mount hope bay model yacht club

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content

Village at Mount Hope Bay

June 22, 2023

Model Yacht Club

• Add to Timely Calendar
• Add to Google
• Add to Outlook
• Add to Apple Calendar
• Add to other calendar
• Export to XML

Races are held at the cove at the end of Schooner Drive every Tuesday and Thursday at 11 AM, weather permitting from mid-May until mid-September. The Solings race on Tuesdays and the DF95’s race on Thursdays.

Mount Hope Bay Model Yacht Club

Radio controlled model sailboats, df95 racing and announcements.

It was another beautiful late summer’s day with temperatures in the low seventies, a gentle breeze, and a receding tide from a high at 10.17.

Nine members brought their boats to race on the course set by Paul. A more unusual course this morning owing to the wind from an easterly direction, actually the wind had such fun with us on Tuesday that it decided to do it again! 

The start line was formed by the drone buoy and the orange/blue mark. Out to blue, then green/white, and back to the line all taken to port. After the first race, the course was lengthened to include going west to the red/white mark after the blue and also taken to port. For race four onwards the start line was changed to the orange/white mark, as before, but with the yellow/red mark forming the other end. The drone buoy drifted off in a huff!

We held eight races today and, with these challenging conditions, had six different winners: Fokka and John won two each, and Bill David, Nick, Kim, and Henry were the other winners.

At the end of the event, Fokka emerged as today’s champion with 19 points just two ahead of our runner-up,  Henry . There was a three-way tie for third place on 25 points but  John  prevailed over Nick and Bill through the tiebreaker.

Judy kept score and looked after the starts once again. Thank you, Judy. Connie was also there to support Al and, as usual, had her camera with her. We had a welcome visit from Jim Kelly who has recently recovered from Covid. Stay well, Jim

The full results are on our website  mhbmyc.org

Well, the year has gone by quickly and we only have two more race days in the season. The next one is Thursday, September 12th when the tide will be coming in towards a high at 3.28 pm.

Now for the  ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Pot-Luck Awards Banquet  will be at 6 pm on Sunday, September 22nd  in the Great Room of the Village clubhouse.

Please let me know if you will be attending , and we hope you will.

This will help with organizing as we will ask you to bring food while wine and beer will be provided by the club. 

Last week I asked who would not be attending and I only got two replies. This week, I’m asking who  WILL  be attending. Thank you for your cooperation.

We will pull the marks and store the rowboat on Thursday, September 26th at 10 am Rob will lead the effort, but volunteers will be needed.

Have a wonderful, summery weekend.

Photos by Connie Sampson

Soling Regatta … end of an era!

So this was it. The demise of Soling racing at our club. The denouement.The end. Nostalgia reigned, thinking of those big regattas of past years.

But we’re here, now, and the weather was kind, ranging from the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies and there was a gentle breeze from the north. The tide had peaked at around nine o’clock and six members had decided that this was what they wanted to do today. It really was a perfect summer day without a cloud in the sky but the gentle breeze became stronger and then weaker and was decidedly uncertain about what direction it was coming from today.

Shelley did a wonderful job of keeping score. Thank you, Shelly.

Our DF95 Regatta winner, Fokka also paid us a visit for a few races.

The course configurations were too many to mention caused by the shifting strength and direction of the wind but generally they were from the start/finish line parallel to the shore out to one, two, or three marks and back to the line. Rounding varied and, when there was enough wind, twice around.

Paul and Bill Raposa set the various courses and we managed twelve races with only two incidents. Both happened in race three when Bill Northup’s boat hatch became dislodged and water got in the boat, resulting in an inoperative servo. Exactly the same thing happened to my boat. Bill was better prepared and had a replacement servo with him and only missed two races.

Greg  was in fine form and won half the races and, with one second and two third places, he became our Soling Regatta Champion.

Paul  didn’t win a race today but his eight second places plus three third places meant he finished as runner-up by two points over  Bill Raposa  who was third overall today.

Bill had three wins, two second, and three third places 

We had two other race winners namely Bill Northup and Kim.

