Chasewater Model Boat Club

01/06/2026

After what seemed like forever the May Fast Electric Raceday eventually came around. The previous week had seen unheard of temperatures and there was some hope that the wonderful weather would stay with us for raceday.

As it was it turned out to be a warm and overcast day with a little bit of wind that soon calmed as the day went on.

Heat 1 was a fairly fraught effort with Stu taking an early lead that would come to an end on lap 2 as he caught a wave. With Stu out it became a race between Terry and Pat and at the end of the heat it was a win for Terry, 2nd for Pat both on 12 laps with Simon in 3rd with 10 laps.

Heat 2 was a similar story to the first one with Stu taking an early lead that would come to an end on lap 10. Meanwhile Pat was setting a blistering pace and finishing 1st with 14 laps, Lee coming in 2nd with 11 laps and Terry also on 11 laps in 3rd place.

Heat 3 was a bit of a demolition derby with Stu taking the lead from the start of what became a great tussle between him and Terry with never a few yards between the two of them. In the end it was a win for Stu and a 2nd for Terry, both on 14 laps with Lee coming in 3rd on 9 laps. It was one of the best races to watch.

Heat 4 saw Lee take the lead into the first buoy and for six laps he held the lead as Stu was slowly catching him. When Lee ran wide at the fourth buoy Stu cut inside to briefly take the lead. What followed next was one of the most spectacular crashes ever seen with Stu’s boat being launched some 12 feet in the air. For whatever reason Lee slowed and Simon took the lead that he held all the way to the end. Simon winning with a best of the day 15 laps with Pat in 2nd with 13 laps and Terry in 3rd also with 13 laps.

Points wise Terry had a great haul of 27 points to get him within 3 points of the current leader Stu. With Pat and Simon also scoring well as they also closed the gap.

Once again a great, if hectic, day of racing. Thanks to everybody that contributed to making the day the success it was.

Next meeting is 26 July………...see you there.

25/05/2026

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A-Unit responded to calls reporting this vehicle racing on the M6 with others. Unfortunately for the driver, a S.59 warning had already been issued.

Therefore, it was seized and the driver reported for several offences.

12/04/2026

Just like every other competition day, today’s Fast Electric round started with a weather forecast from Phil which didn’t sound too bad but I have to say what we actually got was more like the song Four Seasons In One Day by Bad Finger, because that is about what we got, including a very wintery blast of hailstones at the end of the day.

As you can probably guess this was another meeting where the weather would play a big part and it would be very difficult to find the limit of how fast we could go.

Despite a shout out, the previous day, asking for folks to volunteer to man the rescue boat it was great to see that Mark could make it after all. I have to say he does a great job volunteering to carry out the rescue duties and he is either made of tough stuff or all that nautical gear that he wears must be very warm as he spends a lot of time out on the lake in all weathers.

Heat 1 Got underway with eight racers starting the race. As I look at the lapsheet it looks like a few didn’t finish but I am told that was not the case, it was quite simply folks finding their own pace that would allow them to finish the race. In the end it was a win for Stu, second place to Pat both on 9 laps and third going to Andy M on 6 laps.

Heat 2 looked like people were beginning to find the limit of the conditions as most of them seemed to be pushing a bit harder in this one. At the end it was Pat, who looked like he was having a good day, that took the win from Stu in second, both on 9 laps again and David coming in third with 8 laps.

Heat 3 and things were definitely hotting up. Mel’s boat left the lake and rode up the concrete slipway making an awful noise as it went on its way. Stu was a late casualty as he got airborne over a very slow boat. Due to submarining issues Pat had been trimming his boat for most of the day to try and keep it on the surface and it seemed to be paying off as he completed 10 laps to take second place from Terry who was averaging one prop per heat at this point. David also had a great run, completing 10 laps to take third place.

