Words and Pictures by Mike Ferring
We staged a very big Arizona regatta January 31-February 1, with 24 top sailors from all over the West. You missed it? Maybe because this big, regional regatta was staged with little boats on a very little lake, and the sailors were all on dry land!
In fact, this was the third year the West Valley RC Mariners model boat club organized a leg of the DF95 District 8 Travelers Trophy at Estrella’s North Lake, a lovely little lake in the middle of the Estrella housing association in Goodyear.
With 24 radio control boats competing, the starts would be too crowded if everyone fired off together, so we used a complicated scoring system called HMS, with half the competitors grouped in A and B heats, then shuffling back and forth in the heats based on their finishing positions. No, I don’t understand it either, but PRO Al Stiewing does, and he kept the game rolling through 36 heats over two days.
You’ll recognize some of the names. Maryellen and I helped organize, and I zipped around the racecourse in an inflatable dinghy, moving marks and rescuing boats. Al Lehman Sr. grilled brats for the group on Sunday. Al Lehman Jr., the son, was the top Arizona RC sailor, finishing 8th. “I’m a little rusty,” he said. Mike Hester was 14th.
RC boats sail just like our bigger boats but with one joystick controlling the rudder and another controlling the trim of a jib and main. That’s it; just two controls. We sail using the same Racing Rules of Sailing you do, with a slight adjustment under Appendix E (mostly setting a four-boat-length Zone). If you’d like to play, check out our website at SailRC.club.
