Mission Bay’s Model Boat Pond was invaded by a flotilla of miniature sailboats, manned by captains using remote control devices to navigate their boats to victory.
“This is a nationally known regatta involving five classes of radio-controlled sailboats,” said Tom Warren, commodore of the San Diego Argonauts. “The majority of the skippers attending are experienced at this form of racing at the local and national level, racing everything from a dinghy up to 60-foot race boats. So they all know the rules of sailing and competition, which fuels this entire race week.”
These land-based captains followed their sailboats’ remotes in hand, as they raced the length of the pond, each sailboat jockeying for a winning position. More than a dozen states are represented in this event, which is hosted in San Diego every three years.
Barr Batzer from Florida has sailed everything from a dinghy to a superyacht, he explains the strategy involved with racing with a remote.
“The skippers got to keep an eye on the wind,” says Batzer. “Being a sailor with sailing experience does give you an advantage. My dad spent decades sailing large ships, he can’t sail big boats anymore, so now he does this, and he loves it.”
Jess Atkinson began remote sailing in the early ’90s when his uncle gave him his first remote-controlled boat, and he has been remote sailing ever since.
“My first remote was powered by a crystal and you could only put a limited number of boats in the water,” said Atkinson. “Now, remotes use Bluetooth technology, which allows us to control unlimited boats. In this class of boat, there are two servos, one controls the steering, left or right and the other one controls the in and out of the sails. The performance of the boat depends on how well you set it up.”
“I’m from Olympia, Wash., and came down here for race week to compete in the international one-meter,” said Dan Shier. “This is only my third year racing. How I got started, one day, me and my brother-in-law were drinking beer and staring at the lake and one of us said, ‘We should get some remote control boats and sail ’em in the lake.’ Now, three years later, I’ve 20 boats and he’s got none. So I started a club in Olympia, where I host regattas in the Pacific Northwest.”
Shier and the rest of his fellow captains take this sport seriously and do it for bragging rights only. There are no cash prizes for winning a race, but everyone goes home with a plaque and a commemorative hat.
“This year’s race week is important for this club because other parts of the nation are discovering that race weeks draw in the numbers that can help grow the sport,” said Warren. “What is important for our club is to maintain the tradition that we started in the mid-’80s and continues to this day as an important venue for the American Model Yachting Association.”