Heat 4. Another fast heat as the weather had calmed slightly before the hailstorm that I mentioned earlier. This one somehow seemed to get off to a very fast and furious start and with two non starters and two early retirement it was down to the reaming four to fight for the honours. In the end it was a win for Terry with Simon in second place, both doing 10 laps. Pat coming in third with 9 laps from Andy M in fourth with a very good run of 9 laps.

So there we have it, another fast and furious day of the Fast Electric class held again in not very good conditions. I am off to Spain tomorrow so I will see if I can bring some good weather back for the next round.

For those that noticed, I apologise for not being my normal self today but I have been suffering all this year with a severe ear infection that is almost gone but now it seems that I have some other peculiar ailment that just leaves me very tired and out of breath. Hopefully a holiday will sort me out.

As always, a big thank you to everyone that helps out at these events to make them run as well as they do.

See you all on 31st May for the next round.

29/03/2026

Cloudy, moderate breeze with rain at 12:00 was the forecast from Phil for the second round of Fast Electrics. What Phil failed to mention was the near arctic conditions caused by the cooling effect of the stiff breeze as it blew from the lake causing some very choppy conditions with it.

A great turnout of eight racers turned up to do battle at this round where the weather and the water conditions would play a big part.

This Sunday was the changing of the clocks and despite an earlier reminder from Simon, it seems that the message had not got through to everybody as Pat fell foul of the moving of the clocks to British Summertime as he arrived fashionably late and a little bit flustered, but all’s well that ends well as they say and he was in good time to make the first heat.

Heat 1. This was always going to be a bit of a lottery as people tried to understand the conditions. Stu, Lee and Mel being the early casualties of the conditions. Meanwhile It was all go at the front with Simon out in front and holding onto his lead to take first place after completing 8 laps with Terry and Pat coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Heat 2. Mel was a non starter for this one and the winner of heat 1, Simon, managed only three laps before his race came to an end. Stu was the pacesetter in this one but was closely followed by Pat for the duration of the race. In the end both Stu and Pat completed 9 laps to take first and second respectively with Dave finishing third having completed 7 laps.

Heat 3. This one was more like a Club 500 race as all I could hear was bang clatter and smash as the boats tried to navigate the course, the conditions and each other. As I was racing myself I missed a seeing a lot of the incidents but I did catch a glimpse of one incident where I saw a boat flying through the air at about 5 feet off the lake. Such was the rate of attrition in this one that Stu was the only one to complete the full race distance and so it was a win for Stu, 2nd to Terry and 3rd for Simon.

Heat 4. With a hint of rain in the air and the bitterly cold conditions getting into people’s bones heat 4 got underway with Andy’s race ending almost as soon as it started and recording no laps. It seemed for this heat that people were getting used to the conditions as many were able to complete more laps than any of the previous races. In the end Stu took the win with 10 laps from Terry in 2nd and Simon in third.

Both of the opening rounds of this series have been held in windy, choppy and trying conditions that have caused people to have to learn how best to cope with the conditions presented to them. I try to look for different racing lines and understand the effects of the different wind directions as we attempt to get round the course. Today I put into practice something that I learned at the last race. A bit like slipstreaming in a race car I noticed that the water behind a boat was noticeably calmer than the surrounding water and I found that you could use a lot more throttle when the boat was in the wake of another, giving a lot more speed.

All great stuff and every day a learning day as they say.

As always, a big thank you to everybody that helps make these days what they are but a special mention this week must go to Mark for manning the rescue boat in such cold conditions and Graham for stepping in to lapscore after Lorraine had to stay at home as she was not feeling on top of the world. Phil, our weatherman, for his forecast which was incredibly accurate today as the rain did indeed come at bang on 12:00 as he predicted.

Great stuff Phil and thank you for doing what you do.
Unfortunately we have no photographs of today’s action so just for a bit of amusement I have added one that my son in law Colin seemed to take great pleasure in producing. I am not quite so convinced.

…….and there ended another day of Fast Electric racing.

Next one is Sunday 12 April. See you there.

25/03/2026

22/02/2026

The weather gods must have been looking after the Fast Electric racers today as the morning dawned with the first sign of sunshine that I had seen in a long time.

