manned models a good look

http://gcaptain.com/manned-models-an-unusual-training-device?731

To the casual onlooker, it may look like a group of overgrown children sailing in rather extravagant model boats.
But, in fact, they are some of the shipping industry’s most experienced sea captains on one of the world’s most unusual safety training courses.
The lake in Marchwood, near Southampton, Hampshire, boasts a fleet of seven scaled-down model cargo ships on which veteran captains, pilots and senior deck officers can hone their skills.
The ships, which are big enough for two people to sit in, behave exactly like the real thing as they negotiate the 13-acre lake’s artificial channels and tides.
They range from a scaled version of a 300,000 tonne vessel that itself weighs in at six tonnes to a radio-controlled model tug.
So is this simply an excuse for taking some time off work to muck about on the water?