I came across this link on Atlas Obscura the other day about the Battle of Peasholm which is re-enacted in a park pond in North Yorkshire England in model navy ships. The Atlas Obscura post says that this is “the smallest manned navy in the world,” though according to the Wikipedia article on Peasholm Park, only the largest few of the model ships are manned, the rest are electric powered. It’s still pretty rad. Check out the photos at the source links, but there are much better photos on Flickr.
The Peasholm Park battles take place for a half hour three times weekly during the summer and have been doing so for the past 80 years.
Port Revel
There is another place where men pilot scale model ships, but at The Port Revel Shiphandling school near Grenoble France, aspiring ship captains practice the art of piloting the great lumbering miniature vessels. The facility has 11 manned vessels that are 1:25 scale replicas of oil tankers and container ships.
Why Train on Scale Models?
Because this is still the best way to acquire certain reflexes which, when the time comes, will make all the difference between being good and being the best. Training on the scale models provides experience that could never be gained on real ships for the simple reason that neither ship-owners nor local authorities would allow such risks to be taken. Scale models allow the shiphandler to make mistakes. Scale models allow experimentation on ship behaviour to explore unknown fields beyond the limits of safety. Periodic training on scale models will maintain your shiphandling skills at the highest level and periodic evaluations will show it. Read More
There is a fascinating article on The Ships of Port Revel by John McPhee in his book Uncommon Carriers
Port Revel and the ships that sail in it are build at 1:25 scale. So the way the boats behave in the water and in the features of the lake is muck like it would be in the real world. Do read McPhee’s article on Port Revel, and get the book too. It’s a good read. Older kids will enjoy the book as well. Especially on road trips.
-Mike
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