixed with a few of my own and all together formed the basis for how I finally built my own boat. As I looked at the file, and the magazine cover picture, I realized how much I had relied on ideas and help from other club members.

I initially felt somewhat guilty that there was so few of my ideas on the boat and so many of other peoples, but then I realized that my circumstances are probably not so different from members of model yachting participants do not always practice cooperation and free exchange of ideas. However, in model yachting I find that free exchange of ideas and willingness to help others is the rule rather than the exception. This is what attracts new people to the sport, and to the clubs. It also keeps people coming back to the pond year after year. I not only believe this, personally, but I have heard it from others both within my club and from other clubs.

To people who want to get into model yachting I say, "Join the AMYA and join a seemed surprisingly unimpressed by both the picture on the magazine cover and by my little speech. Since I have learned to trust Max’s judgment on these things, I put the magazine and the speech away and went back to preparing my boat for the next regatta. My 15 minutes of fame seemed to be slipping away….. what’s it been 10 minutes?

Later on, Max brought me a (now soggy) file containing drawings and ideas that I had collected while talking with other club members about boat construction or after looking clubs everywhere. Almost everyone needs some help to get started, I certainly did. It has been very reassuring to know that I belong to an organization and a local club whose members are not only skilled sailors, but also talented and creative builders who are willing to share their immense knowledge. I know that if I follow their lead, my skills as a skipper and as a boat builder will improve.

When engaged in a hobby or sport that has an element of competitiveness, [joining a] club in your area, you won’t be sorry". To people who already know how much fun model yachting can be, I encourage you to continue sharing your ideas and helping others, especially newcomers. To all of the members of the Minuteman Model Yacht Club who have helped me and shared their ideas with me, what can I say but, "Thanks". I only hope that if the opportunity arises I can share what you have taught me with others. _/)

At the starting signal, the race committee observes three boats on the course side of the starting line. The race committee identifies Boat A and Boat B by sail number, but cannot identify the third boat. The race committee properly signals individual recall, but only the two identified boats return to start. After the race, Boat A and Boat B protest Boat C for not starting according to the definition and RRS 28.

Based on the information in the protests, the race committee decides that the protested boat (Boat C) is the boat they could not identify at the start. Before the protests are heard, the race committee scores Boat C OCS without a hearing, in accordance with rule A5

Question 1: Is the race committee allowed to score a boat under rule A5 after the race?

Question 2: May a race committee decision to score a boat OCS under rule A5 be based on observations or statements from competitors or other persons outside the race committee?

Answer 1: Yes. Under rule A5, the race committee may score a boat, or correct a score, at any time.

Answer 2: No rule specifically prohibits the race committee from using other evidence than its own observations when scoring a boat OCS. However, if Boat C requested redress for being scored OCS, the protest committee would decide whether the race committee's procedure for identifying boats was proper.

Hey! Can’t We Play Fair?

by Patrick Galloway

At the age of 40 I decided to join a fitness club and start doing regular workouts. Four days a week and several months later I was losing weight, getting stronger, and finding muscles I didn’t know people had. I lost a few belt notches, trimmed down a couple extra chins and was actually noticing that I had self-esteem. It was great. For the first time in several years I could stand up straight and with my head bent forward look straight down and see the tips of my 10-1/2 " Nike’s.

About a year into the workouts I ran into a neighbor friend of mine who lived on my street just a few houses from me. He was playing racquetball and that’s why I never seemed to run into him before this. He invited me to play with him and a few friends of his in doubles.

The male ego can be a dangerous thing. I never played racquetball before, but had played tennis when I was younger. This combined with stupidity encouraged me to try it out. Within a few weeks I had purchased a racquet.

The only thing I am grateful for is that nobody was video taping me. I have flashes of scenes from the television series "Wild Kingdom" where the photographer gets too close to the charging rhino and almost gets killed. It was that graphic.

