Rose City Model Sailing Club News
- Invitation to sail in the T37 Pacific Northwest Regional Championships, April 22 in Seattle
The T37 model sloop Regional Championships will get underway Saturday morning, April 22 at 10:00 a.m. Racing starts at 11:00, hosted by the Pacific Northwest Model Yacht Club.. The one day event will be held at Sail Sand Point, Magnuson Park on Lake Washington. The Notice of Race and registration form are included with this announcement.
Sail Sand Point is a very active community sailing center offering dinghy rentals, lessons and racing programs. The venue has been “discovered” as a very suitable site for model sailing. Victoria, Dragon Force 95 and IOM classes regularly use the site. Also, Magnuson Café and Brewery is just steps away for postrace celebrations.
For this T37 event, be advised that boats will be launched from the beach. Also, this will be an open air event with little overhead shelter so come prepared with rain gear in case the sun doesn’t shine! I also suggest bringing a folding chair as seating spaces are limited.
A picnic lunch, included in your racing fee, will be available during a noon break.
Driving directions are best obtained for Sail Sand Point on Google Maps. The address is 7861 62nd Ave NE, Seattle, 98115. Once you are through the main parkgate, reaching the sailing area requires attention to signs. SSP is in the Northwest corner of the park.
Looking forward to seeing you on the 22nd for some very fun, competitive T37 sailing and spirited conversation!
Rod Johnson, PNMYC Commodore.
- 3D printed DF95 Tuning Gauges on Thingiverse
I just saw these DF95 tuning gauges loaded onto Thingyverse (that means you can download and print for free). These gauges are a good start for getting a balanced boat. You will need a 3d printer or friend (You have one) with a printer. Let me know if you have trouble seeing the files, there’s a Powerpoint on how to use them too.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5885190
- PMPBA: Keep your eyes and ears open for a missing ship!
This is discouraging news, to say the least.
Today I was notified that Rick’s garage was broken into and the missing item from it is the USS Missouri. I don’t know the details, but the hull and the many pieces to make it complete, aside from lead for ballast, are also missing, although little else seemed to have been tampered with in the garage. It likely would have taken multiple people to manage that ship due to it’s weight, length, and numerous additional pieces for the deck and turrets, so please keep your eyes open for online activity and ears open for talk about it, just in case it would come across any of our paths.
If you are passing through a hobby shop, maybe stop and talk with a staff person to mention the missing/stolen ship so they might keep an eye/ear out for it, as well. If you don’t want to leave your personal email or phone number at the shop, you can always direct people to contact us through our website: www.PMPBA.org. There is an email contact on there that sends messages to Neal’s email address.
Cindy
PMPBA
- 2023 RCMSC annual meeting minutes
Rose City Model Sailing Club Annual Meeting Minutes, January 21, 2023
Location: Winona Grange Hall, Tualatin, OR
Attending: Brad Knight, Dick Asmus, Gary Pietka, Jim Hansen, Larry Sanders, Mike Simmons, Mike Skeen, Peter Van Der Meulen, Roger May, Sherrell Steinhauer, Stan McKay, Steve Vess, Terry Goodell
Commodore Gary Pietka called the meeting to order at 10 am.
Commodore’s Report:
Gary Pietka reported that our club is doing well in spite of problems with our sailing venues. The powerboaters have been very vocal about the lack of maintenance at Tualatin. Gary has been working with them while trying not to jeopardize our use of the pond. The city plans to drain and clean the pond this summer. We continue to hear about rules compliance. We’re considering various ways to help our members understand the rules. After hearing some suggestions, Gary favored a separate meeting for a rules discussion.
Vice Commodore’s Report:
Dick Asmus thanked everyone for their help setting and retrieving our marks. He reminded us that practice races at fun sails don’t require penalty turns. He would like more fun sailing opportunities. Think about changing our rules for touching marks. Dick normally sets starting line length at 1½ boat lengths times the number of boats. Consider the around-the-ends rule for those over early. Some questions came up about being forced to touch a mark to avoid a collision with another boat. After a discussion about rule penalties (turns vs dropping back), Stan moved to allow touching marks, except when starting and finishing. Roger seconded, but after some discussion Gary tabled the issue until a rules meeting can be scheduled.Secretary/Treasurer’s Report:
Stan McKay reported membership levels of 22 in 2019, 19 in 2020, 42 in 2021, and 37 in 2022. Race participation has fallen off slightly to 22 last year.Our treasury started the year with a balance of $2089.54 Expenditures: – Engraved plates (2021) 178.28 – Harland checks 17.30 – Grange Hall rent and insurance 213.92 – Club T-37 purchase 200.00 – WordPress renewal 52.03 – Engraved plates (2022) 157.84 Total Expenditures -819.37 Year-end Balance 1930.17 Buoys, batteries, trophy plaques, and CNC laser cutting were donated by members. Thank you!
Stan will update our member application form regarding dues and coordinate with bylaws. Our 2023 event schedule was approved. Peter has posted it on our website.
DF65 Fleet Captain’s Report:
Larry Sanders recommends using fun sail events for tuning help and coaching new owners.
DF95 Fleet Captain’s Report:
Chris Tomson didn’t attend the meeting.
T-37 Fleet Captain’s Report:
Gary Pietka plans to attend the Port of Toledo Wooden Boat Show in August. It’s a family oriented annual fun event that draws a good crowd. He would present his boat and club information.
Webmaster’s Report:
Peter Loop was unable to attend, so Stan and Gary read his report emailed earlier.
Web site statistics for 2022:Views 20,413, Visitors 5375, Views per hour 3.8 (up slightly from 2021 and almost double 2020)
– People find us by search engines, Pinterest, and Facebook
– Top countries visiting us: US 11,934, UK 1655, France 1310, Australia 866, Germany 570
– Top pages: About RCMSC, DF65, Classified, Sailing Schedule, Race Results
Classifieds page is working well, please use it if you have a boat to sell. Send suggestions for our site to Peter. See links to other clubs. The AMYA site has been updated (www.theamya.org). You can go there to list all your boats without joining.
Election of officers:
Positions of Commodore, Vice Commodore, and Secretary/Treasurer are open. No nominations were made. No volunteers spoke up. Gary, Dick, and Stan agreed to continue to serve. Dick cautioned that he might be out of the country for an extended period. Sherrell agreed to take over responsibilities for marks and rescue boat. Larry Sanders and Gary Pietka agreed to continue as Fleet Captains of DF65 and T-37 classes. Since Chris Thomson wasn’t active in RCMSC events last year, Gary appointed Dave Anderson to the position of DF95 Fleet Captain.
Facebook account: After Bruce Dixon resigned mid-year, our account remained idle. Larry commented that without frequent postings, traffic tends to drop off. Our website is a much better route for people interested in our club. The consensus among members present was to close the account. Gary had contacted former member, Damien Webb, to find out how to close the account. Damien was unable to do that for reasons we don’t understand. Gary or Stan will contact Patrick to see if he can help.
Boats available: Steve Vess, a past member and past Commodore, rejoined our club. He has two Micro Magics available for purchase.
Trophy Presentations:
2022 T-37: 1st place Gary Pietka, 2nd place Tom Box, 3rd place Peter Loop
2022 DF65: 1st place Dave Anderson, 2nd place Larry Sanders, 3rd place Stan McKay
2022 DF95: 1st place Dave Anderson, 2nd place Sherrell Steinhauer, 3rd place Curt KnightWith snow falling outside, Commodore Gary adjourned the meeting and canceled the fun sail.
Respectfully Submitted,
Stan McKay
RCMSC Secretary/Treasurer - Pacific Northwest Model Yacht Club Annual Meeting (Seattle T37 club)
Annual Club Meeting (official notice) – Saturday February 11th at Seattle Yacht Club. Attendees are encouraged to bring guests interested in RC sailing. Spouses and significant others are also welcome and encouraged to attend, especially lunch and the afternoon program. (Membership in PNMYC is NOT required for attendance – all RC sailors are welcome)
Meeting highlights:
Business – 10-11:30;
Lunch – noon to 1:00
Guest Speaker 1-2:00; Rod Carr, sailmaker for model yachts, RC sailing historianTopic- “Model sailing from infancy to today”.
