Dan Lyons, 1936-2007

Our old sailing friend, and father of long-time Midwest Sailing and Portage Yacht Club staffer Rick Lyons, has left this world.

Dan was a very capable sailor, whether in his Sunfish or, later, the Interlake. Quiet and affable, he was a fixture in racing on Portage Lake for some 35 years. Dan, Rick and I won a Flying Scot North Americans in, what, 1973(?) at Riverside YC in Connecticut. I think it was the first and maybe last time Dan raced on salt water! Dan was as good a crew as he was a helmsman.

Here is a nice write-up about Dan that I found (thanks to Google) on the PYC website, written by Rick last year.

The obit forwarded yesterday by sister Ruth:

Daniel Tibbals Lyons, 70, of Pinckney died Wednesday, March 7, 2007. He was born March 28, 1936 in Toledo, Ohio, the son of James and Belva Lyons. He was the owner of Ashley Auto Service in Ann Arbor and a long-time sailor at Portage Yacht Club. He was preceded in death by his parents and wife, Carole Freeman Lyons. He is survived by his son, Rick (Cheryl) Lyons; his daughter, Laura Rodenbeck; his step-daughter, Atessa Khazaeli; his mother-in-law, Opal Freeman; his sister, JoAnn (Larry) Shaw; his aunt, Annabelle Ehnis; five grandchildren, several cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends. A memorial service will be held at Shalom Lutheran Church (1740 East M-36, Pinckney, MI 48169) on Thursday, March 22 at 2 p.m. Family will receive visitors at the church on Thursday from noon until the time of service. Those who wish may direct memorial contributions to the American Heart Association.

Our condolences to the entire family, especially Rick and his sister Laura with whom the Ehman kids literally grew up at Portage Lake.

Buon Apetito

Antonio Campagniolo, late one night last week, in front of his restaurant Lambrusceria, Conde Altea 31 in Valencia. For three years Lambrusceria, a.k.a. "The Docks", has been our favorite eatery in VLC, and has in that time become a popular hangout for the AC crowd. Toni is a marvelous host and good friend.

AC Vets

TFE with old long-time Cup friends and veterans Bruno Trouble (FRA), Dyer Jones (USA) and Christine Belanger (FRA) at a recent informal reception in the Port America's Cup. Bruno founded the Louis Vuitton Cup in Newport for the '83 Cup. Dyer, who was for years our next-door neighbor in Newport, is the overall Regatta Director for AC 32 and ran the last two LVC's in Auckland. Christine is LV's sponsorship director for AC 32. Yikes, between among* the four of us we have done something like 40 America's Cups. Nice photo courtesy of LV's Monica Savini (FRA/USA).

*grammar corrected thanks to Grandma Jan

For the Love of Art

Like the Love Sculpture in NYC and elsewhere, this "Por amor al arte" by Robert Indiana is in the Gran Vía Marquez de Turía, Valencia. Photo courtesy of Fabio Gava.

PC

A gem of an email arrived this morning from our friend Peter "Luigi" Reggio in Connecticut, who happens to be PRO ("Principal Race Officer") for the 32nd America's Cup. Peter is also widely known for his warped sense of humour, which helps to lighten up an otherwise too-often serious AC scene. Politically correct he ain't....


Not that you care what I think, but it appears that I am not alone -- see below. Best,

Luigi

"Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous liberal press, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."


As good as Luigi's quote is, sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. N.B. -- this is a post about PC, not ACM.

Video Call from Karlsruhe

Aunt Cristine and niece Rachel checked in this afternoon via Skype, and we turned on the video cams. Above, a screen capture of the video call at my end. Rachel also showed Cristine how to IM (instant message) using Skype, and together we showed Cris some of the more interesting if not useful emoticons, such as:

)o(