Model Boat Mayhem
Shows, Events, Club websites and Club Events => Commercial Events and News => Topic started by: DickyD on June 27, 2011, 01:05:37 pm
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For those who didn't already know this, an article in the Nautical News, the news letter of the South West Association of Model Boat Clubs.
The Chairman’s Report --- Keith Hickman
It is with some regret that I have to tell you all that that this year will be the last time that the Weymouth Festival of Model Boating will take place.
This decision, by mutual agreement between Weymouth and Portland Council and SWAMBC, was taken at our pre-festival liaison meeting on June 3rd. Factors influencing this decision included dwindling support from modellers and traders, the increasing organisational burden on a reducing number of volunteers but also, importantly, the financial and logistics effects for the Council as a result of the 2012 Olympics commitment.
This was not an easy decision for any of us but it was felt that after 17 years the event had run its course. From the SWAMBC viewpoint the lack of new blood to help manage the Pavilion and Radipole was placing an unfair burden on those few who were still willing to be involved.
So there it is - I hope that those of you who will be attending the Festival have an enjoyable time. If there are any volunteers who are willing to help with stewarding at the Pavilion or the Radipole we will be very pleased to see you! As this is the last one let's make it a good one!
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Hi All
This is sad news for a show that has been so great to attend over many years.
it has been well run and the camp site is good with a shuttle bus to and from the different
sites.
It will be missed by all that attend I am sure.
Derek
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Hi All
This is sad news for a show that has been so great to attend over many years.
it has been well run and the camp site is good with a shuttle bus to and from the different
sites.
It will be missed by all that attend I am sure.
Derek
Got to agree with you there Derek, although I couldn't make it last year due to work committments, I had been attending the show for some years prior to that. Whilst I was more interested in the IC racing side of things (being OOD at the OMRA racing during the 2008 and 2009 events where I had 90 entries each time to contend with ;)) it was a real pleasure to stroll around Radipole and view all the scale boats, FE's etc, have an amble around the trade / clubs show in the Pavillion on the Saturday (Sunday was for racing :}) before going off to the local watering hole for a pint or three of Tanglefoot :} Hic {-)
So on behalf all the membership of the BMPRS (www.bmprs.co.uk) who have attended this event can I say a very big thank you to SWAMBC and the local Council for all the pleasure we have had attending this event over the years. I'm sure the decision to bring it all to an end was a difficult one and not one that was taken lightly. Many thanks again.
Scoop
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I agree with you both , it was a great to see such different types of model boats all in the same place , Weymouth is such a great location too with everthing to offer , shame it has to come to an end this year.
Will the offshore racing still continue after this year ?
Paul.
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Hi Paul ,I spoke to the people concerned at Weymouth today and they are very keen to keep O.M.R.A racing at that venue.So with a little luck we will be there next year.will post dates as soon as I get them confirmed........ :-)) 8) {-)
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Yet another great event bites the dust ... I'm gutted, no, I'm disgusted that this great show should end. >>:-( >>:-( >>:-(
I hope that in 2013 that the local campsites, shops, hotels and B and B's realise the council's mistake, judging by the amount of people attending last year's show the town will be half empty. {:-{ :((
I hope that the powers that be will think on in the future and realise what a big, big mistake they have made.
My very best wishes go to other model boat show organisers, let's all support those that are left.
Alan (Worcester)
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I got the impression that it is the usual problem of too few people being left to do all the work. Shows take a lot of effort to put on and without enough willing volunteers to support the organisers they tend to get discouraged and unwilling to continue.
Clubs suffer from the same problem.
Colin
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Oh well as they say all good things must come to an end. :(( However Im going to make the best of it. If you see me there say hello or better still by me a beer. Im taking my elecky boats with me. It will make a change from racing !
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I got the impression that it is the usual problem of too few people being left to do all the work. Shows take a lot of effort to put on and without enough willing volunteers to support the organisers they tend to get discouraged and unwilling to continue.
