We had one of these turn up at our lake last Sunday. Well it sailed, but dont let anyone tell you watching model boats is boring !!
The chap put it into the water and off it went, quite well . But he had no control over it whatsoever. Off it sailed nicely close hauled but unfortunately straight off across the lake.
The wind was not very strong so it was sailing fairly slowly and normally we would have rescued it for him by sending out a tug with a floating line attached and pulling it back to shore. But most of us ( including the member with the line ) had gone off for a walk with our boats up the lake and when we got back the yacht was too far out to be recovered.
I must point out here that the far bank is nearly three quarters of a mile away.
The yacht merrily sailed on until we could only see it through binoculars. It eventually reached the far shore - inevitably at the one point which is almost inaccesible,
as the bank just there is a mass of slate waste dropping into very deep water.
The owner had driven round to the other side of the lake and after a while we saw a member of the local sub-aqua club (whose headquarters is nearby) in a wetsuit gingerly climbing along the bank , in and out of the waters edge towards the model.
By this time the wind had increased. Just as he was as close as twenty feet from the yacht a strong gust knocked it flat, swung it round , and off it set back across the lake !
He went back to the owner and we saw them having a conversation. Meanwhile the yacht was driving out into the lake but with the stronger wind it was lying flat and drifting down the length of the lake.
Next thing we see is a fully equipped diver, wet suit head to toe, large flippers and cylinders on his back entering the water and starting to swim after the yacht. Of course by this time it had gone a LONG way down the lake and was drifting away from the diver almost as fast as he could swim.
However he persevered, swimming steadily on his back and occasionally turning to see where the model was.
The the model began to fill with water and lying flat as well, was hardly visible. Stavros launched his Marblehead and sailed it to the little yacht, then circled it so that the diver had something to aim for. Eventually the diver got to the model and slowly swam back to our shore with it. "That was the longest swim I have ever done he said" when we got to him - it must have been nearly a mile altogether.
I don't know how much the owner rewarded the diver, but it was a lot of effort just to recover such a cheap little item. !!!
Great entertainment for us though.
Off to the lake now - maybe he will bring it again today - (or maybe not
)
Don B