The Great Schooner Model Society 1999 Events

The Society had another great year of sailing and fun. When many of the Society members paid an annual visit to the Task Force 50 Precision Steering and Scale Competition, we walked away with plenty of trophies.

Society members earn prizes at Task Force 50 Event

The Task Force 50 event is always popular, well-run, plenty of fun and, best of all, they give out lots of prizes and awards. This year, Bob Jones, Herb Jones and Frank Pittelli earned a number of awards, including Best of Scale (Herb's Bugeye), Best Overall (Herb's Bugeye) and Modelers' Choice (Frank's Chinese Junk), as well as a First Place Steering Sail (Bob's Schooner) and First Place Steering Commercial (Frank's Goose). As is our tradition, throughout the event, the gentle and not-so-quiet ribbing of Society members keep many spectators and captains amused.

On the racing scene, there were lots of close races and lots of humorous antics involving winners and not-so-winners alike. The winds were exceptionally good this year, with near-hurricane conditions for the final race of the year in Surgent Cove.

Boats angle for the best position right before the start, including Herb's Bugeye, Bob's Schooner, Frank's Junk and Marty's mono-masted, ugly-duckling, 12-meter.

Although the accurate standings were conveniently lost going into the final regatta, it was quickly determined that the season had been equally split by Herb Jones and George Surgent. Therefore, throughout the day, all captains were focused on making them earn the coveted Society Cup, using a range of innocent and not-so-innocent tactics to keep them thinking.

After surviving the gale force winds (in scale) and clearing water from the bilges, the final tally showed that Herb Jones had successfully wrestled the Society Cup back from George Surgent (last year's winner).

Left to Right: Herb Jones, Frank Pittelli and George Surgent

At the annual meeting a few weeks later, George presented the Society Cup to Herb, as well as presenting Frank Pittelli with Mark Steele's Windling World Award for "Fun And Friendship With Model Yachts." That award was provided by our modeling brethren down-under, who also enjoy sailing model Schooners just for the fun of it.

As the millennium draws to a close, the Great Schooner Model Society concluded another great year of racing and fun with model schooners.