by Mark Steele - Auckland, New Zealand A trio to rave about, Kerfuffling and Kerplonkin, a man on my mission, and an Alden schooner to die for!

Three lovely sailing works of art above, indeed a trio for readers to do a rave-up on and start this September column. Above, left is Roy Lake of Auckland with his multi-mast schooner, above, right Cornwall’s Ken Impey with this fine looking schooner. Below, US sailor, Maryland’s Alan Suydam with his model of the famous schooner Brilliant.

Windling is about fun and friendship, relaxation and humour. The book of windling even suggests the use of humorous terminology for various moves both pondside and on the water. Become becalmed and you might just hear the word kerfuffling, slam into the wall and you might be labelled a Harvey Bow-Banger, with the action described as a ‘Wall-Do., Lose your steering and your yacht is out of control and you’re triangling (next stop Bermuda!). There’s more too. Those prone to ending up in the reeds are Keen Reeders or Bushwackers, tangle with another boat and both boats are octopussying while slamming heavily into another boat can be described as kerplonkin! Off the water, anyone who blocks the view of another sailor is called a Full Back and a Fizzplonker is one who charges about seemingly activity-loaded, regularly taking his boat out looking for weed, then plonking it back in again! There’s no glory or trophy rewards in windling or casual model yacht sailing so loosen up, relax, and laugh a little!

I have been on a personal mission for some years, to relax while having fun with a few friends, at the same time spreading enthusiasm for model sailing boats, and their use non-competitively and purely for pleasure, without taking the activity too seriously. (Put another way, `taking seriously the art of not taking our boats, ourselves and our sailing too seriously!’. Confused? That’s alright, most of us are really!) One example, about to enjoy a quiet sail is the writer, seen `launching with intent’ his oldish ketch Marigold in Auckland, New Zealand in the photograph below.

I have found another 'man on a mission' with some similarity, one John Storrow of Boston, Massachussetts in the U.S.A.. The only difference with John is, that unlike me (who has several thumbs which seem to get fatter with the passing years), John can build stunning sailing models, many of which he also designs. He also lives for his model yachting and likes to enthuse others.

Model yachting encompasses many many classes of boats and types of sailing activities, I am sure you have heard me say that before, and John (seen below) is not afraid to experiment and expand the parameters of design. He paints also (see one of his works below) I was introduced to his work by Barry Gibson in Victoria, Australia and did a story on Storrow many years ago in my Windling World magazine.

I wrote in an earlier issue that modelling is also very much about people and I’d like to tell you about Charlie Roden (seen below) of New Jersey which I am told is about fifty miles south of New York City. Charlie who belongs to the Marbleheaders Model Yacht Club of Spring Lake, NJ and Walter Watkins, built 50” (on deck) models of a 1931 Aux cruising schooner named Grenadier designed by that famous naval architect, John Alden. Walter had purchased the original plans from the Alden design office in Boston and sold Charlie a copy to build a plank on frame model using western red cedar 1/8” X ¾” strips, the model built to the San Diego Schooner Rules which require a faithful 50” scale model of the original boat design. June Pandino took the photos below of the model being sailed at Spring Lake last year.

Charlie who attended the 1952 Massachusetts Maritime Academy and was in the United States Navy does a mentoring class of ten boys and two girls at the Calvert Museum in Maryland where the youth are building skipjack models

If you have one (or want one and can get it – there must be many gathering cobwebs in attics and garages), here is what you can do with an old and no longer used Marblehead or A Class hull that has passed it’s use by date for being raced competitively because of design and method of construction limitations when built.. Bob Walters of Auckland’s Ancient Mariners windling group, converted one into a kind of`Superyacht, Passing Cloud shown here. Don’t throw them away, make something new with their hulls.`Nautical sin-bin style boats’ are in fashion and get bigger and more popular among the rich and famous as cruising boats don’t they. There is also a scale group at Fleetwood in UK who convert old RM hulls into great looking schooners. Now there you go! That’s another idea I will tell you about if and when my friend Jim Bennett of the Fleetwood Model Yacht & Power Boat Club sends me some photos, until then here are two impressive schooners built up on older no longer used hulls.

Left - Bob Walters' Passing Cloud; above - Ron Rule's RM cruising boat; below - one of the Fleetwood RM-hulled schooners.

Back to those wonderful little crew figures that Hans Staal of the Netherlands makes for his sailing models. In the first photograph five nicely featured heads made out of a modeling compounds await the intricate painting process as seen in the second photograph, while in the third photograph, the crew on the sands and aboard the Garnelenschuit await the tide that will float them and take them out to the fishing grounds. The time and effort in modelling and painting the tiny figures `maketh the men !’.

There’s a rather nice looking cutter-rigged sloop designed like a working Pilot boat, the Ruby B put out in kit form by Victor Model Products of Downey in California. It will cost you around three hundred greenbacks but when you have built it and made a good job of its construction and finishing (remember, if you rush it you ruin it) you will have a model that will sail well and be much admired. Go to the website and check it out, but first look at these two photos below.

The Lawhill was a steel-hulled four-masted barque built in Scotland and launched in 1892 that was ordered for the jute trade. After only just a couple of voyages carrying jute because of a fall off on that trade she carried other cargoes including grain. After twenty years as a grain carrier, the ship was seized by South Africa and confiscated as a prize of war and eventually sold to a firm in Lourenco Marques where she rotted at anchor in a river there for many years and was finally broken up for scrap in the 1960s. During her sailing years she was photographed on one occasion going into Durban. I found the photo (below) on the internet and it is reproduced below at left - kind courtesy of Allan at Media Group and is credited to fad.co.za

Ship modeller, Ron Fox who also built and runs a garden railway at his home in Buddina, Queensland, Australia was attracted to the boat and built this fine RC model (above) which he enjoys sailing. Perhaps he was attracted to the Lawhill because of a further connection the ship had with Australia. Apart from carrying grain from there I seem to recall reading whatever it was somewhere but I’ll be dammed if I can remember what it was and where I read it. If I am wrong then I profusely apologise. Not a good place to end this months ramble methinks …apologizing while lost at sea somewhere in the Ocean of Forgetfulness?

`Few would disagree that the world
of sailing is both wide and varied
insofar as what one sails, and how
one uses available wind power’

For previous columns by Mark Steele, click here