Well done everyone. It was a very pleasant time despite the frustrations of the flukey wind.

It’s hard to say goodbye to such an elegant class of boat so maybe we could plan a “Soling Outing” sometime next June. Any comments?

The results are on our website  mhbmyc.org  as always.

We only have to wait until Thursday, September 5th for more racing with the DF95s. The tide will be going out from a high at 10.17

Until then, keep smiling,

Annual DF95 Regatta

The day started much cooler than in recent days and the temperature didn’t get much above seventy. The tide was fully out at 10.30 so we had lots of beach to run around on to keep warm, and, of course, the heat of the competition helped as well. The brisk wind was from the northeast, not our favorite direction. But the wind faded, then developed its own quirky little habits to cause frustration here and there throughout the twelve races held today.

Twelve boats took to the water for the event. The course was north from the start line, which was formed by the new yellow/red mark and the orange/blue mark, around the blue, then around the red mark(which is now mostly white), south to the green/white and orange/white marks, all taken to port and back to the line. For the twelfth and final race, this course was run twice around.

Judy and Connie were there, Judy kept score and Connie took some photographs.

Thank you both very much. 

Rich came over but without his boat which has a few problems and it was a pleasure to welcome Fokka’s wife who visited us for the first time.

We held six races before lunch and six after, and, amazingly, we only had one DNfF when Rob needed a battery replacement in race 4. We did have several recalls as boats got tangled at the start line. A little more discipline please, sailors.

A guest from yesteryear, Ben Wilkinson, arrived for race two and proceeded to win four races and was third in race six. Luckily for everyone else, he didn’t return after the lunch break.

There were four other race winners today.  Fokka  won four and was second in one and third in two to give him the Championship today with 26 points

Nick  won two races and was second three times to give him second place with 34 points.

Bill David and John won one race each but third overall today was  Rob  who had four second places and two third places.

Bill David and Henry tied for fourth place, but Bill got the place on the tiebreak.

A lot of fun and close racing today, just as we like it.

Kim told me after the race that someone had left a red folding chair at the cove. If this is yours, it’s under the rowboat.

The full results of this exciting day’s racing can be found on our website  mhbmyc.org

The final chance of the season to race Solings will be next Tuesday, September 3rd when the tide will be going out from a high at around 09.00 T

This is the  Soling Regatta,  at least 6 races before lunch and another 6 after lunch. So please bring your lunch and a chair. Let’s dust off the Solings and bring them down for some fun.

Volunteers to help will be welcomed!

DF95s race again next Thursday, September 5th when the tide will be high at 10.17.

END-OF-SEASON ACTIVITIES

The Awards Banquet will be on Sunday, September 22nd at 6 pm in the Village Clubhouse. Please let me know if you cannot make it and I’ll assume everyone else will.

Thursday, September 26th is the day we chose to pull the marks and store the rowboat. Rob will lead the effort but we need volunteers, please.

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend,

DF95 Regatta Corrections

There were not one or even two mistakes but three in yesterday’s write-up. Apologies.

1. Although the day, next Thursday was right, the date was wrong. It is August 29th. Prompt start at 11.00

2, The tide will be low at 10.36 and high at 5.45 pm. (I had looked up the wrong day….oops!}

Ideal for a long regatta.

3 There is, of course, one throwout for every six races.

What I didn’t get wrong was the close racing and fun in store so bring lunch, a chair, and, most importantly a boat.

Thanks to Jim Pascalides for picking this up so quickly.

See you Thursday,

DF95. #12 and regatta plans

An early and welcome hint of autumn was in the air this morning. The tide peaked at 10.45 and the wind was adequate from the west. Ten members brought their boats in anticipation of a good morning’s racing and a lot of fun with friends. They were not disappointed.

Paul had made another new mark and Bill Raposa was there to assist him in placing it. Many thanks, Bill and Paul. 

