Fred passed peacefully on March 3rd. "Fred Again" will sail on, but will miss him.
Fred will be cremated according to his Will and his ashes added to his loving
wife's (Glenna), urn. They will have a family ceremony celebrating his life this
summer...probably around the time of LOWISA, and throw their ashes to the warm
summer breeze... A couple of anecdotal "Fredisms"... from Bob Nuttall.
It's hard not to think of both our mother and father when thinking about LOW and LOWISA.. It got me thinking about my dear mother, rest her soul…mom passed in 2007… mom could not have cared less about sailboat competition, strategy and boat speed until her early LOWISA participations for which I can still hear her clearly say to my dad…"Freddy, aren't you going to do something?"…silence from my dad…and then, Freddy, those boats are catching us…do something!!!" The fever is easily caught.
And dad became quite competitive and strategic in his LOWISA racing; studying and installing endless "go fasts" on his boats. On occasion on the race course we'd here, "Damn, it's Fred again" …hence the name of several of his boats…"Fred Again". Yea Fred!!!
Fred's last full-week LOWISA was LOWISA 47 in
2012...he was 88 years old and was recognized at the Awards Banquet for being
the "Most Senior Sailor" that year. He was proud and so very happy to have been
able to participle. Usually, as was his custom in his later years, he'd come
along for the long weekend and then find a way home to his assisted living in
Winnipeg after the Monday race. However, in 2012 he surprisingly asked if it was
okay if he stayed the whole week! Of course it was...we welcomed his enthusiasm
and his charming company. And some time post race, I cornered him with my
curiosity...I wanted to know what specifically was the attraction; what was the
allure for him in 2012... Without hesitation, he said, "It was the food; you eat
much better on LOWISA for the week than what I get at the dining room of my
assisted living". Of course he loved LOWISA and the LOW but, he was a practical
man, too.
