Talent-stacked Podium at Winter Series Opener

SARASOTA, FLORIDA (January 11, 2021): A cold front couldn’t quell the excitement of having 25 boats racing in the first event of the Melges 15 Winter Series January 9-10 hosted by the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. J.J. Smith and Will Murray outperformed the fleet finishing top 2 in all six races. Flanking the podium were parent/child teams Finn and Andy Burdick and Emily and John Haig.

Big breeze kicked things off for Friday’s clinic hosted by Melges Performance Sailboats. A number of teams were sailing the Melges 15 for the first time and the boat’s spritely, stable platform provided a smooth introduction even in 25 knot gusts.

Racing kicked off on Saturday with chilly winds blowing up to 20 knots across Sarasota Bay. Smith/Murray were able to hold their own in the big breeze and started the day winning race one then following fellow regatta leaders Emily and John Haig and Finn and Andy Burdick.

Day Two featured a chill in the air and diminished winds. Conquering the light air on the first upwind leg was Sarasota-local and Squadron Commodore Ted Wiehe and Joe Gradbowski. The Mega-Master led the fleet around the course, but once again Smith/Murray were able to work the pressure downwind to take their second bullet of the event. Dwindling winds and an absent seabreeze shut down the final race after only three boats crossed the finish line before the time limit expired.

The Melges 15 Class looks forward to another sell-out event February 27-28 in Sarasota. A limited number of charters are still available for the February and March events. Contact eddie@melges.com to reserve a boat today!

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Melges 15 Class Makes Winter Series Debut

SARASOTA, FLORIDA (January 8, 2021): The Melges 15 Class is making its winter debut in sunny Sarasota, FL January 9-10. Hosted by the Sarasota Sailing Squadron and supported by Melges Performance Sailboats, the 2021 three-event series is in high demand among a group of sailors looking to compete.

The first event of the Winter Series sold out with 25 boats - a mix of early advocates, new owners, and first-time charterers. With fleets popping up around the country, racers are representing a dozen different states.

Sailing on the Sarasota Bay got underway with a clinic hosted by Melges on Friday, January 9. Racing gets underway Saturday and concludes on Sunday afternoon. Follow Melges Performance Sailboats on Facebook and Instagram for daily updates.

Melges has charter boats available for the Melges 15 Winter Series February 27-28 and March 26-28, via melgessailingsupply.com.

Fleet 1 Hosts High School Sailing Clinic

Melges 15 Fleet 1 hosted a clinic on Barnegat Bay, NJ for a group of high school sailors introducing them to the new boat and asymmetrical spinnakers. The group was primarily comprised of 420 and Laser sailors, most of which had no experience on the M15.

“I was able to learn a lot about the boat this weekend, as we were fortunate to have a day of light air and a day of stronger breeze,” said 16-year-old James O’Gwen.

“One of the most important things I focused on as a skipper was the boat’s response to different modes upwind. Much like the Club 420, hiking hard, keeping the bow down, and keeping the boat moving fast forward in puffs was extremely rewarding. Downwind, keeping the mainsail trimmed and steering smoothly through jibes allowed my crew to be most successful in trimming for speed.”

The O’Gwens purchased a boat so that James could learn and train as a skipper on a more modern boat than the 420. O’Gwen will be racing his new boat in the inaugural Melges 15 Winter Series in Sarasota, FL starting this January. “I’m very excited about being a part of the M15 Class from the beginning.” 

Thank you to Chris Fretz and Chris O’Gwen for lending their boats to the clinic, and to Clay Johnson for coaching!

Announcing the Melges 15 Winter Series

The Melges 15s are headed south for the inaugural Winter Series in Sarasota, FL. The Winter Series is a three-event series hosted by the Sarasota Sailing Squadron.

Sarasota is celebrated for having warm water and consistent winds along with the nation’s top-rated beach, iconic sunsets, and historic shopping districts. Conveniently nestled between two international airports, the southern venue is ideal for weekend escapes with friends and family.

In addition to racing the Winter Series, Melges 15 owners can race in the club series hosted by Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Melges will also be offering a clinic on January 8, prior to the start of the first event.

Melges 15 Winter Series Schedule
January 8, 2021 - Clinic
January 9-10, 2021
February 27-28, 2021
March 26-28, 2021 - Midwinters

Learn More: https://bit.ly/3e17Rcj

NO BOAT? NO PROBLEM
Melges is offering a limited number of charter boats to be raced alongside the booming private-owner fleet. Interested sailors can charter for a single event or the whole series.