The new mark is red and yellow and was positioned to replace the pin that had washed up on shore without its weight. The new mark together with the blue/orange mark formed the start line and the course was south to the green/white mark, then the orange/white mark, head north to the black/white ball, round the blue mark, and back to the line with all marks being taken to port.

Our thanks, once again to Judy for keeping score. Connie came along to support Al and take some pictures and Wilkie came to see us just one day after an operation on his left hand. Get better soon, Wilkie.

There were seven races today and all went well until race four when Al had to row out and collect his boat after the rudder stopped working following a little transmitter water immersion! Bill David also withdrew from the competition from race four as the temporary glued repair he made last Thursday did, indeed, prove to be temporary and became unstuck.

Wes had a visit from his daughter and her family which included two tiny and delightful grandchildren. Toy boats for Christmas?

Now for the racing.which followed the route already described except for races five and seven which were run twice around.

Fokka won the first race and proceeded to win the next three and this, together with a second place ensured that he is today’s champion.

Greg had two wins one second and two third places today and finished in second place. greg has imminent back surgery so we wish him well, and a speedy return.

Henry didn’t win a race today but he did have three second places and one third to put him third overall. 

The only other race winner was Nick who was among the three sailors separated by one point: Rob, Paul, and Nick.

Last week’s winner, John, didn’t manage any better than one third place today. It’s fascinating how weather and small changes in setup can affect results.

Well done everyone. Lots of fun.

DF95 REGATTA

Paul Mercer had made the observation that we have yet to hold a DF95 regatta this season. We discussed this with the members present and decided on next Thursday as the day. Informal and fun, with a minimum of six races before lunch and a minimum of six races after lunch. Two throw-outs for every six races.

Bring lunch and chairs, a competitive spirit, and a sense of humor.

The 2024 DF95 Regatta will take place next Thursday, August 27th when the tide will be coming in towards a high at around 3.30 pm so there will be plenty of beach space. The weather date will be the following Thursday

Have a wonderful sunny weekend,

DF95 racing #11. August 15, 2024

The tide had turned just before 10 so there was lots of beach at the cove this morning. The sun was shining and the sky had a grey tint, courtesy of the Canadian wildfire smoke invading our upper atmosphere. The wind was light but strengthening from the southwest and Paul set the course: from the start line formed by the drone buoy and blue/orange, head south around the green/white mark, the orange/white mark, then north to the blue mark and back to the line. All marks were taken to port. This was the course for the first four races when we switched to twice around as the wind had strengthened. We held eight races and had seven participants. It should have been eight but Rob’s boat had a rudder servo problem and he couldn’t race today. Wes had his boat in the water and coincidentally was talking to Rob about “failsafe”  when his boat took off and sailed off south down the Sakonnet. The boat was switched off so failsafe couldn’t have worked. Lesson: If your boat is in the water it should be switched on. Wes had a very long row to recover his boat but finally, he returned to shore and racing could get started. Well rowed, Wes.

Judy kept score and Connie took some pictures. Thank you both very much. Bill Raposa paid the DF95 crowd a visit and just might get a DF95 in the water next season.

Judy suggested we follow the example of the Olympics and stop calling our breaks, “Water Breaks” so from now on the club will move upmarket and have “Hydration Breaks” instead, 

Now to the racing. we had four different race winners today, Bill David won two, Paul and Kim won one each, but John Reilly won the remaining four to put him in an unassailable position and, of course, he was the champion today. By the way, he also finished second three times.

In addition to his two wins, Bill David had two second places and one third place to become this morning’s runner-up.

Kim and Fokka finished level on points but Kim got third place by reason of his win in the tiebreak.

Paul suffered a rare boat failure when having finished third in race five he could not take part in any more races., The reason was a most unusual incident. His backstay anchor was torn out of his boat when a fragment of plastic broke away from the hull. Repair or replace will be the question.

The “most consistent” award must go to Al who finished sixth in the first four races and fifth in the last three!  Well raced everyone. 

Good racing today and a lot of fun.

DF95s will race again next Thursday, August 22ndwhen the tide will be very high at 10.45

But, before then, have a great weekend, and keep smiling.