Confirmation that the weather was the same 26 miles down the road soon came from Phil and it was all go for the first round of the fast and furious class that is the Club Fast Electric class.

Before I describe the events of the day it would seem that there is some confusion as to how points are awarded for this class. In short the winner of a heat earns 10 points, second place earns 9 points and third place earns 8 points all the way down to tenth place where you will be awarded 1 point.

If you do not start a race you do not score any points.

If you start a race but do not finish, for whatever reason, you will be awarded points for the position that you have earned from the number of laps that you have completed.

For example, the last race of the day today there was only one finisher but everybody that started the race and completed more than one lap was awarded a position commensurate with the number of laps that they had completed.

I have added the points to the positions gained for Heat 4 which will hopefully further clarify how points are awarded for a non finish.

Hopefully that clarifies the points scoring, but if you have any questions then do please ask me and I will get back to you.

So not only were we welcomed by a bright sunny morning but also a bit of a racy wind that would play its part in today’s events and cause throttle control and staying upright to be the order of the day.

Heat 1. A fantastic entry of eight competitors started heat one. Into the first buoy it was Stu that took a lead that he would hold until the end. I have always said that it is so difficult to write an accurate report whilst racing myself but, from what I heard, it seemed to be quite a chaotic race with Pat, David and Mal only managing 5 laps between them, for whatever reason. In the end it was a win for Stu, second place to Andy M and third to Simon.

Heat 2. This was a similar story to heat one, again the conditions and the odd collision taking their toll with non finishes for Pat, David, Lee and Mal. At the end and after a race long battle with Simon it was Stu who took another win from Simon in second and Terry a few laps down in third place.

Heat 3. Saw Simon take the lead into the first buoy as, for what ever reason, Stu headed off in a completely different direction giving himself a bit of work to do as he came round the first buoy in third place. As I said before, the secret of success for today was always going to be throttle management in the choppy conditions and at the end it was Stu who took the win from Lee in second with David coming home in third.

Heat 4. The wind had increased significantly for this heat as it got off to a hectic start with Simon leading from the first buoy. Within a couple of laps Stu had taken the lead and was looking like he was going for a full house of wins, until lap 3 when the conditions caught him out and flipped his boat. As the race went on, more and more people fell by the wayside whether through a collision or the choppy conditions until there was only Simon left in the race as the six other boats were all sailing upside down by lap 6. So it was a win for Simon who completed 12 laps, Lee coming in second with 5 laps for 9 points and David coming third with 8 points for four laps.

And there endeth the first round of the Club FE Class.

Some great successes, some sob stories but always great fun.

Thank you to Simon for organising the class and acquiring some lovely new purposeful buoys.

Thanks to Lorraine for all her lapscoring efforts, not an easy job I can tell you.

A very special thank you to Mark for depling and collecting the course buoys and spending all morning in the safety boat recovering stricken boats.

Finally thank you to everybody that turned up to race and to those that turned up to watch and offer support.

A great day and I hope to see you all at the next round in March.

22/02/2026

The weather gods must have been looking after the Fast Electric racers today as the morning dawned with the first sign of sunshine that I had seen in a long time.

Confirmation that the weather was the same 26 miles down the road soon came from Phil and it was all go for the first round of the fast and furious class that is the Club Fast Electric class.

Before I describe the events of the day it would seem that there is some confusion as to how points are awarded for this class. In short the winner of a heat earns 10 points, second place earns 9 points and third place earns 8 points all the way down to tenth place where you will be awarded 1 point.

If you do not start a race you do not score any points.

If you start a race but do not finish, for whatever reason, you will be awarded points for the position that you have earned from the number of laps that you have completed.

For example, the last race of the day today there was only one finisher but everybody that started the race and completed more than one lap was awarded a position commensurate with the number of laps that they had completed.

I have added the points to the positions gained for Heat 4 which will hopefully further clarify how points are awarded for a non finish.