It is important to understand a few basic laws of physics before attempting to wander onto a racquetball court. The first thing you need to know is that you are given a racquet that is about 2 foot long. This increases your reach by 4 foot. They also attach the racquet to your wrist with a shoelace. There is a reason for that. As you proceed to swing the racquet in a concentric circle around your body it obeys the first law of Newton, "A body in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force." What this means is that if you don’t hold the racquet firmly in your hand it will slip away and become a projectile across space and time. Now if you were a rocket scientist you could actually calculate the velocity at which the racquet left your hand. You could then predict the force at which the free flying racquet would have when it impacted the back of your opponents’ head. And then you would have to use the last year of all your workouts to run quickly out of the court before your opponent could catch you and beat you senseless.

The next important thing you need to know about the law of physics is the formula of mass times velocity. Why? Well let’s take the small blue rubber ball that you are going to hit with the racquet. When you hold the ball in your hand it feels soft and hollow. At least that is the impression it gives to you. Don’t forget the word impression. That word will come up again.

A professional racquetball player can hit the ball well over 100 miles per hour. Normally it bounces off the front wall or angles off the ceiling or sidewalls. On an odd chance that is misfires off your opponent’s racquet and hits you somewhere in the middle of your back, then that’s where the word impression comes up again. I can remember the first few times I would go home after playing racquetball. Upon taking off my shirt my wife would have the most puzzled look on her face, and ask, "What are those red circles on your back." If I were lucky they would be confined to my back. Occasionally they would migrate to different parts of my body. There would be nights that I would bring home half a dozen crop circles. In a few days they would not be red anymore. Yellow, green, and purple, were the most common color replacements. I am surprised that a ball traveling at speeds over 100 mph didn’t do more damage.

But sometimes the ball wasn’t the only thing that hit me. I had my one and only occasion when I failed to wear eye protection. In doubles the space where 4 people occupy the court becomes quite confined, and personal safety is in jeopardy. On this particular rally I overplayed my partners swing zone. His racquet made contact with my face just above my eye. I remember holding my hand over my eye and when I pulled it away it was dripping with blood. Looking more serious than it might have been I withdrew to the locker room to get the bleeding to stop. After a few minutes I returned to the court where my buddies waited for me. In the tradition of a real man I convinced them to continue playing where my partner and I completed the game with a victory. Needless to say I know what word you are conjuring up in your mind as you are reading this, "Moron". Was I right or what?

After 10 years I have become a seasoned veteran. I now only get hit on rare occasions and usually with little damage. I have learned to stay alert to bad positioning. But now as the game skill progresses the one thing that doesn’t is bad attitude. I am amazed to see people cheat when playing. Especially when the opponent is over 40 years of age. It’s not like there is money on the game. But recently a small group of competitive players have infiltrated the club where I play. It seems as if they brought their own rulebook, tailor-made for their specific needs. It has slowed the game down to where every kill shot is questioned and we will argue for minutes on a single call.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Whenever there are competitive people who are obsessed with winning there will always be controversy. All sports have this problem whether it is professional football, or backyard horseshoes, or even model yachting. But it would be nice if we could all… "just play fair." _/)

The Wright Brothers and Your Next Design

by Bill Parker

First, a note about this column. I am not a professional yacht designer. I am an amateur yacht designer who has been playing with design ideas since the age of eight. I stake claim to that term of "amateur", however, as its root word is the Latin "ama", which means "love". That is all the expertise I claim; if I need to be corrected, I will accept it and move on. As they say in the lab, no mistakes, just more data. I will pledge to publish the results, so that we may all learn from the process. The idea is to discuss the process of designing RC model yachts in its many variations, I and I hope to gain as much as I give in the exercise.

The centennial of manned flight became the occasion of at least three television specials on Wright Brothers, and those of us in Ohio got even more exposure. The part of that story that leapt out at me was the way the Wrights used the empirical method (hypothesize, build, test, analyze) to work out the problems they were having in getting their plane off the ground. What was interesting was that their competition did not build wind tunnels, special balance apparatus, and devise ways of determining if their changes would work. Having ways to quantify performance and test ideas in advance of building was the difference for the Wrights, and has become the way technology has advanced since then. Now here is my point; to my knowledge, other than prohibitively expensive tank testing as is done with America’s Cup boats and commercial tankers, our hobby has no way of comparing one design against another except in racing. Granted, over time and with more than one skipper, racing does prove the design. Designs that show leaps in performance will also show up immediately, but how many of those do we see in any decade? The kind of methodical, data-driven design approach that has proven so effective in full size boats has been missing in model yacht design.

