Tucson and the boat-filled harbors of the West Coast have a lot more in common with one another on the two days a month when seasoned sailors race model boats in the Sun City Vistoso pond.
With no natural body of water in sight but a nice breeze blowing across the golf course pond, any of the captains there would say last Sunday was a near-perfect day for racing radio-controlled replica sailboats — or the real McCoy, for that matter.
According to his competitors, the man to beat in the Tucson sailboat racing circuit is Jim Ostheimer of Oro Valley.
For Ostheimer, who raced full-sized sailboats along the Eastern Seaboard for 30 years, racing radio-controlled models is a way to connect with his past.
"You have the ability to sail as you would if you were on the boat," Ostheimer said. "But you don't need a crew and you don't get your feet wet. You get all the same adrenaline pumping."
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"Word is getting out"
Ostheimer has an "EC-12" — or East Coast 12-meter — a radio-controlled boat almost 60 inches long and weighing about 25 pounds, according to www.ec12.org.
For a former seafarer, racing these small sailboats is a way to "not be frustrated with the lack of oceans" hereabouts.
In 1997, Ostheimer moved to Arizona from Maine, and that same year his wife found out about the model yacht club. He's been an active member ever since, he said.
"We attract more and more visitors," Ostheimer said of the club. "Word is getting out."
On any given race day the group sees three to five racers, he said.
"Even with a handful, you get really good racing," Ostheimer said.
Brad Donath of Green Valley participated in the races last Sunday. He, his wife and daughters and their golden retriever lived aboard a tugboat for four months in Ventura Marina in Southern California.
The Donaths also owned five sailboats.
"Most of us — almost all of us — were big boat owners," Donath said of the club members.
Donath now owns two Odom model sailboats that he's been racing in the desert for about three years — since he moved to the area from Southern California.
"I found them (the Tucson Model Yacht Club) online as soon as I got here."
The Odom is about 39 inches long, a bit shorter and lighter than the EC-12.
Donath's wife, Susan Donath, waited on shore, watching the race and cheering him on. The couple's twin daughters Allison and Brittany also come to watch the races. The twins' 14th birthday, April 26, is represented on Dad's boat as the identifying number — 426.
"It's a lot less maintenance and a lot less money than the real boats," Susan Donath said.
Boats built from kits
All the boats are built from kits and cost between $500 and $700 used, Ostheimer said. The boats can also be customized with paint and names.
Ostheimer's boat, Grimmet, is painted bright red and is named after a family farm in Pennsylvania.
The club manages to get in a dozen or so races on a good Sunday afternoon — scored on a clipboard by Ostheimer.
The pond races, in view of the Sun City Golf Course's 10th fairway, draw a few funny looks, Ostheimer said.
"For a while they thought we were strange," he said. "But they're getting used to us."
Watch the races
● The Sun City Vistoso Model Yacht Club and Tucson Model Yacht Club meet at 2 p.m. the second and fourth Sunday of each month. Radio-controlled sailboat racing is held at the Sun City Vistoso Pond, 1565 E. Rancho Vistoso Blvd. All skill levels are welcome and it's free to watch or participate.