Breakout discussions 2-3:00; 3:00 – No host bar.Topics – RC model sailing rules, T37 construction helps and on-course sailing strategies.
Registration: Please return the attached meeting registration form soon but no later than February 1st so we can inform SYC on the number of attendees. Meeting fee includes box lunch with sandwich, fruit salad, chips and dessert.
Upcoming events are always posted at PNMYC.org
- Sail Trimming by Roger Stollery (helpful)
- Remembering Ted Van Syckel
Yesterday I received the sad news that Ted Van Syckel passed away, peacefully and painlessly, last weekend. Many of you knew Ted. You may or may not know that the Rose City Model Sailing Club would not exist without Ted. I first met Ted in 2009 at the Tualatin Crawdad Festival. Ted was at the pond with the Oregon Model Yacht Club promoting RC sailing. Ted had a Footy – a class of boat not formally supported by OMYC – and I took an interest in this little boat as a first step to get into RC sailing. Ted and I started a lifelong friendship that day. He supported and guided me in the building of my own Footy. In the following months I would join Ted at OMYC events And we would sail our Footys off to the side. When OMYC didn’t embrace the new class, Ted had the idea of forming a new club. Ted and I and fellow Footy skipper Greg Lamb applied to AMYC to form RCMSC. The club drew the interest of other Footy skippers and began to grow. Ted built a Micro Magic and brought it to one of our sails – this class quickly caught on with several members and new members building and sailing MM’s, and the class was supported by RCMSC. Next Ted build a Dragon Force 65 – that class ballooned in popularity and was supported by the club as well. When we were approached by T37 skipper Gary Pietka about the possibility of adding that class, Ted supported this wholeheartedly. Needless to say, today’s RCMSC owes its very existence to Ted.
Our friendship continued after our participation in RCMSC waned – even after my move to Canada – and we remained in touch as best friends until the end of his life. Next time you put a boat in the water, please think fondly of Ted Van Syckel.
Stanley Townsend – Past RCMSC Commodore
- T37 NCR results
T37 North American Championship results. Held at Seattle Yacht Club. Congratulations to Peter Conze and all who sailed. It was a battle to a tiebreaker: 1st and 4th were separated by just two points!
- 3d printed battery hatch cover for DF65
I printed this DF65 out of flexible TPU plastic – if your are interested. Left me know – Peter - RCMSC race day reminder 10/9 – Westmoreland
Greetings sailors,
Summer weather hangs on for Series Race #6 SUNDAY, Oct. 9 at Westmoreland. (Water depth is 18.5 at the south end.) Skippers meet at noon, racing starts soon after. Forecast: sunny, high 70’s, wind NW 6-9 mph. Off-course fun sailing is welcome. - Need one of these?
- Olympia Harbor Days
From:Dan Shier
I just thought I would ping you again just in case any of the rose city crew can make it up.
Olympia Harbor days : Fri 5-8pm. 3 hours, Sat. 10-7pm. 9 hours, Sun 10-6pm. 8 hours. Sept. 2, 3, 4
Hi Everyone,
Last week before Harbor Days. I am hoping this will be a great weekend to promote radio sailing. I have a booth to display some boats, talk to people and hand out information. We have an area to sail and let people try our boats. Bring yourself and your boat if you can.
We have quite a few hours to cover over the 3 days. Please feel free to stop by and hang out in the booth, sail your boat for as long as you can. I plan on being there the whole time. If you can let me know if you can be there that would be great. But even if you decide at the last minute just stop by. The more the merrier. I will have buoys and a timer. I am sure some racing will break out.
Check out the website for a full schedule or activities fun for family and friends. Boat tours, tugboat races, food and more. www.harbordays.com/
Thanks, Dan
- 2022 T37 North American Championship
The 2022 T37 North American Championship Regatta is scheduled for Saturday, October 8 at Seattle Yacht Club.
The Notice of Race has been posted at www.PNMYC.org. or go directly here: http://www.sailset.com/PNMYC/NOR2022NACR.pdf
Entry form with regatta entry fee required – Early: $40.00, after Oct 1: $45.00 Regatta entry fee for PNMYC members: $30. 7.1 The deadline for receipt of all entry documents and fees is 9:00 AM on regatta day. The competitors meeting will be at 9:45 AM
Lets get som Rose City Sailor up-there this year, it is a good venue.
.
- Next two event moved to Westmoreland
Fun Sail on August 27 & Race day on September 11 have been move to Westmoreland pond due to lake condition. The calendar has been update.
- For the 3D printer crowd
- New T37 in the fleet
Marv Sherman, finished T37 #3362 July 27, 2022. Welcome to the fleet!
- PNMYC] New 2022 Test Rule 18 (Mark Room)
I have studied the new Mark Room Test Rule 18 and observed the Zoom meeting with Dave Perry describing its differences, here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yo8yDt96tSm0u6P5Nyd5jhArnZeAu_tm/view?usp=sharing
The simpler wording keeps the racing going the same way as now.
The differences remove weaknesses in interpretations and in transitions between positions.
1. Inside boats rounding with Mark Room may sail their Proper Course, whether they have Right of Way or not.
2. Mark Room ends when the buoy is abaft the Mark Room boat. Period.
140 words, 30% of the old rule, are gone!
If we are going to teach new sailors the Racing Rules, some of our fleets should consider early adoption of this simpler, more consistent Test Rule.
It is slated for final adoption with the 2025-2029 rule book, if approved – Philip Hubbell
- DF95 PNW Region 6 Championship
I am proud to announce the first ever
2022 DF95 Pacific NW Region 6 Championship
May 28-29, 2022
Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park
1201 Lake Washington Blvd
Renton, WA 98056FORMAT: Fleet racing for two days
Entry limit is 36 yachtsHOST CLUB: Olympia Model Sailors
REGISTRATION LINK: https://form.jotform.com/220824425497157
NOR Link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:6c3790ae-3603-403c-9f6a-a0a61d9b5360
COST: $55 lunch included Sat. & Sunday
AMYA membership and DF95 class registration required.
SCHEDULE:
Friday, May 27, 2022
2pm – 6:00PM Informal Practice/Check inSaturday, May 28, 2022
8:30 – 9:15AM Late Registration/Check-In:
9:50AM Warning for First Start
12:00 –1:00PM PRO Lunch Break for 20 minutes is pending racing progress.
4:30PM Racing Ends – exact time at PRO discretion.
6:00PM Fleet Dinner TBDSunday, May 29, 2022
9:50AM Warning for First Start
12:00 –1:00PM PRO Lunch Break for 20 minutes is pending racing progress. 3:00PM Racing Ends – exact time at PRO discretion.
3:30PM Results & Awards: A casual ceremony at racing conclusion. - Pacific Northwest DF95 District Regatta
Event:
Please join us for the Pacific Northwest DF95 District Regatta to be held at the Vancouver Lake Sailing Club on Saturday, April 16th, 2022.
The first race will start at 12:00 hours and the last start no later than 17:00 hours.
The regatta will be governed by the rules as defined in The Racing Rules of Sailing 2021-2024 as amended by Appendix E (Radio Sailing Racing Rules), except were noted in the Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions.
Important: No pets are allowed on the VLSC grounds.Eligibility:
The event is open to all DF95 sailors, but limited to 20 competitorsEntry:
The event is limited to the first 20 entrants
The event is limited to DragonFlite 95 RC sailboats only
Registration must be completed and fee paid no later than 5pm, Friday, April 15th
The registration fee is $15.00 via PayPal at:Scoring:
The scoring system is as follows:
- The Low Point Scoring System RRS A4 will be used
- Tie scores will be resolved in accordance to Race Ties RRS A7 and Series Ties RRS A8
Schedule:
Saturday, April 16th
Clubhouse and grounds will be open starting at 10:00
Skippers meeting will be at 11:30
First start 12:00
30-minute break at 15:00
Last start no later that 17:00
After event BBQ (food and drink provided)Where:
Vancouver Lake Sailing Club
North dock
7110 NW 25th Ave, Vancouver, WA 98665Disclaimer of Liability:
All those entering or taking part in this regatta do so at their own risk and responsibility. (See RRS 4). The Vancouver Lake Sailing Club and any other parties involved in the organizing of this event disclaim: “Any and every responsibility whatsoever for loss, material damage, personal injury or death, or inconvenience that might occur to persons and goods, both ashore and on the water, prior to, during or after the regatta, as a consequence of entering or participating in the regatta covered by this Notice of Race.” At all times the responsibility for the safety of their boat and themselves plus the decision to participate or continue must rest solely with and remain at all times with the competitors. A competitor may only enter the event by accepting these Terms and Conditions.
