BUDDY ON THE BIG SCREEN

A new movie about America's great sailor is a must-see, but be ready to take notes; there's a lot to learn from a lifetime of excellence on and off the racecourse

- GARY JOBSON

IN the spring issue of Sailing World, I authored a column that posed a simple but important question: Where are our modern-day sailing heroes? And now, with a new film featuring the extraordinary sailing career of Buddy Melges, I'm still wondering.

The first public screening of this 85-minute documentary was at the Annapolis Film Festival on a bleak, rainy Saturday morning in March. To my surprise, 600 people showed up to see this film about the most accomplished racing sailor of our era. His accomplishments are awe-inspiring: Olympic champion, winning America's Cup helmsman, Star-class world champion, superstar of numerous Scow classes, iceboat champion, three-time Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. He's an author, a modest, downhome guy who likes to spin a good yarn, and a consummate outdoorsman who found great joy sitting in a duck blind on a cold day.

There's no one quite like Buddy, and while I've said it once, I'll say it again: Our sport needs heroes to inspire all of us, and this film, Melges: The Wizard of Zenda, is just the inspiration we need. It's a must-see for every sailor.

The film was the vision of longtime broadcast journalist Anne Peterson, who spends time in Lake Geneva. Her original intent was to produce a modest documentary on the history of the Lake Geneva YC in Wisconsin. But in 2014, the project took a turn when she decided to focus on Melges himself. Peterson hired veteran filmmaker Mark Honer to direct the film, and over the next six years, they interviewed prominent sailors about Melges' life and his impact on sailing. Among the notables featured are Dennis Conner, Bill Koch, Australian America's Cup winner John Bertrand, Peter Harken, his Olympic crews Bill Allen and Bill Bentsen, his sons Hans and Harry, champion scow sailors Brian and John Porter, inland-lakes historian Tom Hodgson, Hall of Fame sailor Jane Pagel, filmmaker Dick Enersen and myself.