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OCTOBER 1959 MODEL The ninth annual rally of sailing ship models held by the Thames Shiplovers and S.M.S. took place at the Round Pond, Kensington Gardens, on July 5th in con- ditions of intense heat and light and variable breezes. Something over forty models were officially pre-entered, and many more turned up for a really enjoyable day. Our pictures show (1) Spray, 31 in. 2m. schooner by A. Pegg. (2) Star of the South, 4 m. barque to 1/60 scale (45 in.) by A. K. Williams, with background, Espiegle, 26 in. (¢ in. scale) brig by M. Garnett which won the Thames Trophy.; (3) Ebenezer, M. T. Davey’s 24 in. (4 in.) Mounts Bay lugger; which won the medal in the fore-and-aft class; (4) A double lugsailed Hastings bog, 20 in. (1 in. scale), the Frederick Lucas, by R. M. Knutson. (5) Maid of Wessex, Brixham trawler to 4 in. scale (40 in.) by J. A. Dunn; (6) Harriet MacGregor, 1/6 in. (234 in.) 3 m. barque by A. J. Lench. (7) Diploma winner Valkyrie, 2 m. schooner by D. C. Eyles, 39 in. (} in.). (8) A fine large barquentine which sailed well but was not entered. (9) Lily, one of the nine spritsail barges present; this one by N. Falkingham to standard 3 in. scale (46 in.); (10) F. Pearson’s 34 in. (4 in.) ship May Queen; (11) D. L. Hobden’s 21 in. (4 in.) brig Reward—model is over 90 years old and was re-rigged for the regatta. (12) Winner in Native Craft was still-at-school P. Algar’s Foochow Junk, 36 in. (1/36 scale). 440 OCTOBER, 1959 OCTOBER, 1959 The Future of Model Yacht Racing A hard and careful look at the subject which will set all model yachtsmen thinking furiously By J. S. DRURY odd sail and friendly race. Many exceptions of course —the club with rising membership, the class nearly holding its own, the odd event: with entries much up, but I think we shall explain this, and be able, as we greatly need, to profit from it. For, make no mistake, unless the present slow relative decline is reversed it will in time kill the sport, for once the facilities so hardly won over the last 40 years, and now often so hard to retain, are whittled away owing to temporary lack of local support, they will be lost for ever, and the patient will. finally die for lack of them. I am aware this is a disturbing picture, but it’s no use blinking at the truth. Racing and organised sailing F there is any… today, raise a big question mark. Toy and prototype sailing there always has been—the Egyptians sailed models, probably partly for ritual, upon the Nile 3,000 years ago, and no doubt there was some unofficial “see who reaches the sandbank first’ at times, especially among the juniors. The future of the toy is not in doubt, nor that of the cruising man with a model of some famous old square-rigger. Organized racing, club sailing, and class racing, which only really started in the late 19th century, and, looking back, probably reached a zenith about 1932 to 39, and in the post-war years up to about 1950, is not quite so fit now. Since about 1951 there have been definite downward trends, both in national entries and in club events, as well as in new registrations and memberships, and in new clubs formed and surviving. Actual falls are not great, though disturbingly persistent, but relative fall (for with the rising population, removal of rationing and ‘increased availability of motor transport, the sport should be well on the upgrade) is more serious. Unless something is done, therefore, it will obviously be fatal — I would say Can we find a reason or reasons? Let us consider what has changed over the last few years, say, post-war, and see what we cannot control, and that which we can. That which we cannot, can, I think, be summarised as: Greater leisure, due to shorter working weeks, allegedly better public transport, and spread of fiveday week (henceforth referred to as G.L.) Say plus 2. Television. This affects things up to a point, but taking against G.L. and model yachting being mainly an afternoon sport, I would say not all that much. Say minus 2. More motoring. Much, especially financially (who wrote “do you keep a car?”), but by providing easier transport both of owner and boat, and easier access to waters, etc., I would say, on balance, we gain. Plus 2. Kits, mostly power boats. These bring the maker to the water and in contact with yachts (overall experience with two clubs would suggest more gained than lost.) Say, plus 1. Dinghies. Considerable loss here, partly the personal sailing, but often on most crowded waters, much more expense—social, clubhouse and sail (new), also winter storage and towing if no car. And the greater initial outlay and tied up capital. But it is certainly quicker, and rather easier, to kit-build an Enterprise within 15 years. Proof? Figures can prove almost anything; we have a lot, but we will come to them later. Pro tem, let us take national championships, a good barometer. Since 1951 entries have fallen away, especially when you allow that in the last few years the M.Y.A. have removed the limits on entries, eased the entry dates and again and again