Harold “Harry” Allen (DN 2452) died Tuesday night, September 2, 2021, after a courageous battle with cancer.
Harry was a talented helmsman who raced multiple classes of iceboats in the winter and raced E and A scows in the summer. And, if Harry ever needed a crew, more often than not, one of his three daughters was on board sailing with him.
As much as anything, Harry loved to iceboat. Harry raced Nites, DNs and his Stern Steerer. Harry was as popular as he was generous. If iceboaters were setting up on Minnetonka, 99% of the time the boats were in front of Harry’s house. There was not a more welcoming or friendly sailor on the ice.
Harry’s passing leaves a huge hole in the Minnetonka sailing community. The DN fleet sends condolences to his wife LeeAnne, daughters Emily, Katie and Mary, and to the rest of the Allen Family.
The National Sailing Hall of Fame (NSHOF) announced today nine sailors comprising its 11th anniversary class of inductees.
The Class of 2021 includes ice sailor, Jane Pegel of the Skeeter Iceboat Club in Williams Bay, WI. Jane began her ice sailing career in the Skeeter class and eventually switched over to the DN class where she won numerous regatta titles. More to come. National Sailing Hall of Fame
Jane Pegel has owned a series of ice boats and speedy scows that have all been given colorful names. People notice boats with interesting names especially when the boats are at the front of the fleet. Jane Pegel has been a champion sailor from the Midwest since her earliest days. She has also taught thousands of aspiring young sailors to improve their skills. Her first ice boat was named “Holy Smoke”. Pegel’s C Scow was named “Calamity Jane” and her legendary E Scow was named “Frozen Asset”, a phrase every sailor can appreciate. Pegel started sailing early in life and was the descendant of a line of sailors. Her grandfather, John O. Johnson, started the Johnson Boat Works on White Bear Lake, Minnesota in 1896. He was the original builder of the A Scow, a 38-foot flyer that impressed all the participants racing for the Seawanhaka Cup. Continue reading Jane’s biography on the National Sailing Hall of Fame website.
In 1999, Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club member Greg Whitehorse sat down with ice sailing champion Jack Ripp (1928-2019) and discussed Jack’s involvement in ice sailing. The interview originally ran in the club newsletter, Blade Runner. We are fortunate that Greg saved the cassette tape. Jack’s son, Mike, converted it to an electronic format and I added photos and some classic 1960s 8mm film from Bob Clemens.
Previous: “Getting Framed”
Pat Heppert checks in with a note about his summer project, a new C Skeeter build and his continuing travails with “ACME” customer service.
The next shipment arrived from ACME Iceboats Inc., and now it is clear why the frames for the new hull are so messed up looking. The mainsheet assembly actually is about a foot and a half wide. But it seems to have three ropes instead of just one and definitely doesn’t seem to belong on an iceboat. May have been a shipping error. So I got on the phone with customer service again, and they insist that this is what I ordered. How exactly do you expect me to deal with three ropes in the cockpit? “Well, sir, the problem is that you failed to also order our rope-less cockpit conversion upgrade”. They didn’t have pictures of this in the catalog; apparently, it is still under development and doesn’t come with a warranty. Again with the credit card, will see what shows up. But what are all three of these ropes for? “Sir, you need to pull on one of them for more power and pull on the other one for more speed.” That explains two of them, but then I asked what is the third one for? “You pull really hard on that one when you want to beat Daniel Hearn.”
An ice sailor who lives just down the road from Four Lakes and has sailed Geneva Lake on every iceboat imaginable is the subject of a documentary still in production. You may have heard of him, Buddy Melges, the Wizard of Zenda, Olympic Gold medalist, America’s Cup Winner, not to mention the iceboating titles he’s won. Watch for this film in 2022. Documentary website and trailer here.
Legends of American Sailing
Harry “Buddy” Clemens Melges II By Gary Jobson Former America’s Cup champion & ESPN sailing analyst
There are many great sailors around America, and some of them have extraordinary skills and achieved great performances on the water over many years. When I made the list of legendary sailors for this book there was one name that stood out above the others, Buddy Melges. Ask any top sailor who is America’s best, and Buddy will always be mentioned. His Gold Medal championship in the 1972 Olympics Games and winning the 1992 America’s Cup as a helmsman is just part of the long story of this gifted, gracious, helpful and productive American sailing hero. Buddy started out working for his father building Scows in Zenda, Wisconsin. He always joked, “Zenda is not the end of the world, but you could see it from there.” Zenda is an unincorporated village in the Town of Linn and the home of Melges Boat Works. Buddy and his wife, Gloria live a few miles north in Fontana on a hill overlooking Lake Geneva. One has to wonder, how does someone become as skilled in their sport as Buddy Melges? Continue reading.
Buddy Melges extended his lead to first place at the 2007 Northwest Ice Yachting Association Regatta sailed on Lake Michigan at Menominee, Michigan. Photo: Chris John
Previous: Elmer Millenbach Interview Part 1 Elmer Millenbach Interview Part 2 Elmer Millenbach Archives
Here’s the final installation of the Elmer Millenbach interview with historic video footage of Elmer winning a race on Lake St. Clair in the 1940s. Elmer’s wife, Cora Lee, also makes an appearance in the audio track. Cora Lee was vital in building the Renegade fleet, serving as Renegade class Secretary for many years. She also worked race committee at iceboat regattas.
