I met John in July 1986 when I went to my first Hobie Fleet 54 'Club Race'/Picnic ... John's first 'Distance' race was the Inaugural New England 100 from New London Conn to New Bedford Mass, that John, Scott Bunting and I did, using my H18Mag ... after that John caught the 'distance' bug and was a fixture at the 'Down-the-Bays' on his H-16. One year he showed up w/ a can of 'Marine-tex' to try and fix a bottom repair job that was starting to leak again ... I looked at his H16 as it sat upside down on the beach at Sandy Point and started to poke at the delaminating fiberglass w/ a 2" wide wood chisel ... and then I just pealed away a 3-4ft strip of fiberglass ... John looked at me for a moment, took a puff on a 'ciggy', got that sly smile and asked me ... "You caaann fix that Harry??? So, John and I proceeded to put on a new layer of cloth and epoxy right there on the beach ... John & Lee made the start the next morning ...

John was famous for his single-handed sails to various regatta sights around the bay ... and I met him many a time at some beach, long after dark when he would come 'ghosting' in on the evening breeze,(it got to be, that I could just sense when he was near) ... "Hi John" ... "Harry, what are you doing here???" ... "Waiting on you John ..." and then John would give me that laugh ... the last time was just a few years ago when he sailed from WRSC to RHYC only to finally become becalmed 200-300yds off of RHYC ... I grabbed a 8'dingy off the dingy-rack that had oars and rowwed out to him ... "Hi John, the wind kind of died ... do you want to wait for the breeze ... or can I tow you in???" I think that is the only 'tow' John ever took ...

John ... you have sailed to a beach that I can not meet you at ... but hopefully, "Good Lord Willing", someday I will sail up to that beach and you can meet me ... w/ the 'beach wheels' ...

Till then I'll just have to treasure my memories of one of my best friends ... who was one of the finest people to ever be on this earth ...

Harry Murphey
Hobie Fleet54/ H-18#9458
CRAC P-19MX w/spin