Buddy Melges: My Sailing Hero
The blonde wood hull was magnificent, and the deck was a beautiful shade of pink. I saw Buddy Melges sail the most beautiful “C” boat I had ever seen to victory in the ILYA (Inland Lake Yachting Association) regatta in Wisconsin in the summer of 1948.
That summer I persuaded my parents to buy one just like it for me. When my father saw the boat, he could only describe the deck color as “Titty Pink.”
While Buddy was building boats and perfecting his spectacular world class sailing skills, I, too, was learning, racing, and becoming even more involved in sailing.
Up until this time everyone at Lake Lotawana where I grew up, sailed Johnson boats built by the Johnson Boat Works of White Bear Lake, Minnesota. All the boats were wooden, and the wood dried out when the boats were out of the water for any extended period of time, the seams opened up, and the boats leaked like sieves until the planks swelled shut again.
For that reason, we kept our boats in the water on buoys near our homes until 1946 when five boats from the local Lotawana fleet traveled north to Lake Okoboji for our first try at sailing against the big boys.
The Okoboji boats were kept on lifts suspended above the water when they were not racing and, as a result, the bottom seams were always tight, so they were much closer to the minimum 450-pound weight limit. Despite our carefully planned strategies, we were dead last. The light Okoboji fleet cleaned our clocks as they were excellent sailors with superior equipment.
After that trip, we put lifts in front of our homes and started sailing our boats “dry.” By this time, I was a dedicated sailor practicing hard and reading all the books on sailboat racing.
When I started racing my first Melges boat, Creeper, the boat I had obtained after the 1948 ILYA, I was a genuine factor in the Lotawana fleet and a real favorite at the Melges Boat Works as the Lotawana fleet started converting to Melges boats.
In the early spring of 1953, I took my then girlfriend, later wife, Robbie Gibbon, to Lake Geneva to try out a new Melges “C” boat. Melges boats were still rare enough to arouse curiosity. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and the wind was light, so we were hardly moving when Robbie decided to sunbathe topless on the forward deck. I was dozing off at the helm and did not notice the approaching speedboat with our Lotawana neighbors, the Athas aboard. The Athas were a super straight-laced group and strict Christian Scientists, so I am sure they saw a lot more than they had bargained for. They did end up buying a Melges boat.
In 1953 Buddy Melges was off serving in Korea and I occasionally escorted his girlfriend, Gloria, who we always called Susie, to yachting functions in the Chicago area. They later married and are still married these many years.
After graduating from Northwestern and working a year in the Chicago area, Robbie and I moved back to Kansas City and mostly took over my parents’ Lotawana summer home on weekends. Our Lotawana fleet had become competitive, and we would occasionally run into Buddy and Susie at regattas in the Midwest. I may have even beaten Buddy on rare occasions.
In 1957, the Lotawana fleet started hosting a fall regatta in early October while our weather was still good, and the northern lakes were getting cold. Buddy attended many of these Lotawana regattas and would usually stay at our home. The sailing was excellent and some of the parties were legendary. One year, Buddy introduced a new drink to the group—the Starboard Light—crème de menthe and vodka. It was deadly!
Buddy never brought a boat to these regattas, instead he served as a goodwill ambassador for the Melges Boat Works. One time he offered to crew for me, and I had a taste of what made him great. Not only was he always aware of everything that was going on in the fleet, but he was all over that boat, adjusting things, shifting his weight and making suggestions to me. It was easy to see why he was in a class by himself when it came to sailing.
The impressive thing was that on these visits to our regatta he was just as generous with tips and suggestions to the Johnson owners as he was to the ones owning Melges boats.
My contacts with Buddy and Susie were mostly Christmas cards and the occasional phone call after we moved to Colorado and quit competitive sailing, but we followed his illustrious career and were continually amazed that he could step into any kind of sailboat and compete at an international level.
In 1993, Betty and I were traveling in Corsica in our Volkswagen Pop-Top and knew the final race of the America's Cup was coming up. We had no TV, so we arranged to watch the final race on a small, hotel-lobby TV. The race was still in doubt when a group of French tourists arrived and two fancifully dressed French women stepped in front of the TV and switched it to their favorite soap opera. Fortunately, we were able to negotiate a return to the race coverage without bloodshed and watch America3 approach the finish line with a clear lead. It was with characteristic sportsmanship that Buddy turned the wheel over to Bill Koch, giving Bill the honor of being at the helm when America3 crossed the finish line to win the America’s Cup. The French thought the two Anglos were crazy —shouting with joy at their TV. This was the last successful American defense of the America's Cup.
We followed Buddy’s career, but unfortunately, we were unable to witness Buddy’s numerous other sailing victories including Olympic medals in two different classes, world championships in numerous classes and even seven International Skeeter Ice Boat Championships.
Our last personal contact with Buddy was when we all attended an ILYA regatta at Lake Okoboji and gathered for more than a few drinks at the home of my good friend, Jerry Huse. In addition to Buddy, another good friend was there, Dick Stearns, Olympic gold medalist in the Star class, and my skipper in that class when we sailed out of Wilmette Harbor back in 1955. How I wished I could have recorded the banter going back and forth between us and the belly laughs we all had. It was one of those magical nights of camaraderie you never forget.
Now my contacts with the Melges’s are limited to the occasional phone call or Christmas greeting but when I hang up, I am always amazed that they seem delighted with my call knowing they undoubtedly receive calls from famous people all over the world.