Opposite: the world’s biggest one-design dinghy still capsizes just like your average Laser; it’s just that much messier to sort out. Above: Olympic medallist in the 470s, TP52 and recently Etchells skipper Steve Benjamin tries to find the elusive balance that is the magic of scow sailing… as the king of balance, Buddy Melges, has spent years showing the rest of the world. For Benjy, his latest Blue Chip adventure made a nice counterpoint to his intensely theoretical involvement with the Sailing Yacht Research Foundation
lakes to make the first letters of the sail numbers designate their home lake, and not a sequential numbering of the class), with help from local E Scow guru Dave Decker (aka Dex), learns the hard way about coefficients of friction, and how a well-buffed and polished E Scow can break those bonds of friction and succumb to gravity at just the right angle of repose: the boat slides off its trailer and onto the pavement, breaking both rudders. After the obligatory cursing and gasps from guest skipper Dick White, Chris and Dex break out laughing uproariously, as only friends of 30 years can, and knowing full well in their hearts they’ve got this: they’re in the scow heartland, where these boats have been designed, built and sailed for decades. They’ll get it worked out. So off they go on a wild goose chase trying to find a good boat for the first day of racing. After offers from builders Brian Porter and Harry Melges, they find a local boat. This gets them off to a rough start to the event, rigging and tuning the unfam - iliar boat right up to the start… where they manage an OCS.
‘Dick was not impressed,’ said Dex. ‘Yet we improved from that point to finish third at the regatta and continued to laugh away at the other problems we kept having.’ That’s the spirit, lads.
As explained in Part 1, even though Seahorse readers may not know Honorary Class Legend Dick White, because he’s not won the Fastnet, he is a perennial cham- pion in a culture that has produced numer- ous world and Olympic champions. His third-place finish at the Blue Chip this year put him ahead of many more familiar racing names, who to a person were impressed enough by the line-up to want to make a return to this very special
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regatta to be a part of sailing history. White got on the podium just ahead of Paul Cayard and his team on V-511 Glory, with Cayard saying ‘This event is fantastic, it’s truly great to be here.’ His stories at the evening socials from his earlier days in the Star class were priceless, along with those from Olympic and World Star Champion Mark Reynolds, who by only four points missed finishing in last place and having to do the Bar Walk.
Dennis Conner was not at the Blue Chip this year, but this didn’t stop him from being roasted by his old friends and rivals in absentia for being too serious at want- ing to win this event after getting third at his first appearance as a Mystery Guest in 1972. His reappearance five years later to win the event was after having bought his own E Scow to learn its idiosyncracies… Another southern Californian who was also in danger of taking this all too seriously was Dave Ullman, who arrived three days early and then sailed five hours each day, wearing out his volunteer crew. He skipped the J/70 Worlds (he owns a J/70) to come to Pewaukee.
Reportedly Dave told his wife that he would just have more fun coming to the Blue Chip, where ironically no one uses Ullman sails. Despite the serious prepara- tion, his 10th-place result on J/80 White- away, even with Olympian, match race champion, Rolex winner, recent Volvo Race alumna and local hero Sally Barkow among his crew, would no doubt have been much higher in the J/70 fleet. But Dave was happy. ‘I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,’ he said succinctly. There were many other finishers in the top 10 who are familiar names on the world stage. At sixth place, Jonathan McKee on G-7 Bandit did well for getting
back on the helm after spending most of his time recently as a pro tactician on the owner-driver circuits; McKee had passed on the Farr 40 Worlds to be at the Blue Chip. The Olympic FD gold medallist said, ‘The field here is amazing, I would not have missed this for anything.’
Multihull Olympic medallist Johnny Lovell came up from New Orleans, taking a break from his accounting consultancy business and having a date weekend with his wife Katie away from the kids at home. Before family life intervened Katie was an active member of the women’s match race circuit and grew up sailing scows in the area, so both were out racing. Lovell’s eighth place on V-37 Wagon was respectable, given the level of competi- tion and his semi-retirement from high- level sailing. ‘I’m not doing as much racing as I used to any more, so I thought this was a great result. But, regardless, we really had a lot of fun: the people here are amazing, and I’m very impressed with how the organisers were able to attract such a wide array of talent to come back and sail here.’ Another Olympian, who these days is better known for his prowess in big boats, Steve Benjamin also finished in the top 10 at ninth place. Coming off a win at the Etchells North Americans, then having just returned from a 52 Super Series event in Cascais, I asked if he felt that Pewaukee made a bit of a contrast to his usual stomp- ing grounds… ‘Just a bit! But this regatta is so fantastic, the best assembly of sailing talent in one place ever. It’s really great to see some of these guys after so many years, and a real testament to the event to get everyone back here this year.’
The first time Gary Jobson was invited to the Blue Chip was in 1991, about the same time he was building up his sailing
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