- Frostbite #1 (windless)
Man what a bust. When we were setting up the course there was a reasonable amount of wind and things looked good for a damp but productive race day. All the high hopes faded quickly as the 37’s struggled through 2 races and had to scrap the third after probably 15min of trying. Another 15 min and I might have won that third one, dang. The 95’s were up next and it was obvious that we needed to shorten the day so we cut them off at 2 races and it was a struggle for them as well. Sadly the worst was yet to come as the 65’s struggled through their first and we had to scrap their second and I pushed most of the field in with the tug. On the bright side we had a good turnout of 18 racers and it wasn’t freezing like the previous week. We also got to deploy the new starting marks that Art put together for the club and I think that they leave no doubt whether a boat has crossed the line or not. Thanks Art. Last but not least since we had virtually no scorable results yesterday’s efforts will be scrapped and the funsail on the 12th of march is now a makeup race day. I do not want to mess with schedule too much so it is still SATURDAY the 12th but the purpose is now frost bite #1 makeup. Mark it on your calendars, – thanks see you all on the 12th Gary
- New RCMSC Facebook Page
Bruce Dixion is managing,
https://www.facebook.com/Rose-City-Model-Sailing-Club-RCMSC-1505210569786315
- PNMYC Annual Meeting, March 5th, 11:30, at Seattle Yacht Club
RCMSC member I’m posting details of the Pacific Northwest Model Yacht Club (Seattle) annual meeting, these guy are the largest T37 club (the sail DF65s too), home of the National Champ, and usually a good source of sailing info and tips. – Peter
Gentlemen: Club officers have planned an informative and otherwise worthwhile meeting for the 5th. The agenda includes a late morning business session, informal lunch, two outstanding presentations and a raffle!
We would greatly appreciate your help in promoting meeting attendance, perhaps by forwarding this email to your fleet members. Your encouragement will supplement an invitation sent out earlier by Dan Matthews.
In the afternoon, our current National Champion Peter Conze will talk about T37 sail trim ideas for various wind strengths. Dan Newland will demonstrate construction and painting techniques that have produced several beautiful and very fast T37s.
We will also lay out a large collection of T37 modeling supplies, rigging items and electronic equipment along with some very fine tools of the trade. Ron Knight, our late friend and past Commodore wanted his collection of gear to be distributed out to club members. To accomplish this, free raffle tickets will be distributed to all annual meeting attendee’s!
Thanks and hope to see you on the 5th, Rod Johnson, Vice Commodore, PNMYC
- Two nice old books on model yachts.
Model Yachts and Model Yacht Sailing by James E Walton and Model Sailing Craft by W. J. Daniels & H. B. Tucker A little bit of history for you to enjoy.
- Annual Meeting Upcomming – Jan 22
Good morning sailors we are just a week away from our annual meeting. The Grange hall immediately adjacent to the pond in Tualatin will be opened at 9:30 and the meeting will commence promptly at 10am. First will be officer reports Second nominations for officer elections, Patrick is relinquishing the Facebook position and we definitely need a new officer for that.All positions are open if someone would like to step up and share the load, think about it.Voting. Trophy presentations, if you think you are in the running for a trophy please show up. This will conclude the business portion of the meeting and will be followed by open agenda items, Dick Asmus has a couple racing related items and a shore courtesy item. Please bring up any issues or concerns at this time. Christian Thompson will present a new topic for discussion related to the DF95 racing
Think about things that you may be willing to participate in to make a greater contribution to the club’s activities. Refreshments will notprovided and we need to deal with our own garbage, if you bring it be prepared to take it with you.
We need to vacate the hall at noon, a course will be set up at the pond for a fun sail to commence 12:30 ish. The weather last I saw is most likel dry and cool. The frostbite schedule is up on the website and most events are at Tualatin until other venues open up.
Looking forward to another great sailing season. Gary Pietka commodore RCMSC 503 936 3320 - T37s in 48north magazine
- (no title)
- Happy Holidays to all RCMSC Members
- RCMSC Annual Meeting
Good morning sailors, good news the annual meeting has been set for Saturday January 22 2022 at the Winona grange immediately nw of the pond in Tualatin. This will be an indoor meeting heated w/o distractions. No refreshments provided. Winona Grange is the large light green building next to the culdesac on the nw side of the pond. Building is available at 9:30 am meeting will commence promptly at 10am and we need to clear the building at noon. We will take a short break for lunch then a fun sail for those that wish to refresh their skills. So, similar agendaas last year awards presented issues discussed and there will be a table of Ted Vansykel’s misc tools and boat stuff, bring cash two radio’s w/receivers and a lot of misc rc goodies. Also if you have an item you wish to put on the agenda reply to this email and I will try to work it in. Also if anyone would like to layout a frost bite schedule starting for early feb please submit to Stan or myself, all efforts are appreciated we will try to have it posted and ready at meeting.
Happy Holidays!
Gary - PNMYC (Seattle T37 Fleet)
Reminder Seattle Frostbite series (Nov-Jan) schedule is listed below. Time 10 to 12-ish
1st Sunday of the month – (South Lake Union Pond)
2nd Sunday of the month – Renton (Coulton Park)
3rd Sunday of the month – Bellevue (Meydenbauer Bay Park)
Fun Sail every Monday 12 to 2 South Lake Union pond
Drop by if your in the area.
- v2 DF95 and v7 DF65 Kits are now available
The new upgraded winch (‘DF Sailwinch’will now be the standard winch for both the DF65 & DF95. It is a digital winch with a coreless motor, full metal gearing, dual ball bearings and rated for use at 6.6v to suit the popular LiFe rechargeable batteries. ) For now it is NOT installed in the boats, but will be provided along with the upgrade laydown stand kit for a discounted price. The next container will have the new winches preinstalled.
We are releasing a video on easily changing out the old winch for the new one.
The new Rigging assembly manuals for both boats are available :
v2 DF95 Manual
v7 DF65 Manual - Kirkland Sailing Club DF65 Videofb.watch/9AR6tRwjce/ Here is a great 1min Video that shows the DF 65 Racing Taking place in Kirkland Every Sat 9am now through March.
- David Allsebrook RC Sailboat Skills Seminar
- Just for fun.
- Interview with Mike Wyatt, President of the American Model Yachting Association – US SailingInterview with Mike Wyatt, President of the American Model Yachting Association – US Sailing — Read on www.ussailing.org/news/american-model-yachting-association/
- Saturday’s fun Sail – 11/6
Hi all, we had a very nice fun sail today with just a bit of rain before noon and from noon on it was cold and breezy but dry. About a dozen hardy souls showed and were rewarded with good winds and sunshine till around 3pm when it started clouding up again. I’ll admit I thought it was going to be miserable. Just goes to show it is always better to show up and make the best of what is available rather than listen the weather man and stay home. See you on the 21st for the last race of the summer series. – Gary
- Seattle PNMYC Frostbite
After a long break from the well-attended T/37 Nationals at the Seattle Yacht Club October 2nd, the Seattle Fleet of PNMYC T/37 is starting up the Frostbite series this weekend.
Sundays instead of Saturdays. Rotating venues:
- 1st Sunday – SLU Pond
- 2nd Sunday – Renton Coulon
- 3rd Sunday – Bellevue Meydenbauer Bay
This is a scored series.
