What's wrong with this photo?
Where are all the people and model boats?

A Well-Attended, Wonderful, Windy Vintage Watercraft Regatta
was held at Calvert Marine Museum the weekend of September 27 to 29, 2002, hosted jointly by SIMBC and the GSMS. Twenty seven captains participated with 50 model boats from as far away as Des Moines, Iowa. The regatta was indeed a special event with great participants, terrific models of all shapes and sizes, and wonderful weather! Buck McClellan was the man in charge of the event and with his unofficial worker bees did a fantastic job! So fantastic that participants asked to return to CMM next year. So, mark your calendars for September 26 to 29, 2003. George Surgent, Commodore of the Great Schooner Model Society will be the director of this upcoming event. Further information about this years Regatta is available on our website (www.calvertmarinemuseum.com).

Click here for the special newsletter from the 2002 Regatta

Thirteen Skipjacks raced in some or all of the five races for this class. The starts, even with the number of boats, were clean though close proximity on the course brought on occasional collisions.

Winners were: George Dankers 1st, Tom Younger 2nd,Bob Ray 3rd.

Congratulations Captains.

Other Regatta News:

Events such as the Regatta bring together many old and new friends so at this time it is fitting to remember several of our members who were unable to attend: Mel Conant, founder and Commodore Emeritus of GSMS and a longtime member of SIMBC, was in intensive care at the time of the event. We certainly hope he is doing well at this time. Joe Gregory, a member of SIMBC who willingly shared his extensive knowledge about boats and boat designs, passed away on September 21, in Yorktown, VA at the age of 81. Richard Rogers' award winning model workboat Annie, was built from Joe's plans. We extend our thoughts and sympathies to his family and friends.

Don and Pat Miller, now living in Sebastian, Florida, were unable to attend the regatta due to Pat's health. We knew they were with us in spirit and so it was very fitting that at some point the starting tape was recorded over and we reverted to the backup tape with none other than Don's voice! It was great to hear you Don especially as this event was started thanks to your initiative well over a year ago! We certainly hope that Pat is doing much better at this time.

On Saturday, July 13, 2002, SIMBC members accepted Doug Moran's invitation to join in the Grand Opening of the new Doug's Hobby Shop in Hollywood, MD. We are delighted to have him as a nearby neighbor since club members have for years been traveling up the road to Waldorf. In addition to a variety of model boats, we displayed storyboards, newspaper articles, etc. The manager, Jonathan Wright, a member of SIMBC, set up a pond for us so members could demonstrate Rambo Tugs. He also provided working space for members working on their skipjacks. Doug wrote us saying they wished to extend heartfelt thanks for our participation as the day was a resounding success and in no small way, that success was due to our help. Special thanks to Ron Hart, Denny Martin, Buck McClellan, Annie Michnowicz, Bob Ray, Richard R., Tom & Sandy Younger, Elaine & Jason Williams, and Jim Wilson for their participation!

During our spring Skipjack Racing Season, unbeknownst to Captain Jim Wilson, one of his trailboards for Hope-E went sailing away. Later we heard that former Senator Bernie Fowler had said trailboard. It turns out that a kayak group stopped by CMM on their Patuxent kayak run. Senator Fowler spoke to them both at the dock and in the auditorium. In the process someone mentioned they had found a miniature trailboard floating in the water, though we are not sure where. Anyway, it is now safely returned and reattached to Jim's model Skipjack! Good thing as we wouldn't ever want Jim to be one sided! Thanks Bernie!

 
Helping Out CMM!

In July at the request of Jimmy Langley, SIMBC transferred $600 from its account to an acquisition fund in the museum. This fund will be used to bid for items on Ebay and purchase appropriate items from private collections when they are offered. Richard Dodds, Curator of Maritime History, extended his thanks from the museum and particularly from his department to SIMBC for this donation. Needless to say our monies are going to a good cause.

Precision Steering - Hot! Hot! Hot!

Our precision steering afternoons during July and August called for sweating and persistence. A variety of model boats were sailed or motored in the boat basin by Ron Hart, Buck McClellan, Ed Ragan, Bob Ray, Richard Rogers, Jason Williams, and Jim Wilson. The captains were testing both old and new boats, experiencing electronic and battery malfunctions, helping each other problem solve, while having fun and entertaining museum guests. One afternoon several of us went out on the Poe Boat and then the Draketail as a way to further practice precision steering while cooling off. In the photo Jim assisted by Ed is working on the Poe Boat's engine, while his model workboat is being ignored.

Jason, Jim, and Richard take a ride in the Poe Boat to test out the engine that was just repaired. We are fortunate to have a scenic spot to go down to the sea to mess about in boats!

PRAD - October 2002

Once again SIMBC members were active during Patuxent River Appreciation Days. Model boats were on display with demos of both Rambo Tugs and Skipjacks in the creek basin. In addition club members were busy with a Volunteer Council Bake Sale and Raffle while others took museum visitors out on the Small Craft Guild boats. A sunny, windy, hectic weekend was had by all!

Saturday Meeting Mornings:

Throughout 2002, Saturday morning meetings have continually found SIMBC members helping new members with the building of their Skipjacks. Richard Navickas has finished his and in fact had it in the water for the Commodore's race. Jason Williams is still finalizing his but it should be ready for the 2003 season. Denny Martin and Lowell Ruff continue work on their models. Will be great to see so many new Skipjacks on the water come spring!

Pride of Baltimore II

Tom and Richard R. have started scratch built models of the Schooner - Pride of Baltimore II. Plans were obtained and enlarged to a 50 inch deck length (about ½ ' to the 1'). Jim and Ron have also expressed an interest in building the Pride II. Five boats would make for an interesting race. What they envision is obtaining the Pride II's schedule and following her around the Bay and performing radio control races possibly from her deck. They think this has the potential of bringing lots of publicity for SIMBC and CMM.

In the photo, Ed Ragan is kneeling, with left to right, George Surgent, Tom , Rich R., John Atwood (visiting from Newport News, VA), Richard N., and Buck McClellan.

(Jim Wilson had to leave early!)

Congratulations Captains!

New Members: Welcome Aboard to Homer Bowen of Daytona Beach, FL, Lawrence Halpert, Baltimore, MD, Guy Martin of Lusby, MD, Jose' Medina of Des Moines, Iowa,and Harry Mote of Barnegat, NJ.

Special Thanks to Jose'Medina. After attending the Regatta, Jose' sent the club a $100 donation! We really appreciate your generosity!

Rambo Tug Plans: Construction tips with photos and diagrams are now available from SIMBC. The cost, including postage is $2.00. If you're interested write SIMBC, CMM, P. O. Box 97, Solomons, MD 20688. Thanks Don Miller and Richard R. for all your help.

Website: The newsletter is always posted on our website in color and the photos look much better. However, there is sometimes a delay due to the work schedule of the CMM website webmaster.

Schedule for 2003: Next season's schedule is enclosed. It will be available on the CMM website and we'll notify you of any changes in the next newsletter.

As the race recorder, yours truly took the liberty of compiling the race results for every Skipjack race completed in 2002, with the exception of the Commodore's Cup (which stood alone) and the frostbites (as not everyone participated). Results were determined by adding the standing in each race and dividing by the number of races. All first places were scored as .75 with the others scored the same amount as the place (2 = 2.0; 3=3.0, etc.) The results are:
Standing: Name:                 # of  Races        Score:
1st:          Buck McClellan        10                 1.65
2nd          Tom Younger            17                 2.16
3rd           Richard Rogers         20                 2.93

Thanks Captains for a great racing season!