Tacoma News Tribune article is below:

 

PROMOTIONAL REGATTA APRIL 9, 2006 WAPATO LAKE, TACOMA, WA

I had placed a Public Service Announcement in the Tacoma News Tribune announcing the Promotional Regatta. Our intent doing this was to get more of the public to see our RC sailing and answer any questions that they might have. We had those interested to take the tiller and see what fun it can be. Since our sailing venue on Surprise Lake, Milton, WA is a private lake, we do not get much public exposure. It is essentially there for those who live at the apartment complex where we sail.

A day or so after the announcement appeared in the paper I received a call from Randy McCarthy, editor of the South Sound section of the paper. He advised that he was interested in getting some info on the regatta and the club. It was his intent to have a reporter and photographer come out and cover the event. Needless to say, I was very pleased to hear this. Just think of all of the exposure we would get from an article in the paper!!!!

Howard Rasmussen , University Place and I, also of University Place took our own cars. I had to drop my wife off at the bus station for a bus leaving at 8:15AM in downtown Tacoma. The skippers showed up at Elmer's, a couple of blocks from the lake, for breakfast at about 8:30AM. Harry Lange, Enumclaw WA, Gary Kohler, Keyport, WA, Howard Rasmussen, University Place WA and me, Joe Brohan, University Place WA. We left for the lake at about 9:15AM

We scouted the SE side of the lake to determine the best place to launch and retrieve the boats. We decided that the best location was at the Old Boat House. With the breezes coming from the SW and S it was a better location to sail than at the S end that is sheltered by tall trees. We sailed in that location last year and it was very squirrelly.

Since we were at another lake to sail, we did not have our rescue boat. So, what to do about the mark placing and retrieval and possible rescuing? "No problem," says Harry L. He brought his electric powered 30" model of a Coast Guard rescue boat complete with a platform on the fantail to take out the marks. The marks, one at a time, are placed on the platform. The line is unwound from the spool to the length wanted, at the shore. Then the boat takes the mark out. When the proper distance and location is reached the line is pulled and the mark is pulled from the platform and launched.

As for rescue, Harry L fabricated a pusher rig at the bow of the boat shaped something like a cage in shape. Good thing that he had it there because I had no sooner launched my boat and headed for the nearest mark when I hung up on the marker line. Then the boat slid down the line until it grounded out with my fin/bulb keel. It was an exciting time trying to unground the boat. After much trying by Harry L and also assistance from Gary Kohler, with his EC12, we managed to get the ODOM back into safe waters! Good thing we were able to do this. Otherwise I would have had to wade out into the water. The boots I had were not high enough. I would have needed waders.

I wanted to avoid that as much as possible. There is a pollution problem at Wapato Lake. It is so bad that swimming and fishing is not permitted. The pollution is from surface water from the streets through the storm sewers. There is also a problem with the Canadian Geese that deposit their goose poop all over the place. Of course, that dissolves in the rain and drains into the lake. This causes an algae problem. On top of this the storm drain water is loaded with dioxins from the oil and gas from the roadways. A park employee came by and said for us to be sure to wash the boats thoroughly, when we got the boats home, to get rid of the dioxins.

As we were setting up our boats the photographer "Louie" arrived. He started to take pictures of Gary Kohler as he was launching his EC12. Great picture Gary. It was not too soon after this that reporter Paul Sand arrived and interviewed us, got information on the club, facts about the classes we sail, history of the GHMYC and where our present sailing venue is.

About this time Howard R was setting up his ODOM. While in the process, Louie took a picture of Howard and his boat. So another great picture of you also, Howard. While all of this was going on I was setting up my ODOM and I finally launched it.

It was about this time that Randy McCarthy, from the News Tribune, arrived to take in the event and see how things were going. About the same time other spectators arrived and we had a good turn out of people.

We were fortunate that we were blessed with some good WX. It was overcast and earlier in the morning there was grizzle. However, as the morning wore on, it started to break up and the winds became consistent from the S and SW 1-4mph.

At about 12:15PM we brought in the marks, packed up the gear and went to Elmer's for lunch. It was a good regatta with a good turn out of spectators. Add to this the coverage by the New Tribune really helped to make it a successful Promotional Regatta. The article in the April 10, 2006 News Tribune was great and there was Gary Kohler launching his EC12 in a 5x7 colored shot on the front page of the South Sound section!

It was really amusing when I spoke with Howard R the next day after the regatta. He told me that his phone had been jumping off the hook because friends of his had seen his picture in the paper. I laughed and told him that it was better him than me. I enjoyed the peace and quiet with him getting all of the calls!!!! Ha! Ha!

Joe Brohan

 

Where were you, Stuart Little?

PAUL SAND; The News Tribune
Published: April 10th, 2006 01:00 AM

 

 

 

Gary Kohler of Keyport launches his boat Sunday at Wapato Lake in Tacoma during a spring regatta put on by the Gig Harbor Model Yacht Club. The club has weekly races on Milton’s Surprise Lake during the spring and summer.

LUI KIT WONG/THE NEWS TRIBUNE

 

 

 

The three men sat silent on a picnic table, staring at Wapato Lake in Tacoma. Each clutched a black control box, their thumbs moving the toggle switch controls, which maneuvered miniature rudders and sails.

One of them finally broke the silence.

“Ah, I let you through,” 63-year-old Gary Kohler said as one boat cruised confidently past another.

“Let? Let?” Howard Rasmussen, 77, said in mock anger.

The men gathered for the Gig Harbor Model Yacht Club’s annual spring regatta at the lake Sunday to drum up interest – and perhaps some new members – from people passing through the park. The group, which has about a dozen members, holds weekly races during the spring and summer on Surprise Lake in Milton. Though it still has Gig Harbor in its name, the group hasn’t raced there in about 20 years, said Joe Brohan, 80, of University Place.

On Sunday, they talked about their rigs, boats that measure either about 40 or 60 inches long with sails as tall as 6 feet. And they discussed the benefits of model-controlled yacht racing to the real thing.

“A set of sails is a lot less than on a big boat,” Kohler said.

“All the fun of yachting without the big expenses,” Brohan said.

The boats, which can be assembled from kits and modified, range in price from $300 up to $1,300. Most have fiberglass hulls, and can be transported after being strapped into a padded wooden cradle. The sails, which are made of an opaque plastic and adorned with racing numbers, are tucked into a carrier that looks like a guitar case.

Because their keels are weighted, the vessels are nearly impossible to capsize. Smaller models, however, can be temporarily dipped underwater.

And at about 4 mph, the boats aren’t made for speed demons. “It’ll beat a fast walk,” Brohan said.

Some of the group’s members are sailors, or former sailors, of big boats. Rasmussen’s back and leg injuries forced him to sell his 26-foot sailboat. He took up racing model sailboats a short time later.

“When I found out about this, I couldn’t get into it quick enough,” he said.

A lack of wind is the biggest hurdle when racing the boats, Brohan said. Stalled boats can be pushed into safety by a small speedboat that has a rubber-coated grill attached to its bow, said Harry Lange, 56, of Enumclaw.

Fog can also be a problem. Brohan lost his ship in a thick cloud over Surprise Lake one day, he said. As the group stopped to scan the water for the lost boat, Brohan spotted it unexpectedly gliding back toward him.

“It was like a ghost ship coming out of the fog,” he said, laughing.

The club

On the Net: For more information on the model yacht club, visit the group’s Web site at ghmyc.home.comcast.net.

Membership: Annual fees are $25.

Meetings: The group meets every Tuesday at Surprise Lake, 2800 Queens Way, in Milton.