Fun Sail Day - 14 September 2024

From Club Development Officer John Ebell on 19 Sept:

We wanted to get an update to everyone before this weekend's racing. First off, if you don't have it ingrained in your biorhythm yet, this Saturday is the infamous 3rd Saturday of the month, and as always, that means MMYC racing! Only if you have been on expedition to the South Pole, you might not know that we are moving back to the pond in Columbia. The pond at Melford has been overcome with weeds and is unusable. Many notices have been sent, but if you know someone who might not know, please update them just in case.

Speaking about the pond in Columbia, last Saturday we held our practice there. It was great to see SO many people all wanting to work on their sailing skills. In addition, since we hadn't sailed there in a while, the area needed some serious grooming. Kurt Boren, Ricardo Yepe, Ed Riehl, and Tom Walsh all lent a hand, and we had that place looking ship shape in no time.  Check out the “before” and “after” photos to see results of the hard work.

After the quick work party, Tom Walsh held a class for the same guys showing them how to set up and take down all the equipment. We actually have a small portable dock to erect in addition to setting up the course.

Then came the Fun!  Everyone launched their boats and started tuning, working on trim and handling. Ed Riehl celebrated this day with his wife, by the inaugural launch of his "new to him " Victoria. It’s a pretty boat!  Check out the pic, I am sure you will agree. Victor Gorokhov showed up with all three classes of boats, as he missed last month's racing and wanted to get in some stick time. Jervis Dorton actually came out of hibernation, and we upgraded his Vic with a new transmitter and receiver.  Shortly after he launched, the old smile he used to have on his face came back and it was good to see. Tom Walsh then organized several practice races providing critique and narrative. It was interesting to see the improvement in people from when they first launched, to just a half hour later. Proves my theory that stick time is important!

 Midway through the day, Eric Thesing showed up with 3 more people in tow. He strong armed his neighbor John Young, and his brother Scott and his wife. Eric brought his DF 65 and his Focus. After demonstrating his boat to his neighbor John, he was finally able to talk John into trying it. I was very impressed, John picked it up pretty quickly and was steering that DF 65 in no time. I did happen to pick up the beginnings of a smile on John's face, no matter how hard he fought it. After talking to Scott, I found out that he lives on a quarry and has water access. Of course I told him how great it would be to just drop a boat in the water any time he wanted. Eric then sequenced Scott to drive his boat, and another smile started to sprout. It’s always so fun to watch them happen!

While other people were driving Eric's DF65, Eric was able to use his Focus. Seeing some issues with Eric's boat, we were able to adjust some things and instruct him on some tuning issues. Eric then proceeded to almost win the next couple races. Eric got quite a first-hand example that one of the important skills of a successful skipper is being able to tune and dial in a boat. We further investigated Eric's Focus and found a couple other tuning points, and after some tweaking, we were successful in getting it to be faster than even the ODOMs there. That boat has some great potential!

Three quarters into the day, James Earle I guess just got out of bed, as he finally rolled in. James brought his ODOM and the racing quickly turned into a one meter affair. Lots of competition. You could see starts were much tighter, as was the fleet getting to all the marks. Exactly what we had hoped!! 

 All good things must come to an end, and this beautiful day was no exception. People had to take care of other things and started leaving. We started breaking down everything, when Eric Thesing chimed in, "Do you need help with anything?" Well, Tom Walsh and I looked at each other and agreed, " He asked!" so we hit Eric with one of the most thankless jobs, retrieving all the marks. Not batting an eye, Eric jumped on the dink and proceeded to clear the course. James Earle, Eric's neighbor John, and Eric then helped us stow everything. It was so great having an extra hand to do this I cannot thank them enough! With their help we were out of there in no time.

I have to rate the day a 9.5 out of 10. It was really great. Seeing so many new people there to learn was gratifying. In addition, Eric might have also recruited a new member or two. Don't be surprised if you see John and Scott at the pond soon. Be sure to introduce yourself to them and make them feel welcome. After all, one day you were in the same spot. That does bring up a point, if Eric can do it, so can you! I challenge all of you to think about who you know that might enjoy this hobby. Invite them out. We will make sure they have access to a boat so can experience it first-hand.

Finally, Saturday is Race Day. Victor Gorokhov is Race Director. Victor is a very experienced big boat Skipper and will do well. However, as always, we could use a hand at the end of the day. If anyone can help, it would be very much appreciated. I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday. Remember, WE ARE RACING AT COLUMBIA!!!

See ya then,

John Ebell

  All are welcome to come and race but non-member scores are not considered in club season standings.

 Where there are no strangers...
      only friends you haven't met yet!

 Contact: mdmodelyachtclub@gmail.com 

Maryland Model Yacht Club on Face Book
Maryland Model Yacht Club on Google Groups

Our sister clubs in the area.

Richmond Model Yacht club

Northern Virginia Model Yacht club

Cumberland Valley Model Yacht club

Northern Maryland Model Yacht Club

Combined schedule for the local clubs