even allowed late entries. (A recent National, superficially very well attended, had TWELVE entries from the home club, whereas a few years ago the limit would have been two or three per club. A little bird suggests that certain of these events have in fact only been possible of late by the Racing Secretary “drumming up” entries after official or G.P. than an A or 10r. closing date. So that the actual relative fall is most disturbing. Even more so is the fall (see figures later) in new registrations, and the fact that observation indicates that well over half of the club fleets sailing are doing so on lapsed rating certificates, indicating that both the owners and the clubs have to a great extent lost interest in “big time” racing and are content with the Ouch! Arthur Levison stops his 62-pounder fill, after a snorting run during the big blow in the 1957 “A” Class Championship. Note that despite the small main and jib the yacht is still carrying a healthy size spinnaker. The wind increased above that indicated in the photograph and some skippers still sailed ! Yes, I think we can, though it cannot be said in two or three lines, and like all diagnoses is very hard to prove without a post mortem, which we must avoid at all ‘costs. Going on as we are we shall not avoid it. Sailing will entail no hard running, and day in, day out, less manual effort with the “manned up” than the model, but may entail swimming in cold water! It will take less effort to keep it (the dinghy) in racing trim, up to date, due to the elaborate restrictions on number of new sails and very close rating rules, which make progress very slow, in as far as older craft get outmoded much less quickly than models at present. But there should be some reverse interest, always used to be, and if there is not, it’s the fault of model racing as now evolved. Say, minus 3. 459 rr a MOOEL MAHER) Taking overall reading I would say that the modern hair-shirts of Home Decorating and “Do It Yourself” so Women. comment at all, the situation appears to be No exactly as it always was, though rather more obvious, maybe. Ergo, total is minus 1, but population is up. Now if you go to a National you will find plenty of new faces, but far too many “missing persons’ ’, and taking the experience of two other clubs there are plenty of new recruits. But the wastage is much greater now. It used to be said, and with much truth, Actually the A has increased about 10 per cent. to weather, a 10r about 15 per cent., and an M about 20 per cent., so that both are not far behind the A to renew subscriptions. now. Taking things so far it would rather seem as if something in the sport itself is to blame, and if we as we come to them will not Please a few folk at all. However, it is not all my own idea, but has resulted from many conversa tions and much thought. Now let us see how things have changed since, say, 50 in. LWL x 50 lbs. displacement, 10r 50-53 in. x 2527, and M about 48 LWL x 19 to 19 Ibs. Today a fair set of averages will read “A” about 5S5in. x 57lbs., 10r 53-55in. x 32-34 lbs, and M 49.5 in. x 25 Ibs. Why? Simple. First the vane in 1948-50, which may be out for the rest of the season, or even a write- off. He may have a a time basis alone he may get a bill big enough for a pelican club. We are not interested in that sort of thrill for that sort of bystander. The main thrill is a close finish, which can be appreciated without qualm like a really good beat. I am not, however, advocating a return to sails full instead of having to sail “on the luff”, followed ’52-4 by Terylene sails, which added a further Both these develop- ments entailed bigger craft to keep pace with the extra heeling moment of the more powerful sails to weather; downwind the vane enabled big spinnak ers to be carried under almost any conditions without broaching, and then the Terylene enables higher aspect ratio the situation at a certain North Wales water in the 20’s when, for certain races at least, the boats were carried back downwind for the next beat! With the off-wind pace of today the “A” is a serious sails, with high jib hoists, to be used, allowing of still matter to bigger spinnakers, which came to be made of polythene, to add even more drive. And this Maybe (that is the rub) the weather will be mild, or reachy, or calm, but it can be rough, and what is the skipper to do then? If he reduces sail to cope with the boat and his and/or his mate’s downwind ability, he may as well give up hope of the prize list, since there are always at present the few who do not mind risking the boat and/or have extra-high-speed- In 1951 she was still racing with much extra lead to cope with the power of the vane. LWL 51, Disp. 28, S.A. 1170, and spinnaker (3 panel cloth) 1350 square inches. to 2900, no less. This boat has not changed hands, 10r nearly as bad, with her big event. A certain 10r, rather well known, was built in 1934 and won her first cup in 1935. She was 50in. LWL 26 Ibs., sail area 1190, plus spinnaker area (2 panel She is still racing today, still winning quite often when the skipper is clever