Melges 24: The mother of all sports boats has been shining for over 30 years

When Buddy Melges launched his first Melges 24 boat on Lake Geneva in the US state of Wisconsin on 1 December 1992, the exceptional sailor and boat builder could hardly have imagined that he would turn the market for small and sporty regatta boats so thoroughly on its head. As the boat with the sail number USA 1 makes its first laps on the small lake not far from the Melges Boatworks shipyard in Zenda on this bitterly cold, snowy day, the US sailing celebrities who have travelled there for the occasion agree: what is out there firing around in a strong breeze with its large gennaker will be the new sports boat of the future.

This is no coincidence. The concept presented at the time by Buddy Melges, the "Wizard of Zenda", is special and exciting across the board. A large, open cockpit for active team sports, a super-short cabin superstructure over an interior that is not an interior at all, a relatively short and very simple rig made of carbon fibre with a short genoa and flared mainsail, plus a completely retractable lifting keel and a wide extendable trunk for the gennaker. For the time 30 years ago, this was an almost revolutionary design by Buddy Melges in collaboration with the designers from the renowned Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design studio in California, which specialised in pure racing yachts at the time.

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Also in 1992, Buddy Melges successfully won the 28th America's Cup in San Diego as helmsman for skipper Bill Koch's America3 syndicate. The assumption that the Melges 24 might be used as a kind of training or sparring boat to prepare the Americans for their title defence quickly arose across the board. But Melges has other plans. As early as 1993, the first class regattas are organised in America and more and more new boats are produced at full speed in Zenda. The demand is huge. At the time, everyone wanted the Melges 24, the little America's Cupper.

Melges 24 quickly makes the leap across the pond

In the same year, the shipyard sends the first Melges 24 to Europe. There, the novelty from America is presented for the first time at the Salon Nautique in Paris in autumn. Here, too, the exciting concept quickly made friends and attracted attention, and the boat spread quite rapidly as a standardised class. In order to avoid transport in containers across the Atlantic and to keep costs low, Melges soon found its first licence production for the European market with the English aircraft manufacturer British Aerospace. Later, the Melges 24 was first built by White Formula, then by Rowen Composites (both also in England). Then at Devoti Sailing in the Czech Republic. After a short period without a manufacturer in Europe, the composite specialist Yachtservice in Poland now produces the Melges 24, still strictly controlled according to the quality standards of Melges Boatworks.

Following its market launch in Europe 30 years ago, fleets have been formed, focussing primarily on France. But also in Great Britain, where the whisky distillery Glenfiddich ensured rapid expansion as an event and class sponsor. Later, the Italians in particular showed interest in the Melges 24 and, together with car manufacturer Volvo as a sponsor, built up an extremely attractive regatta circus in the south. With many events, especially on windy Lake Garda, the parade ground for the sporty Melges 24, but also on the Mediterranean. Fields with over 50 boats at the start are standard at the regattas within the Volvo Cup. And the championships can easily attract over 100 entries. The record participation is 125 boats at the 2012 World Championships in Torbole.

Scene is very active internationally and also in Germany

The number of boats built in the United States and Europe to date is just under 900, of which around 250 owners are currently registered with the International Melges 24 Class Association (IMCA). This means that this many boats are still actively racing. In Europe, a total of over 100 teams take part in national and international class regattas, with a focus on Italy and the north, particularly Norway and Denmark. What is surprising is the current almost explosive growth of the Melges 24 in Croatia, where a separate regatta series with a regular participation of over 20 boats is causing a real boom. The Melges 24 sailors in Dalmatia are now also being rewarded for their fast, bustling class development: the 2024 European Championships are planned for the autumn in Split.

The Melges 24 scene is also active in Germany. Around 20 boats are regularly on the water here, with fleets mainly on Lake Starnberg and the Großer Brombachsee, a reservoir in Middle Franconia, where the German Open, the German championships, will be held at the beginning of May 2024. Michael Tarabochia from Munich is not only the President of the class association in Germany, but is also a member of the International Board of the IMCA and is very committed to class organisation and fleet maintenance throughout Europe.

Hiking on the Melges 24 is both a curse and a blessing

The Melges 24 has become well-known and popular thanks to the extremely sporty way in which the boat can be sailed quickly and successfully. Hiking, i.e. the extensive riding out with the upper body over the padded rails of the railing, is a truly weighty topic. Those who bring more pounds over the edge outboard have advantages, especially at the cross, where the boat should be sailed as upright as possible. It's quite simple: if you ride out more intensively, you can sail faster and higher.