Dan Mathews | 425.590.7926
- Back to Sailing at Tualatin Commons for Remaining Events
Water level at Westmoreland Park Casting Pond is at 14 inches and dropping so the Nov 6 Fun Sail and Nov 21 Race day are moved back to Tualatin Commons. Construction is almost done and water levels are better.
- Sailing with Astoria Yacht Club 10/10
Fun day of sailing at the Warnock Model Boat Pond, part of the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria. Sailing RC Lasers in tight quarters. There was also a dedication ceremony for the pond. Saw Df65, Df95, T37 & T27’s on display on site. Hope to continue connection with this group, a joint sail some time – Peter
- T37 NCR Results
The T37 Sail Fleet held a very successful regatta hosted by the PNMYC and the assisted by the Seattle Yacht Club on Saturday, October 2nd. There were 15 boats contesting the National Championship. The racing began shortly after 10 am and continued until just before 3 pm followed by an awards presentation of trophies. Congratulations to Peter Conze for his fourth consecutive National Championship. Will Lesh and Dan Newland finished with the same Net points. Since Will had more first place finishes than Dan, Will received the Second Place trophy and Dan Third Place. See complete scoring below.
We had light winds from the south and southeast in the morning. Shifty wind conditions make for tricky sailing. With a fairly short course each race was completed in about ten minutes. The afternoon wind filled in a little bit more strongly for the last few races and so we finished with some fast sailing. Overall it was a lovely day, warm with mixed sun and clouds at first and then bright sunshine towards the end of the day. 12 races were sailed.
Allan Van Ness, a lifetime member of Seattle Yacht Club organized the event. Fred Pot did a superb job as head of Race Committee, keeping things flexible with the many necessary course changes based on the shifting wind conditions. SYC member Sue Weiss did the Sailwave scoring and Cindy Gossett, Linda Newland, Dean Shipman, Tom Condon, Art Sortland and others helped with starts and recording the finishes. Many thanks to all of the helpers who lent a hand at the event and to the SYC staff for providing support in the form of floats to sail from, tables and coffee and canopy and scoring station!
- Race Day 9/26/21
Hi all we had a great day for sailing and racing yesterday. The weather held off till later in the evening and we actually had more wind than in recent events. All the races were two lappers even though some got a little long. there were multiple bouy hang ups some of which were large, even I got caught (not the first time). So two issues I will bring up
#1 If you or your boat needs rescue bouy, tangle with another boat or mechanical failure you are not racing till it is cleared. Since you are not racing take action for your self, grab the tug or a tug, pull the bouy line sometimes works, anyone in the not racing class might help but don’t count on it. I am more than willing to help when available.
#2 We had one incident yesterday where a DF95 collided with a T37 knocking the T37 out of position for making a rounding and spoiled the last leg for the T37. I believe this is the first instance of cross class fouling, there may have been others but this the first I am aware of. I know it was not intentional but could have been avoided. As the DF95 class grows we may well need to race all classes separately, maybe by Frostbite 2022. Until that time cross class fouling will result in the offender being disqualified for that heat this can also apply to the T37’s – Race Courteously
If this remedy is too harsh I am open to reasonable intelligent input. Gary.
- T-37 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP REGATTA
October 2, 2021 — Seattle Yacht Club
Here is registration information for the T-37 National Championship Regatta. We look forward to your participation.
We hope to see you at SYC on October 2nd. All are welcome, sailors and spectators. We need volunteers for the race committee, so if you choose not to sail, consider helping on the committee. Please respond to me if you can help on the Race Committee.
Please return your registration form to:
Allan Van Ness, Regatta Organizing Committee Chairman
965 N LUGE Ave
EAGLE, IDAHO 83616Also please be sure your AMYA membership will be current as of October 2nd, and your boat is registered with Class Secretary, Will Lesh. Although PNMYC membership is not required for entry, this is a good opportunity to join or renew your membership with the Pacific Northwest Model Yacht Club, Local Club #294. We appreciate your support.
Questions? Phone or email Allan Van Ness, Past PNMYC Commodore, Regatta Organizing Committee Chairman 206-920-2854, van.ness@frontier.com
- August 7 Funsail
A few photos from Westmoreland pond. - Pearls of Wisdom Will Lesh – Point High
Useful tips on sailing point high into the wind from the T37 designer http://www.sailset.com/PNMYC/Pearls/PRLPointHigh.pdf
- T-37 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP REGATTAOctober 2, 2021 — Seattle Yacht Club
This is the biggest T-37 regatta of the year! Be sure it is on your sailing calendar.
The T-37 National Championship is an international event. The October 2ndNational Championship Regatta is open to T-37 sailors worldwide. Canadian T-37 sailors are welcome. Please join us.
We hope to see you at SYC on October 2nd. All are welcome, sailors and spectators. We need volunteers for the race committee, so if you choose not to sail, consider helping on the committee. No experience necessary.
Questions? Phone or email me.
Allan Van Ness, Past Commodore, Organizing Committee Chairman
206-920-2854
- Venue Change July 25
Greetings RCMSC sailors! Series race #3 will be held on SUNDAY, July 25 at Westmoreland Pond
due to weeds at Tualatin.
Skippers meet at noon racing starts soon after.
Forecast: sunny, 80F, wind NNW 8-10 mph.
Fun sailing off-course is always welcome. - Racing Rules YouTube videos
I found these videos from the Clinton Lake Sailing Association helpful and am reposting here for our education: Windward and Leeward mark rounding.
- Ron Knight Celebration of Life Sail
Sailers, friends and family from around the PNW, Canada, Washington, Oregon and Idaho boats took to the water to honor Ron. A service was held at the Seattle Yacht Club, complete with T37s. Dan Newland beautifully finish boat is pictured. Will Lesh often lead the way. Winds where light and the racing was tight. It was a fine send off. – Peter
- Race #1 (5/23/2021)
I was concerned about the weather report for yesterday but boy did we luck out. Just a little bit of drizzle for a while with very adequate winds. The winds allowed almost all two lap races. And holy cow what a turnout 15 dragon 65’s!
8 T37’s and two DF95’s. In the T37 class I did not see any one person dominate but Peter Curt and Tom made a good showing. David M did very well for only being his second event with us, I expect to watching out for him very soon. I regret I can’t pay attention to the 95’s as I am still racing while they are finishing up. I’ll get the hang of it as time proceeds. Next event Sat June 5th at west Moreland for a fun sail, fun sails are a great way to keep your skills sharp while not buggering up a series race. see you there – Gary
- 5/8/2021 Funsail – Westmoreland
We had a great turnout for yesterday’s fun sail and it didn’t even rain. Weather was better than expected and we even had decent breezes off and on. Great way to kick off the summer season. Holy cow I counted 21 boats on the water and there were always 4 or five in reserve on the shore. The fun sails are a great time to shake out the winter bugs and make those final adjustments so they don’t hang you up during a race. We even had a maiden sail of a new scratch built Starlet, very nicely done buy the way. Larry Short , Knute Forsman, and David Michaels made their official appearances at an event. Welcome all. Next event Sunday may 23rd at Tualatin for our first summer series race day. Put the date on your calendars it is gooing to be a great season. – Gary
- Frostbite #3 4-25-21
Wow I did not think that it could get much better than the last couple events. But it did. We had 11 Dragons on the water 7 T37s plus one T37 being tried out, and 3 DF95s. Man that is a pond full of boats. Racing was good with no one person dominating, wind was shifty as always but more of it as we were able to do all two lap races. We got to do more sailing than usual. And it didn’t rain. We also have picked up two new members if they follow through and I believe they will Knute who bought a df65 and Larry who wants to buy one. I am trying to get one of Teds older dragons in sailing condition we’ll see how that goes. The summer schedule is being crafted and should be ready in a week looking forward to a summer full good sailing. – Gary
- Rule of the Month: Windward-Leeward
Greetings sailors! During our April 10 practice racing we’ll concentrate on the basic windward-leeward rule: When boats are on the same tack and overlapped, a windward boat shall keep clear of a leeward boat.
Here’s a diagram that explains the terms:
When a boat is sailing by the lee, the leeward side is the side the mainsail is on. (B is sailing by the lee by heading more than 180 degrees from the wind.)