enough, with terylene sails, and still more lead, of course. Now 54 in. LWL, 33 Ibs. disp. 1110 sail, plus mo less than 1800 sq. in. of 4 panel polythene spinnaker. Total S.A. downwind therefore risen from 1850 and the to be beyond the abilities of the average 10- to 12year-old schoolboy, who once provided the main “mate supply”, and also far beyond the wife, or the unskilled. And the elderly youngsters we value so much. And the skipper himself, if he is rather sedentary, and few of our skippers or mates are young, trained medium-distance runners, with the skill and stamina which may be needed for a National or other vane has also enabled much bigger spinnake rs to be used on the same boats; some interesting figures are available. little stop, trifle of extra speed; both, in a hard breeze, will tend You will remember that the old “Braine ” steering worked on wind FORCE, whereas the vane works on direction; a boat with a bit too much spinnaker would tend to broach and slow with a gust if Braine steered, success, vane steered, and with a lot of repair work, or if he has to get someone else to cope, however kind they are, on gave about 10 per cent. more weather drive, keeping cloth) of 670. 10r will leave the A quite often, (though less so than a good horror film), especially for the sort of spectator who resembles a ghoul, watching for the damaged boat, or the despair on a skipper’s face when he realizes that his craft is outpacing him, and may hit the concrete, may be out of the race, 1947, when things were getting going again after the war. The boats were as pre-war, “A” being about but with a vane she will lift and plane. Running, the and the M come near. But, alas, the A is pretty well twice as fast herself on the run! To make things more changed, all can now carry top spinnakers even with 3rd suit, in heavy winds. And it is done, in which conditions the craft is a partly air, partly water borne projectile, thrillin g to watch look we shall find much change over the last ten years. Also, I think, the trouble, and here hold on the head- 10 per cent. or so weather drive. still Mostly this pace. “Model Yachting is almost incurable”, but now that no longer applies. Far too many boats come up for sale after a season’s use, and far too many chaps fail gear, for the findings rating cards and spinnakers are but it has taken place in all classes ([ am not considering the 36 res. in these articles) as the figures show. Now adding about 20 per cent. of drive to weather does not increase the pace by more than 10 per cent., the rest being lost in extra heeling effort and leeway (and that 10 per cent. will give a 100 foot lead ona 1,000 ft. course, about the average to weather , allowing for tacking), but 40 per cent. more running drive will cause furious planing and may easily double the total loss of 1. Wives, Wives-to-be, and Girl Friend. old type of change has taken place by building new boats, Gardening caused by new estates, and “spectat oritis” probably causes a all the in existence, and make interesting data. are about cancelled out by greater facilitie s and G.L. mates or stopper. the “extra bod” who is available as a If he wishes to keep up he must risk the boat, or Over-exerting himself, and “expenses”, or is someone if the mate has any else’s son, and should damage a hand or knee, could damages be claimed? Overall, not too nice a prospect, and faced with the above contingencies a man may well decide to stay 460 OCTOBER, away. We have all met the chap who asks, “Is it often rough there?” before entering, and ends up by not going. “fast mate”’. Or will only go if he can be sure of a In club experience, both at big events and as a club official for many years, it has been shown that when this starts to happen (a man confines himself to club events) he slowly fades out, out of the events, the club, and the sport. Let us be honest. There have been too many such, and too many damaged boats, and minor hand damage, and overtired skippers, at some of the events in the last 10 years. That is all that is really the matter—the boats have become too fast for the skippers on the run, and in a hard wind can now be a danger to themselves. a scare to skippers, and a menace to mates. A bold assertion on my part, so before proposing remedies (quite easy and not even very painful), what about proof? Let us now have a quick look at some figures; we need to consider the interpretation of these as well. Now, if the idea that the cause, or primary cause, of the trouble is that the boats have got over-large and over-fast, then I would expect to find that the A has suffered most, then the 10r, and that the rate of suffering has speeded up steadily from, say, ’48 to today—that there would be much less increase in the last few years, for instance, whilst the M would have kept on expanding as folk changed over to what they hoped was a less arduous craft, and that only in the last year or so, as the M speed also reached the excess figure off wind, would the class lose its impetus. Don’t forget the war from 39 to *46 demob., when reading off the following items. I have taken sail numbers as a general guide to new building, and the actual figures of the last few years, where given, are as published by the M.Y.A. in the “M.Y.A. News” (Editorial, issue No. 61). In 1933 “A” sail numbers were reading 280, by °35 400, and by °38 had reached 500. In 1947 540, by °52 700, by °55 750, and 1958 780. New registrations for °47-’50 inc. averaged 29 per year, for *55-’58 12 per year (for 1958 only 8). 