Sail guru Jim Gluek visited the Whitehorse/Krueger Skeeter shop today to look at the recent modifications on PK’s Class A Skeeter boom and spar. Recall that when they last set up the boat in June, it was one of the the hottest days of the year.
While they wait for warmer weather more suitable for painting, Ken Whitehorse and Paul Krueger have been busy gathering data on Ken’s Class A Skeeter runner plank. Ken’s plank weighs in at 179 lbs.
Winter is here in the Four Lakes area; we seem to have skipped November and gone right into December. Ken Whitehorse is working hard prepping his Class A Skeeter plank for red paint. Paul Krueger and Ken will be ready for ice – which might come early this year. It was 8F here this morning and with more single digit temps in the forecast – it’s making ice somewhere!
Uplifting art
Previously at the Spaight St. Syndicate
Daniel Hearn is inspired to name his C Skeeter by, well, read on…..
What’s In a Name
“What, are you thirteen,” she said rolling her eyes? I had to take a quick mental inventory. Let’s see—I still think there’s nothing funnier than a fart in church. I have many names for my male member, and each includes an adjective found on the Thesaurus page for huge. I burp out loud when I think no one else is around. I sometimes forget to put the toilet seat back down. I think Hershey’s is good chocolate. Even though I know I’m not supposed to, I often cut all the food on my plate at one time, because it’s so much more efficient. “Yeah, pretty much,” I replied. “So, what you’re saying is that C-Man is not an appropriate name for a C-Skeeter driven by a man my age who has four children—three of them daughters?” She just walked away, so I took that as an affirmative. Maybe I can still cancel the decal order.
Probably needs to be more sophisticated to win the approval of my Mrs. I hadn’t recalled asking for her approval, but nonetheless, it became clear that she thought she had a vote. I had carved up the districts within our household trying to prevent that, but clearly my gerrymandering was ineffective.
Maybe something from literature? The classics? Or how about mythology? Those Greeks were so sophisticated they convinced people to see pornography as art. I think the sculptors were just as juvenile as me. Their wives were certainly rolling their eyes when the Mr. was out back in the shed chiseling the fine form of a woman with a righteous amount of junk in the trunk.
There must be a cool-sounding “C” name in mythology, with deep meaning, that would be a fitting reflection of my masterpiece. (Well, it may not be a masterpiece, but it’s the best this paint-by-numbers kind of guy can do). That’s it—Callipygian! I think it’s perfect. And I’ll score points with the Mrs. when I tell her that I named the boat after her. But this time, I’m not disclosing the name until the fat bottomed girl hits the ice.
Now that you’ve Googled my name, let me know what you think. Will I be sleeping on the couch again, or will she be flattered by her juvenile husband of 32 years?
Official team gear available here: Righteous Junk
The reason to ask is because the Four Lakes area and beyond woke up to an early winter this morning with more snow to come this week. The 4LIYC Skeeter fleet is on the trailer ready for ice. Ken Whitehorse applied the graphics to his newly painted WARRIOR just in time!
View out the iceboat.org window this morning.
Bill Mattison and Olaf Harken. Olaf visited the Mattison Circus back in 2011. Photo: Don Sanford
UPDATED ON 22 OCTOBER:
Olaf’s Funeral Service
Date: Saturday, October 26, 2019
Time: Visitation 11 AM
Service 2 PM
Location: Galilee Lutheran Church
N24W26430 Crestview Dr,
Pewaukee, WI Map
Reception to follow at Harken
Olaf Harken passed away this morning, October 21, 2019. Olaf “did the hard work” according to brother Peter and that hard work had a monumental influence on ice sailing, not to mention soft water sailing. Olaf raced a Nite class iceboat. In his autobiography, Olaf described ice boating as “Our favorite, if not our most frustrating sport, …iceboating: a combination of race-car driving and sailing.” The ice sailing community sends our condolences to the Harken family and Harken employees. Fair winds, Olaf.
Following is cut and pasted from the Harken Facebook page:
Today we remember Olaf Harken. Olaf passed away peacefully in his sleep this morning with loved ones nearby.
This morning in Pewaukee, Peter Harken told an assembly of Harken members: “My brother did all the hard work so I could have all the fun. During the days when the company was just getting going, Olaf was in charge of the money. He kept us in business. If I had been in charge of that we would have been in big trouble. His legacy is in this culture. So, let’s just keep doing what we do. Just keep getting better. You are a great family. Thanks a lot. He’ll be watching you, so no sloughing off!”
The brothers took a lot of chances over the years – and their employees are still encouraged to do the same. When Olaf Harken was inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2014 along with Peter, he explained the brothers’ business philosophy: “When trying new stuff our rule is to ask, ‘if it all goes bad, can we survive?’ Then we go to the bar and forget what we just said and do it anyway!”
The Harken story has been full of twists, turns, successes, and reinventions, but through it all, the goal of challenging the status quo and commitment to being at the front remains.
We encourage you to share your memories of Olaf with us. Feel free to leave a comment here or send us a message.
2011 Nite Class group photo. Olaf Harken is third from the left, back row. Photo: Don Sanford.
National Iceboat Authority Web Page
Location: In person at the Elks Lodge 711 Jenifer St, Madison, WI 53703
Time: 6:30 PM
YOU ARE SKIPPER NUMBER
TO ROUND THE MARK SINCE NOVEMBER 1999.
