This afternoon Oley passed away. He was diagnosised with an aggressive advanced cancer soon after we returned from the Global Challenge. This had been the cause of his back pain. The disease and progression was quick and he did not want people to be worried about him.
In respect of his wishes there will be no formal funeral plans. We will have a small memorial here in chattanooga. The thing Oley asked is for people to have a beer in his honor.
He will be missed. His love of sailing and life was infectious.

Sail fast my friend.

Jody Abrams

Cheers! [Raised Glass -- drinking beer]

In celebration of life. Oley, you will be missed.

Perhaps this will bring a few more beers to the table. I never met Lynn; however, he sure kept good company based on these results from 2002.

http://www.hcana.hobieclass.com/?Page=2761

I am truly sorry about this Jody and Joanna. I have always enjoyed racing with you guys and getting to know you over the years. I will probably continue to keep an eye out for "Too Sharp" on the race course. You are all very good folks. Till next time. Ed

Although I never met him I am upset. However, I'm sure he'd want us all to go out rig our Cats and enjoy ourselves.
My heart felt condolence to his family & friends.

Condolences from the Key Team and all along the Gulf Coast!!!!!

OMG! I am devastated! I cannot beleive this. The short time I met him he was always smiles, he even let me sail his boat in the GC 2009.

I am deeply saddened and honored at the same time. Saddened because to me he seemed like an inspiration, honored becasue I got a chance to meet him and actually SAIL his boat while he stood bye and watched.

Fair winds to his soul, until we meet again I will have a rum and coke in your honor tonight.

WOW

what!? I'm shocked...saddened. wow. oh man. I can't believe it. Oley was one of the best...ever.

Jody, thanks for posting this I'm at a bit of a loss for words but give Joanna a hug for me and tell her to give you one from me too.
Oley was an incredible and kind person and will be dearly missed. I'm happy to have been able to call him a friend.

-John

Oley was a great sailor, teacher, and friend. From our very first time meeting him he was an inspiration, always helping us learn to be better....and of course harrasing Pat Murphy.

Our sailing family has suffered a great loss.

I'm speechless. Too young. Too good.

Great Hobie 17 sailor - I last sailed with him in the Hobie 17 NA's in 2003.

Words cannot express just how devestated I feel by this. To say it was unexpected is an understatement. Oley was a great person who will be incredibly missed at all the Regattas. My prayers are with his family and friends. I'll go pour one to his memory...

This is unreal. He was in such impeccable physical shape it's hard to believe he was anything other than perfectly healthy. It will be too weird not seeing him around the events anymore.

RIP Oley.

Truly out of the blue.

This coming season I will have a beer AND a sail in his honor.

Cheers,

Wouter

I never met Oley, yet I too feel shocked. As a fellow F16 sailor I'm stunned to think that someone could be racing one week and gone such a short time later through illness. Life just isn't fair.................

My heartfelt condolences to Joanna and all the rest of Oley's family and friends.

I was fortunate to have sailed with Oley once in Charlotte Harbor... things were sporty and we had to sail through a fleet of dinghies to get out to the course. Oley put his foot on the gas so he could "show them little boats what we're about." We were pretty light together, though, so over we went. Oley came up laughing, saying "that's not really what I meant!"

I've always been impressed that he kept a good attitude and had a smile for everyone. It is hard to believe that he is gone. Oley will be missed.

I didn't know him nearly long enough. He will be missed.

Oley,Oley,Oley,Oley, was always the chant at the awards ceremony, because he always won. A great competitor and truly one of the good guys of sailing.

A great sailor, a great competitor and a great friend.

A great honor and priviledge to have known him.

He will be missed on the course and on shore.

Scott Smith

He and Joanna were always one of the first to offer a smile and a hand. He was truely an ambassador for the sport of cat sailing.

Fair winds

RIP Oley. You will be missed.

As everyone else said, a true ambassador to the sport. Always at every regatta with a huge smile and lending a helping hand. I'm still at a loss for words. Our regattas will not be the same without him.

