Wednesday, January 8, 2014

J/105 Sailor Walt Nuschke Memorium

J/105 sailor- Walter Nuschke(Newport, RI)- Walt Nuschke (66 yrs), a passionate contributor to the J/105 Class, passed away on December 20, 2013. Walt took over as J/105 Chief Measurer in 2008, and he only retired from that job in 2012 when his health took a turn for the worse.  Previously he had been the Vice President, the President and on the Technical Committee for the J/105 Class.  He was a tireless worker for us and saw it through many changes in the Class Rules and many Rule interpretations. He wanted the Rules to be simple as possible, but no simpler.  He made the technology work for us and spiced up many a North Americans with the apps (that he commissioned) that went on all the boats.  He was there when we had 75 boats (and two starting lines) at the 2007 North Americans in Annapolis.  And he was a great one for affordability.  He used his engineering background to engineer better solutions to problems.  When we still had forestay measurements, he helped me get mine right at Block Island Race Week. Walt will be missed.  He was always the "go to" guy for questions, even after he was no longer the Chief Measurer.  Thanks to Nelson Weiderman this contribution.