Above: Buddy Melges in serious mode at a press conference during the ’92 Cup. Left: kings of the ice, kings of the water, kings of pushing forward performance. Buddy Melges with Peter Harken on the ice on Lake Geneva (Buddy is looking dressed to head off shortly for some duck hunting). Harken stepped back from ice boating just a few years ago after hitting a crack in the ice at high speed; and at 90 Melges is also today more mentor and commentator than serious competitor. We reckon that’s OK. Melges was regular- ly winning iceboat titles for 50 years; while some of Peter Harken’s performances in his intimidatingly fast front-seat Skeeter Honeybucket XIV are the stuff of legend
inconsistent stretch and how this new stronger yarn wouldn’t work because it couldn’t adapt to the bend of the mast. Yet Melges and his team were figuring out how to make it work. The cost of brilliance is sometimes high.
At one point in our conversation Buddy paused, sighed and said, ‘Well I guess it is about time we talked about Tom Semanski. ‘Tom was a brilliant and driven young
sailor. He was very quiet and wanted a job in sailing, doing anything. He started varnishing and his work was beautiful. He wanted to learn more, and started working on sails. ‘He was almost obsessive about making
the sails that he made the fastest possible. His eye and his way of looking at the problem of a shape were a large part of Melges Sails’ success in one-design sails. ‘Tragically, he couldn’t understand
when his sails didn’t win. Any loss on the water was personal – it added up and ate at him. Eventually it all became too much and he committed suicide.’ It is still evident how in some way every
person on site at Melges remains a part of Tom Semanski’s family. That is key – the Melges empire really is an inclusive family business. Many team members have been there for more than 40 years. Andy Burdick, President of Melges Performance Sail- boats, talks about how Buddy is still their brilliant leader. ‘Buddy probably spends an hour a day on
site, just talking and checking in and offering advice. You might think that after 70-some years Buddy has passed on all there is to pass on, but you would be wrong. Sometimes he is a pain in the ass but he has a way of putting things into perspective.’ I can attest: in 2000 Buddy popped
down to New Zealand in the middle of my America True Cup campaign. He sailed with us for about three hours and later casually jotted down on a bar napkin 32
things we could have done better. It was one of the most valuable napkins – ever! I’m pretty sure that Buddy, just like his
father, has debriefed his kids with the salt and pepper shakers at the dinner table. All have worked in the family business at one time or another and currently his son Harry is full time. Harry used to be in the office with Andy but his passion is on the floor. According to Andy, Harry more than just touches every boat – he works on and eyes up every boat that leaves the shop. Andy adds, Harry is ‘so talented with
his combination of engineering and creat - ivity, he is gifted, really gifted’. Harry IV is the newest up-and-coming
talent but not the only brilliant legacy. All of the Melges grandkids are excelling in sailing and skiing and pretty much any- thing they apply themselves to. There is some magic in that fountain of youth known as Lake Geneva and there is some magic in the Melges line. As I wrapped up my visit I got a tour of
the incredible Lake Geneva Yacht Club and Buddy Melges Sailing Center. At every turn Buddy could point out another medal or photo or half model and relive the expe- rience of winning a regatta as if it hap- pened yesterday. On anyone else it might have seemed like bragging, but to see it through Buddy’s eyes was almost as if he was surprised that it had happened and at the same time tickled pink to be able to share the excitement with someone. To put a point on it, earlier that
morning I noticed his Olympic gold and his military bronze both hanging on his wall. They were tucked away behind the television, which he had tuned to the out- door channel. This was before 7am and we had been up talking until almost midnight. Buddy is magic. He is one of a kind and
I was honoured to spend another chunk of time trying to keep up with him. He has definitely mastered the skills of ‘quicklier’.
Trivial Pursuits l People pronounce Melges MELjes and MELgus. I once asked him, and he said you can call me anything, just don’t call me late for dinner. He pulled off the corny statement. For the record – it is MELgus. l Buddy’s given name is Harry, as was his father’s. The story goes that his grandmother gave birth and was enjoying the luxury of being in the hospital. In these days you could not go home until you named your baby. The nurse came in after quite a few days and stated, ‘Ma’am, I don’t care if you name this baby Tom, Dick or Harry but you are going home today!’ She picked Harry. l Ducks Unlimited is a big cause for Buddy. He is an avid hunter and with Buddy logic he needs to protect the ducks and make places for them to ‘make love’… So he can keep on hunting. l Buddy’s best-known joke about Zenda: it is so small the local hooker is still a virgin. l Dust doesn’t fall up. Early on Buddy put the boats in the air, flipped them over and varnished them from underneath for a legendary finish. l Stu Argo on sailing with Buddy: ‘Such an honour to have sailed with him and have just a little bit of Zenda-neese rub off.’ l Linda Lindquist: Buddy is always ‘all in’. ‘Ducks, dogs, ice boating, sailing – one of the best compliments of my life is to get yelled at by Buddy. It means he cares and he wants you to get better.’ l Buddy’s dad won an ice boat race on the day his son was born. l Gloria was the first and remains the only Commodore of the Lake Geneva Yacht Club, prompting Buddy to proclaim: ‘I’m the only one who can sleep with a Commodore and talk about it.’ l The Melges and Brazil’s famous Grael sailing families are related. Buddy and Torben Grael were both inducted into the World Sailing Hall of Fame this year. q
SEAHORSE 49
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
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