The Western Reserve Model Yacht Club, based at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, will host sailors from several states and Canada for a one-day competition on Sept. 21.
The club will hold pairs “match races” from 9 to 11 a.m. followed by fleet racing from 9 to 3 p.m., according to a news release.
Boats used for both events will be Soling 1 Meter one-design RC sailboats, 40 inches long and weighing 10 pounds. They sail by wind alone — no motors or propellers — and races are won by skill and tactics, since all boats are essentially equal, the club noted.
Match racing is most well-known as the format used for the full-scale boats’ 37th America’s Cup series finals. The America’s Cup is to be contested this fall, in Barcelona, Spain, after a traveling series of fleet races to select the two finalists.
“Normally, we race as “fleets,” where as many as 16 boats race at the same time. Match racing is where just two boats race, over much shorter course.” Mike Wyatt, sailing director of the club, stated in the release. “We will have likely have as many as 120 pairs — “matches” — in just two hour, each race is about 5 minutes long.
“The America’s Cup is now held using foiling single-hull boats,” he added. “Our model boats are model keelboats, sailed in ponds and lakes, by one skipper using a radio transmitter to control the boat.”
The event concludes with a fleet racing regatta through the afternoon. The same competitors will race using a single start, and longer races, usually lasting around 10 minutes each. Fleet races use the entire 5-acre SPIRE pond, while match races use a far smaller area of around 250 square feet.
The Western Reserve Model Yacht Club races from May to October every Tuesday evening, as well as two Saturdays a month, also at SPIRE, 5201 SPIRE Circle in Geneva. Spectators are welcome at those or the Sept. 21 event.
For more information visit the club’s website at www.wrmyc.org. Interested people can also call the club at 440-478-8208.