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Madame Buffet! Vous êtes vraiment l´esprit du 505! |
| Photo and caption from the amazing Pelle Båth 5-0-5 nostalgia trip web site. |
Jean-Luc Muzellec just informed me that Huguette, Marcel Buffet's wife, passed away Wednesday afternoon at the hospital in Paris. Marcel needs our support more than ever and Jean-Luc and I both reckon that he will appreciate all your support to face this very sad course of event.
I will provide you with more details about the funeral as soon as I can.
Regards
Jean-Baptiste Dupont
Goodbye Madame Buffet
Jean Baptiste:
I was very saddened and heartbroken to hear this morning that Madame Huguette Buffet had passed away. This past September I was fortunate enough to be called to volunteer at the International 505 World Championship Regatta in Hyannis, Mass. I was part of the publicity team reponsible for posting race results,press releases,images and other information on the internet for the rest of the Class and the world. Allan Freedman and Ali Meller of the 505 American Section rounded out the rest of the team. All of our work was done after the races of the day,therefore I was able to sail on the spectator boat 48' Grand Banks "Mariah" each day with captain "Skip" Scudder,past commodore of the Hyannis Yacht Club.
There were many different people on the Mariah each day.There were parents and friends of the racers,photographer Peter Danby and many others. The one faithful and constant passenger on the boat each day was Madame Buffet. Although there a serious language barrier,I don't speak French, Madame Buffet and I got along famously. After the third or fourth day it became a ritual for her to search me out each morning of the regatta to say "bonjour" and to make sure that she had a berth on the spectator boat of the day.
Most of the time the spectator boat of the day was Skip Scudder and the Mariah and because of that he became very fond of Madame Buffet as well. We all marveled at the devotion that Madame Buffet exhibited towards Marcel and his racing. Even at an advanced age she assisted him and his crew to haul the boat up onto the beach each day after the races. Every morning,while motoring out to the race course, she waved and beckoned him good luck without fail.
Pretty soon Skip was making sure that Madame Buffet had an ample supply of French wine to go along with her afternoon repast. During that time on the Mariah we all became a family, Madame Buffet was the matriarch and everyone on the boat looked after her. On the day that we all departed Hyannis for our respective homelands, I searched out Marcel and Huguette to say goodbye. We took a picture together and the feeling that I had was as if we at an annual family reunion and that it would be but a mere year's time before we would meet again.
Needless to say because of her passing that won't be happening. After my initial experiences with the International 505 Class I have the feeling that we are all in sort of a fraternity. Fraternities have always exhibited special feelings towards its members and especially their families. I am sure that I speak for all the 505 sailors, who respect and honor Marcel Buffet for his devotion to the Class, by sending our deepest heartfelt condolences at the event of the passing of his wife,Huguette.
Please pass this email message along to him for me and if possible post an address where some of us can send cards and letters of condolence.
God Bless the soul of Madame Buffet and may her soul rest in peace.
With Many Sad Regards,
Dennis Burroughs
"Itinerant 505 Crew"