Subject:
Submarine (R/C) Squadron Five – Sun ‘N
Fun 2006 Patrol - Report of.
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PROLOGUE TO
Notification was distributed squadron-wide via snail
mail and electronic measures to assemble all available
boats for our fourth war patrol. Area of operations
designated: San Gabriel Park, Georgetown, Texas.
1. Narrative:
August
18th: 1430 Picked up SubRon5 "wolf Pack" member
Jeff Porteous at Houston Intercontinental Airport
following his flight from Los Angeles and embarked
to Georgetown.
1730 Arrived in Georgetown. While crossing the
bridge next to the Holiday Inn Express (HIX), which
served
as ComSubRon5 HQ, observed dry river bed where
the San Gabriel normally flows. Proceeded immediately
to the park area and discovered extremely poor
operating
conditions. Due to prolonged drought, the water
level was 3 - 4 feet lower than normal. The springs
which
fed the river were bone dry. The resulting stagnation,
and shallow depth of the remaining water in the
operating area, contributed to accelerate algae
growth which
reduced visibility to less than 12 inches. The
possibility of harmful bacteria in the water raised
health concerns.
In general, the river area had a pronounced odor
to
it.
1800 Having determined our primary
AO was unusable, proceeded to park offices to discuss
situation.
We were informed that a large swimming
pool could possibly
be opened for our use. Proceeded to pool
for reconnoiter.
1830 The pool proved to be Olympic size,
4 - 5 foot deep, with a deep diving board
area off one
side.
Tables were abundant with awnings to
provide shade. Restrooms
were on sight and restaurants were next
door. In short, an extremely attractive site.
All
that was
required
was official approval for our use. As
the head of aquatics was out of town, awaited
cell phone
communication
for
the final green light from her subordinate.
1900 Checked in to HIX and welcomed Gail
Phillips, Albert Johnson and Don
Baker to the event. Proceeded
with families to Applebees for reunion
dinner. During the course of the
meal were joined
by Carl Dietz
from Austin. Gorden Gregson arrived
from Arkansas. Made
phone calls to monitor progress on
procuring the new site. However, final confirmation
remained
elusive.
2100 Upon returning to HIX, received
call from acting park aquatics
director informing
us, due
to the absence
of available lifeguards, we would
not be allowed to use the facility.
2105-2130 Haggled, cajoled, reasoned
with, and explained both our
need, and inherent
trustworthiness,
to acting
park aquatics director. While
he was won over, he refused
to take
responsibility
and
make the
final
decision.
He called his boss to receive
her permission.
2145 Received final denial
of use of pool. Thanked acting
parks
aquatic
director
for
his efforts.
2200-2300 Proceeded with
Carl Dietz to scout possible
local
alternate
park sites.
Determined
Round Rock
West Park was a good candidate
depending on water clarity
which, in the light of
Carl’s
headlights, appeared good. Returned
to HIX for sleepless
night.
August 19th: 0630 Traveled
alone to Round Rock West
to find water
as green and
stagnant as
the San Gabriel.
Decided event theme should
be changed from "The
Hunt For Cold War Subs" to "The
Hunt For Fresh Water."
0700-0900 Proceeded to
reconnoiter several
additional sites.
All were unsuitable
due to poor clarity,
shallow depth or being
previously procured
for a sailboat
regatta. Discovered
the local university, Southeastern,
had a fine natatorium
but could
not locate
a soul on campus who
knew anything about
it.
0930 Upon returning
empty handed to HIX
found group
in high
spirits and committed
to an
alternate plan:
move member project
boats into the conference
room
and expand
the planned
night-time
building seminar
into an all day affair
while utilizing the
hotel pool
for running smaller
subs.
0945 Posted sign
at San Gabriel
park alerting
attendees of
the location
change with contact
cell phone
number and directions
to HIX. Met Gene
Tilbury, Lee
Giles and Wayne Guye as
they
arrived at the
park. Lead
them to
HIX.
1030 - 1245 At
HIX, members
had moved
boat hulls,
tools and other
materials
into conference
room
B. This facility
was procured
free of charge
through
the
skillful negotiations
of
Gail Phillips
and the generosity
of the hotel
staff.
Gail immediately
went to work
on Don Baker’s
3.5 inch WTC which
he had custom built
for him earlier
in the year.
Gail installed
servos,
control
linkages,
and wired the electronics,
all the while giving
Don expert instruction
on the
care and feeding
of his WTC.
Gail was truly
in his element.
Don
was an eager set
of extra hands.
Lee Giles
set up
his 1/48
scale British
S-class
WWII
fleetboat
on the
center table and
all work
came to
a stop.
Built from
a Darnell
hull, Lee
had
nearly
completed detailing
the hull
and conning
tower
to represent
HMS Storm.
