TUCSON, Arizona — From above, they look and sound like speed boats. And, they are, that is, remote control speed boats.
At Christopher Columbus Park's Archer Lake, as many of twenty two members of the Tucson Model Boat Club put their two-foot boats in the water, grab their transistors, and test their skills.
Karl Morse has been a member for the Tucson Model Boat Club for fifty years, and is the club's president.
"Just the thrill of it," said Morse. "It just gives you adrenaline. A lot of times, you'll have eight boats going around the corner at the same time."
That's what happens during competitions, which occur regularly.
"The comradery here," said Morse. "Everybody takes care of everybody."
On this day, Morse and his club members are practicing. The course is an oval around buoys on the lake. A race is six laps long, or a mile. The faster boats top seventy miles an hour in this mental sport.
"It's not as easy as you think when you are standing over there and the boat is around the corner," said Morse.
So, I decided to test my skill at remote control boat racing. I started slowly and made a turn. But, just as one shouldn't take their eye off the ball, I took mine off the boat, and got off course.
"Sometimes, you don't win but you have a good race," Morse said. "You come in second place but the guy you were running with was their the whole time. It was a good race and you just feel really good afterwards."
