[Rhodes22-list] Fwd: How do you say good-bye?

[The Rhodes 22 Email List]

For those readers of Good Old Boat, the notice of Don Launer’s death was released in the last day or two. Don Launer was an early Rhodes Continental owner (’69?). He later went on to build his long term boat, Delphinus, 39’ schooner with many of Stan’s original designs incorporated into his Rhodes replacement. Specifically, the keel/centerboard arrangement, split backstay, all lines lead back to the cockpit among others. 

He talked about a famous trip he and his son, Tom, made on the Rhodes up the Hudson from just north of NYC to Albany and back with favorable both coming and returning. He still enjoyed my Rhodes as a backup to his everyday boat, and often visited Stan and the Rhodes at the Annapolis show. His writings and lectures were among the most entertaining and informative in the sailing world. A good friend, he will be missed.

Jay Friedland
s/v Wanderlust, ‘97

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Sheldon Green <Sheldon_Green at verizon.net>
> Subject: Fwd: How do you say good-bye?
> Date: June 18, 2015 at 2:43:42 PM EDT
> To: Jay Friedland <a.jayf at verizon.net>
> 
> Jay,
> 
> FYI
> 
> Sheldon
> 
> From: Good Old Boat Magazine <subscribers at goodoldboat.com>
> Sent: June 18, 2015 12:00:32 PM EDT
> To: SHELDON GREEN <sheldon_green at VERIZON.NET>
> Subject: How do you say good-bye?
> 
> Visit us on Facebook and Twitter
> 
> 
> How do you say good-bye?
> 
> How do you say good-bye to someone like Don Launer? We received word from the family of Don Launer that he died on June 15th following a massive stroke on June 7th. Don has been part of the Good Old Boat crew since the first year, writing many technical articles, most recently the ongoing series we called Saiboats 101.
> 
> Don lectured about nautical history, wrote more than 400 articles for boating magazines and newspapers, published seven books on marine subjects, starting with the Cruising Guide to New Jersey Water in 1995, and earned a commercial captain's license from the U.S. Coast Guard. He was inducted into the Sailing Hall of Fame in 2010. In addition, he built his Lazy Jack schooner, Delphinus, from a bare hull.
> 
> But that describes (and only briefly) the boating facet of the multi-faceted and talented man who was Don Launer. He was so much more than a sailor, and everything he did was accomplished to the very best of his abilities. He built his family home, a three-story brick structure with a legendary wine cellar. He was a combat veteran in WWII. Following the war, he was engineering supervisor with ABC-TV from the time they went on the air in 1948 until his retirement in 1989. Among other things, he handled Olympics coverage for ABC, winning two Emmy Awards. He played his baby grand piano daily, favoring Gershwin tunes, and held a pilot's license for land and sea planes.
> 
> Don was so prolific as an author that Good Old Boat will be publishing several more of his Sailboats 101 articles that we had received prior to his death. (He told us he'd rather write quite a few of these during the winter so he'd have more time for sailing each summer.)
> 
> Don's website, maintained by his granddaughter, Jennifer, offers his books for sale and tells more about this remarkable man: donaldlauner.com. He is survived by his daughter, Kathryn, his son and daughter-in-law, Thomas and Margaret, and his grandchildren, Jennifer and Nancy.
> 
> We're planning to run readers' comments in our next issue about how Don Launer influenced their lives either personally or through his writing or how he influenced sailing in a broader way. If you would like to make a personal tribute to Don, please send your comments to Karen Larson: karen at goodoldboat.com. Please send your thoughts by June 26.
> 
> We cannot express the depth of this loss to Good Old Boat and to sailors everywhere.
> 
>  	
>  
> 
> 
> Don Launer
> 
>  
> 
> 
> Don sailing Delphinus
> 
>  
> 
> -- 
> Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.