Much of
the interior
construction
was completed
as well,
along with
the control
surfaces
and props.
Lee was
looking for
some sound
electrical
wiring
advice
and brought diagrams
of his
proposed WTC layout.
Gail was
consulted
and
the two
made plans to
get
together
upon
their return
to Houston
and
make a
joint trip to several
electronics
vendors
to help get
Lee’s
project finished.
A bit later,
Dr. James
Caldwell
and his
lovely
wife
arrived from San
Antonio
to check
out
the fun.
The Caldwell’s have been regular attendees of Sun
N Fun and are always a welcome addition. Jim spent
time with Jeff Porteous discussing Jeff’s
favorite subject,
his 1/96 Small
World Models Blueback.
1330-1800
Following
a lunch
run,
began
to
help
new
SubRon5 member
Gorden
Gregson
with
the
constuction
of
his 1/96
ThorDesign
Flight
II
Los
Angeles class.
Gorden’s kit was a little worse for wear having
been shipped to Iraq during Gorden’s deployment
there with the Army. As stout as Matt’s kits
are, the Iraqi heat was a little bit stouter. Initially,
we installed the WTC saddles in the hull, then went
about installing his stern control surfaces. Sun N
Fun 2006 was Gorden’s
first r/c sub event
and his enthusiasm
was infectious.
By
now,
Jeff
had
readied
Blueback,
and
Tom
Kisler,
who
made
the
drive
down
with
his
wife
Marcia,
had
readied
his
1/96
D&E Miniatures USS Scorpion for a run
in the hotel pool. The two boats, perfectly sized for
this small swimming pool, generated a good sized crowd.
However, events continued to conspire to prevent successful
sub running. After a few short laps, Jeff’s Blueback
experienced drive train troubles and Tom’s
Scorpion began
to lose power as
well.
While
construction and
good, unhurried
conversation ensued
in the
conference room,
Albert Johnson
and Gorden
decided to
taunt the
sub drivers
by dangling
two targets
on the
waves. Albert’s 1/96 scale Sumner class
destroyer and Gorden’s
1/96 Perry class
destroyer were
both excellent
examples
of
their types. The
highly detailed
models looked very
impressive on the
water and generated
another crowd.
Unfortunately,
operations were
rather limited
due to the turning
radius of
the boats and the
size of the pool.
1830
All hands
took a
break for
dinner. Most
of us
piled into
the vans
and made
our way
over to
the catfish
joint located
on the
edge of
San Gabriel
Park. Jeff
joined the
Dietz’s for lighter fare. The catfish
joint, discovered by the Kisler’s
during a previous
gathering, has
become a Sun N
Fun tradition.
What satisfies
Southern submarine
running appetites
better than fried
catfish, coleslaw
and hush puppies?
1930
- 2200
Continued to
work on
boats as
night fell.
Having repaired
his boat,
Jeff rigged
Blueback for
night ops.
I joined
him with
my 1/96
Jefferson City,
in which
I had
recently installed
running lights
for this
occasion. Unfortunately,
due to
the 688i’s
large turning radius
my run consisted
of a couple of
transits from one
end of the
pool
to the other.
Blueback
on the
other hand,
rose to
the occasion.
An extremely
nimble boat
to begin
with, under
Jeff’s
expert hand she performed perfectly within the confines
of the pool. Tired of scraping my LA’s hull on
the side of the pool, I quickly switched my WTC into
my 1/96 Thresher. Though it didn’t
have running lights,
the pool area was
so brightly
lit they
were unnecessary.
While I had never
run Thresher in
a pool this small,
the ThorDesign
boat handled
beautifully alongside
Blueback and we
never felt crowded.
Large circles and
figure-eights were
easily performed.
Care
did have
to be
taken, however,
when navigating
past the
fresh water
inlet in
the side
of the
pool. The
force of
the water
coming out
was strong
and difficult
to overcome.
Evidently there
was a
high chlorine
content in
the water
as well.
While running
only a
few feet
under, Jeff
and I
both experienced
dead spots
in control,
the result
of temporary
signal loss.
On several
occasions, Jeff’s boat
suddenly performed
an unexpected emergency
blow, the result
of a properly
operating failsafe.
As
the crowds
drifted upstairs,
Jeff and
I had
a few
moments of
quiet nighttime
running by
ourselves. It
was a
peaceful, pleasant
night. And
though it
didn’t
last long, it did
make up for the
frustrations experienced
over the weekend.
August
20th: 0900
- 1100
Returned to
conference room
and continued
construction. Gene
Tilbury returned,
asking questions
and lending
a helping
hand. Gail
worked on
Gorden’s
WTC performing the same installations
he did for Don. In addition,
He also talked Don through
gluing the indexing lips on his Skipjack,
a 1/72 Scale Shipyard hull. This was
a nicely detailed hull kit
with impressive scribed detail.
