Editorial Peter Harken
Let nature present itself
This is my short personal remembrance of 40 years with the greatest sailor on earth, not for what he won with hundreds and hundreds of local, national and international trophies, but for what he said. Buddy Melges and the Buddyisms… I first met Buddy at the Inland Lake Scow Championships, in Madison, on Lake Mendota.
Three friends and I had entered my part home-built, part professional E-Scow with features stolen from the 505, FD, Finn and other per- formance dinghies of the time. There was nothing else like it, but it was legal. I named the boat Ring Dang Doo after a song the news- papers would not print! Despite our stupidity the boat was fast against 40-50 other Melges and Johnson E-Scows. Buddy walked over to us and loudly announced, ‘If you guys knew how to sail you would win this regatta hands down.’ Then he walked off. That was my first taste of his personality, straight, honest, tell it like it is. After I got into ice boating our longterm relationship – including
in business – began. We basically met on the ice, where I was crew- ing on the big A-Class Mary B – a now legendary 40ft stern-steering ice dinosaur. Buddy was sailing his big stern-steerer, the ‘Bull’. At another regatta on Lake Geneva, WI (Buddy’s home lake), Buddy
asked me if I wanted to crew for him and I said, ‘Hell, yes!’ Sadly I had no idea that Buddy’s mainsheet winch/brake combo worked opposite of other ice boats I had previously crewed on. When Buddy asked me if I knew what to do with easing the wire mainsheet on the big drum and brake combo, before we roared into the leeward mark for the first time, I said with bravado to the king, ‘Ya, man! No sweat!’ So away we go. Upwind was ‘hang onto your
10 SEAHORSE
hat’ but relatively easy if you don’t think about death. Then up and around the windward mark and the accelerator hit the floorboard. As we ripped downwind I hear a commotion, look back and see
Buddy’s mouth yelling something… but it’s too noisy from the screeching runners. I thought he’s yelling ‘crack the winch’, which I was already trying to do… but it wouldn’t ease because it worked the opposite of what I expected. We roared into the leeward pin and the big crowd just scattered as fast as they knew. I did finally discover the ‘opposite’ winch release… just as we were rolling over. Buddy had rammed his Bull beast in a wild skid around the leeward
pin, but now the main runner plank was vertical and the mast and sails were horizontal. Clearly not correct. Buddy was out of the stern cockpit and all I could see were his hands hanging onto the boat. I was still on the leeward side kissing the ice still fighting that winch. Then I felt the boat hesitate from full capsize and slowly start to right itself so I yelled, ‘Buddy, get back in. She’s coming back!’ His head appeared above the cockpit edge, he climbed over and
in, grabbed the tiller, got her under control and soon we were barrelling down the ice again. Afterwards all he said was, ‘Now that was a pants-full race.’ I answered, ‘Yeah, I need to change mine!’ He answered, ‘Me too…’ Before I started building and racing the A-Class E-Skeeters (the
Buddy’s legacy is a thousand major trophies, great human with great humour and the greatest sailor on earth! My legacy is old tool boxes with bloody white balls!
Ferraris of the ice) I was racing in the Nite class. Buddy was racing his E-Skeeter and decided to try his hand at Nite racing. The Nite is a popular smaller ice- boat, but a very competitive class. Buddy was known for being ‘good’ in any class he tried. But in this case, after a couple of races he was not doing well. His Nite was next to mine near the starting area. He was walking around it,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124