How is this to be done? Model yacht designers tend to be geographically dispersed, so a facility aimed at model testing really wouldn’t help. A grant structure to pay for the use of university tanks and wind tunnels might do it (if the right philanthropist could be found), but as much as we might like it, it isn’t seen as a vital addition to knowledge. I think I can see my through to a possible approach, but I will need help from people with more electronics and programming knowledge than I possess. (If you are out there, and interested, please email me.) The following is my idea of how this might work.

I think most professional yacht designers would agree that on-board electronics have become indispensable in creating actual performance data against which tank testing can be compared. This data keeps track of the boat’s performance, but also the existing weather conditions. The first part of my approach would be to create a combination of on-board and on-shore apparatus that would provide this data. This would also have to include "height of sea" conditions. There are plenty of on-shore weather stations available that can measure wind strength and direction, and a simple wave height recorder could be simply done. With the use of a notebook computer on shore, the digital weather condition data could be recorded against a timeline, and the wave height coordinated with it. There, conditions are taken care of without too much time or money.

Now for performance data. The important data to acquire, in my opinion, would be speed, leeway, sheeting angle, steering inputs, and angle of heel. If an electronic radio receiver could be built with the ability to receive any radio channel, sheeting angle and steering input could be recorded from the transmitter against the notebook timeline.

The tough ones will be speed, heel, and leeway. Given the individual nature of every boat’s control set-up and deck plan, I think it will be very difficult to create an on-board device to measure these things. It is probably possible to create an inclinometer (heel measurer) that would be small enough to fit on deck and send a radio signal to the notebook. It might be possible to create a nacelle that could be towed by the boat to measure speed, and perhaps leeway, although that would be tough. Perhaps another approach would be to have two things that would attach to the edge of the deck at each extreme beam that would extend down to the water and measure water flow, which would give speed, and the difference between the flows would be leeway. While it is not ideal to have anything being towed or creating drag in any way, if it was the same for every boat tested, it really wouldn’t matter.

However, the ideal way of arriving at speed and leeway would be some sort of on-shore telemetry. Now I am really in deep water here, because I don’t know how this is done, but basically I think you would have a transmitter on the boat, and at least two antennas on shore, and somehow the difference in speed of the signal response gives you the location of the boat, then software would figure its course and speed. Essentially the same way GPS works. It might be possible to use GPS, although my understanding of the error factor is that it might be too large for what would be a normal racing course. If this could be done relatively inexpensively, with readily available electronic parts and some volunteer programming, it would be a great leap forward for our hobby.

In addition to providing performance data, this would be a great teaching and skills enhancement tool. If you could see a plot of all the steering inputs for a particular leg, for example, and could compare an experienced skipper’s plot against a beginner’s, it would show the beginner the important differences. Just as with the America’s Cup boats, once you have a set of data for the boat and its speed potentials, you can work with the skipper’s skills to create a faster skipper/boat combination.

If this system could be deployed at a regional race, think of how much data on each individual design could be generated. Then, the data could be made available to the hobby, and, for those of us who use computer yacht design software, the performance data for our last design, or someone else’s design, could be compared against the computer drag and speed projections, and then you have some predictability of performance. Which is what the Wright brothers were looking for when they made that back room wind tunnel. I am willing to put some money, time, and effort into this idea, but I need help. Anyone interested? _/)

From a guy way up here in the North, I envy those who live further south. Seems we go from -20 degrees to 90+ degrees over the 12 months. Usually this means trying to work in the garage between cold and hot temps, again shortening the time to complete projects. Cold weather isn't too bad as I can do a lot of "prefab work" inside and get stuff ready for warmer weather - but when humidity and temps are high, it is tuff working with even slow setting epoxy.