To define overlap, the RRS start with clear astern and clear ahead:
Two boats are overlapped when neither is clear astern:
Also, they are overlapped when a boat between them overlaps both. In this case both A and B must keep clear of C.
Here’s a test. Are these boats overlapped? If so, which boat has to keep clear?
They are on the same tack and overlapped, because neither is clear astern. A is on B’s windward side, so A has to keep clear.But wait, there’s still more to learn about establishing or breaking an overlap, and limitations on the leeward boat’s actions. Stay tuned!
Please respond to me with comments, questions, or suggestions. -Stan McKay
- Funny
- Frostbite #2 (3-21-21)
More wows we had approx. 18 boats in attendance 9 DF65’s, 7 T37’s and 2 DF95’s. Also despite early weather reports the rain held off till after we were done, with decent wind. Lynn Moore had to retire early w/sail winch problems. We had several new members and several future members. Jim Hansen brought his beautiful brand new T37 for it’s first outing and did a couple races with us and indicated his intention to join, he also brought a grandson and his father who Peter set up with his laser for some off course fun. Need to get the little ones started early. Other new people Sherrell Steinhauer with his Df65, Nelson and Chris with their DF95’s sailed just ahead of the T37’s on a 30seconds and away format which worked most of the time so next time we’ll do a full one minute gap. Also The Super bee T37 has a new owner Paul Wallace who did pretty well with a boat new to him. No one Skipper dominated any class so the wins were pretty well distributed across the field. Tom Box also made an appearance nice to have him back always a strong competitor and sailed both DF65 and T37, makes a busy day. Peter also brought the club T37 which helped Art out because his transmitter didn’t make it to the pond with his boat.
POOPOO occurs. Hope to see everyone at the next event on April 10th for a fun sail lets get all the bugs out so we have smooth sailing later. Race results posted. Gary
- Funsail 3/8/2021
WOW wow wow we had a great turnout yesterday and no more than a light sprinkle. I counted 17 boats on the water at one time which I believe is a new record. We had all kinds of boats from Micro Magic’s to a 10 Rater and Marblehead 50 and everything in between. Two DF 95’s lots of Dragons a few t37s Victorias. I am sure I am missing something no malice intended. Also we had mostly decent winds but incredibly shifty. Everyone wore their masks and social distancing was practiced. Not everyone can make every event but days like yesterday make me feel bad for those that didn’t attend, Next event is a frost bite series race on Sunday March 21st at noon at Tualatin Commons mark that on your calendars and do your best to attend. See you on the 21st – Gary
- The Gougeon Brothers on Boat Construction (free download PDF)
Book HERE Via West System
This renowned boat construction book was written by epoxy pioneer Meade Gougeon, a founder of Gougen Brothers, Inc. Decades of experience building with wood and epoxy are compiled in this classic on wood/epoxy boat building, popularly known as cold molding. Extensive chapters describe lofting, safety, tools, and construction methods with the aid of hundreds of detailed illustrations and photographs. This 5th edition includes new and updated material and a revised layout for easier navigation. Used as a textbook in many boat building schools. Over 100,000 copies in print.
- Saturday RC fun sail (March 6 2021)
Greetings sailors!
RCMSC will hold a fun sail at Tualatin Commons on Saturday, Mar 6, beginning at noon. The forecast: cloudy with scattered showers, low 40’s, and wind 7 mph with gusts. Bring all of your boats for casual sailing. Masks and safe distancing are still advised.During practice racing we’ll concentrate on the port and starboard tack rule. Remember, a boat is on the tack corresponding to her windward side. When boats are on opposite tacks, a port-tack boat shall keep clear of a starboard-tack boat. Below are situations showing boats on opposite tacks. In each situation, decide which boat must take action to keep clear and avoid contact.
Answers: 1)A, 2)A, 3)B, 4)A, 5)A and B, 6)B
Situation 6 might be confused with a boat clear astern having to keep clear of a boat clear ahead, but that applies to boats on the same tack. Diagram 6 shows boats on opposite tacks, so B must keep clear. – Stan
- ALLEN RULES POSTER 2021 – 2024
Lots of info in one place. . Performance sailboat hardware manufacturer, Allen, is pleased to release the 2021 – 2024 racing rules of sailing poster. (Free download)
The marketing team at Allen has been working closely with Henk Plaatje for many years to develop the racing rules of sailing poster. Once each edition is ready, Allen kindly makes it available to the public to hang in sailing clubs around the World. This year is no different, the poster can easily be downloaded via the Allen website or a hardcopy can be ordered directly to your sailing club.
Numbers refer to the Racing Rules for Sailing (2021-2024) Which cover rule that applies
Poster/Download available HERE - Bearospace Sloop Emma
Not related to club racing three of us (Gary, Roger & Peter) are building Bearospace Sloop Emma’s – A semi-scale portrayal of a sprit-rigged cruising sloop from the mid 20th century, designed for RC sailing. Here are some photo of work in progress:
- Frostbite #1
I was kinda dreading sailing in the cold and rain today but the rain never appeared in anything more than a mist. But we really had our share of wind. Not everyone can make every event but today is the type of day that goes to show it is better to come and take a chance than to skip it do to the forecast. The strong winds really tested our boats I had water in my boat despite my brand new hatch, Ed lost his hatch tried to race anyway and almost lost his boat. The spare boat I loaned him developed a rigging problem purely related to the additional strain of the strong winds. Peter had a weakness in his rigging revealed that was just bedeviling him and Rick had a sail winch pretty much give up the ghost. racing was keen no one skipper dominated, all had good and bad races. All in all a great day playing at the pond. Also two or three new people showed a lot of interest in the activities and we will be seeing some of them at our next fun sail. In closing I have attached the Frost bite schedule I believe it will print. We had 14 today lets shoot for everyone on march 6th noon at Tualatin. stay well Gary
- Rules We Sail By: Port/Starboard rule
Here’s the basic port/starboard rule from the 2021 Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS):
When boats are on opposite tacks, a port-tack boat shall keep clear of a starboard-tack boat.
Two definitions in the RRS tell you how to know which tack you are on.
Tack, Starboard or Port A boat is on the tack, starboard or port, corresponding to her windward side.
That’s easy, but how about when you are running downwind?
Leeward and Windward A boat’s leeward side is the side that is or, when she is head to wind, was away from the wind. However, when sailing by the lee or directly downwind, her leeward side is the side on which her mainsail lies. The other side is her windward side….
All of the boats drawn below are on starboard tack. The arrow indicates the wind.
Before the next race while you are sailing your boat near the starting line, think about which tack you are on both coming toward you and sailing away. I’ll show typical port-starboard situations in a couple of weeks.
Richard adds: A definition of port/starboard that I’ve seen is port is when the mainsail is on the starboard side and starboard is when the mainsail is on the port side. This covers both up and downwind (wing and wing).
- Why Ships Use Port and Starboard Instead of Left and Right?
Ever wondered why the terms “Port” and “Starboard” is used to denote Left and Right side on ships? (YouTube Video)
During earlier days, before ships had rudders on their centerlines, boats were controlled using a steering oar. As it is very common that most of the people are right handed in the world, most of the sailors were also right handed, so the steering oar used to control the ship was placed over or through the right side near the stern. Thus most of the sailors used to call the right side as the “Steering Side”, which soon became “Starboard”. The word “Starboard” is formed by combining two old English words: stéor (meaning “steer”) and bord (meaning “the side of a boat”)
As the size of ships grew, so did the steering oar, making it much easier to make fast a ship to a dock on the side opposite the steering oar, i.e, the boats/ships used to dock with the left side of the ship facing the shore/dock.The original name of the left side of the ship was not “port” but rather the old English “baecbord.” This was probably referencing the fact that on larger boats the helmsman would often have to hold the steering oar with both hands so that his back would be to the left side of the ship/boat. After “baecbord” came “ladderbord” meaning “laden” (meaning to load) and bord meaning “ship’s side,” this gave rise to the starboard rhyming word “larboard.” As the time passed, it became evident that “larboard” is very easily confused with “starboard” during communications. Hence it was replaced with the word “port” as this was the side that faced the port or the dock, allowing cargo to be loaded or discharged.
