05/18/2026
The Riverside family lost a great man and a true fixture around our marina.
Rick Hennig was one of those people whose impact is impossible to measure because itās everywhere you look. The steel work, the welding, the engineering, the custom solutions, the pier systems, and countless projects around the marina all carry his fingerprints. Itās hard to look around this place and not see something Rick touched, built, improved, or helped create.
For me personally, Rick was part of my life from the very beginning. With Rick being one of my dadās closest friends, I grew up around the two of them, around boats, around the water, and around their love for sailing.
Some of my earliest memories started on Spilt Milk, an Etchells 22 that my dad, Rick, and Johnny owned together. That was really where it all began for me. From there came the Star fleet, which Rick was instrumental in building, and then bigger adventures followed.
We moved into Morningstar, the Frers 46 that my dad and Rick partnered on together. That boat carried us through several Mac races and countless miles across the Great Lakes. Then came Windrush, Wild Horses, Denali and eventually Thunderstruck, where over the next decade or more we spent years racing, sailing, and building memories together. Chicago Macs, Port Huron Macs, the Trans Superior Race, and countless miles in between. We were fortunate enough to have success on the racecourse, but looking back now, the trophies were never really the important part.
The real value was the experience, the friendships, and the memories made along the way.
Rick also had deep roots within the Racine Yacht Club sailing community. One of the things that made him special was that he always seemed willing to bring young sailors along on the adventure. So many of us were introduced to big-boat sailing through Rick and the opportunities he created. Countless kids and young sailors from Racine Yacht Club found themselves stepping aboard boats, racing in Mac races, crossing the Great Lakes, and experiencing a world they otherwise may never have seen. He gave people a chance to learn, to grow, and to be part of something bigger than themselves.
One thing I realized during those years was that someday my dad and Rick wouldnāt be able to continue these adventures forever. When Denali was sold, Rick had talked about stepping away from that chapter but ā¦.. anyone who knew Rick knew retirement didn't exactly stick for very long and Medicine Man entered the picture. But that realization became a big part of the reason the Legacy GL52 program ever existed in the first place.
I knew that if I didnāt step up and carry something forward, I wasnāt sure those opportunities would continue. Legacy became my way of trying to continue a tradition that Rick and my dad helped build. Giving people experiences, opening doors, and creating opportunities on the water.
And if you sailed with Rick, you knew there was another side of him too. Rick was intense. He was passionate. He had a COLORFUL vocabulary to say the leastā¦. and was never shy about saying exactly what was on his mind. On the race course there was never much mystery about where Rick stood on things. Some of the language and conversations that came off the boat over the years probably aren't appropriate for a Facebook post, but they were legendary to everyone fortunate enough to be there and we still get good laughs out of them today.
Behind all of that intensity was someone who cared deeply about the boat, about getting it right, about the people around him, and about sharing his love for sailing.
Some knew him as the āMedicine Man.ā Some knew him as the guy who could figure out or build almost anything. To many of us, he was simply Rick.
His legacy isnāt just in the steel, the docks, and the boats. It lives in the people he taught, influenced, and inspiredā¦. myself included.
Fair winds, Rick. Youāll always be part of Riverside, my family, and I promise to continue to carry your Legacy forward and make you proud.
---------------Scott Monroe & Racine Riverside Marine--------------
