The sun was shining on Sunday for the Scottish Federation of Model Boats Annual Regatta being hosted by Largs Model Boat Club with visitors travelling to the event from all over the UK.

A large marquee was erected at Aubery Pond to house all the boats which were entered into the various static competitions. Clubs from all over Scotland and the north of England attended, modellers travelling from as far south as Darlington , as northerly as Thurso and Aberdeen and all over the central belt.

One gentleman travelled from Dundee on his motorbike towing his models behind him in a trailer! The steering and docking course was laid out at the top end of the pond, whilst the rest of the pond was used for free sailing. There were two new features, a Tug Towing exhibition and racing "wee nips". The tug towing demonstrated the skills required by a teams of 2 working in tandem to manoeuvre a 12 foot long model of a bulk carrier. There was also a first for Largs the "wee nips" these are a one design class of yacht which raced around a course set out in the pond, the weather conditions were ideal for this it being a light to moderate westerly breeze!

It is estimated that over 1000 people came to see the event over the course of the day. Over 13 clubs were represented by over 120 members and many of those who had travelled from as far north as Aberdeen and Thurso and in the other direction the Scottish borders stayed overnight in the town. There were over 100 boats on display and a variety took to the water, from a model of the paddle steamer Waverley to warships, tugs, sailboats and even a submarine!

As Nigel Coats, Chairman of the Scottish Federation of Model Boats said " We knew when we asked Largs to host the Regatta that we could rely upon them to do a good job, however, they have exceeded our expectations in their management of the event! They even managed to change a miserable day into a sunny one in the end!" The committee of Largs Model Boat Club would like to thank all those who donated prizes for the raffle and especially Nicolson Maps, A D Paton Butcher and Willie Brown (the milkman!) for their donations and support of the event. The Ladies Guild from RNLI also occupied a tent on the big day.

So if anyone is interested in seeing the model boats again , come down to Aubery Pond any Wednesday or Sunday afternoon 1pm - 4pm and see the Club and talk to the members, you never know you might even want to start building your own model!

To see photo gallery, go here: http://tinyurl.com/obokh3