Bud Gardiner

As we approached the downwind finish line, I thought the right end of the line might be favored so I headed up slightly. There were 5 or 6 boats ahead of us and it was the last race of the 1970 Cal 20 Nationals. Bud Gardiner was off to our left approaching the other end of the line. I looked across as two horns were sounded in quick succession. I was sure that Pat and I had beaten Gardiner and this was verified quickly by the look on Bud and his crew's faces. They were not a happy pair. I did not realize it at the time, but we had just knocked Bud out of the National Championship.

Later at the Windjammer Yacht Club, the new National Champion was offering to buy us drinks for having finished ahead of Bud Gardiner in the final race. Bud was there and took it all in good stride.

A few minutes later, we discovered that a boat which had finished ahead of us in the last race was being protested for some infraction earlier in the race. As we waited, we got to know Bud and discovered that he worked for Douglas Aircraft at Long Beach where I worked. He knew virtually everyone who was anybody in the higher levels of sailing. He was one of the founders of Gardiner & Baxter Sailmakers and built sails for the Star fleet in the late '30s. One of his friends was Donald Douglas, the founder of our company, who also was involved with sailing. Bud really did know everybody!

Someone came in with the latest news. The boat being protested had been disqualified. That moved Bud up one slot in the final race. He was the new Cal 20 National Champion. We all started celebrating again. Bud eventually would become a very good friend and we often visited Bud and his wife in their home in Hermosa Beach. The photo of Bud shown above has had a special place on the bulletin board in my darkroom for many years.

Bud had a port hole in the bottom of his Cal 20 so he could check the keel for kelp. The keel is cast iron and the airfoil is very thin so it is prone to early flow separation and stalling. A very large bulb is on the bottom of the keel. I suggested that we glue a bunch of short strings (tufts) on the keel so that we could study the flow. I met Bud at King Harbor. We attached the tufts, put the boat in the water and went sailing. We sailed for a short time within the harbor where the water was very smooth. We took turns sailing with the other person calling out the condition of the tufts. When the tufts twirled, the flow was separated and the keel probably stalled. I could do about as good as Bud in the smooth water.

Outside in the ocean chop, the situation was quite different. With a fine hand on the tiller in the rougher water, Bud did a much better job keeping the tufts laying down than I did. I had a lot to learn about driving the Cal 20. In late 1971 we sold our Cal 20 and bought a new Ranger 23. Bud continued to race his Cal 20 for several years.

Bud was the head of Manufacturing Research at Douglas Aircraft. In 1973 when I designed a new mast section for the new America's Cup 12-meter, Courageous, Bud took over the task of getting the tubes made by a local company. I was able to observe the aluminum bending process to be sure that the tubes were the shape that I had designed. Bud arranged for the shipping of the tubes to the East Coast for final assembly of the mast.

We both followed the America's Cup defender trials closely and were excited when the new mast went into the boat near the end of the trials. Courageous proceeded to win the next 4 races straight. The team was happy with the new mast. Of course, I should be honest and admit that Courageous then lost 4 straight, but she did go on to successfully defend the Cup in 1974 and again in 1977 using the new mast.

One morning at work, I got a call from Bud. He said, "The Congressional Cup races are starting today down at the Long Beach Yacht Club. Let's go down and I'll introduce you to a few people." The Cal 40's were all lined up getting ready to go out. We stopped at Dennis Conner's boat. I had previously received a couple of phone calls from Dennis with aerodynamics questions. Dennis was standing on his boat and started asking more questions about his Tempest for the Montreal Olympics. If he taped up the spreader brackets to clean up the airflow, would the improvement in drag counter the increase in the weight aloft?

About that time, Ted Turner came up. Bud introduced me and Turner said, "Yeah, I've heard of you." He then spun one of the winches on the boat that Dennis had drawn for the match races and said, "Your winches are better than mine." Without another word he then turned and went back down the dock.

Bud is gone now, but I think of him every time I see his photo on the wall in my darkroom. I am also reminded of Bud when I look at the two half-models of the America's Cup boats, Freedom and Eagle on the wall in my computer room (both beautiful models were made by Bud's son, Ken. See the Related Links section, Ken Gardiner Modelmaker).

In a search on the Internet I find that Bud is now remembered by an annual regatta at King Harbor Yacht Club, The Bud Gardiner Bowl.