Give remote controlled model sailing a try

Western Reserve Model Yacht Club wants to expose you to remote-controlled model sailing

Those racing model yachts come from all over Northeast Ohio for twice-weekly sailing races on the acreplus pond at Painesville’s Kiwanis Recreation Park.

“It’s in a valley and surrounded by trees, so we often get swirling winds that add to the challenge,” said Mike Wyatt, longtime member of the Western Reserve Model Yacht Club.

The sailing dynamics are the same as with fullsized sailboats — the interactions of wind with sails combined with that between the water and the boat’s keel. But a handheld radio-control device allows those racing the model yachts to manipulate the boats’ sails and keels from shore.

It’s easy once you get the hang of it, said Larry Lamphier, commodore of the Western Reserve Model Yacht Club. On June 23, the club is inviting outsiders to the Painesville park to try sailing a model boat themselves. The park is at the edge of the city at 22 Latimore St.

Racing begins at 9 a.m. and finishes at 1:30 p.m.

The model boats, constructed in part from a model kit, cost hundreds of dollars instead of the thousands needed for a life-size sailboat. No crew is needed, and a boat fits in a compact SUV. Everyone keeps their clothes dry while racing, which they do from early April to the end of October.

The model yacht club attracts three types of sailors: those who also sail or have sailed full-sized

yachts; those who enjoy building models; and those who haven’t done it before but think it might be fun.

“Those who have sailed before probably have the easiest time of it,” Lamphier said. “Like other sports, the more you do it, the better you get.”

The boats all are the same when it comes to the design. All are one-eighthinch scale models of the Soling, a 27-foot Olympic-class sailboat. The model Solings are about 40 inches long, weigh 10 pounds and stand about 65 inches from the bottom of the keel to the top of the mast.

They are controlled from a distance of about five-eights of a mile and skim over the water as fast as 20 mph, depending on the wind.

“Once we get whitecaps on the water, we need to pull our models out or risk them being swamped,” Lamphier said.

Although the pond at Kiwanis Park is only about 4 feet deep, swamped boats are retrieved by rowboat, not folks wading in for the rescue.

The group also races on the larger pond at Boy Scout Camp Stigwandish

in Madison, but work to remove weeds is being done there this summer, so the group hopes to return there for its fall racing season.

“The lake there is at the top of a hill, so the winds are steadier from the same direction there instead of swirling like at Kiwanis Park,” said Wyatt.

Membership in the radio-controlled model boat club is $25 a year rather than the thousands needed for a yacht club membership. Yacht clubs, however, usually host dinners and other social events that aren’t part of membership in the Western Reserve Model Yacht Club.

“We typically race 12 races a day,” Lamphier said. “Tuesday racing is a lot like a golf league. We sometimes go out afterwards.”

Races involve piloting the sailboats against time around three points in the lake, called marks — 5-gallon plastic buckets emblazoned with 10inch numbers that are set permanently in place for the season. On the day of a race, the race director, factoring wind direction and speed, sets which marks are to be used for that race.

Once the race day is complete, each sailor can discard one score for every six races.

It’s a four-hour race commitment both Tuesdays and Saturdays, he said. The group also meets in winter and at other times to work on their boats in members’ garages. It hosts regular sessions to teach others how to sail radio-controlled boats.

“The ins and outs of the hobby — sailing the boat — can be learned in 20 minutes,” he said.

Many members are retired, but the club has a few members in their 30s and 40s and welcomes younger participants. Two of its members are women with their own boats.

While many members enjoy creating their boats from a model and personalizing it with sails and other details, club rules prohibit modifications that will affect performance. Members often have model boats for use by those who would like to try racing with the group.

“Model yachting is a popular sport, with more than 330 sanctioned model yacht clubs operating in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and around the world,” said Lamphier..

These are not toy boats, like those sold at hobby shops or discount stores, he said.

“They can handle wind strengths that sometimes keep full-scale boats at the docks.”

Model yachts are usually built from kits, bought custom-built or used from club members, or purchased from selected hobby shops, he said.

COURTESY OF STEVE SEARS Some members of the Western Reserve Model Yacht Club use body English to pilot their boats, although their hand-held radio controls do the job.

COURTESY OF STEVE SEARS As model yachts cluster to make a turn, a boat with a blue mermaid sail stands out. It’s owned by Doug Rieger of Elyria.

COURTESY OF STEVE SEARS The radio-controlled model yachts are sturdy enough to operate in 20 mph winds, which sometimes keep standard-sized yachts at the dock.