Subject:
Submarine (R/C) Squadron Five – Sun ‘N
Fun 2004 Patrol - Report of.
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PROLOGUE TO
Notification was distributed squadron-wide via electronic
mail measures to assemble all available boats for our
third war patrol. Rendezvous point designated: San
Gabriel Park, Georgetown, Texas.
1. Narrative:
August 19th: 1400 Picked up stalwart SubRon5 "wolf
Pack" member Jeff Porteous at Houston Intercontinental
Airport following his flight from Los Angeles and
embarked to Georgetown.
1600 Arrived at Holiday Inn Express (HIX) which
served as ComSubRon5 HQ. Due to threatening
weather postponed
navigation course set-up on the river. Proceeded
to dinner at Applebee’s with Gail Phillips,
Carl Dietz and family, Albert Johnson, and Wayne
Frey.
Following meal returned to HIX and held bull session
with Carl, Jeff, Gail, Don Baker and myself until
1830. Many issues critical to the world were thoroughly
examined
and resolved.
August 28th: 0800 Following continental breakfast
at HIX, proceeded to San Gabriel Park. Found water
conditions
good, with four foot visibility, a slight breeze
generating scale waves, and no current to speak
of.
Commenced setting up operations and navigation
course. The course, which consisted of buoys
and a gate of
Gail’s design, were laid out in a rough
approximation of an old SubRegatta course published
in the Report.
Gail also brought a multi-slip floating dock
for us to use when not underway. Set-up afforded
us the
chance
to sound the river throughout our running area
and the bottom was found to average six feet
in depth.
Jeff’s Blueback was the first into the water.
For a “beginner” boat, this offering by
Small World Models continues to amaze with its scale
appearance and agility both on, and below, the surface.
Through regular use and tinkering, Jeff had the boat’s
trim dialed in and he put her through her paces
throughout the weekend.
Blueback made it around the circuit but soon
discovered a weakness in the gate setup.
With anchors on either
side of one end, and an exposed superstructure
to prevent damage to masts, the wind caused
the gate to twist
in the current greatly increasing the navigation
problem. Once the boats began to enter
the water, no one had
the desire to re-anchor the gate so we
fought it the rest of the day.
Gail then launched his newest project,
a 1/96 ThorDesign Seawolf. Once again,
the
boat displayed
his attention
to detail and superb engineering and
craftsmanship. After a few initial turns around
the area,
in which Gail observed her surface turning
radius, “She
turns like a pig,” he issued a dive command.
On this, her maiden voyage Seawolf gently settled
in a perfect scale-like manner until she was
cruising at periscope depth. A spectacular feat
since Gail
had
taken her from trimming in the bathtub at home
directly to the river for this first run.
Perhaps even more amazing was Seawolf’s performance
submerged. Having heard a host of warnings about the
limited maneuverability of larger boats with pump jets,
I was astonished at how well Gail’s boat
turned underwater. Its turning radius was comparable
to
my 1/96 Los Angeles class. Again, the trim was
perfect and Gail ran down a full battery charge
maintaining
perfect depth control as he ran the course and
patrolled the area.
With his 1/48 Alfa still on the building
ways, Comrade Wayne Frey set up a
static display
featuring his monster
1/72 Akula hull. He also stood ready
as our safety diver and underwater
photographer.
Next, I entered the water with my
1/96 688i, USS Jefferson City,
built from
a ThorDesign
kit. Having
tweaked my
WTC’s ballast tank vent for better performance
I was finally able to enjoy a stress-free day of running
this boat. What a joy it is to set aside technical
worries and actually spend time at the conn, learning
a boat’s capabilities. She really ran well
and it was a true thrill to repeatedly put her
through her paces rounding the course.
1000 Tom Kisler of Potter, Nebraska
returned with his lovely wife
and his beautifully
weathered USS
Scorpion
(SSN-589) built from a D&E kit. Qualified
in 1:1 scale submarines, Tom got Scorpion underway
after
tweaking
her trim. She performed well and looked truly
scale cruising at periscope depth in the green
river water.
Tom also brought his latest project, a massive
1/96 Liberty ship, SS Stephen Hopkins. He is
an accomplished
builder.
Albert Johnson displayed his
nearly completed 1/48 Type
XXI project.
Built from a Doug
Badgely kit,
the hull, control surfaces
and internals were practically finished.
All he
lacked was a conning
tower. Happily,
I was able to supply one for
him along with a set of
gun turrets. He should have
the boat completed soon and it will
have a
commanding presence
on the river.
1200 Julie and I made a lunch
run to What-a-burger for
the crew.
Our normal
procedure of providing
a grilled hot dog or hamburger
lunch for attendees was discontinued
this year to avoid the distraction
of food preparation. Our
raffle, which was
successfully
implemented
last year, was discontinued
as well
in favor of freeing
members, and their wives,
from the administrative details.