So, that is how the terms “Port” and “Starboard” came in existence.
Since “Port” and “Starboard” never change, they are unambiguous references that are independent of a mariner’s orientation, thus removing the chances of any ambiguity and hence sailors prefer to use these nautical terms instead of left and right to avoid confusion.
- Just for fun
- Not a good day for American Magic
AM capsized while leading race. - Dues, annual meeting, and frostbite schedule
Greetings RCMSC members,
It’s time to send in your 2021 dues. Mail your $20.00 check payable to RCMSC to me at 12307 NE 13th Ave, Vancouver, WA 98685. Please let me know about any changes to your contact info, boats you own, and if you have joined AMYA.
Commodore Gary has scheduled our annual meeting on Jan 30 at 11:00 am at Tualatin Community Park about 3 blocks north of the Commons. The park address is 8515 SW Tualatin Rd. Use the parking lot just north of the trestle. We’ll use an open air shelter called “the rustic shelter” next to the parking lot. Following the meeting, take a lunch break on your own, then enjoy your first 2021 fun sail at the Commons. Washington County currently allows recreational gatherings of up to 50 people. Wear a mask and observe required spacing.
Here’s the schedule for the rest of the Frostbite Series:
– Feb 21 Frostbite Series race #1
– Mar 6 Fun sail
– Mar 21 Frostbite Series race #2
– Apr 10 Fun sail
– Apr 25 Frostbite Series race #3
On race days skippers meet at noon, and the first race starts shortly after.I’ll send a reminder notice on Jan 28.
Meanwhile, stay safe!
Stan
- Some Winter Reading on Sails by Rod Carr
From Model Yachting issues #130 and #146.
- The passing of Ron Knight
Dear Sailors, The following letter was written by Will Lesh. It is with great sadness that I am writing to let you know that we have lost a close friend and the Commodore of the Pacific Northwest Model Yacht Club. Ron Knight passed away last week at his home after an adverse reaction to medication he was taking to manage atrial fibrillation. Ron was also diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma this past summer, and had recently begun chemotherapy. A little over a month ago Ron appeared to be in fine shape. When he received the diagnosis for the lymphoma, he was clear about his intention to beat it. Ron’s wife Pat and his three daughters and five grandchildren were with him in his final days. I spoke to Ron in the hospital, and he was weak, but very clear about what was taking place. He told me very succinctly that his condition was terminal and that he hoped to get home for a few days before the end. I am not sure that I could ever be so brave in such a situation. Ron had a distinguished career as one of the top open heart surgeons in the Pacific Northwest. Once when we were working together on model boats, Ron began describing what it was like holding a living heart in one hand and operating on it with the other hand. It always seemed quite remarkable having a heart surgeon helping out with finishing off T37s to ship. Ron came up a number of times, sometimes for a couple of days, and pitched in at Tippecanoe. He was always great company and a very welcome guest. Ron’s skill and competence as a craftsperson developed beautifully with each boat that he built, and his last masterpiece was truly impressive. He built a very special T37 for the Center for Wooden Boats and presented it in a recent ceremony to commemorate Colleen Wagner, one of the founding members of the Center along with her husband Dick Wagner. The boat, a T37 named “Colleen”, is on permanent display at the Center for Wooden Boats. Ron was always so devoted to his entire family. He took such pleasure in building model boats, T37s and the T24 Tug, with his grandchildren and for his grandchildren. As Commodore of the PNMYC, he took on the responsibilities with maybe some reluctance initially, but over the last few years he put heart and soul into the club. He was a wonderful leader for the group and did a huge amount to promote rc sailing in the Pacific Northwest. He became one of the top racing skippers in the group through constant focus and dedication to developing his racing skills. Best of all Ron was a great friend to many of us, and all who knew him even casually always spoke highly of him and felt his warmth and generosity instinctively. I just got off the phone with a T37 owner who was full of praise for the job Ron was doing with the PNMYC when very sadly I had to let him know that we needed to be talking in the past tense about our Commodore. Over the last ten years, I have spent many hours together with Ron. His expert knowledge about aviation, his background of years of skippering his own racing yacht on the Sound, his general interest and often surprising depth of knowledge in many fields always made Ron a charming companion. I feel privileged for all the times I have spent with Ron and for all that I have learned from him. We were lucky to have Ron as our Commodore. Ron always felt that following Allan VanNess as Commodore would be a hard thing to do well enough, but I don’t think anybody has any doubt that Ron pulled it off brilliantly and with total success. Thank you Ron for everything.Will Lesh Tippecanoe Boats
4305 Nordum Road
Everson, Washington 98247
800-206-0006/360-966-7245
www.sailingisme.comI’ll add my own note: Ron was a great guy, a tremendous help to me learning to sail a T37 in Seattle, he will be missed. – Peter
- Winter Project – T37 Build (Club resources available)
Here are two new boats for the RCMSC Fleet hulls #s 1613 and 3125. These boats are built to the latest RC SAILBOAT: T37 RACING SLOOP instructions from TIPPECANOE BOATS . This includes a change of servo to the D645MW Programable High Torque, Metal Gear Servo for the Sail. Reprogramed to 120 degrees of movement. as well as the latest sheet control layout, including a sliding boom. I’ve also added a servo tray of my own design to keep everything organized.
I enjoy the building of one of these boats as much as sailing then, it is not a complex build. I want to encourage each of you to build a boat. There ARE club resources available to help. Advice is cheap and plentiful. I have the latest instruction manual from Will. Gary is a master woodworker and can build you a Boom Vang, in common use by the club. We have a Mast and Keel Jig to help with construction . I have a Hightec servo programmer if needed. I can cut you a servo tray and a template for sail markings. There are build videos and other resources on the club’s T37 page.
Build A T37 this winter, we are here to help!
- Fun Sail 10/9/2020
Yesterday was our last official function for this year. We had really good winds for a couple hours then the rain started and the winds began failing. We had a decent turnout at 11 people with a couple visitors, Cindy from the power boat group and Dicks Son joined us for some fun races and tuning work. Peter brought a new build and was having a shake down cruise. It may be the new club boat or one he was doing for himself (1613 is my build- peter) he wasn’t even quite sure. still working on a suitable location for the meeting. If you guys have any issues you want to be discussed at the meeting please respond to all and I will start compiling a list for the agenda. More to come on this process. Remember it’s your club I am just the nut driving the handle. – Gary
- Interactive Sailing Rules Quiz
Follow this link to an on-line Sailing Rules Quiz courtesy of Uli and Wolfi Finckh. You can play the game in a number of different ways: by rule number, at different positions around a course, or play it at random but set the difficulty level to suit your needs.
