Though most people would be quite thrilled and amazed to see a little white mouse steering a model sailboat just as Stuart Little did, it takes more than a mouse at the rudder to master the sport of model sailing.
Yes, model sailing is a sport, and Chris Macaluso proves it.
Macaluso, a model sailor for the past seven years, proudly states that he has won three national titles, once in 2008, then 2009, and again in 2012. He explains that the race, hosted by the American Model Yachting Association, takes place every year during the model sailors’ national tour.
As part of this year’s tour, Macaluso and other competitors recently visited Huntsville, Alabama, on September 7 – 8, racing at Lady Ann Lake. As the band of racers continue to travel onward to other cities such as San Francisco and New Orleans, they prepare to compete in the national championship in San Antonio, Texas on Columbus Day weekend (October 11-13).
But what exactly does it take to be a model sailor?
Macaluso explains that he races out of pure enjoyment. “I always wanted a full sized boat but couldn’t afford it. When I started college, my dad bought me my first model sailboat as a Christmas present.”
In retrospect, he recognizes that though he wanted a real speedboat, he discovered that he got the same thrill from model sailing than from real sailing.
The challenge for Macaluso and other racers, though, is keeping the sport alive. What most people don’t realize, according to Macaluso, is that you end up learning about other cultures and even learning about the physics of sailing.
Greg Duvall, Advanced Placement (AP) Physics teacher at Bob Jones High School, confirms the real-life application of physics in model sailing.
“Sailing is related to vector analysis,” Duvall explains. “It’s based on the direction of the wind, the direction of the current, and the direction of travel. Your resultant, the direction of the boat, is composed of the wind and the direction of the sails.”
Armon Mobasher, engineering student at Bob Jones High School, believes that model sailing would be an interesting way to learn the roles of engineering in a modeled structure.
In addition to the sport being a learning experience for engineering and physics students, Macaluso includes that it is also a green sport. “It’s cheap, quiet, there is no combustion and the air is free for use!”
In all, his plan for the future is to keep racing; yet his challenge and goal is to get the youth involved and promote model sailing in the Gulf Coast region. “I want to keep it interesting for the youth—to make sure our sport doesn’t die.”
Robert Bijvoet, a licensed US Sailing Instructor and licensed United States Coast Guard (USCG) Captain, was among the other sailors racing with Macaluso at Lady Ann Lake. He contributes to keeping model sailing alive through his involvement in The Heart of Dixie (HOD) regatta, sponsored by The Rocket City Model Yacht Club.
Having taught sailing classes at the University Sailing Center and The Muscle Shoals Sailing Club as well as racing rule classes at the Wheeler Yacht Club, he invites all who are interested in the sport to join him and the regatta at Lady Ann Lake on Sundays, where they meet to sail at two o’clock in the afternoon.
So do you think you have what it takes to sail even better than Stuart Little? For information on how to get involved in a local regatta, check out the HOD group at http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/rcmyc/info or contact Robert Bijovet directly by email ([email protected]) or via phone at 256-655-5896.
You can also contact Chris Macaluso through his group, http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/poormanracingyachts/info.
