Cas Rekers passed away
A. Dumas
Henning Lippke
> Inventor of the RowPerfect, founder of the Vecht Race and Salland BC:
> http://salland-roeien.nl/
This is very sad news.
The coming weekend will not be like we wanted it to be.
Others will find better words.
Carl Douglas
There are no good words that can soften the pain of losing such a man &
friend as Cas Rekers.
For those of us fortunate enough to have known Cas well, that pain seems
insupportable. So many of us owe so much to this tough, straight,
generous, intelligent, kind and hard-working man.
Cas was independent & intellectual, yet a down-to-earth rower's rower.
He saw the great human value that lay in rowing, which grabbed him by
the throat in his student days and with which he continued to tussle for
almost every day of his life.
I understand that it was at a re-union of his old student club, & while
he was on the water, that Cas died. If so, that's a fine way for a
rowing man to go - although tough for his friends at the time.
Cas underwent major heart surgery some years ago to rectify a serious
condition. He was fascinated by & completely au fait with what was to
be done, more an active participant than patient. He saw no earthly
reason why he should not continue active in the sport, but his recovery
was never as complete as he'd hoped.
While chafing at the resulting constraints, he worked tirelessly with
his surgeon to optimise his drug regime to better control his heart
function - his requirement being that whatever he took should not slow
him mentally. Whenever we spoke, he'd explain how this or that was
working for him & why. And, of course, he'd tell me of his latest
Rowperfect scores & how paltry he considered them to be.
The inseparable other half of Cas was his wife, Willy. A most talented
musician, Willy has been a wonderful, supporting & always loving
companion to this driven man. Together they lived in the elegant house
that Cas built for them in Hardenberg - on land, as Cas would tell us,
which would be the very last in this low-lying area to flood. Cas
always thought of everything!
Others will tell their own stories of Cas & Willy. Cas was always a
hard taskmaster and a wonderful friend. While our Netherlands agent he
did wonders for us & wonders for our joint clientel. He & Willy did
other, more personal & private wonders for my wife, Jan & me after Jan
had been seriously injured - & now we can never repay that debt.
But Willy, this lovely, sprightly lady, has herself been unwell. And
Cas was nursing her back to health. Now Willy has lost her helpmate &
soulmate in one cruel blow. Life plays such brutal tricks on the truly
good people!
While caring for Willy, nevertheless Cas was working away to reintroduce
his Rowperfect to the world market after its unfortunate sojourn and
siesta in Australia. It will be the gravest disrespect to his memory
if, at just such a critical juncture, this wonderful machine is allowed
to slip back into obscurity. Cas wouldn't have let it happen. The
rowing world, & in particular the close network of Cas's friends, should
not let this happen either.
Carl
Richard
I spoke to Cas on Friday, and then tried to email him on Sunday.
I did receive one of his rp3's late Friday, and have to say that it is
a great machine, and am glad that he produced such a wonderful
product. But while yesterday I smiled when I saw it, today it makes
me sad.
Charles Carroll
reputations and friends. For me Cas Rekers was one of these people.
I admired his Rowperfect immensely. It was beautifully engineered. It
was obviously designed and built with guiding intelligence. It was
rugged and affordable. And, most importantly, it took an off water
training device for on-water rowers to a new level.
When I first started lurking on r.s.r Cas was posting much more
frequently. His contributions to the discussions were always affable,
lucid, and to the point. I seem to recall that on almost any technical
matter his authority was pretty much unrivaled.
Newsgroups are famous for giving birth to exploding infernos created
out of petty differences. Infernos, however, did not seem to be to Cas's
taste. I never knew him to write in anything but a measured voice.
Instead of fire his words shed light. He had that enviable knack of
being able to instruct without seeming condescending.
Maybe this is why his friends valued him so highly. I have never heard
an unkind word said against him. He seems to have been a very giving
man who was always available whenever help was sought.
I always thought he was someone I wanted to know. And foolishly I
thought he was someone I would get to know one day. But the distances
proved too far and the time was never right.
I envy you, you lucky people, who did get to know him.
With warmest regards and deepest regrets,
Charles
Ursula Grobler
coming to the sport, loving it, and then wanting to pursue an Olympic
endevour is preposterous! But only through doing it different would
this dream materialize. And that is what Cas's engineering mind gave
me. With his Rowperfect and now RP3 together with spending hours
training coach Carlos on how to best use the Rowperfect for training,
understanding more the rowing stroke, we are able to be top
contenders.
I was so fortunate to meet Cas in person during the Holland Beker. And
this great man has left a legacy that needs to be remembered and
honoured. I continue to train on the RP3 and its revolution is clear.
Ursula Grobler
A. Dumas
Thank you, and others, for sharing.
Moiragh
>
> I did receive one of his rp3's late Friday, and have to say that it is
> a great machine, and am glad that he produced such a wonderful
> product. But while yesterday I smiled when I saw it, today it makes
> me sad.
Dear Richard,
Don't just look at it, use it and it will make the smile return to
your face again!
kind regards,
Moiragh Rekers