Renovated Former Boating Pond on Easter Common

Image: © Ian Dodds Taken: 9 Jun 2021

Until fifteen minutes ago I had no idea that boating ponds even existed. It is denoted as one on the OS big-scale 1960s map. I was initially confused as to why there would be any necessity for a boating pond when the actual sea is in plain sight and only a stone's throw away. Further digging into this hitherto unknown subject to me revealed that boating ponds are designed for the racing of model boats. Even further digging into the subject revealed how complicated this hobby actually is. It doesn't seem to be anywhere near as popular as it once was, which is why the very tame mallards now have the run of the place, but it still goes on. The biggest challenge, which is obvious if you think about it, is that there is no-one actually in the boat to do the sail changes and so on. I have to admit I got a bit lost by this point but it seems that model boating enthusiasts have come up over the years with all manner of clever contrivances in order to counteract this problem. I am in fact so curious now that I would like to see a model boat race myself - if it all goes wrong do they have to sail out in a blow-up dinghy to rescue their crafts? The pond is square and looks fairly shallow. There is a section of reeds at its Northern end and two or three trees, which must be on mini-islands, though it was hard to know for sure, protrude from the surface on the Eastern side.

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