Sailing Lessons

Many words describe Dick Gallun, but "competitor" has to be near the top of the list. And there was no better outlet for his will to win than at the tiller of a scow on a weekend afternoon on Pine Lake. He faced many adversaries-Chuck Kotovic, Chip Swallow, Rob Foote-and on a good day could even stay within a few boat-lengths of Buddy Melges (for a leg). Yet Dick's love of competition didn't always yield a competitive result. As thorough as this book is, it omits the drifter in the Pine-Pewaukee regatta, when Dick, Chris Beda and Alby finished behind Dan Guidinger of Pewaukee Lake, who sailed an E-scow without a crew. He tipped over after crossing the finish line, and for Dick, it was as if a championship sprinter had been beaten by a one-legged runner. In the 1980s, Dick decided that his sailing resume wouldn't complete until he thoroughly humiliated his sons on the water. So he bought them two E-boats at age 18, thinking it would bring up the level of competition and save his relationship with Rich, a deliberately incompetent crew who preferred the tiller to the travelers. Yet if Dick thought his sons would reciprocate his generosity at mark roundings, he learned quickly that they wanted to win just as much as he did, leading to some colorful post-race discussions back on shore. Nonetheless, those years of having three Gallun boats-along with some Bedas-on the starting line at 2 p.m. on a Saturday are among my best memories of Pine Lake, the only lake in the world where an E-scow can reach a plane without any sails raised.