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November 1981 60p (U.S.A. & Canada $2.75) > Mncazne German One Man Sub Review Canadian Lakes Tug The Championships are on July 16-25 next and apparently the French are planning on about 60 RM and 40 R1OR competitors. Class 2 There is still some feedback trickling in on the comments racing. made Fred about Marten, a less serious form of who is, we believe, the national registrar for New Zealand yachtsmen and is a long-time full-size and model skipper, sends an interesting letter with some useful comment, but starts by asking if National Championships for both Class 1 and 2 are envisaged, or if the suggestion is that skippers who haven’t learned the rules should be encouraged to consider themselves second- class citizens yachting-wise. Well, certainly no national events are likely or desirable; the whole idea is to give average model yachtsmen the oppor- tunity of sailing in club and inter-club events in a totally relaxed atmosphere in which they can enjoy themselves, every week-end if they wish, without someone ramming the rulebook down their throats. As for second-class citizenship, take for example a chap who enjoys ballroom dancing. He doesn’t go in for national championships and doesn’t necessarily know every step, but he gets pleasure from dancing and doesn’t mind having a go at informal area or inter-school dance competitions. Does he, or should he, consider himself a second- class citizen? Does he even think about it, or, if he does, does it matter? Isn’t it likely that his ex- perience in informal circumstances will gradually build his confidence so that he is tempted to have a go at something a little more formal? Fred suggests that R/C yachting is a totally different branch of the sport from vane, and feels that the contestants are different. A vane skipper decides trim and tactics under little tension before releasing the yacht, and then must accept what happens — probably, says Fred, a more difficult art than radio. The skipper holding the transmitter, however, is under a far greater strain during a race since he knows that a lapse of concentration of only a second or so can lose a heat. There used to be about 20 vane yachts in the Auckland club, with a very good lake, except for weed problems. Radio yachts could sail elsewhere, including on open water, and the result is that now that the lake is weed-free there are 26 registered John Cleave’s (No. 9} away to a good start, though Chris Eagle (16) is not far behind. Russell Potts (39) and Dave Andrews (1} are going to have to do something, as is Jack Richards (40),though he is not as close to the shore as it appears. Alain Gilson of France (22) is just going to reach the line ahead of Vic Cooney (1 2). In fact, quite a close start with one of the 108 races at this year’s RM Championship. RMs but no vane yachts; of the skippers, only two are ex-vane, most of the rest being from the ranks of full-scale yachting and thus possessing at least some World Championships, 1982 club Sails who put off their own regatta scheduled From the French magazine Adepte we picked upa couple of fragments of understanding of the rules. Highly ex- perienced full-size skippers as O.0.Ds. and support information which pre- for their decisions as being final and indisputable for that week-end. The event was open, and about have proved very helpful in running major events; 40 entries were anticipated. even where a decision may have been questionable viously hadn’t reached us, but were too late for It seems that it was the many questions asked by publication to be of use to anyone who hadn’t heard English skippers of the French entrants at our own direct. Apparently a number of foreign modellers RM Nationals which set the arrangement in train, Fred quotes Paul Elvstrom’s dictum — ‘‘A raceis, had desire to the and a party of 15 English boats was due to take ad- and always must be, only a game” — and suggests 1982 vantage of the opportunity of an informal inter- that this can be lost sight of in the heat of com- expressed a Armbouts-Cappel lake on have a look which the at (as subsequently seen on film) there have been no pondside arguments. Championships will be held, so the Model Yacht national no great petition. True enough, but there are always people Club Flandre Artois obliged by organising a friendly problem to reach the lake by taking a boat to Dunkirk who play games as if their lives depended on it, and regatta on Sept. 19/20, with help from the Belgian and a bus or taxi to the water. others who play simply because they enjoy playing. meeting on the water. It is It is this division which the suggestion of Class 1 and 2 racing recognises. of the 1981 fegenes Apart from attitudes, the rules themselves are rather formidable for a newcomer. It is difficult to Ashton GuildfordBradt d think of any other pastime where the rulebook is quite so extensive and exhaustive. To an experienced skipper, familiar with what matters and what comes up most frequently and how to avoidit, it’s a bit like looking down a telescope the wrong way: all the obstacles are minimised. Anewcomer looks into the telescope in the conventional way, and everything is magnified. Some way of affording him an easier introduction, in the old-fashioned cheerful atmosphere, from which he can progress to ‘‘proper’’ racing if he wishes, does not seem a 620 Model Boats pointless object, does it? If model yachting is toconseem essential; too many potential skippers