SF Cup - It's the people that make this event

The SF Cup is the great event that it is because of the people who help get it all together. Bill Madison is one of them. He was our fleet president, season champion and coordinator of the revival of the SF Cup. Without Bill, this event would not be success it has been. I hope Bill has documented and blueprinted all the aspects of the event for our fleets future. I wouldn't want to reinvent the wheel if I'm ever put in charge of this.
Don and Joan Wilson, founders of Team Wilson, are equally important to our event's success. If it wasn't for a pesky should, Don would have been out there with his son doing well as usual. Luckily, Dave got the "sailing gene" and showed his dad he could take care of business for the family. Don's work with organizing boat work parties, delegating event support positions to the right people and being the voice of reason when things seem to get out of control are a stabilizing force. Always with a sense of humor, Don and the family are such an asset to our fleet... just keep Dave and Joan away from those mai- tais, they really pack a punch, huh?
Our friends from Denmark are helping make this event better each time they come. This was Per's 2nd trip to SF and as you may know from previous entries, he brought a boat over to race and then sell... which of course, I bought... I'm no dummy. I know a good deal when on a folkboat when I see it. Per proved his word was true when the deal went through with no problems. It's what I love about this fleet, your word matters.
Svend Svendsen... what more needs to be said? The God Father of Folkboats' presence commands respect. He loves dusting off the blue blazer, getting on the microphone and hamming it up for the opening ceremonies. I've known Svend... or should I say, Svend has known me since I was born and has always treated me so well. He takes extra time out of his day when I'm in the yard to go over a boat problem I'm having and always has little bits of advice that help fill in the gaps in my sailing knowledge. My favorite Svend story comes from a time when I was racing with Svend and Sean on their folkboat... Sean and I were down to the boat early and we had everything ready to go so all Svend had to do was get on board and we shoved off... then came the complaining, "I hate getting down to the boat, I hate getting the sails ready, I hate getting out of the harbor and getting out the race course... I love racing. I hate taking the boat back into the harbor, I hate putting the boat away, I hate...."
Soren Hansen has been in the wood working/boat repair business a long time, classically trained in Denmark by very intense craftsmen, Soren makes a great wooden mast that the few that have one claim make them faster. He chooses only the best wood, but I wouldn't say he takes his time, I've seen him work. For him it's like walking through the park, he just cuts and glues and shaves and... blammo... a perfect mast. His booms are top notch too. Without guys like Soren we'd have a lot boats not ready to race in time. He pulled an all nighter during the regatta so Bill Dumullen could have a mast re-rigged for the next day!
Then their is my dad, Chuck Kaiser. 7 time season champion, 11 time Wednesday evening champion... I've got some big shoes to fill. He still makes it out to most of the events even though it can be really uncomfortable for him. He has a hard time hearing and in a noisy room it can be down right irritating. He loves to talk about folkboats when he can find someone to talk about them... here he is with Ditte telling a story about this one time it was blowing like stink and....