The Wetass Lifestyle (2)–No Whining in Wisconsin: Here’s Peter Harken reminiscing about his college days and fast sailboats (Harken is now head of a multi-million dollar company that manufactures top of the line mechanical gear for yachts). We could all learn something from him:

“My first wild trapeze boat was the great 505 while I was at the Univ. of

Wisconsin in 1958. I and a French student friend of mine got a hold of a

beat up one, fixed it all up, total new varnish job, added some funny crude

ball bearing homemade blocks I hacked together for our iceboats and ripped

off for the 505.

Classes? What classes? Maybe attend morning classes, just enough to be a

student, barely, but then the afternoons were spent tearing all over Lake

Mendota in front of the campus yelling our heads off! Foul weather gear?

Dry suits? Nah, plastic garbage bags over sweat shirts and Levis was all

the fashion we could muster.

The 505 grabbed lots of attention because it was the only boat allowed on

the lake by the Univ. Life Guard Station when it was hootin’ the tops off

the waves. Showing off to the girls was an added bonus until we stepped

ashore. Looking at a couple of mad, grinning, soaked to the bone, shivering

guys wearing shredded garbage bags didn’t seem to impress them. So, we

slopped beer without them and saved money to boot!”

Stupid college girls……



505 On Fire: Yeah, Baby……Yeah!

(Photo: Alden Bugly, PhotoGray)

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