Some months, our crew really gives pause in terms of what the content will look like in the coming issue. So, this year, I thought July would be kind of light. Well, the thing about the WindCheck Zone is that there’s an unsinkable supply of people, boats, stories about people and boats, regattas to promote and regattas to report on that people have sailed in or run…in other words, a lot. And then there are the cool stories, again mostly about people and lifetimes spent crafting, creating, teaching, organizing and generally enjoying, promoting and loving boats and the water they float on. This edition is no different.
I’ve mentioned a number of times how we usually don’t publish obits, unless the person is so important to this ecosystem that their crossing the bar cannot be ignored. Mary Savage and Leggie Torrey were perfect examples. Another who just left us far too soon, one who molded literally thousands of collegiate sailors and many thousands more non-collegiate racing sailors, is Ken Legler.
Ken came from that pack of sailors out of URI in the late 1970s as they competed and won against that generation of rock stars from Yale, Tufts, BU and other collegiate Sailing powerhouses. He then went on to a 40-plus year career as the Tufts Head Coach, general pro Principal Race Officer, and pro promoter of the sport. Check out these stats: Ken’s Tufts teams won a combined twenty National championships across all of the college Sailing disciplines. He coached three College Sailor of the Year honorees and 86 All-Americans, including four who become Olympians and many who won world championships. From the tribute in Scuttlebutt: “In May 2023, more than 350 alumni and friends gathered for “Ken’s Epic Retirement Tribute.” In addition to the gifts he received, it was announced that the trophy for the New England Women’s Team Racing Championship would be named in his honor. Three hundred and fifty. I know another couple hundred more who could not make it.
Ken will undoubtedly come up with some definitive rules for the saints to follow in Heaven. They will sail faster and have more fun if they listen to him.
Publisher
Benjamin V. Cesare
ben@windcheckmagazine.com