Hopefully that clarifies the points scoring, but if you have any questions then do please ask me and I will get back to you.

So not only were we welcomed by a bright sunny morning but also a bit of a racy wind that would play its part in today’s events and cause throttle control and staying upright to be the order of the day.

Heat 1. A fantastic entry of eight competitors started heat one. Into the first buoy it was Stu that took a lead that he would hold until the end. I have always said that it is so difficult to write an accurate report whilst racing myself but, from what I heard, it seemed to be quite a chaotic race with Pat, David and Mal only managing 5 laps between them, for whatever reason. In the end it was a win for Stu, second place to Andy M and third to Simon.

Heat 2. This was a similar story to heat one, again the conditions and the odd collision taking their toll with non finishes for Pat, David, Lee and Mal. At the end and after a race long battle with Simon it was Stu who took another win from Simon in second and Terry a few laps down in third place.

Heat 3. Saw Simon take the lead into the first buoy as, for what ever reason, Stu headed off in a completely different direction giving himself a bit of work to do as he came round the first buoy in third place. As I said before, the secret of success for today was always going to be throttle management in the choppy conditions and at the end it was Stu who took the win from Lee in second with David coming home in third.

Heat 4. The wind had increased significantly for this heat as it got off to a hectic start with Simon leading from the first buoy. Within a couple of laps Stu had taken the lead and was looking like he was going for a full house of wins, until lap 3 when the conditions caught him out and flipped his boat. As the race went on, more and more people fell by the wayside whether through a collision or the choppy conditions until there was only Simon left in the race as the six other boats were all sailing upside down by lap 6. So it was a win for Simon who completed 12 laps, Lee coming in second with 5 laps for 9 points and David coming third with 8 points for four laps.

And there endeth the first round of the Club FE Class.

Some great successes, some sob stories but always great fun.

Thank you to Simon for organising the class and acquiring some lovely new purposeful buoys.

Thanks to Lorraine for all her lapscoring efforts, not an easy job I can tell you.

A very special thank you to Mark for deploying and collecting the course buoys and spending all morning in the safety boat recovering stricken boats.

Finally thank you to everybody that turned up to race and to those that turned up to watch and offer support.

A great day and I hope to see you all at the next round in March.

11/02/2026

February Club night meet: Many thanks thanks to all who attended. Some discussion took place concerning "club racing" and boats that become "disabled"/ upturned, or stopped for any reason. If subsequently "rescued" and the boat is mobile again. DO NOT RESUME RACING. retrun to the shore as you will be deemed and a "non finisher" and a note of DNF as a score for that particular race. This was agreed unaminously by all present competitors of the events concerned. this it to make it fair to all concerned.
Club 500 & fast electric racing events will have this introduced also with some more clarifications which will be published by the individual co ordinators in due course.

Thankyou to all those members who attended and collected their membership cards AND MPBa insurance cards. ANYONE who has not been able to collect their membership cards, dont panic, the remaining few will be posted out to you directly.

For those using MPBA insurance. AND running in the Fast Electric racing. Kindly remember that your MPBA insurance number MUST be clearly placed on your boat to cover "liability insurance". the label will clearly say CMBC - "+your mpba number". for example "CMBC 01". this will be checked by the co ordinator before any event and you will not be allowed to compete without this number decal being attached. Sorry to reiterate, but our Insurers are keen to ensure that identity can be seen.

I am experimenting with adding all the club event dates to the main page. hopefully it will encourage engagement with out club, and possibly draw a few more members in, rather than just post these dates on the "closed group page".

A decision was made concerning the second recovery boat we now have. This is to be advertised on ebay and sell on, proceeds going to club funds.

PHOTOGRAPHS:
It would be very much appreciated that if anyone has a few minutes time when attending our club events, they take a few images and send them to me, so i can post, and also freshen up my rather "ageing stock" of club boat action.

20/12/2025

Chasewater model Boat Club would like to wish ALL our followers and visitors a very
MERRY CHRISTMAS.