Clubs suffer from the same problem.
Colin
I agree Colin, but organisers CAN do more to "lighten their load"! There are many willing volunteers who are often put off volunteering for two reasons -
1. Jobs are often done by the same people. Ie. Fred Bloggs ALWAYS sets the course out (which is great - but people don't like to risk "putting someone's nose out of joint" by suggesting that THEY would be willing to do the job - even if Fred is secretly more than willing to hand over). [The same often applies to club or Association positions].
2. Organisers need to be more specific as to what people are volunteering for ... just asking for "stewards" means nothing, whereas someone to look after the frequency board from 1.00pm to 3.00pm or assist with setting up at 9.00am gives people MUCH more idea as to what will be entailed.
Ask (specifically) - and ye shall receive! ............ probably ok2
Cheers
Danny
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Hi all this is the first time for me at this show, you are all right it is a shame,a great show.
John B
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What no pics of my Arun?? Well im just catching up on Mayhem.
The weekend was i have to say dam good. There was nowhere near as many folks around but this went in it's favour as it gave us a bit more chance to have a chat etc. I meet a chap on Saturday afternoon who was very keen to talk about my Arun. It turns out he was from the Newlyn area and was well made up with my model of there local boat.
Can i say a very big thank you to all the hard working folk who put on the last Weymouth model boating weekend. A dam fine weekend and good company what more do you want?? :-))
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What no pics of my Arun?? Well im just catching up on Mayhem.
The weekend was i have to say dam good. There was nowhere near as many folks around but this went in it's favour as it gave us a bit more chance to have a chat etc. I meet a chap on Saturday afternoon who was very keen to talk about my Arun. It turns out he was from the Newlyn area and was well made up with my model of there local boat.
Can i say a very big thank you to all the hard working folk who put on the last Weymouth model boating weekend. A dam fine weekend and good company what more do you want?? :-))
Aye and the BBQ wasn't all that bad either, hic, good company, hic :}
Scoop
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The portsmouth crowd would just like to add... good show as ever, great fun, will miss it. Next year I feel we will be twiddling our thumbs on the second weekend in July with nothing to do.
Well done to all involved in organising this event over the last seventeen years, enjoy the year off... you cannot keep a good show down you know!! ( I know its all over, but you can hope..)
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(http://s2.postimage.org/2iw6upyjo/weymouth_railway_37.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/2iw6upyjo/)
HEARS A FEW MORE :-))
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The portsmouth crowd would just like to add... good show as ever, great fun, will miss it. Next year I feel we will be twiddling our thumbs on the second weekend in July with nothing to do.
Well done to all involved in organising this event over the last seventeen years, enjoy the year off... you cannot keep a good show down you know!! ( I know its all over, but you can hope..)
I went and had a look at the pond at Southsea after Weymouth. Looks like just the right place to put on a show!!!!!
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Aye and the BBQ wasn't all that bad either, hic, good company, hic :}
Scoop
Scoop
Went out of town to Sutton ponyts to get me Sunday roast it was lovely. However Danny & his party did not fair as well, he went into town and all the stuff he wanted was sold out and he cound not even get the beer you both like as that was sold out as well {-) {-)
All those model boaters had drank the best beer and ate the grub {-)
Ha ho!!
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I went and had a look at the pond at Southsea after Weymouth. Looks like just the right place to put on a show!!!!!
That would stop us twiddling our thumbs!!
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That would stop us twiddling our thumbs!!
Go for it :-))
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And not such a daft idea either.
Go on Alan you know you really, really WANT to.
Bob
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However Danny & his party did not fair as well, he went into town and all the stuff he wanted was sold out and he cound not even get the beer you both like as that was sold out as well {-) {-)
All those model boaters had drank the best beer and ate the grub {-)
Yes - a sad day ... all the Sunday roasts had gone and no "Tanglefoot" <:( <:(
I was reduced to eating steak and drinking Badger's "somethng or other". It was so weak that I didn't even fall into the taxi (getting out was another matter %) )
I blame all those Portsmouth blokes - they're a bad influence ;) {-) {-)
Good weekend all round I think.