Soling Regatta. #2

It was a pleasant morning with lower temperatures and less humidity than recently. The moderate wind was from the northwest and the course was from a line parallel to the shore, west to the red mark, then northeast to the red/green mark, both taken to starboard, then the pin at the end of the line to starboard, back to the red mark taken to port and back to the line. After the third race, the course was modified: Red as before but out to the blue, then to the orange/blue taken to port and downwind to the finish

Seven members brought boats and twelve races were run. Scoring was rather difficult until I had a bad case of “rudder shudder” in race five. It was rather disappointing that no members volunteered to help but we managed and had an enjoyable time. Pat Donovan came down to the cove but without his boat. Good to see you, Pat.  

Apart from my rudder servo problem, one other issue was when Greg lost control of his boat in race six and he had a long walk along the shore to rescue it. Low boat voltage was the cause. Greg said,” Lesson learned”.

Jim Kelly had a connectivity issue in his boat and missed race nine. 

There were two front runners today and you only have to look at who the race winners were to see that this was a very close contest: Paul, Kim, Kim, Paul, Paul, Kim, Paul, Kim. At this point, we had another winner, Bill Northup but Paul won the last three races to carry the day, but only by ONE POINT over Kim.

Congratulations and thanks for some close racing.

Bill Northup finished third ahead of Bill Raposa.

Another nice day with sun, fresh air, and friends. 

The full results can be found on our website.  mhbmyc.org

Solings will have another chance at Regatta number three on Tuesday, September 3rd. Mark the date.

DF95s don’t have to wait as long, just until Thursdaywhen the tide will be coming in from a low at 09.48.

See you then,

DF95 #10. August 8, 2024

Unlike last Thursday, the tide was high at around 11.30 so the hope was for minimal weed this time.

Paul had prepared a new version of the marker buoy and a small group met earlier in the morning to finish and deploy them, We are grateful to Paul, Bill David, and Bill Reposa who did all the rowing and mark placement. Thank you all very much. We added a green/white mark west of the southerly orange/white mark to provide an offset and a red mark between the new green/white mark and the old orange/blue mark, but further offshore. In addition, we placed a new pin to be used as a starting mark in conjunction with the drone buoy. The black/white ball was moved to a position between the northerly blue mark and the shore.

Confused? Don’t be. As soon as I find my colored pencils I’ll send you the new layout which has increased our flexibility for course choice.

The wind was unusual as it was nominally from the east but today it was hither and thither, from here and there, and came and went. Challenging!

Paul determined the course: north to the red/green mark, south around the green/white and the orange/white, and back to the line with all marks taken to port.

From the third race, the wind had strengthened and the course was lengthened by making the blue the northern mark. At race six we went back to the shorter course.

Seven races were run and ten members competed today. Rich came along but is still waiting for parts to be delivered. Pat also put in a welcome appearance and is working on his Soling for next Tuesday.

Fokka won the first and the fifth race and had two second places and one third to become today’s champion. 

Only two points behind, Paul was second today with one win, two seconds, and one third.

Bill David was another two race winner and finished tied on points with Nick. but Bill got the third place through the tiebreaker.

We had two other race winners today: Al and Wes. Very well done everybody.

There were only a couple of incidents to report. The first occurred in race three when Greg’s boat got stuck on a mark and he had to row to the rescue and the other, more serious, was when Ross slipped in the water and cut his knee. His only consolation was being assisted by three ladies, Shelley who was here to support Bill Northup, Connie who was here to support Al and who had some Band-Aids, and Judy who did her usual excellent job of starting and scoring. Thank you all. 

By the way, I found my pencils so the new layout is attached. Not to scale and please give me all the artistic license I need.

Lots of fun despite the quirkiness of the weather

The full results may be found on our website  mhbmyc.org

DF95 racing continues next Thursday, August 15th when the tide will be coming in from a low at 9.48.