This an excellent site, well worth a visit to learn more about the rules and to test your knowledge. Suitable for both the novice and expert – http://game.finckh.net/indexe.htm
- Race Day 10/25/20
Today was a beautiful day for sail boat racing albeit cold. Sadly only half of the members of the club were in attendance. However in the half that made it we had an even split with 7 t37’s and 7 Dragons which is a bit unusual but very gratifying to see. The t37 class has been building slowly but in a very strong manner that I think has durability. Those who made it today know I had a great day, my best ever. The wins in the dragons were much more evenly distributed with great racing. The wind varied from ferocious to almost dead calm, many boats did some some bow dancing especially on the downwind legs. Today’s weather was a bit more frost bity than mid fall and some sailors were caught off guard temperature wise, the wind had a definite bite. So today wrapped up our summer series for what we could do around the covid problem. We have one more scheduled event on Sat nov 7th noon at tualatin commons for a season finale funsail I hope to see everyone there for some casual sailing and racing. We are on the look out for a meeting place for mid January (no date picked yet) that can handle 20 members with proper six foot distancing, space needs 4walls lighting and a restroom, food is not mandatory but maybe preferred. I am open to all suggestions, I have one maybe in NE pdx Stan will be checking on Elmers Delta Park other than that it is an open plate. So start your repairs and improvements and we’ll put together another great frostbite series for next year. Thanks Gary
- Fun Sail October 10 Report
Today was the perfect example of why we went to a rain or shine format. We had very light sprinkles early then nice weather with the best wind since February. Approximately 20 sailors missed out on the best wind and weather we have in a long time. 8 of us showed up and did a lot of practice races that were two laps each. Dave Anderson brought a recently completed CJ that is beautiful and sailed very well, and we had more T37’s on the water than any other class, maybe a new trend is starting. The wind was very nearly consistent out of the SW at up to 10 mph great sailing. The last scheduled race event for the season is coming up in two weeks on Sunday the 25th of oct. 12 noon just like we have been doing since we got back to it this summer. Sorry Patrick I don’t think anyone got any club pictures but Nathan’s friend took a camera full maybe we can work those around to you for face book. Till the 25th Gary
- Race Day
We had a beautiful day with better than average winds. We had 8 Dragons and 6 T37’s in attendance as well as Steve from Longview he had his Eclipse up and sailing beautifully. Thank you Patrick E. for handling the scoring and calling the line again it is a huge help but we’ll get you racing again soon. Thanks Larry for helping the new guys get their Dragons up and running, Larry is also sending Peter a rules/ tuning guide for the dragons and when it gets to Peter it will land on the website (note it is on the DF65 page). Also for anyone that did not know Larry is the new Dragon Fleet Captain. Peter also did a fantastic job of putting a new flyer together so we can hopefully attract some new blood I have one up and active in Tammies Hobbies in Beaverton and Dave Anderson is going to try to post one in a hobby shop in Oregon City. Thanks to those who helped set up and pull buoys it is really appreciated. The next event is a fun sail Saturday the 10th of oct watch for the usual announcement. thanks for coming out – Gary
- Make up fun sail 9/20
While we won’t normally have fun sail makeups it was a beautiful day with very good attendance. Most of the regulars were in attendance as well as two new prospects from Longview Steve and his friend have a couple Eclipse Rages sadly mechanical issues prevented us from seeing them on the water. Rodger is the new owner of T37 #624 and he has posted # 625 on the web for sale, it has all the new upgrades for the sheeting system and sails pretty well. DF #46 has a new owner as well Nathan came and brought a friend he did very well for someone starting out. all in all a very nice day on the pond. This coming Sunday the 27th of September is our next race day. I hope everyone got all their adjustments done yesterday because it will be all business next Sunday. I will send out the usual announcement on Thurs am. Till then stay safe. Gary
Distance sailing at RCSMC 9/20 - Makeup Fun Sail Sept 20 Noon
RCMSC will have a make-up sail at Tualatin Commons noon Sunday Sept 20 at noon. Come one come all, with whatever boat you like, or even without a boat! We will be sailing regardless of the conditions.
- August 8 Fun Sail Was Fun!
Saturday turned out to be a very nice day for being outside enjoying the weather. The winds were generally good with some great freshets and the usual lulls in the most critical moments. A couple of buy standers were given an opportunity to try out the t37s for the first time and showed some real interest in what was going on and both either have or have had real boats in their lives. they seemed to really have fun with the RC versions. Next event is on sunday August 23rd it will be our second points race of the season and boy do I need a lot of practice. Tune your boats up we’ll see you then. P.S. Dan Benny could use some help getting his dragon rebound and up for the race if anyone has some time or is willing to help drop me a note and I will get you in touch. Gary
- Race Series #2 8/2
We had a beautiful race day today at Tualatin commons with an awesome turnout. Finally had one more Dragon than t37 but still a really strong showing from both classes. Competition was keen as was evident by the high number of restarts due to half the fleet over early and both fleets were equally guilty. Patrick Estenes sacrificed a day of racing and called the line and recorded the results giving everyone else the chance to sail w/o encumbrances. Dan finally got his Dragon in the water and identified some more issues to be corrected. Curt sailed a loaner t37 as his boats power initiator failed at the very beginning. Curt is abdicating his position as Dragon fleet Capt. so we need someone else to step up and take on that position. It is mostly someone who is familiar with the class and willing to assist new members with technical issues and maybe help keep us abreast of issues related with the class. A new face appeared today, Mike brought a dragon and got initiated today we hope to see him at the next fun sail Saturday sept the 12th at Tualatin. Good times see you all in a couple weeks on the 12th Gary
- July 26 – First Series Race
Series #1 Races for DF65s and T37s. A steady and some times gusty northerly wind provided for 2 lap races and some submarining by the boats!!! Race finishes were close and competitive. We finished up just as it was getting hot!! Even had a Footy on the water!!Next event is a Fun Sail on August 8th at noon at Tualatin Commons.
- June 13 fun sail
So we had 14 sailors show up for some very pleasant sailing with erratic wind. A couple races were nearly completed with full wind start to finish but it was rare. One of the power boat squadron showed up and sailed my loaner t37 and she won the race for the t37 class. Dave Anderson’s boat suffered a rudder failure after a collision so the tug was deployed a gentleman was sailing a soling from the other side of the pond and did quite well until he also had a rudder issue and the tug was again deployed. I lost the hatch off my Racing Sparrow so back into the shop it goes. Next event is July26th Sunday and will be a points race for what is left of our summer series. Stan will be handling the marks and whatnot so if someone can show a little early and help with the set up that will be much appreciated. Racing starts at NOON. Stewart and friends came down from White Salmon again to sail with us. All in all a nice day at the pond.. gary
- New RCMSC Classified Pages
New Classified Page List your boats and equipment you have available (Club pertinent items Only) send a email to me (Peter) with details and pictures and I will post.
- We are sailing again!
We had 15-16 people show up for today’s sailing and had much more pleasant weather than expected. Stuart brought some friends from White Salmon with him who brought some beautiful power boats. We managed 12 boats on the water for a lot of casual sailing in very unstable and unpredictable wind conditions. Much better than the drowning we had a couple weeks ago. Our next scheduled event is Saturday July the 11th for another fun sail then 2 weeks later Sunday July the 26th will be our first scoring racing day in the abbreviated covid sailing schedule. So get in as much practice as possible and tune the heck out of your equipment and we’ll try to make the best of the rest of the season. Gary
- Schedule update – sailing on June 13!
Greetings sailors,
It’s good news/bad news: The fun sail scheduled for Sunday, May 31 has been
canceled.The good news is that Washington County, will reopen to Phase 1 on June 1, allowing us to
sail on June 13 at Tualatin, provided we follow recommended safe practices.
We don’t know when Westmoreland will open. Stay tuned.-Stan McKay
- May 23 Event Cancelation
Greetings sailors,
The Portland Model Power Boat Association has canceled the remainder of their events.
Our situation hasn’t changed, so the. May 23 joint float/fun sail is canceled.
-Stan - Event Schedule Update:
The May 3 RCMSC sailing event has been canceled. The annual meeting, originally scheduled for April, has been postponed for the time being.
If you have alkaline batteries stored inside your boat or radio, now is a good time to remove them. - DF65/95 Sailing Tips
Chris Dingle posted these on Facebook, I thought I would repeat here -“A few bits of advice learned the hard way;”
The provided stand is NOT for outside use.
Unless your boat is in the water always leave your sails out.
Keep a spare mast stub.
Keep a spare steering servo.
Rudder shaft is aluminum and fragile.
Rudder center is the most important adjustment and the hardest to find.
Lube all threads, bearings and electrical fittings monthly.
1/2” or 12mm black tells are a must.
Glue NO mast fittings. Only the metal rings.
Epoxy in the front screw eye and polish the ring inside.
Keep your hatch open to air between sailing and keep a light sponge in the bilge behind the keel.
Tape you antenna up under the deck.
Use hull matching tape on the drain hole.
Good Scotch electrical tape comes in all the hull colors. Matches perfectly, seals perfectly, can be reused and doesn’t leave a mess.
Put a nylon washer under the keel bolt head on top. Then only snug!
The metal holding the bolt on the bulb is paper thin and fragile. Snug only with a nylon washer.
Ceramic rings are available and cheap. Use them on your bridle, topping lift and backstay to reduce wear and ease adjustment. Use the metal ring for the jib head.
If your beach stand is unstable put your boat on the ground.