Between 1400 - 1700 submerged
operations continued with
Blueback and Jefferson
City. Tom's Liberty
ship also touched water
for the first. The subs took
the opportunity to practice
torpedo
approaches.
Gail launched his 1/48
ThorDesign Alfa, which
cut a fantastic,
scale bow wave.
Following
an onshore
debate
about its performance
versus the Blueback, Gail gave
her the gas.
Alfa took off
like a shot,
accelerating out of site.
If he hadn’t backed off the throttle
she’d still be going.
1700 Ceased operations
for a fried catfish break
at
a local
eatery
on the edge of
the park. First
investigated
by the Kislers, the food
proved to be as good
as they claimed.
DARK-THIRTY Commenced
night ops. Blueback's
running
lights were
a big hit at previous
events. They
performed well again
this time -- a very
cool effect
especially
as we waited until
well past dusk to begin. The
quiet,
still water
made
for a unique
sailing experience.
Tom's liberty ship
headed back out
to sea, lit
from stem to
stern. With
Gail
at the
helm, Blueback
made
multiple approaches
as Jeff videoed
his attacks.
Albert
Johnson's
1/96 USS Arleigh
Burke attempted
to sail
as an escort but
electrical gremlins
prevented her
from getting underway.
2030 - 2200 Returned
to HIX. Secured
wives and
then proceeded
to Conference
Room B
for a building
techniques
seminar.
Wayne brought
us up to speed
on
his efforts
at casting
polyurethane
appendages for
his Akula.
Gail’s
talk concerned available
battery types, performance
and pricing. With his
Scorpion on display,
Tom walked us through
his weathering methods.
This
round table
provided a wealth of
information on all
three topics.
August 29th:
0800 Returned
to op
area and found
our friend
Ray Lout present
with
his wife.
A Cold War
submarine veteran,
Ray had been
contacted by
Don and made
it a point
to
come and
see his
sub modeling
friends he
first met
at last year’s
event. Once more he
regaled us with fascinating,
and funny,
sea stories
from his days in the
silent service.
0830 – 1100 Blueback,
Seawolf and Thresher
ran for a cycle of
batteries and Propel.
Secured the nav
course, packed away
all gear, bid fond
farewells and departed.
2. WEATHER:
Expected
thunderstorm
activity
failed to
materialize.
Excellent
weather
was experienced
throughout
the patrol.
3. NAVIGATIONAL
AIDS:
Navigation
course
was finally
implemented.
Its presence
on the
water
had a
tremendous
impact
on the "fun
factor" of running. Existing sub driving skills
were sharpened by the new level of situational awareness
required. It is also felt that the course was a major
factor in reducing incidences of "paint swapping" between
boats.
4. ENEMY
SHIPS
SIGHTED:
(1)
1/96
Liberty
ship,
(1)
1/96
Arleigh
Burke
class
Destroyer.
5.
AIRCRAFT
SIGHTINGS:
None.
6.
MAJOR DEFECTS:
No
major collisions
experienced. However,
contact between
Seawolf and
Blueback resulted
in Blueback's
periscope being
swiped off.
Also, Jeff
accidentally ruined
another scope
while reaching
across it
for a
battery.
7.
HEALTH AND
HABITABILITY:
The
health of
the crew
for this
patrol can
be classified
as "excellent".
No injuries
occurred,
fatigue
was at
a minimum
at the
end of
the event,
and only
a slight
case of
sunburn
was experienced.
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:
Torpedoes
- none.
Other factors
- indefinite.
9:
PATROL ENDED:
By
orders of
wives, employers
and flight
schedules after
multiple sorties.
10.
SAILING LIST:
Don
Baker, Paul
Crozier, Carl
Dietz, Wayne
Frey, Albert
Johnson, Tom
Kisler, Ray
Lout, Gail
Phillips, Jeff
Porteous, Gene
Tilbury.
11.
RECRUITING:
Due
to the
low walk-up
turnout experienced,
recruiting
was
minimal. It
is felt
that squadron
notification
efforts,
which were
relegated
to
email updates,
were not
as effective
as past
communications
which
included snail
mailed letters
and fliers.
12.
REMARKS:
While
overall
attendance
was lower
than anticipated
(see remarks
in sec. 11)
the event "experience" achieved
a three
year peak.
Coordination
of activities,
r/c submarine
operations,
and camaraderie
were outstanding.
It could
not have
been a
better
environment
for running
models
in a fun,
relaxing
manner.
It is
this
members'
conclusion
these
results
correspond
directly
to the
high caliber
of personnel
who make
up SubRon5.
Respectfully,
P.
H. Crozier
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