SMALL-SCALE SAIL; LAKE BALBOA SEAFARERS FIND JOY IN MODEL BOATS.Byline: Rob Wheat Special to the Daily News Erik Evens remembers it as one of his most grueling challenges. An expert sailor, the Calabasas resident raced from Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. to Hawaii in his wind-powered boat on several occasions, loving every bit of the thrill of competing in a sport he has been a part of since he was a kid. Today, Evens harbors much of the same emotion - though on a smaller scale - when he competes in model sailboat racing. No, his hands aren't on the wheel and his face doesn't feel the sting of the salt air. These tiny vessels are steered from solid ground by remote control and propelled by intricate sails designed to catch the wind much like passenger sailboats. And he cherishes every moment. ``Unlike the two-week Hawaii run, you can throw the model boat in your car and take a shower at the end of the day,''said Evens, commodore of the Lake Balboa Model Yacht For the activity of building and operating model yachts, see model yachting For static display models see ship model Club, one of a handful of such groups in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . ``But the competition at the big (model boat) regattas is just as intense as with the big boats.'' The coterie's ``pond,'' as home turf is referred to on the racing circuit, is Lake Balboa in Encino. The commodore is proud of the fact that the 15-member club has scheduled a full season of regattas in just its second full season, and has had the privilege of having the host site of several other significant events. ``We've had a national championship here, four invitationals and several club-point races. We're growing all the time,'' he said. The Lake Balboa boaters compete against the Orange County Model Yacht Club, one of the nation's oldest programs, Evens said, and the San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. Argonauts Argonauts: see Jason; Argo; Golden Fleece. Argonauts In Greek legend, a band of 50 heroes who went with Jason in the ship Argo to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the grove of Ares at Colchis. , one of the largest, with a membership of more than 100. Model yachting
Model yachting is the pastime of building and racing model yachts. has a universal appeal and attracts a variety of personalities in a range of age groups, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Dick Davis, vice commodore of the Argonauts. ``We have more members partly because we have both sailing boats and power boats,'' Davis said. Whereas many clubs, like the Lake Balboa unit, are dedicated solely to yachting. ``The oldest member is me, and I'm over 70, and the youngest is in his 20s. We have a woman who owns a bike shop, a homemaker, a bank manager, a lot of ex-Navy people. We get all types.'' ``We had an international event called Race Week just last August, and we had people from Germany and all over the world,'' Davis said. ``But it's fun to compete against the L.A. club (Lake Balboa) because they're so close. You have to compete for the trophy again on the winner's pond.'' Davis considers his club lucky in that a pond has been specifically set aside for model-boat use at Mission Bay Park. Likewise, the Lake Balboa club has an east-side area of the pond flagged by buoys where members can gather and race and swap stories every Sunday at 11 a.m. Onlookers are always welcome - observing is a good way to get into the hobby - as are other boat operators not affiliated with the club. Model yacht clubs are spouting spout·ing n. Chiefly Pennsylvania & New Jersey See gutter. See Regional Note at gutter. spouting Noun NZ a. up across the nation, according to Don Peacock, president of the American Model Yachting Association. There are about 1,500 members in the AMYA AMYA American Model Yachting Association AMYA Alcorn Middle Years Academy (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) , spread out among more than 100 clubs. ``The sport is especially popular in Eastern states Eastern States can refer to several locations:
