About 12 years ago, my brother and I got into RC sailboats. We had been interested in RC cars for a while, both owning 2WD buggies, and so when my brother saw sailboats cruising around Mason Park in Irvine, he decided to get one, and I decided to get one as well. We both bought 1-meter boats from Victor Model Products, me going with the “Spirit of ’92” (pictured above) and my bro going with the “America³“. The boats came unassembled, which was fine because I always enjoyed building models when I was a kid, and this was just a big (much bigger!) model. It took some time, but wasn’t difficult, and the ship was beautiful. I only got to put her in the water a couple times, but it was tons of fun sailing her around!

Fast forward to today, and I have caught the RC sailboat fever again. My brother still has his sailboat, but mine is probably long gone (I left it at with a friend before I moved to Japan, and I am not exactly sure what happened to it). I was doing some research on local clubs here in Austin, and there is a fairly active one that sails twice a month at ponds nearby. The boat that they mainly use is the Victoria by Thunder Tiger. It’s a smaller boat than the one I had before, but still sails well. The smaller size also means that it is easier to transport, and takes up less room in the house (The mast can also be quickly disassembled). I think the sailboat looks pretty cool, but maybe the wife wouldn’t think so.

At any rate, I am thinking of getting one again. The Victoria is actually cheaper than the 1-meter boat I had, and assembly is similar. I am going to check out the local club soon and see the sailboats and decide if I want to really get back into it. Seems like fun, and the cool thing about this hobby is that it isn’t an ongoing investment: once you buy the kit and radio control gear, your only further expense would be batteries.