have Council Meeting of the M.Y.A. held on Sept. 5. The one which affects all skippers, or will do in due course, is registration certificates. As should be already been “turned off’ by the present set-up and generally known, there has been agreement on an There is one minor correction to the 1982 regatta the bad temper and bad manners which have been international form of certificate for A/RA, 10r/R1OR and M/RM by the I|.M.Y.R:U., and the M.Y.A. is changing to the new certificates as from list, in that the RA Championship is at Fleetwood on Aug. 28-30, not 28-31 as in the minutes of the last January 1st 1982. Old-style certificates may be used by clubs up until December 31, 1981, and such certificates currently held by yachts are valid will close on March 31. Details available in due tinue to expand, some moves in this direction would brought into yachting. U.S.A. Moves Or should that be “Moves in the U.S.A.”’? We are delighted to hear that after seven or eight years the old-established Model Yacht Racing Association of America and the more Yachting Association recent have America agreed Model to form an umbrella organisation, the American Model Yacht Racing Union, which will be the official inter- national affiliate to the I.M.Y.R.U. and thus bring into the international scene the several hundred members of the A.M.Y.A. who have previously had to join a M.Y.R.A.A. club if they wished to compete in I.M.Y.R.U. events. Both organisations will remain autonomous and carry on much as before domestically; the new body will have a chairman and secretary alternating between the two groups plus executive officers from both to give a small, evenly balanced council with the chairman (changing annually) holding the casting vote. The first chairman, on the toss of a coin, is John Tucker of the M.Y.R.A.A. Much of the credit for bringing about this happy state of affairs must in fairness go to I.M.Y.R.U. chairman Norman Hatfield, whose patience and perseverance are obvious from the enormous file of correspondence relating to the matter over the past few years. Neither Norman or any member of the I.M.Y.R.U. Executive Board wishes to meddle uninvited in the affairs of any country, but in this case a neutral channel of communication, a sounding board, and even an arbitrator have at various times been required, and these functions have been fulfilled admirably by Norman. The result must benefit model yachtsmen in America in particular but also, generally, model yachting world-wide. selection method. meeting. The Jubilee Regatta at Fleetwood for M and RM classes will be May 30-June 4 and entries course from the regatta secretary, A. Youd, Silver- up until re-registration is required. Thus for about stone, two years both old and new certificates will be in circulation, but as yachts come up for their two- Lancs. PR3 3YN. yearly re-registration and as new registrations are bership of the Association, the main advantage of made (after Dec. 31, 1981 in both cases) only the which at present is that individual members (who new certificates will be used. The old ones will thus be totally phased out by Dec. 31, 1983. Stoneygate Lane, Ribchester, Preston, There was some discussion of Individual Mem- must also be members of an affiliated club) receive copies of all M.Y.A. communications direct for their There is another change in the matter of certifi- £2 per year, thus keeping themselves up to date cates in that each club will be sent a copy of each of even if their club secretaries haven’t had an oppor- the three new ones and may photocopy these for tunity of showing documents around. However, an use in measuring and registering yachts, provided investigation is to take place on the possibilities of the photocopies are of an adequate and non-fade offering standard. The Publications Secretary will keep a encourage the number of Individual Members. small stock for clubs who prefer to use printed certificates (or for a club which loses its master copies!) but it will obviously be cheaper and more con- venient for clubs to produce their own photocopies as required. For several years A Class certificates have been printed on a paper of similar weight and surface to photocopying paper and there has been no serious problem with regard to durability over the two-year life of the certificates. Note that Declaration Cards will still be required and that certificates for 36R and 6m yachts remain unchanged. However, by introducing the new cer- tificates and the acceptance of photocopies, some correspondence and costs will be eliminated. New clubs affiliating will receive copies of the inter- national certificates from the outset. Competitors in international regattas will need the new certificates for 1982, incidentally. a more comprehensive package to It was also decided that on receipt of a club’s annual affiliation fee, a copy of the forthcoming season’s fixture list will be sent for each affiliated member. In this way club members will be aware that their club’s fee has been paid and that they are therefore eligible to enter national events. If they have not received their lists, they can chase the club secretary. This may help to avoid the Racing Sec- retary having to refuse entries because a club’s affiliation fee is overdue. The 1982 Model Maker Trophy, for vane Ms, will be at Bournville on April 10/11. Clapham also offered to host this event, but there is a possibility that they may be asked to allowtheir lake to be used for the 36R