Cheers
Danny
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(http://s1.postimage.org/2g5xmu9z8/weymouth_railway_78.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/2g5xmu9z8/)
DO YOU , mean these pirates...... {-)
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(http://s1.postimage.org/2g46sf37o/weymouth_railway_52.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/2g46sf37o/)
(http://s1.postimage.org/2g4nbsk5g/weymouth_railway_53.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/2g4nbsk5g/)
(http://s1.postimage.org/2g5npm70k/weymouth_railway_81.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/2g5npm70k/)
(http://s1.postimage.org/2g5xmu9z8/weymouth_railway_78.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/2g5xmu9z8/)
DO YOU , mean these pirates...... {-)
Be nice to them. There thinking of taking the Weymouth event on. Good Stuff.
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Alan, Count me in, Portsmouth is a lot nearer to Eastbourne than Weymouth is, and the traffic is much nicer!
Graham
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I'm away from a computer for two days, when I come back, I'm organising a major model show, what is going on?! I cannot get the team minutes to the members in less than three weeks, let alone do what messrs Stevens and gang have organised for the last seventeen years.
Never say never though :P
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I'm away from a computer for two days, when I come back, I'm organising a major model show, what is going on?! I cannot get the team minutes to the members in less than three weeks, let alone do what messrs Stevens and gang have organised for the last seventeen years.
Never say never though :P
IS THERE ANY GOOD NEWS YET :-))
That pond at Southsea is just crying out for a good model boat show next year.
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The Canoe lake at Southsea is a lovely setting couldn't agree more , would be a good choice :-))
another great lake is Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells, easy camping as well but dont think IC allowed worth a look though!
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Southsea is saltwater though. Messed up the brass portholes on one of my boats last time I ran there.
Colin
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The Canoe lake at Southsea is a lovely setting couldn't agree more , would be a good choice :-))
another great lake is Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells, easy camping as well but dont think IC allowed worth a look though!
dunorlan is great if you like your boat being chased by herberts in pedaloes.
also not really close to weymouth
phil
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Ok the Peadaloes are an issue but im sure it could be aranged they erent in use, i do know a few people there, ok2 ok2 but your right its no where near weymouth.
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Ok the Peadaloes are an issue but im sure it could be aranged they erent in use, i do know a few people there, ok2 ok2 but your right its no where near weymouth.
Dose it need to be near Weymouth?? As long as it is easy to get to by road why not :-))
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The only drawbacks with southsea,
Parking is a nightmare,
Where is everyone going to park,sail there boats,have a bbq,park caravans,and people dont like salt water.
Sorry to put a damper on this,would love to have this event down here,but the logistics seem impossible
Mark
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Yes, the Canoe lake doesn't really lend itself to an event of this type. Now Wicksteed however might be just what you are looking for....
Ticks all the boxes except for i/c.
Colin
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Yes, the Canoe lake doesn't really lend itself to an event of this type. Now Wicksteed however might be just what you are looking for....
Ticks all the boxes except for i/c.
Colin
OK So us IC chaps can bog off then!!!
Yes the folks at Wicksteed Model boat club made that very clear this year. I fact there chairman even ran over my foot with his buggy as he was trying to tell me what was going on.!!!!!:((
Now I have been building a Arun lifeboat with a Honda 4 stroke engine in it and it dose not make any more nosie then some fitted with a sound card and Amp. It dose not spit out oil all over the lake, or even go to fast but it is a IC boat and that is baned WHY!!!!!!
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Thought you were carrying on at Weymouth Bill?
