THE CLUB HISTORY

The Racing Model Boat Club was formed in the early 1980’s as an offshoot from the Ringwood Marine Model Club. The latter group had been established for many years and catered for scale models and racing models. The group met monthly at Ringwood Library and there home water was Ringwood Lake on Maroondah Hwy, Ringwood where both scale steering courses and multi-boat racing courses (and Naviga speed triangle courses) could be accommodated.

In 1976 RMMC with the help of the Western Districts model boat club hosted the Australian nationals for multi racing, Naviga speed and Straight line racing (the latter being held at Cherry Lake, Altona).

In the late seventies the local council decided to change Ringwood Lake from a simple retarding basin/lake into a “municipal feature” and so built a jetty, added trees and feature rocks around the waters edge and started restricting the sort of activities that may take place at the location. The end result for the racing model boaters was that the water was more difficult to access, was smaller in area and now had rocks hazards in place instead of grass around the waters edge-all in all a great leap backwards for the major local community group that had been using the facility. While the venue was still used for scale activities the racing folk had to look for larger water. The lake at Yellingbo and the retarding basin in Liverpool Rd were 2 venues used at this time.

However, in the early 80’s a group of modelers within the RMMC decide to form a club specifically for racing boat modelers and the Racing Model Boat Club of Victoria was formed with about 12 members. Negotiations that had been running for some time with the then VFL Park to use the water storage facility at Waverley Park as a club venue now matured. Monthly club meetings took place at the Gladesville Community centre. And the RMBC of Vic was incorporated in August 1985.

Many years of racing, competition and fun took place before the big black cloud drifted over Waverley Park football complex. With the closure of the by now AFL Park access to the lake became irregular and difficult to obtain. It was fortunate this had been anticipated by the committee of the time and a new venue was sought out at Caribbean Gardens before the Waverley Park venue was closed permanently to model boating. Our old drivers stand can be still seen there today.