Through the Harken Looking Glass…
Polish DN sailor Tomasz Zakrzewski P55 shot this clever photo at the Swedish DN Championship which was held over the weekend (December 18-19, 2021) on Lake Ymsen. Tomek placed 4th in a very competitive field. Results here.
When was the last time you clocked in at 100 mph in your sailboat when the breeze was a steady 15 knots? Not recently? Let’s chat with Harken Director of Engineering Steve Orlebeke. He brought his freaky fast Class A Skeeter and brand new DN into the factory to give you an inside look.
Here’s the link to the full video of Steve racing his Skeeter.
Bill Mattison & HONEYBUCKET, an oil painting on canvas by Harry Whitehorse
“Millenium Factor”
For our final installment of Bill Mattison Week, we go back to the 1992 Harken catalog where another National Sailing Hall of Famer, Peter Harken, talks about Bill, Paul Krueger, winning the Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant, and building MILLENIUM FACTOR QUATRO in the Willy St. Boat Shop.
In normal times, the 4LIYC would have thrown a party for tonight’s National Sailing Hall of Fame induction ceremony. There will be much to celebrate when we can gather off-ice again including Bill’s induction and Greg Whitehorse’s 4LIYC Honor Roll induction. In the meantime, follow Bill’s example and get busy in the shop making dust and preparing equipment for the upcoming season.
Previous: Bill’s Circus Life
“The Icing On The Lake”
“Fast Forward Since Birth”
“The Hard-Water Gang” with Bill Mattison at the 2001 ISA
Shooting the Breeze with Bill Mattison
Bill Mattison Inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame
Iceboaters Fingerprints
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.
Pulled from video by Dave Elsmo “54′ of Fast”
Heads up Stern-Steerer and Nite sailors and crew! Our friends at Harken are conducting a photo contest and the winner will receive a “Pewaukee The Way Locals Do It Weekend” which includes round trip airfare, lodging, a Harken 150 Cam-Matic cleat and a Harken Carbo Block, social gatherings, spectating the E Scow Blue Chip Regatta, and much more.
The photo must be taken from the boat in order to qualify for the contest. The rules state:
The most serious contenders will transport viewers, placing them in the middle of the activity on board, engaging the mind’s eye to help us feel the moment(s) your have selected.
It is certain, AT THE FRONT of sailing is a mental space much broader than a champagne-soaked awards ceremony or blasting down a 10 meter wave in the Southern Ocean. THE FRONT of sailing can be in an ice-packed harbor in Spitsbergen or diving to check an anchor placement in the Red Sea. AT THE FRONT…anywhere sailing at its most stirring is practiced.
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.
