The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Model yacht club hosting national championship
The Western Reserve Model Yacht Club, based in Northeast Ohio, has been selected to host the 2018 Soling 1 Meter Class National Championship Regatta at Boy Scout Camp Stigwandish on Ross Road in Madison.
The event is slated for Sept. 25-29.
“We have 45 entries, sailing in three different fleets,” Regatta Manager Mike Wyatt said. “The match racing starts on the afternoon of Sept. 25, fleet racing starts on the morning of Sept. 26, continuing until noon on Sept. 29.”
Fleet racing, where multiple skippers race as individuals, is the most popular form of yacht racing, and will be the basis of the National Championship, Wyatt said.
“But, match racing, where pairs of skippers race in a round-robin format, is also a part of the September event,” he said. “The most famous event using a match racing format is the America’s Cup, which takes place every few years.”
Soling 1 Meter radio controlled model sailboats are approximately one-eighth scale models of the Soling — previously a 27-foot Olympic-class sailboat.
The model Solings are 1-meter — about 40 inches
“The match racing starts on the afternoon of Sept. 25, fleet racing starts on the morning of Sept. 26, continuing until noon on Sept. 29.” — Regatta Manager Mike Wyatt
long — weigh 10 pounds and stand about 65 inches tall from the bottom of the keel to the top of the mast. They are plastic kit-based and sail by radio control as the skipper adjust sails and steers his or her craft up to
a distance of about fiveeighths of a mile.
Model yachts are usually built from kits, bought custom-built or used from club members, or purchased from hobby shops. The Soling 1 Meter boats can handle winds up to about 20 mph — a wind strength that keeps many full-scale boats at the dock.
“Model yachting is a popular sport — there are over 330 sanctioned model yacht clubs operating in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and all over the world,” said Larry Lamphier, commodore of the Western Reserve Model Yacht Club.
The public is invited to Camp Stigwandish, 7497 Ross Road, starting at noon Sept. 25 through 11 a.m. Sept. 29. A regatta staff member has been assigned to explain the racing and process to visitors. North Perry Village’s Townline Park will serve as a backup site.