10 Raters. °33 400, °35 600, ’38 850, ’47 950, °52 1,300, *55 1,450; by 1958 this had tailed off to only about 1,550, and for 1958 new registrations were only 29. Marbleheads. These did not really get going until post-war. For °47 it was about 300, 52 was 500, °55 900, and °58 1,160, but even here they tail off, as °58 registrations were only 62. Now all that agrees with our “thought”, but can we get more confirmation? Let us look at National entries, for if there is anything in it I should expect a rough event to produce some discouragement and a reduced entry the following, and vice-versa, of course. Here, however, the 10r especially is rather blurred, due to changes in venues (the A is always at Fleetwood or Gosport, which, by the way, has almost killed them out, not amazingly, in the Midlands) and the M have so many changes that, with the big variations of dates also, I think they could prove or disprove anything you wish. “A”. 754, 32 entries, calmish; °55, 40, choppy; *56, 28 entries; “57, up to 34, very rough indeed; and in 1958 entries were 22. 10r. 1947, moderate, 16; for 1948, very rough, about 33 starters; in 1949, I think it was 13 entries, light winds; 1950 was 20 plus, moderate; 1951 was 17, 1959 moderate; and 1952 had 23, rather heavy at times (Triplane made a 100 second run of the 800 foot plus course), and the 1953 entry was ELEVEN, light weather; and 1954 entry was 26. Really, it is quite strange, for 1954 was quite rough for the first day and moderate for the second, and 1955 had 17 entries only. The worst entry was in 1957, 8, light airs, but the 1958 list was well up. All this is highly suggestive. How about clubs, for I would now suggest that over the last seven or eight years the clubs with the bigger, faster waters would tend to decline, and those with the easier waters tend to wax, given something like equal chances? But here I must indeed walk like Agag. We can take two, both in areas of ample popula- tion, both not all that far apart, both about overall equal clubhouse, catering, car park, etc., and both with proper concrete edge walks. A is about 900 ft. x 300; B about half the area, about 550 ft. long. In 1951 A had about 80 effective fellows, and entries of about 12 to 14 in club races were common. B had about 25 and entries of about five or six. Today the position is more than reversed in entries; A has about 20 fellows (all keen, and efforts to improve things are progressing, assisted by B); whereas B is well over the 100 mark, and the membership is rising faster than wastage. And I could name seven chaps who have left A for B because they found the effort less, three who strained hearts at A, and several more who also gave up A on doctor’s orders. None have given up B due to exertion stress. At A the 36in., though unsuitable for the water, has gained ground. We can now see why. The 6M, which is fast to weather but will not plane well, appears to be staging a come-back. The main thing is, at B boats do not plane so fast, due to less steady winds, and when they do it is less hard to catch them. The 6M would be excellent were it not for the difficult to measure rule, being in effect a small A with about 42 in. LWL and 30 lbs., and carrying about 1,050 sq. in. sail. Due to the skin and chain girth clauses in the rule it makes a fast, able boat in a sea, but one that will not easily get up and plane— as was intended by the rule drafters. Its apparent reviving, in spite of the rule, seems to add the final proof. An idea has been put forward—don’t please reach for your pole to belabour me without first giving it careful thought, and considering not only your own water and club, but what you know of others. Also, before writing in fury to our Editor, please wait for the final instalment. All sports have at times to curb abuses; we can easily do so with this, without out- moding the present fleet and without doing any real harm to the racing. We can at the same time enable many good post-war craft to race again on more equal terms, and I think, stop the drift and reverse it. And—some of the items to be proposed have been tried out in clubs and found to work. SOUTHPORT GRAND PRIX The Southport Model and Engineering Club’s International Grand Prix and Sports Car Race will this year be held on October 25th at the Land of the Little People, Pror de, Southport. Practice sessions will be held on October 22nd, 23rd and 24th. he venue is pleasantly situated, easily accessible, and light meals are available on the spot. For full regulations and entry forms send a stamped addressed envelope to H. E. Hatley, 49 Grantham Road, Birkdale, Southport. 461 i)
