This was a highlight of the Pacific Marine Expo last year, and this year was no different. In fact, our excitement last year inspired my daughter and me to get our own remote-control model boat, which we brought to the show this year.

Kiera is in the background, running our little tug, which is made up on the hip of a small scrap-metal barge.

New this year were RC helicopters taking off and landing from RC boats. Sorry the picture below is a little blurry, but the helicopter kept moving! It’s the dark blue blur directly above the transom of the yacht.

You can see the rotor wash affecting the surface of the water, which apparently made the landing pretty difficult…it was powerful enough to shove the yacht around on the pond! But after several approaches and aborted attempts, this landing was successful. (Not all landings were!)

The Pacific Marine Expo is not the only place you can see these boats, by the way. A local club, the Northwest R/C Ship Modelers, host events year-round, ranging from informal “fun floats” to the prestigious Foss Cup.