The Melges 24 is Still the One as Melges Celebrates 75-Years
There's nothing like downwind on a Melges 24! The 2019 Melges 24 World Championship in Villasimius, Sardinia, Italy. - photo © Pierrick Contin / IM24CA
Have belt, will travel. The Melges 24 Sprint Series Championship belt has traveled and felt the power of the Wizard of Zenda - Buddy Melges himself
Andy Burdick, President of Melges Performance Sailboats recently conducted an interview with David Schmidt at Sail-World that speaks about how “the Melges 24 — is the one boat that jumps out.”
If you’re into sailboat racing, odds are almost 100 percent that you’re familiar with Melges Performance Sailboats’ impressive fleet of high-performance One Designs boats, which stretch from singlehanded Melges 14s to fully crewed Melges 40 keelboats. Most famously, this line-up includes the Melges 24 and Melges 32, which are two of the most popular One Design boats afloat. Additionally, Melges also manufactures the now-classic O’pen Bic singlehanded junior racers, four different scows, and the Melges Power 26, which, as its name suggests, is a hard-chined powerboat.
More recently, the lineup also includes the brand-new Melges 15, which was unveiled on May 19, 2020.
Melges boats are well-loved and raced hard all over the world, but the iconic company also accomplished something big by business-world standards by reaching its 75th anniversary this year. The company, which was founded in Zenda, Wisconsin—conveniently right near the shores of Lake Geneva—in 1945 by Harry C. Melges Sr., is now run by CEO Harry Melges III (Harry Sr.’s grandson) and president Andy Burdick.
While 75 years is a long time to be in business, innovation runs strong at Melges Performance Sailboats, as does a desire to press sailing’s envelope(s), and the company has partnered with the design offices of Reichel/Pugh for several of its
boats, including the Melges 20, Melges 24, and Melges 32. More recently, Melges Performance Sailboats teamed-up with yacht designer Mark Mills to create the Melges IC37 class, which has replaced the Club Swan 42 as the One Design racing platform for the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup and the Canada Cup. I checked in with Burdick, via email, to learn more the company’s proud boatbuilding history.
Congratulations on reaching 75 years—that’s proud. In your opinion, what have been the biggest milestones in Melges’ history? The company has done a lot of fantastic things over the years. We take pride in providing great boats for our customers, and seeing them enjoy the boats we build is a milestone in itself. When it comes to specific areas, we certainly love our scows and the scow community; it is still some of the best sailing and racing in the world. The Melges 24 has been a major hit, as well as the other Melges sportboats. Now, we’re launching the brand-new Melges 15, which we feel will leave a permanent mark in Melges’ history.
When you think of all of the different designs that Melges has built over the years, is there one that jumps out “the boat”? The Melges 24, which we introduced in 1993. The boat is fantastic and still well ahead of its time.