Though we have never met - you provided me with time and information to explain the process of building a sail. While I am well equipped and experienced to handle epoxy and construction with composite materials, I had never tried sail making. Through your information, I was able to complete two sets (which eventually ended up in the trash as I

gained experience). But now have a set for my custom MultiONE trimaran. Hopefully, this foolish person(s) will be able to offer more than "potshots" to the local sailors and the club. For your sake, I sincerely hope that the effort fails, and others "offer" him a way to the parking lot. Certainly those kinds of efforts and events ARE NOT what R/C sailing is all about.

I find it incomprehensible that someone who provides so much of his time to sharing with others is seen as a "foreign object" - and while it is of little help to you, I wish the very best and hope this will be put behind you as soon as possible. Perhaps you need to lodge a Rule 69 Protest? (grin)

Anyway, for what it is worth, I wish you well for the new year, and hope that you stay the course and continue to provide facts and point out these type of people along the way, while providing the rest of us with interesting and useful information. I certainly wouldn't want them in my club or at my pond!

Dick Lemke, Minnesota

After reading the latest issue I thought I would put my oar in a bit. You have done a great job with this publication, and it has shown how a change in format can change the whole dynamic of the process. For many years I have been unhappy with, and occasionally appalled by, articles in Model Yachting News (AMYA newsletter) and much of that is due to the quarterly format and, frankly, more attention to race results than the hobby itself. You have collected some very good articles by comparison, with a much greater breadth of coverage, topic-wise. It also makes sense I think, to have a "model boat" publication, not just a "model sailboat publication". What I'm trying to do here, frankly, is to turn your head much more toward looking at this endeavor as a national, or international, approach rather than what has become a somewhat more than local newsletter.

I understand, very well, the dynamic of what has been going on in your area, and I sympathize. But you really have the basis of a publication that, could, with not a lot more work than you are doing now, "drive" the hobby. An international publication with a monthly format and released over the Web avoids the things that have stymied traditional paper publications in the past, that is, high production costs, too much focus (only scale, or only motor boats, or only sail boats) and the logistical necessity of catering to only the United States and Canada, or, to a limited degree, also Britain. With the added potential of starting a Blog (web log) and actually getting a handle on what R/C model boaters want to talk about, and perhaps putting up a web site that carries some articles past a thousand words or so, this could get very exciting. After having said that, it seems to me there is even a business plan in this combination if handled right. When you look at that potential, the names someone calls you at the local pond kind of pale in importance.

William Parker

Mesa MYC Fun Scale Day

Due to impending rain, MMYC did not hold its Scale event for competition. So it was decided to just have a day of fun at the pond. The boats that caught the most attention were the two Chris Craft Barrelbacks and the military boats by visitors Tony Contrabasso and Dennis Crandall. With a light drizzle at times and cool wind, skippers would put their boats on the water and gave viewers a nice show.

One military boat that was interesting to look at was Tony's Patrol Corvette PG-65 USS Saucy. According to Tony the Corvette is an English Airfix kit boat that was made of styrene that is not common in the US for models. Because of that the boat was a challenge to glue together. After some time and effort, Tony got the boat constructed to follow an American WWII War configuration.

Two other boats that were enjoyable to watch were the identical tugs of Doug Nolte and Bill Cropper. Since both tugs were of the same design, Doug and Bill would put their boats in to a tug race around the pond. It was sort of like tug war to see which boat could go faster. _/)

First for a recap of last week’s cracker box series boat race. The Mesa model Yacht Club was honored to have Dan Proulx from the Edina Boat club of the Twin cities come and race with us. Dan came to the valley for the sole purpose of racing with us. Traveling with boats and the allied equipment is not easy. We thank Dan for the competition and company. On top of being a great guy, Dan is a very accomplished racer and I was glad to have met, and raced with him.

