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The Society co-hosted the 2002 Vintage Traditional Watercraft Regatta
with the Solomons Island Model Boat Club at the Calvert Marine Museum.
The Regatta attracted vintage model sailboats from around the country
competing for both scale and racing awards. Competitors from as far
away as Iowa brought an array of crowd-pleasing and seaworthy vessels
modeled after tranditional watercraft.
Front Row (left to right): Richard Rogers, Bryon Rosenbaum, Jason
Williams, Harry Mote, Mike Summers, George Dankers, Bob Jones, Herb
Jones, Jose Medina
Back Row (left to right): Buck McClellan, Joseph Reiss, Richard
Lamsfuss, Bob Seiden, Charles Trammell III, Marty Hayes, George Surgent,
Richard Navickas, Ned Lakeman, Bob Ray, Charles Trammell, Jr., Charles
Roden, Alan Suydam, Tom Younger, John Atwood, Homer Bowen, Charles
Pelzer.
Not Pictured: Mel Conant, Founder and Commodore Emeritus of the Great
Schooner Model Society, was unable to attend because of health reasons.
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There were plenty of captains and boats to see at the regatta, with
a dozen or so displayed in one of the museum's outdoor boat shop.
The boat shop is normally used to restored or build full-scale
tradtional Bay craft. As such, it comes fully equiped with wood-chip
flooring, and lots of tools laying about, a comfortable spot for any modeler.
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And even more boats on display out in the yard, underneath a restored
Chesapeake Bay screw-pile lighthouse, the rather nautical overhead
pavilion that hosted the regatta. Many captains (and, more importantly,
their wives) commented that the surroundings really made the event something
enjoyable. (Of course, temperatures in the upper 70's, with blue skies
and a gentle breeze didn't hurt either!)
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The schooner Emily, built and operated by Jose Medina,
awaits her first-ever regatta race. Jose
brought this large scale schooner (8.5 feet LOA) all the way
from Des Moines, Iowa to attend the regatta. During the practice
session Friday afternoon, when a good stiff breeze was blowing,
Jose quickly learned the meaning of over-powered. He also
got a lot of helpful suggestions from veteran sailors like Harry Mote,
who helped him throughout the weekend.
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The 'V' in USVMYG means 'Vintage' and the Whitehaven, operated
by Bob Jones (Silver Spring, MD), certainly hits the mark.
The Whitehaven was built as a pond model in the 1930's by
Bob's father in the classic plank-on-frame style. Robert's older brother
Herb restored the boat a few years ago and converted it to radio control.
And, after nearly 70 years, the boat still sails great. Quality lasts
a lifetime!
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Another classic schooner prepares for the first race of the day. The
conditions on Saturday were strong and steady, with plenty of captains
securing all hatches and bracing for action. On Sunday, the wind
was light and variable, with occasional pockets of no-air, which made
a number of races quite close. A little bit of something for everyone
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The standard Schooner class (50" or less) starts one of their races
with Ned Lakeman's NY 50 off to another good start. Ned's
boat was well suited for all of the wind conditions encountered
and Ned rarely made a tactical mistake. And when you combine a good boat
with good racing skills, the outcome is pretty certain, Ned took first
place in the Schooner division with a comfortable cushion over the rest
of the fleet.
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The schooner class rounds the downwind mark with Bob Jones' Whitehaven
in first, followed closely by Ned Lakeman's Pleione and
Herb Jones' Chesapeake 50. Although Ned would eventually win
the race, whenever any boat is between the Jones brothers it needs to
be especially careful. Society racing traditions allow some very
interesting tactics that may not always be fully appreciated
by other racers, but are always add to the fun.
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Below:
The Vintage Marblehead class had five entries, all of whom were experienced
sailors. The conditions, however, were a little lighter than they normally
experience on their home lake in Spring Lake, New Jersey. That made for
some interesting and very close finishes, as some boats seemed to stop
dead in their wakes, while others caught up and sometimes passed right by
them.
Ned Lakeman's Vintage M is a copy of a Marblehead that his father built
in the early 1930's. Ned was originally from Marblehead and has been
racing models all of his life. (His wife mentioned that he started
in 1932 --- experience clearly does matter!)
