Everyone stopped at either the jetties before the bridge or just after to have a spot of lunch and do essential maintanence on their models, like pumping water out and replacing batteries where appropriate. It was decided that we wouldn't go on any further down the canal because it looked like the weather was going to turn against us, despite the calm conditions here.
People on the other side of the bridge also working on their boats or resting.
I'm not sure exactly what water is being poured out of here but I'm sure it's not healthy...
Pumping water from
Resolve and fixing the broken rudder controls.
Kormoran coming off the water somewhat later than the others. There was only a few drops of water on board and the battery didn't need replacing here.
Calypso also going through the same routine after sailing through the bridge.
The orange cargo ship going back in the water, without ballast in the bow this time because the forward section had been almost completely full of water when it got here.
Homeward bound: Everyone starts on the way back, sailing their models through the bridge, this time without incident.
Kormoran starting on her way back. The weather is certainly getting murkier with a few gentle ripples from very light rain on the water.
The obligatory shot of the distant Cathedral, now looking hazy from the misty rain now coming down.
Everyone heading back as fast as they dare wtithout pushing the batteries too hard (I must confess, I was slowing everyone down by having not changed batteries and having to watch my speed. Although since my spares were NiMh, I dodged a bullet by keeping the gel battery in).
Kormarin following
Resolve like a mother hen. Partially due to the fear of the motor suddenly stopping and safe in the knowledge that
Resolve has towing gear aboard!
I think someone's slacking off here...
The first wild plastic bag appears to shield a transmitter from the rain. Jon came prepared with an actual cover for his.
The rain has started come down more heavily now, although here at least the canal is nearly as calm as a millpond.
Calypso navigating through the leaves and the rain.
Alan demonstrating prop de-gunking. Both
Resolve and
Calypso both had problems with weeded up props at the same time. The rain is also getting heavier.
Kormoran waiting in the canal for the other two boats to get back up and running, sitting pretty in the wet.
The second carrier bag appears. Things are getting serious now!
The rain has turned from pleasant to 'very wet'. There's now so much rain coming down on the canal that these photos of
Resolve and the orange cargo ship have come out all blurry.
Two operators looking distinctly more wet than when they began their outing.
Kormoran in the increasing rain. At least it isn't windy.
Yet. About a minute after that last photo, a nasty squall came in making it a little difficult to walk around if you had no cover, let alone play boats.
Here is
Kormoran turned into the wind in the absolutely horrible conditions, partially trying nto to get buffeted too much and partially showing off for the camera. Big mistake.
Here you can see
Resolve has been buffeted into the bank by the wind and you can see at the top of the photo the rain literally coming down in ropes.
While this photo was being taken,
Kormoran came about to try and get into the cover of the bridge you can see here. Unfortunately a gust knocked her on her side, being sharp enough to dislodge the battery mounting inside and sealing her fate.
Kormoran still had power though and tried to drive to the shore from roughly the middle of the canal. Unfortunately, with her rudder in the air she started going into a large circle. As she was closest to the bank,
Resolve came in and rammed
Kormoran to stop her from going further out and into seep water. In this
Resolve succeeded, but did push
Kormoran's stern underwater, leading to this...
This is something no modeller ever really wants to have happen, especially not in weather like this. At this point I was hoping a pocket of air in the bow would allow
Kormoran to bob at the surface and be nosed ashore or snagged with a rescue line. Although I was amazed that her superstructure hadn't come off.
Unfortunately she didn't bob there and instead sank. Here
Kormoran has just gone under and is still on her way to the briny deep (which is neither briny or all that deep).
Resolve is holding right next to the sinking wreck, perhaps showing off and gloating that she is still afloat while
Kormoran isn't, or perhaps to pick up the crew of
Kormoran? We will never know what goes through the minds of these inanimate model boats. Because they are inanimate and therefore do not have minds for things to go through.
Kormoran, now little more than a smudge of white visible on the surface. If the superstructure had come off we probably would have lost the hull for a long time while trying to hook it with a rescue line.
Two very wet operators with other onlookers pulling
Kormarin in with rescue lines, which had snagged on the yellow crane after several attempts.
Also you can see the stern lights on the orange barge under the bridge. they looked really good, especially in weather like this and certainly were acting as encouragement to get under the bridge and into some sort of cover, akin to seeing a candle in a window I suppose.
The superstructure emerges and now I'm even more wet and muddy on my belly to reach in and grab
Kormarin. A low price to pay for retrieving a model all things considered.
The rest of
Kormarin comes up, with a frantic dash to take off the power.
One very wet operator and an even more wet boat.
Kormarin wasn't the oly one to get a soaking. Although it didn't sink,
Resolve took in a lot of rainwater through its' top and here is practically swimming with water inside.
Time to pump the water all out now...
Everyone now very thoroughly wet back at the cafe. A round of hot drinks was definitely called for and well recieved.
Other people returning, including the intrepid captain of
Canopus.
Of course, as soon as everyone is back with the option of getting out of the weather and into the dry, the sky clears up.
A tree branch which was brought down from the opposite side in the squall.
As we were packing away
Canopus, another heavy shower came over, threatening to soak the inside of the boat. Of course, as soon as it's all packed away and we're ready to leave the rain stops and brilliant sunshine comes out.
So, just like storm chasers, we all went home.
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Topic: END of SEASON CRUISE , CHICHESTER SHIP CANAL (Read 4598 times)