The results were:

Cracker Box: Doug Nolte 1^st Place,    CJ Van Voorhis 2^nd Place,   Dennis Oldenburg 3^rd Place

N-2 Mono: Pete Boyle 1^st Place,   Dan Proulx 2^nd Place,   Jake Bushaw 3^rd Place

LSH: Pat McDonald 1^st Place,   CJ Van Voorhis 2^nd Place,   Pete Boyle 3^rd Place

Now let’s talk about batteries, no matter how much we tweak on our boats or spend on motors, the power we produce will be determined in part by our batteries. The batteries used by most boat racers today are NICAD and NIMH. The NiCad cells require more maintenance by cycling and fully discharging them so they do not get a memory. NIMH does not require all of that maintenance. The cells that that we use are sub c size and are rated at 1.2 volts. The capacity of the batteries varies by the Mah or milliamp/hour rating. Looking at the #’s on some packs it breaks down like this: A 7.2v 2400Mah NICAD is 6 cells (6 cells x 1.2v = 7.2v) with a capacity of 2400 Mah. NICAD pack. The 2400 Mah means that the pack can put out 2.4 amps for 1 hour. Now you may ask why your 2400mah pack only lasts for 2-3 min. The reason is the amp draw, if a 2400 pack can put out 2.4 amps for 1 hr. it can put out 4.8 for ½ hr. and so no. A fast electric boat has the ability to draw over 40 amps continuous. Another factor that affects how a pack performs is the IR (internal resistance) of the cells. Unless the cells have been through a matcher you probably will not know the IR of a cell. The IR affects how fast a pack can deliver the available power. The lower the IR the faster the power can be delivered. If your charger has a readout of the voltage it took to charge or peak the pack, the higher the voltage the higher the IR. A 6-cell pack that takes over 10v to charge has a very high IR. And is not a good pack to race with. It is still usable, just not the best for racing. All cells used in racing will eventually get a high IR and have to be replaced. For those who sport run or have scale boats this is not an issue. A racer will usually need to replace his cells about once a year to stay competitive at a top level. Keep in mind that all rechargeable batteries will go bad and should be disposed of in a proper manor.

If you may have questions about batteries or electric boating equipment, e-mail me at Junglepeej@qwest.net. _/)

by Mark Cooper, Commodore
Clearpoint Model Yacht Club

For the first time in the history of the "Frostbite", temperatures were well above 40 degrees. However, as you will read, the weather would once again play a role in this year’s event.

A record 24 skippers signed up to compete in this year’s "Frostbite" Regatta hosted by the Clearpoint Model Yacht Club (AMYA # 64). The event took place on January 24th and 25th, 2004 at Pasadena’s Burke/Crenshaw Park which is becoming a well regarded sailing venue. Skippers began arriving early Friday afternoon lakeside to check in and begin the tune up process. By late afternoon, many of the skippers were already present and the water was full of activity.

Saturday morning found skies cloudy and by the start of the event the projected rain had moved in. The good news was that everything was prepared and rain gear was bountiful. When only 19 skippers, due to some unfortunate situations, turned up for the event and checked in, Micky Peterson, our 2nd year Race Director, made the decision to race as one fleet. Racing commenced under rainy skies with winds that were just ideal for the Victorias. At noon Mary Fletcher and family, along with my wife Traci and son Colin, brought the traditional potato soup and sandwich rings. The Fletcher family has been providing this meal since the events’ inception and is very well received each year. Rain had subsided, but the winds decided to do otherwise. By the start of the 2nd half of Saturday, skippers found themselves with winds in the upper teens. Throughout the afternoon the winds grew stronger and when racing was finally suspended at 3:30 p.m. they had clocked well into the 20’s. It became a matter of survival to complete the race circuit and many DNF’s were recorded due to breakage or not being able to finish in the time allotted. Handling of the Victoria in these conditions was crucial, and by the end of day, 5 skippers had made their break from the pack and the racing was on.

The annual Texas Bar-B-Que social on Saturday night, which was hosted by the C.M.Y.C. members, was great with 28 people mingling and getting to know each other. This year was extremely pleasant, as many wives were able to join in on the festivities. A picture disk of this year’s Victoria Nationals hosted by the Woodlawn Sailing Club in San Antonio played in the background, and a good time was had by all.

