me because I have loved working with all
of you over the years.
I just want to tell you all how much I
have enjoyed working with all you,
whether it was for individual memberships,
club and district issues, or securing
insurance on your race sites. I have worked
with some families processing
memberships over the years for three
generations of family members. I have
watched toddlers grow up to be excellent
teen and adult boaters, many of them
beating out the old guard. I have seen
marriages, births, and sadly some deaths. I
miss a lot of the old boaters like Gary
Johnson, John Brodbeck, Jim Henry, and
Ira Cotton. But I have been equally excited
to meet many of the new boaters that are
following in their footsteps.
I have attended many Nationals, getting
to meet in person many of the people I
have talked to for years in such places as
Virginia, Canada, and Texas. There are
many of you that I have not had the
opportunity to meet in person, but I feel
that we have nevertheless gotten to know
each other over the years. I will miss
talking to all of you, and hearing what is
going on in your lives. I hope that you will
call me at (619) 424-6380, email at
cathieg@ix.netcom.com, or join me on
Facebook every once in a while just to say
hello and keep in touch. I will still be an
active member of NAMBA, and hopefully,
once I can afford to retire from my full
time job I will have more time to attend
races and nationals. I want to thank you all
for your friendship and help over the years.
I could never have stayed with this job as
long as I did were it not for all of your
support and enthusiasm.
So in closing, I would like to paraphrase
the words from that great Bob Hope classic
when I say “Thanks For The Memories.”
They will stay with me for the rest of my
life.
PROPWASH
November 2012
23
At the end of a race, we’ve seen the person coming in second threaten the winner
because second place thought he was cut off. We’ve seen a boater threaten another
because a dead boat was hit. We’ve seen people drive their boats with no thought of
what is fair to the other racers. There was a time that it became too important for me to
win model boat races. I put the emphasis on winning, getting my way, arguing with the
judges, and taking home a trophy. The goal was to win instead of having fun with
friends. I found out that I did not like the person I was at boat races. But, I also learned
that I don’t like the way some of my friends become at boat races. It is possible to
compete and win while remaining respectful of others. You can have a good time
racing model boats without taking home a trophy. You can make a point about poor
driving without threatening others. You can respect the other people racing against
you.
For the past several years, NAMBA has tried to grow the hobby. How do we attract
more people into model boat racing? How do we keep the people we have? While the
most common reason people say they don’t run model boats is cost, many of those that
have quit have taken up hobbies that are just as expensive. A good skeet gun can cost
more than $20,000. A good set of golf clubs can be several thousand dollars. People I
know left model boating and have taken up skeet and golf. It was not the hobby cost
that made them leave. Model boating was no longer fun.
At the 2011 NAMBA Nats at Legg Lake, I watched a woman and her small
children try to walk past our pit area. Men were screaming at each other and
threatening each other. At the 2012 NAMBA Nats in New Hampshire one of the CD’s
neighbors came to watch the boat races. She was 94 years old and they gave her a seat
near the drivers’ stand. She was too frail to get up and walk away when boaters swore
at each other. All she could do was sit there and witness unacceptable language.
In the USA, I’ve raced at APBA, IMPBA and NAMBA events. I’ve attended National
Championships, regional events, huge invitational races, and small local events.
Internationally I’ve attended NAVIGA and Australian championship races. The
absolutely worst personal conduct I’ve ever seen has been at NAMBA events.
As we know, the CD at NAMBA events can disqualify anyone for unsportsmanlike
behavior. But, most CD’s hesitate to disqualify anyone. They should learn from that
CD in Norway. “We do not tolerate vulgar language or gestures at our events,” he told
me. “This is a family event. It is a gentlemen’s sport.”
When I was holding the Crazy Al race in Montana, if you swore, there was a fine.
You put your dollar into the can every time you swore or behaved poorly. It became
obvious that NAMBA boaters could compete without swearing, without threatening
each other, and without having a loss of temper. If everyone can behave properly just
to save a dollar, everyone can behave properly to make sure that NAMBA boating is a
gentlemen’s sport. This is something we can all help to improve. It is just as important
to be as proud of yourself as you are of your boats. Take a moment to decide how you
want your friends to think of you. Be the person at the boat pond that you are at home
and at work. If your friend is out of line, be a friend and tell him.
Winning a trophy cannot be worth losing friends, losing a good reputation, or
stepping on other people’s rights. We want to attract new racers to NAMBA. We do
not want to offend the current members and drive them away.
Thanks For The Memories
By Cathie Galbraith
As I am sure you have read in other articles in this newsletter, after 25 years as
serving as your Executive Secretary, I have decided that it is time to retire. There were
several reasons that contributed to this decision. I turned 65 this year, and although I
cannot yet afford to retire from my regular job, it just seemed like a good age to retire
from my NAMBA job. In addition, I had some health issues earlier this year that were
the direct result of stress.
While I loved doing the NAMBA work, making the time to do the work in
conjunction with another full time job added an element of stress. So I decided that I
needed to simplify my life in a lot of different areas, and the NAMBA job
unfortunately needed to be one of them. All in all, this was a very difficult decision for