I wish I had words to express myself; however, I do not.

Truly a huge loss for sailing. Oley was always at the pointy end of the whichever fleet he was in, but he always made the time to help/educate/theorize about anything to do with beachcat sailing and sailors. Ambassador is the best descriptor.

We will miss him terribly and should strive to follow his example.

Oley was a terrific friend and an incredible person. Thinking back to the 9 or 10 years that I've known him, there's not one image in my mind of the man without an ear to ear smile plastered on his face. I never saw him lose his temper or show frustration. A very skilled sailor and better friend. We will miss you, man.

You know, that is very true. He never showed frustration at a bad wind shift or a bad finish - he just keep being Oley.

I first met him 20 years ago in Bham at the Cat Caper (1989 - but he knew my dad before then), I about decapitated him in a "I am about to tack situation" in Ft Walton a few years later (the incident is still vivid in my mind and always tempers my judgement - luckily he and Jon Sheridan survived uncscathed) and grew to expect him and the TN contingent every year at Cat Caper. A few years ago, he showed up with Joanna on a H20 with Spin, he seemed to really be enjoying double handed sailing and working with Joanna to get faster. We raced almost boat-for-boat that weekend - me on a Blade F16 uni-rigged and they on the H20 w/spin. I guess they liked the look of the F16 - b/c they became a force to be reckoned with on it. First time I ever saw him on a non-Hobie.

Even though we only saw each other 3 or 4 times a year (at best), I already miss him.

OMG!!!! I cannot believe this!! Oley was an incredible person who happened to be a great sailor. What a warm and sharing person- I can't imagine how Joanna is handling this. Oley was a great addition to the F16 ranks- I first met him when he was single-handing his H20 at Cat Caper and I was sailing my Taipan 4.9 uni. He was the only boat I couldn't catch and I remember helping him drop the H20 mast and then showing him how light the 4.9 mast was and how easy it was to rig compared to the H20. At the last Cat Caper I went to he and Joanna fed me breakfast in his GMC motorhome- they wouldn't take "No thanks" for an answer! I just can't believe he won't be at the next regatta-

Fair winds Oley!

Sorry for all our loss...
Kirt

Thank You Oley for the profound and inspirational influence that you have had in my life.

CatCaper 2009, October 31

I'm in shock. Unbelievable how devastating this news is. Oley is one of the most genuine people I know. I can’t even remember how many years we’ve known each other…. Racing back in the day w/ the H20. Always there with a lending hand and ear. Oley has been a great friend, a great sailor and competitor. . There will be a huge void in our sailing community without you. My prayers go out to your family and Joanna.

None of us will ever forget that smile. RIP Oley.

I had the pleasure of meeting him a few times, and like everyone says, he was all smiles. My thoughts are with his friends and family.

I never had the privelege to sail with Lynn, but have worked on a bunch of H17 NA RCs over the past dozen or so years. He was at most of them, always having a great time and racing well. RIP.

Mike

At the 09 Reggae Regatta at Lake Lanier Oley and I port started the entire fleet. As we crossed the line he looked over at me and gave me "the smile" which cracked me up so I started to laugh, and then he and his crew started laughing too. That is a great way to start a race.
Oley will be missed.

Unfortantly i have never meet Oley but i wish the family all the strength there is need with this loss.

Hans Klok

Fair winds and following seas, Oley.
Thoughts and prayers to his family.

Never knew him personally, but sailed against him many times in Ocean Springs, he was always smiling and was a damn good sailor! My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family, and as requested by Jody...I'll have a beer in his honor at 5 o'clock sharp this evening. Remember every morning you are handed 24 golden hours. They are one of the few things in this world that you get free of charge. If you had all the money in the world, you couldn't buy an extra hour. What will you do with this priceless treasure? Remember, you must use it, as it is given only once. Once wasted you cannot get it back. --Anonymous

I'm not Scott, but the answer is yes.

All the photos in this thread are Oley.