Sunday found temperatures again way above the norm and beautiful sunny skies. The wind had subsided some but was still in the lower teens during most of the day. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, yours truly ended up being the rescue boat volunteer for the day, as well as trying to keep my boat together and sailing. I found out that I am not cut out for that job and decided at one time to test the waters (literally). Racing commenced and by the end of the event (race #27) our National Champion Craig Mackey had stolen the show and took home the beautiful glass trophy. He was followed very closely by Detroit’s Ray Degenais, whose club will be hosting this year’s Nationals (http://www.orgsites.com/mi/dmyc/) and Mr. Charles Sudduth from Dallas, TX.

I would like to thank all of the competitors who traveled in to make this event possible. We, The Clearpoint Model Yacht Club, will continue to make this annual event a premier stop on the circuit and hope others will contemplate joining us next year. A very special thank you goes to our scorekeeper Nelda Tallman who each year keeps track of the event for us, and our rescue boat volunteer, BJ Powers. Results and photographs can be found on our Website at http://www.clear-point.org/CMYC.htm. Good Sailing. _/)

Having Fun with Scale Boats
by Ray Agee

Some years back I was with a group of scale boaters and after we had done all our course runs, someone started pushing a duck feather around the water. Then, someone tossed a tennis ball in and we all went after it ... kind of like a game of water soccer. We had a ball for an extra hour.

On another weekend, we found that we didn't have any frequency conflicts and we chose up sides and played a game of soccer again. We made it a regular event until we just ran out of fun. The point is, we had fun and that's what it's all about.

Too many people think that scale boats have to sail around a prescribed course to show what they can do with their boats. A little bit of imagination can go a long way in our hobby and it's up to us to develop it.

Another exciting water game is Rescue. Most tug boat groups make this a regular part of their events by retrieving a derelict model. Whether by using a towline, 'snag' line or simply pushing another boat back to a designated point or dock, a skipper can demonstrate his skills. Of course, all boats aren't equally adaptable in this function. But, that's what makes it fun!

Another game that will test everyone's maneuvering skills is a kind of 'Bunny Hop' on water. One boat takes the lead and each boat touches, gently on the stern of the boat ahead on it. A kind of daisy chain or follow the leader game.

One thing about running scale boats is that you can do a lot of different things to keep from getting bored with the 'old same old.'

Short Stuff

We still haven't seen any of those Revell Type VII U-boats make it to American shores yet. The European folks are having a ball working with the kit that comes out to a little over 36 inches in length.

Dumas Boats of Tucson has come out with another Tug. Story goes that there are more Chris Craft types on the way also.

Well, we'll be back again next issue, so get out there and try some water soccer. Of course, if you're back there in the Frozen Eastern part of the country, you have our sympathy! _/)

Recently, I watched the movie TORA!, TORA!, TORA! which was about the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7^th 1941, (a good, accurate movie). What is interesting about this movie is the name. Tora! Tora! Tora! was code words (Tiger, Tiger, Tiger) that was ordered by the Imperial Japanese Commander Mitsuo Fuchida to be sent to the Japanese Naval Fleet and on to Tokyo telling that a "Successful surprise attack made". Of course we all know that the Japanese attack was a complete surprise on the U.S. Pacific Naval Fleet. During the attack, a couple thousand U.S. service men were killed and injured, and all of the U.S. major capital ships were damaged or sunk, the most notable being the USS Arizona. So "Tora, Tora, Tora" were the code words that told of a Japanese victory and the worse defeat for the United States in 200 years, not great words to remember.

An update to the letter for my termination from my club - things are very, quiet. I'm not sure but I think the Board has properly disposed the matter. So, no official news, I guess, is good news.

On the last page you will find a nice drawing from Bill Webb on making a boom vang. The drawing shows Bill's way to keep it simple, good advice. Thanks Bill.

Below is a nice photo taken at Mesa MYC's 36/600 Thunderbird Regatta that occurred on January 10^th, 2004. The wind was good as you can tell by the photo. _/)

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© 2004 David Acree. All rights reserved.