Studio City 8-year-old Jimmy Biers can't wait to sign up. His father, Michael, had watched the boy gather his courage for weeks before finally asking Northridge resident Barry Hamilton if he could try sailing his boat. ``We always give the little guys a chance if they ask nicely because there's very little that you can do to wreck a sailing boat,'' Hamilton said. ``That's not true with a model plane, of course, and that's why I love sailing.'' ``Sailing is very calming,'' he said. ``It's almost elegant to see them glide across the water. Flying a plane seems too nerve-wracking to me because they're expensive. In one second you could crash and then they're gone.'' Also an avid sailor of full-scale boats, Hamilton began floating model crafts when he was a child growing up in Ireland. Hamilton said the sailing models have evolved dramatically over the years. A starter kit goes for about $100. More technical vessels can cost as much as hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Two sets of batteries work with the remote control in the hull of the ship, Hamilton explained. ``Power boats have them also, but their energy runs out after 10 or 15 minutes, whereas we can sail all day because the wind does most of the work,'' he said. ``Inside you'll see a complicated gear and pulley pulley, simple machine consisting of a wheel over which a rope, belt, chain, or cable runs. A grooved pulley wheel like that used for ropes is called a sheave. system that moves the sails to catch the wind or guides the boat.'' There are many different classes of boats. In the open class there is some leeway lee·way n. 1. The drift of a ship or an aircraft to leeward of the course being steered. 2. A margin of freedom or variation, as of activity, time, or expenditure; latitude. See Synonyms at room. for sail size and boat weight. In the other classes, those parameters are carefully regulated to keep the competition even. Model sailboating began at the turn of the century, when racers would sail their wind-driven ships in a straight line, hurry to the next destination, align their boats to the next target and then hurry to that site. Ships first operated with a wind vane wind vane: see weather vane. , similar to a weather vane weather vane or wind vane, instrument used to indicate wind direction. It consists of an asymmetrically shaped object, e.g., an arrow or a rooster, mounted at its center of gravity so it can move freely about a vertical axis. , that was set at the top of the sail and connected to a series of gears inside the hull that turned the sail into the direction of the wind. The first standardized class of model sail boat was established in 1932. Remote control was developed in the 1950s, after the advent of the transistor, and direct competition around a closed course became possible. Today's remote controls weighs only a few pounds and has two main levers. The left adjusts how open or closed the sails are, while the right controls the rudder rudder, mechanism for steering an airplane or a ship. In ships it is a flat-surfaced structure hinged to the stern and controlled by a helm. When the ship is on a straight course, the rudder is in line with the vessel; if the rudder is turned to one side or the other underneath, turning the ship. The Encino-based club began after San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. residents Gary Kirkpatrick and Perry Schultz met at Lake Balboa and started racing against each other. Soon others joined and the foundations for the group were laid out in 1995. There have been some complications. ``We have people in paddleboats that think it's funny to sink the buoys or just run over them,'' Hamilton said. ``We need a sign letting people know what this area is designated for, because a lot of fishermen get upset. They don't realize it's a reserved spot and get mad when we ask them to leave. But we're only talking about a fraction of the lake.'' Members get lots of looks from passers-by; it's the best way to stem interest. BRING DECK SHOES? A glance at Southern California model yacht clubs: Lake Balboa Model Yacht Club Lake Balboa, Encino Erik Evans, commodore (818) 880-2147 Tri-City Model Yacht Club Tri-City Park, Placentia Dennis Lindsey, commodore (626) 966-9538 Helmsman Club El Dorado El Dorado, legendary country of South America El Dorado (ĕl`dərä`dō, –rā`–) [Span.,=the gilded man], legendary country of the Golden Man sought by adventurers in South America. Park, Long Beach Dick Frauenzimmer, commodore (714) 970-1040 Orange County Model Yacht Club Mason Park Pond, Irvine Harry Bourgeois, commodore (714) 645-3544 San Diego Argonauts Mission Bay Park, San Diego Dick Davis, vice commodore (619) 447-3973 CAPTION(S): 3 Photos, Box Photo: (1--color) ``Sailing is very calming. It's almost elegant to see them glide across the water. Flying a plane seems too nerve-wracking to me because they're expensive. In one second you could crash and they're gone.'' _ Barry Hamilton, model boat enthusiast (2--color) Don Bossett of Van Nuys inspects his model sailboat. (3--color) Steve Miser of Canoga Park shows his miniature powerboat, above, which shares the model-boat world with sailing yachts. Evan Yee / Daily News Box: BRING DECK SHOES? (see text) |
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