Thanks, Matt,
Rick

Scott, is that a picture of him?
Rick
_________________________

Yes, taken at this year's CatFest at Lake Norman Yacht Club
9-11-2009.
He and Joanna helped me tune the spi on my A Cat I had been playing with over the summer, I had a "but crack" in my spin
because the haylard was too short. He quickly pulled out a spare and replaced mine in time for the tune up sail that evening. Prior to that he had just rigged his F16 and his Joby's F16 as well.
His passion for cat sailing was second to none.
Scott

We met Oley at Out Back in 2008. He and Joanna sat with Barbie and me and we just talked about all sorts of things, mostly not sailing related. We had never met other than accross the water at a few regattas.

He obviously was very intense about his sailing, but he had interests beyond that as well.

Forget fair winds and following seas.....I hope it's blowin' stink and he just rolled the devil and has a lee bow on God hisself.

Nice +1 !

I've known Oley for several years. He was never someone that I talked to between regattas, but one of my skippers was a good friend of his. I last saw him at Round the Island in 2009 and I always enjoyed hanging out with him.

I don't know how anyone could ever have a bad thing to say about him. Truly one of the nicest people I've ever met. There are not enough people in the world like him and we lost a good one with his passing.... very sad news.

My favorite Oley moment was at a Hobie 18 Nationals in Pensacola say late 80's he dared port tack a very talented fleet. The fleet saw the HAT cross their bow, and pull off best move of the Regatta. His smile & all the congrats were... All through the years he wore the similar stile hat. Yeah, I will surely miss that Hat on the Cat.

Thank you very much all your thoughts and prayers. There are so many great memories with him and you all. I plan on continuing to sail/race and look forward to seeing you all on the water soon.

[quote=I plan on continuing to sail/race and look forward to seeing you all on the water soon.


[/quote]


Joanna,

There is no way in he** we would let you stop racing, loosing Oley was a shock to us all and obvioulsy not his choice, I think I can speak for the EMSA crowd in saying that while we were not prepared for Oley's passing, Loosing two great friends would be unacceptable.

See you soon, hang in there. If you Tennessee'ans need anything just call.

I just heard today. It's really hard to believe.

Oley was always one of the people I saw at a regatta, and mentioned to Amanda, "Oh good, Oley is here." Oley seemed to represent what I really like about sailing camaraderie.

I have definitely been inspired by Oley. He was friendly, funny, enthusiastic, and a serious competitor. When I did a crazy thing and somehow lost an F18 Rudder in the James Island after-regatta shuffle. We didn't know we lost it until setting up at the next regatta. It was Oley at the next regatta that said surely he could help us find something- and he brought us several rudders until one fit- I think he had a drill too to drill another hole. And he lent us his rudder to get us through the next couple regattas until our new one came in.

I think we first met him at a Chattanooga River tegatta- maybe in 1984? That was a fun regatta- if you didn't get run over by a FAST moving barge.

Oley, when visiting SueEllen's at Lake Hartwell would always take out any sailboat that was available.

I remember a random day with no regatta- motoring up in our old MasterCraft to a lone bobbing Hobie in the middle of Lake Hartwell - it looked like a sailboat that needed a tow. We were surprised to see "Oley from Chattanooga" on a Hobie 14 out in the middle of the lake alone, with NO wind at that moment, and he was cheerful as can be. Said something like, "Hi Rob & Amanda. Beautiful day isn't it? The wind comes and goes, but it's really nice." He did not want to be towed. Talk about a joyful sailor.

Oley was always competitive and persistent. Always making new friends, always helping others and always in the game.

Though I don't think we were ever racing in the same fleet (I don't think Oley ever had a Hobie 16?, and I wish he'd got an F18!), I did manage to get in his way on the race course numerous times. Oley was serious if he needed to hail us, often as Leward boat pointing shockingly high with the H17! How did he point so high? But always fast to forgive.

Oley and Joanna were a great team.

We will surely miss Oley.

Rob & Amanda