But before then, next Tuesday, August 13th we’ll be holding our second Soling Regatta, open to all. Bring your Solings, your lunch, and a chair. There is no fee, only fun starting at 11.00. The tide will be coming in to a high at 3 pm. We will need volunteers as Race Director and Scorer. 

Keep smiling and have a wonderful weekend,

DF95. #9. August 1, 2024

The hot and humid trend continued as 12 members with boats made their way to the cove this morning. Among them were rare visitor, Greg LaPlante, and new member Wes Siegner who spectated last week, decided to build a boat and was here to race today. His boat will sail with sail number 26. Welcome back, Greg, and welcome Wes. 

The tide was at a low at about 11.30 so there was lots of space to spread out on the beach. Paul took advantage of this and brought his wife and grandchildren. The youngsters had a terrific time.

Paul had also brought his new and impressive buoys but we needed a strong chain cutter to finish the job. Wilkie will get the chain cut to length ready for next Thursday.

Apart from Wilkie other boatless members were Bill Raposa and me. Judy and Connie were there to take care of the starting and scoring once again. thank you both very much. 

The wind was from the southwest and Paul positioned the Drone-Buoy to form a starting line with the brown/blue mark. the course was south to the brown mark, north to the blue mark, and back to the line. All port rounding. The quirky wind and the random acts of weed collection made for some mixed races, just a bit of frustration but lots of interest.

We ran six races and had five different winners: Fokka, Greg, Bill David, John, and, our only twice winner, Nick.

Reflecting the race conditions, we also had five different second-place finishers: Rob, Wes, Bill D, Paul, and, twice, John.

Bill D also had a couple of third-place finishes, enough for Bill to become our Champion today.

In second place was John, just two points ahead of Paul who was third and just two points ahead of Fokka.

 The full results and all the other news are on our website  mhbmyc.org

DF95s race again next Thursday, August 8th when the tide will be a high at 11.32

Keep smiling, stay cool and have a wonderful weekend,

DF95 #8 July 25, 2024

This morning was misty and muggy, with temperatures in the mid-seventies, winds vaguely from the southwest, and a high tide at noon. With the club meeting being held this afternoon, I hoped for a good turnout and I wasn’t disappointed as eleven members brought their boats determined to race. We held seven races over a course that took the boats south to the red mark, then north to the other red mark, and back to the line with all the marks left to port.

The first variation was to run this course twice around. The next variation was to lengthen the course to substitute the red northern mark with the blue northern mark. This variation was run once and twice around. The result was some very close racing.

It was good to see Jim Pascalides making a rare appearance and good to meet Wes who had come to observe activities and left probably wanting to build a boat. Jim Pascalides will send him some information.

Bill Raposa and Wilkie came to lend support and Judy, Connie, and Shelley not only cheered their husbands on but took charge of scoring. Thank you all very much.

Kim had news of our starter which spent some time on Tuesday in the rain. It didn’t work!

Luckily Paul had a small portable starter with him. Thanks for the rescue, Paul.

In race one, John’s boat suffered from a flat battery and he had to row out and rescue it.

Bill David’s boat succumbed to the same fate in the last two races but without the rescue.

Jim Kelly decided to sit out the final four races. Those were the only “incidents” today with the bulk of the fleet remaining in good shape.

Jim Pascalides won the first race and two more and these wins added to two second places and one third place was just enough to beat Fokka, who had two wins, three second places, and one third place, by just one point

Rob Hill also won a race today and, with two second and two third places, finished third overall. 

The only other winner was Paul who was fourth today followed by Nick and Kim.

Al and Bill Northup were not among the winners today, but they had a lot of fun like everybody else.

The full results are on our website,  mhbmyc.org

DF95s race again next Thursday, August 1st when the tide will be the opposite of today, reaching a low at 11.23.

Notes from today’s meeting will be sent out later today.

Whatever you’re doing this weekend, have fun,

• September 2024
• August 2024
• February 2024
• September 2023
• August 2023
• December 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• December 2021
• November 2021
• October 2021
• September 2021
• August 2021
• January 2021
• December 2020
• October 2020
• September 2020
• August 2020
• January 2020