2006 IR/CWCC Fall Regionals

This battle was held from October 30th through September 1st at Greenbrier State Park, near Hagerstown, MD. This is the same location that the Spring Regionals were held at earlier in the year. The group of battlers for this battle was smaller than it was in the spring, but a good time was still had by all. Since this was a Fall Regionals, everyone's boat was running with damage accumulated throughout the year. This made things...interesting, to say the least. There were several sinks on both Saturday and Sunday (including your's truly!), and moss was a bigger problem than it has been in the past.

Saturday featured two full battles, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Sides were fairly balanced, with 6-7 ships on each side. The weather on Saturday was less than optimal with a drizzling rain and chilly temperatures, but we didn't let that soak our spirits (or our transmitters!). In the morning battle, the Axis struck first by sinking the Lion, but lost the Hindenburg. That afternoon, however, the Allies managed to claim the Big Moo (Carl's Musashi) and my Moltke, for the loss of the Des Moines and the Lion (again). Mossing became a huge issue, especially for the deep-draft battleships. A number of boats became hopelessly fouled, and Don had to wade in after them! Eventually, a number of people took to standing higher up on the shore line to get a better top-down view of the battle area, hoping to spot the worst of the moss patches. Also, some of us found that by quickly alternating between forward and reverse could clear lesser foulings, allowing our boats to continue battling. Sunday's weather was much improved, but the number of battlers dwindled somewhat due to a few people having to head home early. In the morning, there was one full battle. During this battle, a couple of small boats were brought out. Tom entered The Ship That Shall Not Be Named (TSTSNBN) into the fray, and Plato brought out his experimental Gearing DD. The Gearing was a big surprise, as it was extraordinarily stable for a ship of that size (around 24" long and about 3" in beam!) and demonstrated the effectiveness of the weight saving techniques Plato used in her construction. It has me and a couple of other battlers seriously talking about building Atlanta-class CL's, which have had similar stability issues in the past (in the words of "The Legend," they are "tippy!").

After the morning battle, even more captains packed their gear and headed out. Those of us who were left decided to run  a 4 ship free for all, involving the Moltke, Hindenburg, Valiant, and Bismarck. This sortie was historic, as it may very well have been the last time Tom's venerable Hindenburg sees action. Tom is planning on retiring the boat, which he has battled for 8 years, after this season. Anyway, the four of us put into the water and hammered away until our magazines were empty. At that point, rather than end the fight in a civilized manner, we decided to have a ramming war to see who would be the last boat floating. RAMMING SPEED! The Bismarck retired early, and Bill G.'s Valiant was the next to succumb after getting stern rammed by both the Moltke and the Hindenburg. The sterns of WW I German battlecruisers are just deadly! So, that left just the Moltke and Tom's Hindenburg on the water. We hammered away at each other for about 20 minutes, and several good hits were made by each of us. In the end though, this confrontation ended in a draw as both of our ships stubburnly refused to sink and we were both so low on battery power that we could barely make steering way. If this was indeed the end of t he Hindenburg's carrier, than she went out in fine style!

Overall, I had a great time this weekend, despite the fewer numbers and the crummy weather on Saturday. Even so, this battle was  a little bittersweet for me, since it will be my last with the IR/CWCC crowd for a couple of years, at least, since I will be moving to the Seattle area in early 2007. Anyway, enjoy the pictures and the two videos below!

Andy Rucker

The Alabama on moss check. There was a lot of moss in the lake this year, which kept most of the action close to shore.	Bobo's Alabama lines up to triple stern the bow of Ron's Bismarck.	Ron's Bismarck showing heavy bow damage
Ron's Bismarck again, with a prop fouled by moss, fishing line, and a kitchen sink!	Marty's NC angling for some side mount shots on the Bismarck.	The USS Des Moines, affectionately referred to as the "Daisy Mae"
The moss patches created a virtual "ring of death" near the shore for a lot of boats.	Tom's Hindenburg, just before she entered her final sortie on Sunday.	Hard to believe this boat is 8 years old. She doesn't look a day over 5!
Don's Lion cruising outside the fray. Here is a video of her  sinking close to shore.	This top-secret Axis spy photo shows the Allies' latest effort to boost the morale of its sailors: Gardens!	This gaping hole undoubtedly contributed to the Musashi's sinking, shown in this video.
	Don was nice enough to wade into the frigid waters of the lake to rescue several ships stuck dead in the water due to mossing.