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Great weather, great boats and a great venue attracted a good number
of visitors to the regatta. Fortunately, all modelers love to show
off their work and provide plenty of stories to keep everyone entertained
on and off the water. The Calvert Marine Museum pulled out all of the
stops to help make the Regatta a success for everyone, captains and visitors
alike.
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No, you're not seeing double, you're seeing just two of the four
large scale Bluenose models brought by Andrew Charters
(include Bluenose, Puritan, Columbia and
Elizabeth Silsbee), as well as the cutter Gloriana.
Andrew not only built all of these large models, but he also allowed other
captains to operate them in close quarters during the races. Perhaps
the most interesting aspect of the models is their mode of transportation:
a standard horse trailer. Andrew rolls all five of the models
into the trailer, fully rigged, and simply raises the gate - a simple
solution to every large scale modeler's transportation problem.
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Large scale schooners are unquestionably the best looking models
on the water, as seen by this Bluenose class model underway.
At over 6 feet long and 8 feet high, they move through the water
with all the majesty of their namesakes. But, unlike their full-scale
predecessors, these boats can be enjoyed by everyone on shore as they
drive around the course.
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Above:
The large scale Schooner class (over 50" LOD) prepares to start one
of their races. The starting line was a little cramped for such
large boats (and light breezes), but they all got away without
too much trouble.
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The schooner Emily finishes her first-ever race, with a proud
smile displayed by the captain as he said, "Just finishing this race
was worth the trip out here". Those are pretty strong words considering
that he drove from Iowa to Maryland to attend the Regatta. But, every
schooner captain, first-timer or veteran, feels the same way whenever
they get to see the object of all of their time and effort sailing
on the water.
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When it came to the business of the Regatta, the buck stopped with
Buck McClellan. Buck had lots of help from lots of people, but that's
what a great leader does ... gets everyone to help. The 2002 Regatta
was fun for everyone and at least one captain had some pretty nice things
to say after it was all over (see "The VMYG Regatta"
for more details).
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The official results of the 2002 US Vintage Model Yacht Group
Traditional Watercraft Regatta were as follows:
Vintage Marblehead:
(50" long with 800 square inches of sail area)
- Alan Suydam (Sail #35)
- Ned Lakeman (Sail #17)
- Harry Mote (Sail #25)
- Tom Younger (Sail #20)
- Charles Roden (Sail #55)
- Joseph Reiss (Sail #301)
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Skipjack 48:
(Skipjack design developed by the late Pepper Langley
at the Calvert Marine Museum)
- George Dankers (Sail #C14)
- Tom Younger (Sail #8)
- Bob Ray (Sail #00)
- John Atwood (Sail #97)
- Mike Summers (Sail #39)
- Richard Rogers (Sail #33)
- Charles Trammell, III (Sail #30)
- George Surgent (Sail #77)
- Richard Navickas (Sail #9)
- Bob Seiden (No #)
- Charles Trammell, Jr. (Sail #C7)
- Andrew Charters (No #)
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Schooners, 50" or less on deck:
- Ned Lakeman (Sail #2)
- Alan Suydam (Sail #31)
- Charles Roden (Sail #007)
- Herb Jones (Sail #00)
- John Atwood (No #)
- Richard Lamsfuss (Sail #2)
- Byron Rosenbaum (Sail #555)
- Bob Jones (No #)
- Marty Hayes (No #)
- Bob Ray (Sail #1)
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Schooners, over 50" on deck:
- Andrew Charters (COLUMBIA) (No #)
- George Surgent (No #)
- Richard Lamsfuss (Sail #665)
- Marty Hayes (No #)
- Andrew Charters (PURITAN) (No #)
- Andrew Charters (ELIZABETH) (No #)
- Jose Medina (EMILY) (No #)
- Andrew Charters (BLUENOSE) (No #)
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Open Class:
- Richard Rogers (Sail #3)
- Andrew Charters (GLORIANA) (No #)
- Richard Lamsfuss (Sail #665)
- Homer Bowen (No #)
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Farthest Distance Traveled:
- Jose Medina (Des Moines, Iowa)
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And The Winners Are ...
Front Row (left to right): Richard Rogers, Harry Mote, George
Dankers, Jose Medina, Bob Ray.
Back Row (left to right): Richard Lamsfuss, Tom Younger, George
Surgent, Alan Suydam, Ned Lakeman, Charles Roden, Andrew Charters.
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