Championships, since at the moment Birkenhead water is so far silted up as to be unusable for vane yachts and, unless it can be emptied and cleaned out, it would not prove possible to hold Which brings us tothe 1982 World RMand R10OR Championships once more. Initially, at least, England has been allocated 10 places in RM and 7 New Water no perfect system which would be practical; equal, or stronger, objections can be found for any other in R1OR; an increase in number of places is no the race there. Birkenhead clubhouse, incidentally, despite serious attempts at vandal-proofing, was broken into the night before the Bank Holiday; an RM left ready to sail was stolen and two of the 12m scale models built for Project Acorn were found in Congratulations are in order for the small (and more than a possibility and probably a fairly remote very lovely) town of Woodbridge, in Suffolk. The one at that. A sounding-out of potential entrants the lake, having been pounded through the decks of outside indicated that at least three times these numbers and bottoms with metal rods. The culprits were prompting, have rebuilt a ‘“model yachting lake” would be keen to compete, which means that some originally constructed for the King George V Silver found and the RMrecovered by the police; the form of elimination must take place. This matter will require extensive repairs. local council, without a great deal Jubilee in the 1930s and it was officially opened by evoked the were mayor and other officials on Aug. 20th. considerable taken into debate and consideration, all 12ms viewpoints On the same subject, if anyone is offered a red including those and white g.r.p. Skippy or a black Gos/ing, with Although on the small side for what we think of as expressed by Tim Fuller in this column last month. Futaba and Fleet radio respectively, plus associated model yachts, at 33 x 12m, racing small R/C models The eventual decisions were agreed by all District 575 and Mickey Finn would be quite Councillors and Executive Officers present, andthe transmitters and chargers, not to mention a brand feasible, as would racing 36R vane yachts. The pool Chairman was at pains to ensure that no doubts re- on Chippenham 4455 would like to know. They is of the above-ground type, surrounded by a waist- mained, were stolen from lan Walters’ workshop at the high wall and with about 2ft. depth of water, and is would undoubtedly fail to secure agreement in bigger than the small swimming pool at Seymour quarters. like the Hall which was used so successfully to since whatever decisions were made all It was decided that no entrant could compete in new Unimat 3 lathe ona white baseboard, the C.1.D. beginning of June. Address changes Appledore M.Y.C., notified M. Brewer, nr. to the Evans, 2 M.Y.A. are: Shortridge, demonstrate most types of boat during M.E. Ex- both classes at the Championships, thus ensuring Buckland hibitions. that the maximum number of skippers could take Bournville M.Y.C., V. Bellerson, 192 Sutton Road, Walsall, W. Midlands WS5 3AH, Fleetwood, D. The nicest gesture of appreciation to Woodbridge part. A mid-country elimination trial will take place would be the formation of a local club — perhaps (it is hoped at the Leicester water) on the week-end embracing, nowadays, of April 24/25, R1OR on the Saturday and RM on electric and steam models as well as yachts? — but the Sunday. There will be an entry fee of £2 for each initially it would be nice to see an informal get- event, and entrants will be required to sign an in- together there which the local paper would be sure surance that they will compete at Dunkirk should to cover. If anything can be arranged this magazine they qualify. Entry forms will be available from the would be glad to publicise it. International Racing Secretary, J. Cleave, 54 Upper like many other clubs At the opening ceremony, Roger Stollery, holidaying in the neighbourhood, was able to attend in the capacity of M.Y.A. Mall, London W6. A skipper can enter for both eliminators but Priestley, (same 73 Milton Bideford, Street, N. Devon, Fleetwood, ‘phone number as previously), Lancs. Guildford M.Y.C., R. J. Pease, 5 Springfield Road, Camberley, Surrey GU15 1AB, Swansea M.Y.C., A. J. Parkhouse, 10 Riverside, Llanmorlais, nr. Swansea, West Glam., Three Rivers M.Y.C., Mrs. _W. Hinchcliffe, 8 Lambert Walk, Lea Park Estate, Thame, Oxon. OX9 3DT, Mansfield D.M.B.C., K. Simmons, Lyndene, Howard Street, Sutton in Ash- Vice-President and took should he qualify for both classes he will have to field, along a couple of small R/C yachts which made a choose in which one he will compete; the next- fine front-page picture for the local paper, being Longbridge Close, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, and placed competitor in the other group will then move Y.M.6m.0.A., sailed by the mayor and his deputy. up to be included in the team. Presumably any tie London, SE12 8DZ. Individual officers John Cleave for last place in the team will have to be resolved by (as above), a sudden-death sail-off. Springbank Avenue, Farsley, Pudsey, Yorks. LS28 M.Y.A. Matters There were two of three matters of immediate It is appreciated that there can be drawbacks toa concern to model yachtsmen dealt with at the single selection meeting, but unfortunately there is November 1981 Notts., Shrewsbury M.Y.C., M. Element, 9 G. Peter Clark, 30 Carston Close, Maskell (N. Lee, D. Councillor) 12 5JP, and D. Andrews (M.D. Secretary), 49 Aberdale Road, Leicester. 621
