I HEARD a song the other day, on the wireless. It’s an old song from when I was a nipper or, as they say in Yorkshire, no’ but a lad!
The song describes my joy, as an old lad these days, and enthusiasm for ‘playing’ with model boats and yachts.
I’ll share a few lines from the song here: ‘When the weather is fine, you know it’s the time, For messin’ about on the water. If you take my advice, there’s nothing so nice, As messin’ about on the water. There’s big boats and wee boats and all kinds of craft. Puffers and keel boats and some with no draft. There are boats made from kits, that’ll reach you in bits, For messin’ about on the water. Anchors and tillers and rudders and cleats, Ropes that are sometimes referred to as sheets, With the wind in your face, there’s no finer place, Than messin’ about on the water.’
The song was performed by Josh McCrae in February 1961 when I was only five-years-old. I’ve altered the odd word, but it still strikes a chord with me. It was written by Tony Hatch and Les Reed and I heartily recommend you search for it on the internet and have a listen. It will lift your spirits!
Rawdon Model Boat Club gives me everything described in the song and lots more besides. I am member of this friendly group of people of all ages and backgrounds, with a common enthusiasm for model boating in all its various guises.
We are a club that embraces all aspects of model boat building and sailing (except ICE). From racing yachts to scale schooners, from pleasure steam boats to cargo ships, warships and lifeboats and “all kinds of craft”.
My own particular interest is sailing model racing yachts. My boat measures one metre bow to stern and stands taller than me. I haven’t given it a name, just a sail number, 54, and it is my pride and joy.
I get to race my boat with like-minded members every Thursday morning and sometimes on the weekends.
Other friends at RMBC prefer to build scale model boats, either from scratch using a plan, or they buy kits and spend many long, enjoyable hours creating some wonderful masterpieces. I am always amazed by the level of detail they include in their finished model ships. You should come along and see them!
Talking of which, Rawdon MBC is to host an Open Day on Saturday, August 19. We will open our gates from 10am until 4pm and welcome you to our pleasantly secluded, private lake and waterside clubhouse at Larkfield Tarn in Rawdon.
Set your sat nav with postcode LS19 6EQ and look for us at the top of Canada Road, where it joins Larkfield Road.
You’ll be sure of a warm welcome from our members. I can’t vouch for the weather on the day so bring a coat just in case, and please bring your friends and family to enjoy the sights and thrills of sailing model boats. You can enjoy the quiet pleasures of “messing about on the water” with us!
We will have boats on show, boats to sell, refreshments from our canteen, WCs and lots of outdoor seating where you can sit and enjoy the peaceful ambience of our beautiful lake. You can even have a go at controlling one or two of our boats!
There has been a model boat club on Larkfield Tarn since the 1930s, nearly 100 years ago. The original club, known as the Bradford Model Yacht club, was formed in 1886 and after a number of years sailing on other lakes and ponds they settled on Larkfield Tarn in the early 1930s.
The club has gone through good times and bad over its long history and has changed its name a few times to suit the changing fashions of model boating. Today we are the proud owners of one of the best clubs in the North of England.
One of our previous members, David Hollom, was involved in designing one of the British 1987 America’s Cup contenders, White Crusader II, for the Royal Thames Yacht Club. However, the RTYC chose to use the other boat because it was of a more “conventional design”, in the Louis Vuiton Cup seeding races. Unfortunately the Brits and all the other contenders were defeated by the American team who went on to challenge the Australians for the ‘Old Jug’.
I often wonder if the RTYC had used the Hollom design, would Britain have won the America’s Cup for the first time? We’ll never know!
But that’s enough of a history lesson for now. If you can’t make it to our Open Day on August 19, don’t worry. Rawdon Model Boat Club is open on Saturday and Sunday mornings from about 9am until 12 noon, or until the last keyholder calls it a day.
So please feel free to pop in and have a chat about model boating.
Please bear in mind though that while we encourage all kinds of model boats we do not allow petrol or diesel engines of any sort. We don’t want oil in our lake to spoil the water and harm the wildlife.
Similarly, we do not allow flying models, drones, aircraft or helicopters etc. Our neighbours would not appreciate the noise or the possible invasion of their privacy.
Because we own the lake it is private, and we do not allow fishing.
Well that’s enough from me. I’m going to head out to Rawdon and sail my boat on Larkfield Tarn. Like I said at the start of this article, “If you take my advice, there’s nothing so nice As messin’ about on the water.”
I look forward to seeing you there!
* Find us on Facebook - facebook.com/RawdonMBC - and see more about the wonderful boats we sail.
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