Our History
About the Oxford RC Laser Fleet
By Jim Karr

The Oxford RC Laser Fleet began when my wife Paula and I hosted Steve Lang (SailRC.com), who had traveled to Annapolis in 2004 to sail in the CR914 championships. Steve introduced me to the world of RC sailing. At the time he was the U.S. distributor of RC Laser Sailboats. A week or so after Steve left, three boats arrived. He said he thought I might enjoy sailing them with friends. It was a canny move. In short order I had sold four Lasers to friends at Oxford’s Tred Avon Yacht Club. Informal RC racing started in the yacht club basin that summer. Members of TAYC watched with fascination as these well-conceived boats performed as if they had tiny skippers on board. Before long there were more than 30 Lasers in the Oxford TAYC fleet.

Paula and I started informal Wednesday night racing off the docks of TAYC in the spring of 2005. The late Bob Shattuck, better known as “Bubbles,” a former nationally competitive Etchell’s sailor from Connecticut, became our first PRO. Bubbles ran a tight, humorous ship. Back runners could expect to hear Bubble’s resonant voice telling them, “Come on in, I’ll give you a finish.” Bonnie Richards joined us to take the finishes, and has stayed the course.

Tot O’Mara eventually replaced Bob Shattuck. An accomplished racing sailor, Tot was the first female Commodore of TAYC. Her keen wit sustained the relaxed mood on the dock established by Bubbles. On one of her first nights as PRO, someone asked Tot what the first course was. “Shrimp cocktail,” she said without hesitation.

In the fall of 2006, the Oxford RC Fleet hosted its first National RC Regatta with sailors arriving from the entire East Coast, and as far away as England and the Bahamas. Since then, two other national championship events have been held on Oxford’s broad waters. Dave Branning, an early participant, and an enthusiastic developer of the Oxford fleet, went on to become secretary of the RC laser national association. During his term, Dave has added a dozen new national events for the RC Laser class, and got us traveling to a variety of RC Laser events. Dave returned to his native New Jersey in 2020.

Now in its 17th year, OxRCLaser stresses the fun to be had sailing these robust model boats with two thumbs and an eye for the shifts, while maintaining the quality of the competition. One of the reasons for our fleet’s success is our skippers’ willingness to take on jobs, from designing and building race marks, and setting courses, to serving on the afterguard. Everyone is a participant. The sharing of knowledge and expertise is done without question. And our guys are creative. Two years ago, Oxford’s Roger Baldwin and Harry Henkel initiated a 2.5-mile long-distance event that was a big hit. Skippers sailed from chase boats that followed the fleet. The party afterwards was memorable. Our skippers enjoy the camaraderie as much as the racing.

Thanks, Steve Lang. Those gift boats gave birth to a wonderful fleet, opened our eyes to a pastime that’s great fun, and best of all created a close-knit fraternity of sailors that is rewarding.