St.Albans and District Model Engineering Society

October 2024 Club Night Report

The October club evening.

Clive kindly stood in for absent management and the Society exhibition detail was passed on to members.  Clive congratulated all those that had made it one of our most successful exhibitions and then passed the proceedings over to the speaker for the evening. 

With a shock I realised it was me!

So, rather than précis the subject for the evening, the following is my own experience of the evening from up front!  

I arrived with Michael who was also opening up.  First problem was easy what is the password for the WiFi system?  The next was seeing if I can log-in and yes we were in.  Can I run live video from it, a bit of a hiccup but yes it runs nicely. 

Next was getting the picture onto the screen.  After some searching around and finding a remote for the overhead projector, it then burst into life. I now had the laptop screen image on the big screen.  Everything I do is now for all to see!  I shall be exposed for what I am, a mere beginner.

Next was David's camera and after much adjusting of the tripod to the right height for the camera it remained blank.  It was plugged into my laptop. Here Matthew came to my aid and the camera worked well.  I had forgotten how computer oriented everyday life is for his generation. 

Next was to see if I could run an already downloaded video.  Eventually with further help I found that the videos had re-filed themselves into a different download menu!  I went to sit with Noel and pretend I was just in the audience.

I had typed up some notes beforehand on the Americas Cup and used these as a start point, I invariably wander off the subject which I did, but then a question got me back.  I am currently expecting an eye test and with just the reading glasses, I find the audience is a bit of a blur!  Note to myself my hearing aids need a tweek as well, as it was a bit difficult hearing what was said.

Through my notes and a bit about the history of the America’s Cup and on to the current Americas cup due to start in a couple of days.  I showed a part of a video of a race to get non-believers into the frame with some racing and a good look at the boats.

The yachts are measured in feet, their speed in Knots, the race distance in miles and the distance apart they are in metres.  Talk about a confusion in numbers!  

Then through the detail of weight of the boat and crew and a lot on the extreme technology of how it works, I had found a video on the hydraulics and showed that.  Then a bit more on the structure of the race and the extensive use of CGI in virtual control of the course and how the boats operated.

Time for tea! 

I was getting a bit parched by now, so most welcome.  I had asked Jim and Chris if they could bring in some Scalextric car racing, possibly as back up for the last half hour should I finish early.  However, seeing the track and cars was a good ‘membership teaser’ for later next year, and Jim said that as I was still talking, he would pack up.

Twenty minutes, and I rang the bell but instead of calling for order I put on a downloaded video with Sir Ben Ainsley telling us how the hydrogen powered chase boat works which provided a steady platform for the TV cameras on board.  For the first time the Umpires are unable to keep up with the yachts and rely on their own video of the race to resolve any issues.

Then another video of an actual race with some explanation of what we were seeing.  I have to say the commentator does expect you to know what is going on.  It is a confused audio feed as there are two voices. the second one being the helmsman (Sir Ben) telling his crew what to do.

I also explained about the utilisation of power on the yacht and how sparingly it was used, Then, some tricky bits about why the yachts manage to travel 3 or 4 times the speed of the wind!  I knew someone would ask! 

I also had worked out that speed in knots if divided by 2 was the speed in metres per second which then told you how close in time were the yachts.  Only distance in metres was shown on the TV stream.  David, a retired Maths teacher went very thoughtful!

Part 3 was me talking about the model of Endeavour I had brought in.  The operating app and the controls on the laptop got beyond me, but after a few minutes I am again rescued. 

There were lots of useful remarks coming from the audience the only one I did not hear was, "Look behind you mister!”

David had worked it out this time and so I went on to the finish.  I thanked all my helpers and got a kind response from the brave souls who had stayed on until the end.  It was with some relief when I sat down and relaxed. 

I had attempted several new things to me and with friendly help from members it had come alright in the end.

Nice to know we can stream video from the venue WiFi, it could be useful in the future.  

My thanks go to Rob for downloading some video clips with special s/w he has so that I knew I could take video with me just in case.

The usual thanks go to the members who put out the chairs and tables and cleared up and of course the catering duo Jack and Neil.  I had gone on a bit so we left quietly around 10:30.

Some references. 

This is the link for the Luis Vuitton cup.  It should also lead on to the Americas Cup racing on YouTube.  If not search for 37th Americas Cup which starts on Saturday 12th October.

https://www.youtube.com/@americascup/videos

Or on TV watch Eurosport for free, but timing may vary.

A good site for sailing information is Planet Sail.

Roy. 11/10/24