Learning to sail the big boats as a young boy, will help an Okotoks area man when he races small boats at a major competition in High River this weekend.
“When I was a school boy [in England] one of our teachers asked us if we would like to try sailing — and I thoroughly enjoyed it,” Colin Aldridge said. “But it’s just like riding a bike, you don’t forget it.”
However, this weekend, Aldridge will be on land controlling the sails with a remote control.
Aldridge is one of approximately 30 sailors competing in the International One Metre Canadian championships at Emerson Lake in High River, Sept. 22-24. Participants will come from British Columbia and the United States, including Washington, Idaho and as far as Georgia.
There’s no motor on the boats, which can be no longer than one metre, their speed and direction are done by controlling the sails and the rudder via remote control.
“It’s physics basically, vectors and geometry,” he said. “You have to know how far off the wind to sail to get the best speed… Fortunately, I learned to sail a boat when I was younger. I know how to set the sails, the rudder and how to steer.”
While it’s relaxing, it’s a different kind of relaxing.
“I enjoy the competition,” said Aldridge, who is a member of the Calgary Model Sailing Association. “It is almost like playing chess on water, you’re trying to stay two or three steps ahead.”
The races consist of approximately 15 boats lined up at a starting gate and then sailing around another gate and returning to the starting line.
“It can get a bit crazy at the start,” Aldridge explained. “It is very tactical. Everyone is manoeuvering so as not to cross the starting line too early — if you do, you have to go back to the starting line… There are crashes, arguments, protests, it can get intense, but we try to act like gentlemen.”
He took up sailing the model sail boats about 12 years ago to relieve some pressure.
“I was stressed to the limit, so I used to go down to the lake in High River,” Aldridge said. “Sit by myself and just unwind.”
He initially bought a boat from a hobby shop, but the one he will sail this weekend, the Millie Georgia, is a homemade wooden ship.
“I built a higher performance one last winter,” Aldridge said. “I do enjoy doing it. The wooden boats are quite rare because of the complexity to build one.”
There are strict height and weight restrictions for the sailboats. They can’t weigh any less than four kilogram. The sails are inspected and must meet proper requirements before hitting the water.
The smaller lake in High River is ideal for model sailing. There is plenty of wind, and quite importantly, no weeds for the boats’ long fins to get snared in.
Emerson Lake is also ideal for spectators, who are invited to kibitz with the sailors.
For more information about the races go to www.facebook.com/CalgaryModelSailingAssociation