Always call out the port tack boats’ NUMBER when hollering STARBOARD. Better yet, just keep quiet.
Protest properly with lack of verbiage. Stand near your closest competitor and calmly communicate.
KNOW THE RULES!
Have a great lawn chair!
These are toys. This is a game.
Enjoy the battles with your friends.
- DF65 Stay at home project
Stuck at home, so made a stand mod for my DF65. Have fun making one too.
Click for PDF 
- Something to read while staying at home
Dear Friend of WoodenBoat,
In response to the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic, and to help ease your time while practicing social distancing, we have decided to make the digital edition of WoodenBoat No. 274 (May/June 2020) free for all to read and enjoy. Please share this digital edition with all friends and family you think might enjoy, or need, a fun distraction.
🖥️ bit.ly/WBISSUE274-DIGITAL
With sincere best wishes from all of us,
Andrew Breece, Publisher
WoodenBoat Publications
- AMYA COVID-19 POLICY
The AMYA Board met in a Special Meeting Thursday April 3, about and solely about the Corona Virus COVID-19 pandemic. Participating in that meeting was a medical doctor with a background in epidemiology, and who has been advising the AMYA Officers for the last month or so regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Radio sailing is a social event. AMYA Members and participants are generally 60 years of age or older. If infected, older people are more likely to become seriously ill or die. There is no specific treatment for COVID-19 infection once one gets the disease. So every effort must be made to prevent being infected, thus the USA and State, as well as local authorities’ rationale for Strict Social Separation.
Model sailing as a group is simply not worth the risk to our Members, in the mind of your Officers and Board of Directors.
The AMYA Board unanimously decided to take the following actions:
1) All AMYA-sanctioned events are to be cancelled or postponed until at least July 1, 2020. This includes all Regional and National Championship regattas.
2) All forms of “advertising” by the AMYA, for ALL sailing activity of every type have been removed, and will not appear for the months of April, May, and June 2020. The forms of advertising that the AMYA provides are the AMYA website’s Regatta Calendar, the AMYA Model Yachting magazine, and the e-mailed AMYA Bulletin.
3) The AMYA cannot ORDER local clubs to take any action. That is the role of local Club leaders. We recommend that all local Clubs consult with and follow the recommendations of their local Boards of Health, County, Municipal, and State recommendations concerning Club activities. Please do not try to find ways around social separation- consider the safety of your Members.
As we go forward, the above actions and recommendations will be reviewed by the Board, with the idea of providing any changes in time for regatta hosts, managers, and Classes to make changes and/or further postpone if that becomes necessary.
Mike Wyatt
AMYA President - Anyone up for some Virtual Sailing?
Inshore and Offshore versions available at http://www.virtualregatta.com
runs on you apple or android device.If you register with you SailorID (Sailing.org competitive sailing governing body, even a R/C section) you can do a club race
Good Virtual Winds Everybody, stay safe
- Just out AMYA issue 199 Spring 2020 – T37
- RCMSC fun sail cancelations
Our officers have decided to cancel
remaining Frostbite events:
Mar 29 fun sail and Apr 5 fun sail
This is a good time to check your boat
for wear and tear to be ready for
the summer season. In the meantime,
STAY HEALTHY! – Stan McKay - 2020 Racing Schedule Published
Schedule can be found at here
Subject to change so check here for updates.
- Frostbite sailing schedule HAS CHANGED
Greetings RCMSC members,
The Frostbite sailing schedule HAS CHANGED:
Frostbite Series #4 moved up to March 15 (this Sunday)!!
Frostbite fun sail added on March 29
Frostbite makeup or fun remains on April 5
All are sailed at Tualatin.
Series #4 skippers meet at 1:00, fun sails begin any time.
Perfect frostbite weather for Sunday: sunny, chilly, windy!
OFFICIAL NOTICE: Our annual meeting will be held on April 19,
the time and location will be announced later.Let’s go sailing!
- Frostbite #3 report
Greetings RCMSC members,
Here are results of a beautiful day on the water. The turnout was very good for frostbite sailing. The wind was light, stop and go at times. We tried starting the DF and T-37 fleets separately a few minutes apart with mixed results. Recording scores was still an issue at times. Gary managed to dodge the holes and keep his boat pointed the right way for consistent finishes at the top of the fleet.
Frostbite #4 is scheduled on March 22 with a final fun sail on April 5.
-Stan
- Frostbite #2 report
We had 13 sailors show for the second frostbite today and we had good wind and very decent weather with no rain.So to start with I am apologizing in advance for the accuracy or inaccuracy of the results as some of the recording was subject to speculation. In the future anytime we exceed 3 boats in each class we will revert to the established practice of separate class heats. That said I believe that what I have figured is correct subject to Stans more experienced handling of the scores.T37’s Gary First Peter 2nd Curt 3rd and Allan 4th. Sadly Art is still struggling with his rig and ended with a broken mast and Mike didn’t get past the warm up as his transmitter is messing up. Hopefully the transmitter he bought from Rick will fix his issues.
In the Dragon’s with way more boats in the water, Rick bested Tom boyd with a tie breaking win in the last race. So Rick 1st, Tom 2ndDave 3rd, Dick 4th, Brad Knight 5th, Rod Cooper finishing the field with sixth. Curts friend Terry didn’t sail nor did Rodger. Hopefully Brad can figure out how his boat got so much water in it and get that under control. Thanks all for coming. Gary - Time to renew your membership
Greetings RCMSC members,
The time has come to renew your membership.
Family $25.00
Adult $20.00
Junior $7.50
Mail your check to:
Stanley McKay
12307 NE 13th Ave
Vancouver, WA 98685
Please let me know if you have changed your address, email, phone number, or boats and sail numbers.
Also, note your AMYA number, if you are a member.Fair winds,
Stan McKay
RCMSC Secretary/Treasurer - Frostbite #1 Report
So we had a pretty good day, started a little soggy but then cleared out and we had four two lap races in the best wind we’ve had in a while. There were plenty of issues for the first day, radio interference, dead batteries, broken sheet and that was just my boats. Lucky I had two boats or it would have been a total bust for me. Dick also had power issues but stayed around and called the line and place recording for us, Thanks Dick. So in the t37’s Peter got 1st Gary pulled a 2nd Allen got third and Art nailed 4th.Peter and I were tied but he bested me in the last race to pull ahead. Dragon’s lined up as followed. Dave with 1st, Stan 2nd, Rick 3rd, Rod 4th and Bill K rounded up the fleet in fifth.We nearly had an even split between 37’s and Dragons but some 37s fell out due to mech issues. Next frostbite is Jan 26th please mark your calendars. Mike call me about your radio issues and we’ll try to sort you out by the next event. also Ed does 2514 have a digital radio or is it still am/fm. There is some radio interference at the pond that didn’t used to exist and that was my radio issue. Thanks all for coming Gary 503 936 3320 P.S. start thinking about any issues you want to address at the meeting in april remember it’s your club.
- T37 new sheeting system workshop
Greetings and happy new year. This a little late but I am proposing a sheeting clinic for next tues or wed Jan 7th or 8th for the bungee corded sheeting that has become very popular up in the Seattle area. I would suggest 10am at my shop in Aloha. This is probably the last chance before the first Frostbite however not the only opportunity. I can easily accommodate 4 people in the shop. I will also have prepped supplies for everyone. It is really pretty easy and can be accomplished in a couple hours. If you are interested send me a note or call 503 936 3320. Gary Happy New year.
- Frostbite Series schedule
Greetings RCMSC members,
Here is the Frostbite Series schedule: Jan 12, Jan 26, Feb 9, and Mar 22. Apr 5 will be a series makeup or fun sail. All races are on Sundays at Tualatin. T-37 and DF 65 classes will race separately.Skippers meet at 1:00 pm with racing soon after.
Bundle up and have fun! - Frostbite #3 Race ResultsFrostbite #3 race results have been posted to the Race Results page.
- Frostbite #2 Race ResultsThe race results from Frostbite Series #2, Tualatin 2/3/19, have been posted to the Race Results page
Follow RCMSC News
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
RCMSC 