I completed installing
the stern planes on Gorden's
Los Angeles and gave instructions
on the next construction steps to take.
1200
Packed away
all gear,
bid fond
farewells and
departed.
2.
WEATHER:
Excellent
weather was
experienced throughout
the patrol.
Normal conditions
were clear
and hot.
3.
NAVIGATIONAL
AIDS:
Navigation
course was
not implemented.
Strong current
from water
inlet nozzle
on west
side of
hotel pool
was a
force to
be reckoned
with.
4.
ENEMY SHIPS
SIGHTED:
(1)
1/96 Liberty
ship,
(1)
1/96 Sumner
class
Destroyer,
(1) 1/96
Perry
class
Destroyer.
5.
AIRCRAFT
SIGHTINGS:
None.
6.
MAJOR
DEFECTS:
No
collisions
experienced
as
boats
rarely
operated
together.
However,
heavy
chlorination
of
hotel
pool
caused
loss
of
signal
to
all
boats
at
least
once.
Proved
to
be
a
good
field
test
of
fail
safe
devices
in
controlled
conditions.
7.
HEALTH
AND
HABITABILITY:
The
health
of
the
crew
for
this
patrol
can
be
classified
as "excellent".
No
major
injuries
occurred,
fatigue
was
at
a
minimum
at
the
end
of
the
event,
and
no
sunburn
was
experienced.
One
ankle
was
slightly
twisted
during
a
visit
to
the
park
area.
One
thumb
was
cut
from
an
X-acto
blade
but
wound
was
closed
with
CA.
Habitability
was
very
good.
The
staff
at
the
Holiday
Inn
Express
was,
again,
extremely
friendly
and
accommodating.
The
facility
was
clean,
neat,
and
reasonably
priced.
8.
ENDURANCE
FACTORS:
Water
-
none.
Other
factors
-
indefinite.
9:
PATROL
ENDED:
By
orders
of
wives,
employers
and
flight
schedules.
10.
SAILING
LIST:
Don
Baker,
Jim
Caldwell,
Paul
Crozier,
Carl
Dietz,
Albert
Johnson,
Lee
Giles,
Gorden
Gregson,
Wayne
Guye,
Tom
Kisler,
Gail
Phillips,
Jeff
Porteous,
Gene
Tilbury.
11.
RECRUITING:
While
walk-up
turnout
was
low
due
to
event
relocation
from
park,
one
new
member
was
recruited.
Wayne
Guye
found
out
about
the
event
via
the
SubRon5
website
and
made
the
trek
from
Houston.
He
was
given
full
access
and
left
with
a
copy
of
the
SCR
courtesy
Carl
Dietz.
It
is
felt
that
squadron
notification
efforts,
which
included
snail
mailed
communications,
email
updates,
website
banner
ads,
etc.
were
effective.
12.
REMARKS:
Prior
to
past
events,
a
pre-event
check
of
water
conditions
was
done
by
member
Wayne
Frey.
However,
due
to
an
extended
research
trip
to
Russia,
Wayne
was
unable
to
do
so.
The
thought
occurred
to
me
to
have
the
check
made
but
I
failed
to
follow
up
on
that
decision,
largely
because
we
had
never
experienced
a
problem
in
this
location
before
even
during
past
droughts.
A
hard
lesson
learned.
While
the
anticipated
event
did
not
materialize,
the "experience" suffered
little.
Despite
disappointment,
morale
remained
high.
And
the
alternate
activities
contributed
to
strengthen
relationships
between
members
greatly.
These
results
corresponded
directly
to
the
high
caliber
of
personnel
who
make
up
SubRon5.
Respectfully,
P.
H.
Crozier
***********************************************************
Subject: Endorsement - Submarine
(R/C) Squadron Five – Sun ‘N
Fun 2006 Patrol - Report of.
-----------------------------------------------------------
I really and truly enjoyed myself
as much this year as the previous two and very little
of that was because
I ran my sub. No, the essence of the experience is
hanging around like-minded sub-crazy people and talking
the talk for the weekend. It’s always worth the
drive for me and I come home energized and ready to
start new projects.
I also think it was great that you and Gail dedicated
the better part of your weekends building up other
boats. Not just because it was a first-class thing
to do, but it showed a true sense of camaraderie to
those guys and gave them the mental kick start to charge
ahead and not bail on the hobby.
It makes me glad I'm in SubRon5 with such a great
bunch of guys in it for the fun of it, and love of
subs of all kinds. See you next year!
Respectfully,
T. Kisler
USS Scorpion (CO)
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