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October 28, 2010
Baird Bardarson
Baird Bardarson, a three-time International 14 national champion, longtime supporter of the Seattle I-14 fleet and an honorary life member of CYC, died Thursday, Oct. 28 after a five-month illness.
Bardarson, a physician, bought his first I-14 dinghy in 1951, two weeks after his marriage to his wife, Peggy. It was the first of many dinghies he owned and campaigned around the world until his retirement from racing in 1999. His I-14 national championships were in the 1960s.
Competing many times in the United Kingdom, he was honored twice with Replica Trophies during Race Week in the Prince of Wales Cup at Cowes for placing in the top five in a fleet if 90 boats.
Often referred to as the "elder statesman" of the Seattle International 14 fleet, he was known to subsidize local fleet members traveling abroad for regattas. He retired from active racing shortly before his 73rd birthday, but continued to be active in his support for racing.
"He called one of his boats 'Happy Warrior,' which was very appropriate," said Dick Rose, who competed against Bardarson for many years in the I-14 fleet. "He approached life and sailing with great joy and a great sense of the proportion of winning and losing. His excitement and enthusiasm were contagious."
Rose described Bardarson as "an excellent sailor, and we had many memorable races against one another . . . I visited him a few weeks ago, and he was able to remember some of those races and we shared our experiences."
Baird Bardarson's I-14 Vorpal Blade on the back cover of the 1975 CYC Helmsman.
In the caption under a 1973 photo in American Boating, Bardarson was named as the favorite in the 1973 I-14 World Championship regatta hosted by CYC in Seattle. He didn't win.
In 1978, Bardarson and his wife bought their cruising boat, Bright Star, which they sailed in British Columbia every year for 31 years, making many trips to the Queen Charlotte Islands. Particularly fond of the area north of Vancouver Island, they explored there every year until 2009 when they sold the boat.
In 1998, Bardarson was made a CYC honorary life member, the club's highest honor. In the club at large, Bardarson was best known for helping to lead the reconstruction of the Shilshole clubhouse in 1997. He also was one of the driving forces behind creation of the Wall of Champions, which lists CYC winners of major national and international events.
He also helped build floats on Lake Washington and created, with the help of his brother Linne, a system of ropes and pulleys to square up the starting line in front of the Leschi Tower.
Staff Commodore Bill Lieberman, also an honorary life member of CYC, worked with Bardarson on the reconstruction of the clubhouse and said Bardarson was a "staunch supporter of the club" and an active member of the club's Monday Lunch group, made up mainly of old timers.
On the Saturday night after Bardarson's death, the Monday Lunch Group had a previously-planned potluck dinner at the club and used the occasion to share memories of their friend. Herb Holley had a book of sea chanties written by Bardarson, and led the group in song, as Bardarson had done in the past.
"He was just an awfully nice guy and everybody liked him," Lieberman said. "We're going to miss him."
Raised in Carmel, Calif., Bardarson was the son of the local superintendent of schools. He attended the University of California at Berkeley until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1945, serving in Germany until he was discharged as a first lieutenant in 1947.
He completed his undergraduate work at the University of Washington in 1950 and graduated from the UW Medical school in 1955. He entered family practice in Renton in 1956 and was the first chief of staff of the new Valley Medical Center in Renton.
Services will be held Sunday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island, 20103 State Route 525, Freeland, Wash. Memorial gifts may be made to Planned Parenthood or Amnesty International.