Harry C. "Buddy" Melges Jr. (January 26, 1930 – May 18, 2023) was an American competitive

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

. He earned national and international championships in several classes in conventional sailing and ice-boating and is widely regarded as one of the top racing sailors of all time.

Early life

Born in

Elkhorn, Wisconsin Elkhorn is a city in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located southwest of Milwaukee. As of the 2020 census, it was home to 10,247 people, up from 10,084 at the 2010 census. History In 1836, Colonel Samuel ...

, Melges grew up on

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Lake Geneva is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Walworth County and situated on Geneva Lake, it was home to 8,277 people as of the 2020 census, up from 7,651 at the 2010 census. It is located southwest of Milwaukee and no ...

, sailing the boats designed and manufactured by his father, Harry Melges Sr. Based in Zenda, Wisconsin,

Melges Performance Sailboats Melges Performance Sailboats, is an American sailboat manufacturer founded by Harry Melges, father of former Olympic sailor Buddy Melges. Melges Boat Works, Inc. was founded by Harry C. Melges, Sr. in 1945. The company was originally named '' ...

is still in operation, and is now run by Buddy's son, Harry Melges III.

Sailing career

Melges was an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

gold (

Soling The Soling is an Keelboat, open keelboat that holds the World Sailing "International class" status. The class was used from the Sailing at the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1972 Olympics until the Sailing at the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2000 Olympics as "Sa ...

, 1972) and bronze (

Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' () is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the sea forever. The myths and ghost stories are likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dutch East India C ...

, 1964) medalist, a two-time

Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

world champion (1978 and 1979), a three-time 5.5 Meter world champion (1967, 1973 and 1983), a five-time E-Scow national champion (1965, 1969, 1978, 1979 and 1983), a seven-time skeeter ice boat world champion (1955, 1957, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1980 and 1981), and a three-time Yachtsman of the Year (1961, 1972 and 1978). He helped Bill Koch steer his America³ to a successful defense of the

America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...

in 1992. Melges was inducted into the

America's Cup Hall of Fame The America's Cup Hall of Fame, located at the Herreshoff Marine Museum of Bristol, Rhode Island, USA, honors individuals for outstanding achievement in the America's Cup sailing competition. Candidates eligible for consideration include skippers ...

in 2001, and to the Inland Lake Yachting Association Hall of Fame in 2002. He was inducted into the

National Sailing Hall of Fame The Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes sailing and racing by recognizing individuals who have contributed to the sport, highlighting sailing's contribution to the American culture ...

in 2011. Melges lectured and taught across the United States and was a member of many yacht clubs. He was characterized as the "Grand Master" of competitive yachting and was called "The Wizard of Zenda".

Personal Life

He was married to Gloria for 69 years till his death with whom he had three children called Laura, Hans, and Harry C. Melges III. He is not to be confused with his son who is also a World Champion sailor Harry Melges III or one of his grandsons Harry Melges IV who is also an America Cup team sailor and Sailing World Champion. Melges died at his

Fontana, Wisconsin Fontana-on-Geneva Lake (locally known as "Fontana") is a village located on Geneva Lake in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,120 at the 2020 census. Geography Fontana-on-Geneva Lake is located at (42.544288, -88 ...

, home on May 18, 2023, at the age of 93.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Melges Jr., Harry Buddy 1930 births 2023 deaths American male sailors (sport) People from Elkhorn, Wisconsin People from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin 1987 America's Cup sailors 1992 America's Cup sailors 2000 America's Cup sailors Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in sailing Olympic gold medalists for the United States in sailing Sailors at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Sailors at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Soling Soling class sailors World champions in sailing for the United States Star class world champions 5.5 Metre class world champions US Sailor of the Year Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in sailing Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games 20th-century American sportsmen