On the other hand, physical hiking in wind and waves is also very strenuous, sometimes even painful, even if the class regulations, which are very strict in this respect, impose certain restrictions. Hiking on the Melges 24 is therefore both a blessing and a curse.

At the turn of the year, the International Class Association of the Melges 24 decided to eliminate the previous rule regarding crew weight from the class regulations. Previously, a maximum of 375 kilograms applied to the entire crew, which usually had to be confirmed on the scales when registering before the start of the regatta, usually in underwear. A sometimes onerous procedure, especially for amateur crews, and unfortunately all too often the reason for them to stay away from regattas because they had difficulties putting their crew together to fit within the limit. Now this issue, which has been hotly contested and controversial for years, is finally off the table for the Melges 24.

Often copied, never equalled

The sporting attraction and the large fields at international regattas have also brought many professional sailors into the class over the years. Personalities from the global sailing scene have earned their spurs on the Melges 24. The Hall of Fame of champions includes illustrious names such as Dave Ullman, Bora Gulari, Jimmy Spithill, Flavio Favini, Peter Duncan and the legendary Giorgio Zuccoli, to name just a few of the great stars. The high level of professionalism in the class has naturally been accompanied by a huge increase in the level of performance. This is why the Melges 24 class introduced a special classification for purely amateur teams (Corinthian Trophy) at the international events at an early stage, which keeps the non-professionals in line with their own rankings and annual classifications and makes the class attractive for all performance levels.

The Melges 24 has become the archetype for the modern, sporty regatta keelboat. There were and still are numerous concept copies of it. Many want to be where the Melges 24 has been for years. But no other sports boat class has been able to hold its own on the market for such a long time. Anyone who knows the feeling when the 60 square metre gennaker unfurls with a dull bang and the small boat pulls over the crests of the waves at 20 knots in full glide knows why.

Technical data of the Melges 24

• Designer: Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design
• Shipyard: Melges Peformance Sailboats
• Torso length: 7,31 m
• Width: 2,49 m
• Draught with lifting keel: 0,35-1,52 m
• Weight (regatta ready): 809 kg
• Mainsail: 21,0 m²
• Fock: 12,0 m²
• Gennaker: 55,9 m²
• Kiel: Carbon fibre/lead
• Mast: Carbon fibre
• Price: approx. 65,000 euros
• Web: Melges24.com

Hull and deck construction

Glass fibre sandwich with PVC foam core and epoxy resin. Built using the vacuum infusion process

Buddy Melges, the Leonardo da Vinci of sailing

Harry Clemens Melges Jr, better known as Buddy Melges, passed away last year on 18 May at the age of 93. He leaves behind a remarkable legacy as one of the most successful sailors in American history. Born in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, Buddy Melges dedicated his life to the pursuit of sailing excellence on the water. When his father, Harry Melges Sr. returned home from World War II in 1945, he founded Melges Boatworks in Zenda, giving his son ample opportunity to perfect his sailing skills.

Buddy won a gold medal in the Soling class off Kiel at the 1972 Olympic Games, a bronze medal in the Flying Dutchman in 1964 and another gold medal, also in the FD, at the 1967 Pan American Games. In 1978 and 1979, Buddy Melges won two world championship titles in the Star boat and became world champion in the 5.5 metre class in 1967, 1973 and 1983. His remarkable track record earned him the nickname "Wizard of Zenda".

Buddy's greatest success as a sailor is probably his participation in two America's Cups. In the 1987 challenge, he represented the Chicago Yacht Club at the helm of the "Heart of America", but lost to his compatriot Dennis Conner on "Stars & Stripes". In 1992, at the America's Cup off San Diego, Buddy Melges, aged 62, steered the "America3", which was financed by billionaire businessman Bill Koch. They bring the coveted trophy back to the USA. Their campaign was the last successful defence of the Cup by an American team. "Buddy is the Leonardo da Vinci of sailing," said Bill Koch in an interview after the Cup.

At the same time, the shipyard in Zenda, which has since been renamed Melges Performance Sailboats, continues to flourish. Buddy utilises the technical advances from the America's Cup and points the way to the future with the introduction of the Melges 24 in collaboration with the yacht design team Reichel/Pugh.