This is reprinted from Scuttlebutt #474 which was issued January 4, 2000

 

Harry Wood, a legendary lifeguard and sailor on Alamitos Bay and a legendary member of the Lido 14 class, died Dec. 27 following a lengthy illness.  He was 76.

 

Harry became a Long Beach Lifeguard in the Forties, patrolling both the beach from a tower and the waterways in a boat.  He was credited with rescuing 85 Girl Scouts and their leaders when their chartered boat lost both sails and power in a storm off Long Beach in 1884 [ed. ?].  He was inducted into the Long Beach Lifeguard Hall of Fame in 1996.

 

Harry sailed and excelled in Skimmers and Pacific Cats, but was probably best known in the Lido 14 class.  He was a multiple fleet and class champion in the Lidos starting in the late Fifties and sailing well into the Eighties. In the late Seventies a regatta was named for him by the Newport Beach Lido fleet, a real honor as he wasn't even a member of the fleet!

 

A celebration of Harry's life will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 5, at 11:00 A.M. at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, 7201 E. Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90803.

 

 -- Chris Ericksen, Past President Lido 14 Class Assn.

 

Tom Leweck’s Comment:

More than 30 years ago, I towed my Lido 14 to ABYC for a regatta, even though I did not have a crew. When I pulled into the parking lot, Harry saw my problem and insisted that I take his regular crew -- his wife. He then found a little girl and a big rock (to get up to minimum weight) and went out and won the regatta. Harry was a champion in every sense of the word.

 

[ed: see Our Class Champions and Alamitos Bay YC]