As regards Wicksteed, hopefully there might be room for a bit of negotiation but there needs to be a more of a meeting of minds rather than trading of insults! I rather got the impression that this year the ban was imposed partly as a result of Mayhem not engaging in preliminary discussions with the local club/park management and an unfortunate incident which had little to do with the parties concerned. Surely that is something which might be open to further discussion with a bit of goodwill on both sides. Your post seems to preclude much chance of that though. Be grateful you are not confined to a buggy yourself, your time may come. ;)
Why not ask for a meeting with the local club and the park authorities to see if something can be sorted out? Seems to me that everyone is complacently sitting on their respective high horses at the moment - not a good recipe for compromise.
The rest of us just want a well run event in an atrractive location without all these tantrums.
Colin
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Thought you were carrying on at Weymouth Bill?
As regards Wicksteed, hopefully there might be room for a bit of negotiation but there needs to be a more of a meeting of minds rather than trading of insults! I rather got the impression that this year the ban was imposed partly as a result of Mayhem not engaging in preliminary discussions with the local club/park management and an unfortunate incident which had little to do with the parties concerned. Surely that is something which might be open to further discussion with a bit of goodwill on both sides. Your post seems to preclude much chance of that though. Be grateful you are not confined to a buggy yourself, your time may come. ;)
Why not ask for a meeting with the local club and the park authorities to see if something can be sorted out? Seems to me that everyone is complacently sitting on their respective high horses at the moment - not a good recipe for compromise.
The rest of us just want a well run event in an atrractive location without all these tantrums.
Colin
No Colin I love Weymouth both as a town and as a venue for what has been a Show case display for model boating over the last 17 years. A great big pat on the back to them for all there hard and thankless work SWMBC has put in.
Wicksteed. Yes maybe i am lucky to be able to move around on my own feet but driving on to my feet may have changed that, but that is not the point. Was you there this year?? I was and it was clear that things had gone wrong and it was to late to change them. Yes you are right we are going to be trying to reslove this problem for next year.
Camping at Wicksteed is good now they have there new loe's but I have camped there for the last 3 years and every year we are moved further away from the lake. I have to ask DO THEY WANT US???? Na i don't think they care where as Weymouth dose and did make us welcome.
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Bill,
I agree Weymouth is a great place although I have never had the opportunity of attending the model show which is a shame now that it is unlikely to continue in the future.
With regard to Wicksteed, yes I was there on the Saturday and have written a report for Model Boats magazine which will appear in the October issue. Apart from the absence of i/c boats everyone seemed to be having a good time although I did not run my rather delicate scale boats because of the weather conditions and free for all on the water.
My personal view is that I think that the Mayhem event needs to be better organised in future and I did discuss this with Martin at the time. It seemed to me that the decision to ban i/c boats was communicated at a very late stage to the people concerned which resulted in both inconvenience and disappointment and that this resulted in some ill advised hard words which did not improve the situation.
I think part of the problem is that there was insufficient initial liaison between Mayhem and the Host Club and Martin has explained that there were personal reasons why this did not take place. Had it done so then maybe the perceived i/c problem could have been discussed and resolved in time for the event and everyone would have been happy.
It may not be too late to get a working agreement for 2012 with goodwill on all sides. I really cannot see why there should be any objection to properly controlled i/c demo runs on the Wicksteed lake as has happened in the past provided that a guarantee can be given that boats will not climb out of the water and threaten the public. Neither can I see any valid objection to running a scale i/c powered lifeboat. But these things will have to be discussed and any fears on the part of the home club and the park authorities allayed. There is time to do this for 2012 and I would very much hope that some sort of agreement can be reached.
I can't comment on the camping arrangements but no doubt the park authorities have their reasons for the location which applies to everyone, not just you i/c guys. Anyway, what is the problem with parking your cars down near the lake for the sailing sessions like all of us day visitors do? You can drive them back again afterwards!
Wicksteed is a superb venue and well situated. It would be pretty difficult to find something else that is as good.
Colin