An interview with

THE "LAKE FOX”  BOB VICKERY 

Last summer, after Bob Vickery’s Collaboration 2 finished the Chicago to Mackinac Island Race in the silver for the fifth straight year we were able to interview him about his accomplishments, experiences, and about the people who mentored and sailed with him through the years.

Vickery, age 51, has been the skipper of his Beneteau 40.7, Collaboration 2 since he joined the fleet in 2004.  In his five years participating with the fleet Bob has the unequalled honor of having won the 333 mile Chicago to Mackinac Island Race three straight years (2004-2006) and having placed in that race the subsequent two years, 2^nd and 3^rd respectively.  On the 2006 race to the island, Collaboration placed 3^rd overall in the Mackinac Cup Division (151 boats entered). 

To recap some of his and Collaboration’s other achievements, Vickery has placed three times in the LMSRF Best 40.7 on Lake Michigan competitions (2^nd in 2004, 3^rd in 2005, and 2^nd in 2008), placed 1^st in the Area III Buoy Boat of the Year series in 2008, and 3^rd in that series in 2007.  Collaboration also took 1^st place overall in the 2004 Port-to-Port Boat of the Year competition.  In 2004 he won the Beneteau 40.7 North American Championship, held in Chicago at the Verve Cup Regatta.  He took 3^rd place in the NA’s in 2005 and again in 2007.  He’s racked up two 3^rd places at the Chicago NOOD (2004 and 2007) and a 3^rd place at the 2004 Columbia/West Marine Regatta.   

One of Vickery’s greatest achievements on Collaboration was when he won the overall Verve Cup award in 2008.  This was awarded to him for winning the Beneteau 40.7 section, which  was judged the most closely competitive section at the regatta.  Vickery also won the 40.7 section at the Verve Cup Regatta in 2004 and placed 3^rd in 2005

Over the years Collaboration has won or placed at many of the Area III weekend regattas, too numerous to detail here.    

Also to be noted are Collaboration’s victories outside of the one-design racing with the 40.7 section which include winning the Queen’s Cup Section 5 and Overall Championship Honors,  a race from Milwaukee to Muskegan in 2005, and 1^st place in their IRC class at the 2005 Bayview-Mackinac Race.

Now that the intro’s been made, let’s talk to Bob. 

40.7:  Something we’ve never asked you before, but here goes:How old were you when you began sailing? 

BV:    Thirteen. 

40.7:  How did you get started? 

 BV:  That's a bit of a long story, best shared over several strong rum drinks, but the abridged version is that I joined the Sea Explorer Unit sponsored by Chicago Yacht Club in 1971.  They had a wooden, 44' double-ended ketch and a Soling that were exclusively used by our unit, Sea Explorer Ship Privateer.  I spent every available minute on those boats in the summer and almost every available minute in the boat yard in the spring.  (Do you realize how fortunate we are that they now build boats out of fiberglass?  While the wooden boats have lots of charm, the endless sanding and varnishing was a true character builder!)  

During my sophomore year in high school, my chemistry teacher (Frank Maes) had a picture of a Rhodes 19 hanging on his classroom wall.  We struck up a conversation about sailing and he invited me out.  Turns out he was the Commodore of Corinthian Yacht Club and sailed his Rhodes out of Montrose Harbor.  Back then, part of the Commodore's responsibilities was to throw a spring party and he asked me if I would wear my Sea Explorer dress blue uniform and be a bar tender for his party - he thought it would offer a nautical touch.  Couldn't turn down an invitation like that.  Besides, he had two daughters that sailed and were damn attractive.  I met another Rhodes sailor at that party, Jack Patterson, who was the general manager of the Lands' End Yacht store at that time.  Back then, Lands' End sold boat parts, not clothing. Jack offered me a job in the store and that opened numerous doors to other sailing invitations.   

Most notably, I became friends with Pete Chatain and was invited to crew on the Chatain family boat "DAYBREAK", a CAL 40.  Pete and I stayed close for twenty years before he passed away.  He mentored me in the theory and practicalities of yacht racing.  Pete was very intelligent, intuitive and a patient teacher.  Not only did he understand the theory, he had practical experience as well.  Pete and his older brother Chris were very talented Flying Dutchman sailors.  In 1968 they were 3rd in  the Flying Dutchman World Championship in Italy.    

