The Madison Regatta: Hydroplane Racing in Small-Town Indiana
Fred Farley has been a high school and college instructor and a writer for many years. Fred has written articles for numerous magazines, newspapers, program books and websites found on the Internet. He has served as the designated "official historian" for the "big boats" (the Unlimited hydroplanes) of the American Power Boat Association since 1973. Fred provides data whenever needed by the news media and officials at the various race sites. He has attended over 250 Unlimited races.Fred served as a consultant for theMadisonmovie, providing information to the filmmakers about the different hydroplanes and the 1971 Madison Gold Cup Regatta, which inspired the movie.As a writer, a historian and a consultant, there is no one more qualified to write about the people and the events that constitute Unlimited hydroplane racing. Fred can provide more than just the "facts and figures." He can tell you about the people, who they really are.The Madison Regattais the fifth volume with a racing theme that Fred and co-author Ron Harsin have produced since 2003. According to Farley, "I basically write the text and provide some of the historic photos; Ron takes the contemporary photos, does the computer graphics and handles the business end. It's very much a 50-50 collaboration."Originally from Seattle, Washington, Fred and his wife, Carol, moved to just outside the city limits of Madison, Indiana, where they have made their residence since 1999.Ron Harsin has a background as a computer consultant to companies like IBM, Motorola, General Motors, TRW, Eli Lilly, Procter & Gamble and Ameritech. The jobs have included a variety of tasks, including computer programming, technical writing, applications testing, systems administration, systems engineering design and project management. Ron also served as a college instructor teaching computer software courses.As a technical writer, Ron has several published technical documents and manuals created for the computer industry. The writing experience helped considerably with the written text, formatting and development of this book. In addition, Ron is an accomplished BMI affiliated songwriter with several songs recorded by different artists, as well as an award-winning multi-time published photographer. Ron, his wife Ilene, daughter Jennifer and son Randy are lifelong residents of the Madison, Indiana community and spend each year caught up in the Madison Regatta activities.