An Early Summer Dip in the Pool
It was fun to be back with the Antique and Classic Car show at Odessa, ON. and it was good to get out and do a show again with the pool. Mind you, it meant that some members had to get up early and start the set up as soon as they felt awake enough to do so. A good pot of coffee really helped. Thanks to John H., and Al for getting the whole process started, and to Jeremy and Nathan who arrived shortly after, and to Jeff and the Commodore as well. Assembly of all the parts was completed well before the water truck arrived and shortly thereafter all the tables were in place, the awning was up and the boats were on display. Just as well, it did not take long before the junior skippers arrived to take control of our fleet of model tugs ……… and everything seemed back to “normal”, the Odessa show has been one of the club highlights for many years and this was the first time the club had been able to participate since Covid struck. The weather did not disappoint, although there was a brief spatter of rain on the second day.
Of course there were some Club highlights, George's model of the "Edmund Fitzgerald" drew a lot of attention (and for more than its size). Skipper Nathan ordered a launch of the lifeboat from the stern of the “Hans HackmacK” ……. an action that went well ………. but recovery was somewhat more difficult and took a while before it was successful. John McK demonstrated his police boat (equipped with a fire hose), and surprised some of the junior audience who were too close to the edge of the pool.
Nathan and Ray had the site all ready for opening on day two and, again, the junior skippers rapidly deployed the the Club’s fleet of tugs. John H. and Al brought a PT boat and corvette and Stan provided some fun with the smoke from his CSL "City of Kingston" freighter. Avoidance was the key activity for the senior skippers! Everyone enjoyed themselves and no vessels were lost of sunk! For many of the boats it was not a new event but Jeff had a really nice R/C model tug, identified by the “H” on the funnel (near ready to run, 1/32 scale of German tugboat “Taucher O Wulf 8” by Horizon Hobby). From conversations, it seems there’s quite a bit of construction “in progress” but not yet at the presentation stage.
It’s a pleasure to welcome new vessels (and of course their skippers) to the Club and, in addition to Jeff’s model tug, Mike has several builds that I hope will join in the Club’s display events. Image A is a 1/96 scale Dean’s Marine model of HMS "Banckert", a WW II U-Class destroyer. Image B Is a Dumas 1/8 scale model of a Chris-Craft Barrelback runabout. Image C shows a modified Lindberg model, at 1/32 scale, of "PT 109" (a WW II USN torpedo boat that was commanded by Lt. J. F. Kennedy). Image D shows a Dumas model of a 1940 Chris-Craft Commuter Express Cruiser.
Pride of place is the 1/24 scale Mountfleet model of RMAS "Osprey", shown with selected details. This type of steel-hulled fishing drifter was used by the British Admiralty in both WW I and WW II (often on special missions). The model is equipped with a steam generator and took about 2 years to build. The detailing is very fine and clearly the rust is going to need chipping off and a re-paint .......... great detailing.