Pete was in management at Lands End and part of the reason that Lands' End was a real yachting hot spot.  Gary Comer, the founder of Lands' End was also a very good Star sailor and had a handful of other successful Star sailors on the board.   Half a block away was Murphy & Nye Sailmakers with Dick Stearns, Bruce Goldsmith, Grant Crowley and Bill Allen to name a few.  It seemed that loads and loads of sailboat racing talent surrounded that compound on Elston Avenue.  I went off to University of Southern California in 1976 on a football scholarship, but set football aside in '77 (or football set me aside) after shattering my ankle and tearing my achilles tendon.  

That summer still found me sailing out of Belmont Harbor when I connected with Bill Parks and started crewing for him on his Star boat.  (Bill was an Olympic Bronze medalist in 1968 in the Star Class and another excellent teacher).  Looking for something to do while I pondered the direction my life would take, I became a sailmaker for Murphy and Nye in 1978.  In 1979 I became a crew for Buddy Melges for his 1980 Olympic Star boat campaign.  We competed well and earned funding by the USOC, but the United States forfeited participation in the Olympic games when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.  

The 1980's found me working in the construction industry, but I stayed connected with some excellent local sailors, and started crewing offshore on Dick Jennings Petersen 43 "Pied Piper".  Dick is an exceptional sailor and demonstrated how to manage a successful racing program winning almost every race we entered for several years.  In 1986 Dick bought a Santa Cruz 70 and that opened a new chapter of how to get to Mackinac Island in a hurry.  We won the Royono Trophy that year (first boat to the finish) and set numerous records since. In 1986 I purchased an old, tired, International Etchells and started competing in the one design fleet out of Belmont Harbor.  

After several years of learning that boat, I stepped up and bought a new boat in 1988 and started traveling to regattas.  The Etchells Class has strong fleets in Toronto, Detroit, Marblehead, Newport, Larchmont, Rye, San Diego. Miami and San Francisco and we traveled to each of those locations for regattas.  We won the CYC season championship 5 years in a row and started to become very competitive on an international level.   

Our high water mark was with Regional Championship victories in 1996 and an International ranking of 7th in the world that year.  Business and family required more attention and my Etchells years ended.  In 2000 I found a partner (Chris Jungmann) and we bought an offshore boat, an Express 35 ( Collaboration) that was more friendly for sailing with a young family and friends.  We started competing in 2002 and won every regatta we entered for two seasons.  But then met the political side of PHRF and had our rating jacked up by the PHRF board in 2003.  Chris and I decided then that the 40.7 was the fleet for us. 

40.7:  What are some of the most important events you've participated in, both in terms of your final finish and in their personal importance to you.  

BV:  The one design classes offer some of the best competition in the world and few things compare with crewing for Buddy Melges in the Star Class.  Each of the regatta's I sailed with Buddy are still fresh in my mind with perhaps the 1980 Bacardi Cup in Miami (114 boats with some of the best talent in the world) as the most memorable.  That regatta stands out because the Olympic Games had been boycotted and the Bacardi Cup became the "Olympics" by default.  That Regatta saw a gathering of the world’s best sailors including the Olympic Star representatives from every country.  Going into the last race, Buddy and I were in first place, with Vince Brun in 2nd and Tom Blackaller in third.  Vince Brun went on to win the regatta and Buddy and I finished third, victimized by a 40 degree shift on the first beat, but the level of sailing in that crowd was incredible. Interestingly, the Russian who won the Olympic Gold medal that year didn't even break into the top ten final finishers.  The United States had all the talent that year, not only with Melges, Brun and Blackaller, but also Robbie Haines, Bill Buchan and Peter Wright. 

Of course the Etchells Class offers some very good sailors as well, Dave Curtis, Dennis Conner, Jud Smith, Bruce Burton, Dirk Knuelman and that list goes on and on.  Regardless of the boat class though, every regatta seems to offer something notable and remarkable.  Not the least of which is our 40.7 fleet.  We really have something special here.  Nice people and close sailing.  Every race has boats finishing overlapped.   

It doesn't get a lot better than this. 

40.7:  Bob, off the water, what business are you in? 

BV:  My construction company has been in business for 22 years and we do Residential and small to mid-size Commercial work.  We don't advertise much but rather work from referral.  We are seldom the lowest bid, and seldom the highest bid, but we aim to always be the best value. 

40.7:  Anything else Bob?

BV:  You can add that I will be on the course this summer with my three daughters chasing the good boats and searching for a new boat partner.  On shore, I am searching for a new life partner.  Interested parties for either position should contact me.