Wizard of Zenda

Wizard of Zenda -Buddy Melges Documentary

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Collingwood Yacht Club, CYC is proud to present Melges: The Wizard of Zenda, a documentary film about legendary sailor Buddy Melges. This event is a fundraiser for the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital with all profits being donated. The film presentation kicks off a weekend of festivities which includes the Collingwood Invitational Regatta. For more information please visit the CYC website. 

MELGES: The Wizard of Zenda is a documentary about one of the greatest sailors you’ve never heard of. With unlimited access to behind-the-scenes archival footage, this sports biography captures the UNTOLD story of Buddy Melges, a tenacious competitor with a fiery attitude and the winning record to back it up.

You’ll hear from fellow world class sailors and competitors, like America’s Cup champion and former ESPN sailing analyst Gary Jobson*; three-time champion Dennis Conner, the sailor they call ‘Mr. America’s Cup’; John Bertrand, the Australian skipper who shocked the world by breaking the 132-year U.S. winning streak; and Bill Koch, the billionaire yachtsman who partnered with Buddy to chase the cup in 1992.

This feature length documentary takes you beyond the headlines to explore Buddy’s extraordinary life. With interviews, archival film footage and video gathered across five decades, you’ll learn about a sailor from a working-class family in southern Wisconsin who built a resume of winning that made him one of the greatest sailors of all time.

Discover the driving force behind Buddy’s continuous quest to challenge himself by moving from class to class to test himself against the greatest sailors in the world. Competitors and historians explain how Buddy sailed not like an engineer, but as an artist. His sailing was less about science – more about artistic expression.

Whether art or science, Buddy was a fierce competitor who shared what he learned with anyone willing to take the time to ask. His legendary career seems almost mystical, and earned him the well-deserved nickname: The Wizard of Zenda.