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Subject:
Submarine (R/C) Squadron Five – Sun ‘N Fun
2007 Patrol - Report of.
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Our fifth annual r/c sub weekend was held June 2 –
3, 2007. We returned to beautiful San Gabriel Park in
Georgetown, Texas with Don Baker, Kyle Baker, Jim Caldwell,
myself, Wayne Frey, Tom Kisler, Gail Phillips, and Jeff
Porteous in attendance. Unfortunately, we arrived the
day after Lake Georgetown opened its spillway and turned
our running area into a dark, rushing torrent. Last
year it was the drought of the century, this time a
30 year flood! We expect the river to turn to blood
in 2008.
However, we did have a back up plan
in place. On Saturday we drove in to College Station,
Texas to the Student Recreation Center on the campus
of Texas A&M University. There we had access to
an outdoor pool and exclusive use of the indoor instructional
pool. Everyone was very nice and accommodating.
Jim and Sue Caldwell made the trip over
to College Station with us. They gave us the details
on the commissioning of USS Texas (SSN-775)
having attended the ceremony. Jim is about to begin
a SubTech Albacore project.
Tom Kisler brought his new Small World
Models Kilo. This was a brand new build for
Tom and after some tinkering he got it running well.
His USS Scorpion ran great right off the bat,
then the rudder linkage broke. But for a time it performed
better than ever. Sadly, his large Liberty ship was
too big to maneuver in the venue.
Gail also unveiled a new boat, again
by Small World Models, a 1/96 Oyashio. It too
performed well and did its owner proud. Nothing less
should be expected from this master builder. Gail also
drove his sharp looking Seawolf.
It was great to have Wayne back with
us after his absence last year. He brought his stable
of hull kits and his Revell Gato project which
is progressing nicely. Wayne should have it in the water
before too long. But he will be busy for a number of
years with all the other boats he has to build. Wayne
was accompanied by his friend Judy who was a charming
addition to the crew.
Don brought his nephew Kyle who was
very interested in the boats. Don also had his first
nearly completed boat with him, a ThorDesign Sturgeon.
It showed up at his door the day before they left for
Texas having been purchased through an eBay auction.
With some stellar assistance from Gail, who whipped
the WTC-3 into shape, and some poolside trimming, Don’s
first command, USS Whale (SSN-638), was underway.
Gail presented Don with his official r/c sub qualification
plaque at the end of the day. Kyle also earned his r/c
dolphins. Congratulations, guys!
We had the pleasure of Jeff coming to
Houston again and driving up with us to Georgetown.
His Blueback was really running on rails. In
order to take pictures of the action, Jeff dived his
boat to periscope depth, dialed in the proper speed
and rudder setting, and set the transmitter on the bench.
Blueback slowly circled as if driven from within
while the other boats passed by. Jeff was free to run
his digital camera and camcorder. Too sweet.
My USS Thresher was raring
to go. But once in the water the ballast tank mechanism
refused to blow. This was discovered when the chlorine
interfered with the transmitter signal and the failsafe
refused to bring her to the surface. This was a big
problem for several boats in the outdoor pool. Fortunately,
the lifeguard on duty “pulled a Hasselhoff”
and rescued my boat.
The instructional pool, while heavily
treated with chemicals, afforded much better reception
– especially to those boats with antenna wires
looped in the hull outside the WTC. My USS Jefferson
City ran well down to three feet (overall depth
was 4.5 feet). Boats with internal antenna wires regularly
popped to the surface upon loss of signal.
We returned to Georgetown Saturday evening
and on Sunday filled the conference room to discuss
the Revell Gato. Gail showed us his new D&E
WTC for the boat and we watched the accompanying DVD
before we packed up and headed home.
Once again the event turned out to be
nothing like what we anticipated. However, one constant
never changes: fun and fellowship are plentiful when
the skippers of SubRon5 assemble.
Respectfully,
P.H. Crozier
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