Charter a Boat: https://bit.ly/2HMXOf5

SAVE $300 ON A NEW MELGES 15
As a special incentive for bringing new owners into the fleet, Melges is offering $300 off the Melges 15 and 50% off the delivery fee for the first event in Florida. New boats will be delivered directly to the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Contact Eddie Cox at +1 262-275-1110 or eddie@melges.com for more information.

Melges 15 Invitational - Inaugural Regatta Hosted by Fleet 1

ZENDA, WISCONSIN (October 12, 2020): A little more than four months after the world debut of the Melges 15, twelve boats gathered at Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club (Beach Haven, NJ) for the inaugural Melges 15 Invitational.

Pioneered by local, Chris Fretz, LEHYC is home to Melges 15 Fleet #1 after taking delivery of six privately-owned boats in June. Fleet 1 now has nine boats and is looking forward to continued growth and helping establish other fleets on Barnegat Bay. 

“This event really shows what’s possible here on the Bay with the Melges 15. When you have sailors from 18-80 years old ripping around at 15 knots together, there’s really nothing else on the market that has this level of accessibility and fun! I think every club in the BBYRA (Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association) needs these boats!” said Fretz.

Sailors were greeted by a steady 15-20 knot wind and some nasty chop on Saturday. Five races where completed on the first day of the event all sailed back to back. The day was won by Clay Johnson and  Kelly McGlynn who transferred their E Scow knowledge into an excellent performance. The biggest highlight of the day was the battle between Johnson/McGlynn and the father-daughter duo of Emily and Johnny Haig in the final race of the day. Neck and neck coming into the leeward mark, each doing in excess of 15 knots, they traded gybes and swapped the lead several times until Haig was able to gybe on Johnson and sail into better pressure to seal the win. 

Additional highlights included Butch and Walter Lenhard, who nailed a pin-end start to lead the fleet up the first leg of Race 4. Butch and Walter are a father-son team who got into the Melges 15 class to race together and with their kids and grandkids. 

After racing, sailors debriefed onshore and had some socially distant beverages. The common themes of the day included: “We were going really fast out there” and “I don’t feel like we did FIVE races!”

After looking like the fleet would be in for some light air sailing on Day Two, the forecast and reality seemed to be out of sync. With Johnson and McGlynn heading back to Toms River, the regatta came down to a tiebreaker between the Haigs and Kyle and Alissa Rogechenko. The last race brought the action to a climax with the Haigs needing to place in the top two to clinch the win. On the last run it looked like Emily had the regatta well in hand, but a missed layline at the bottom of the final run allowed Kyle to move into the lead and put the pressure on Emily to hold onto second. Some conservative sailing up the last beat helped the Haigs hold onto second place and win the regatta. 

With the inaugural Melges 15 regatta in the books, the Melges 15 Class is looking forward to continuing its exponential growth around the country. The Melges 15 Class wants to help your club build a fleet! If you have any interest in this or in the Melges 15 contact Eddie Cox, Melges, at eddie@melges.com. 

PHOTO GALLERY: https://bit.ly/3duugOV

A New Boat in Town

By Mark Werder

In a haze of infinite working from home boredom and a deep longing to be back on a racecourse, many hours were wasted pouring over the internet watching videos, searching for tips and techniques, dreaming of what might be the next boat. It was in this mode that the next addition to our home fleet would be added.

I, like many of you reading this, already have a great little fleet of boats at home. Our fleet may even be excessive, but you really need to cover all the bases when you live in the middle of California. All our boats are meticulously maintained in excellent working order, yet every week I find myself cruising Craigslist for the next chunk of fiberglass. Something faster, some new element of sailing not previously explored, some great bargain. Craigslist because the thought of buying something brand new always seems out of reach. Sure, you see the announcements – some new, shiny boat will save sailing in the USA and, by the way, it only costs $25,000. Nope… Back to craigslist.

So, there I sat back in May, working from home, clicking away for work and to get some taste of sailing with limited access to water and no racing to be seen. Then I see a Facebook post from Melges, “Big announcement. Coming soon.” And, to my surprise, instead of a new 37-foot sled or a hot new version of the 24, there on the webpage was a concept for a two-person, 15-foot dinghy. A dinghy big enough to race with my wife, Stacy. It was all there – fiberglass hull with a dreadnought bow, hard chines leading to a flat planing bottom, fractional rig flying an asymmetrical spinnaker, single line for launching and retrieving the kite, gnav for more space in the cockpit, high boom, deep cockpit for those burning knees, aluminum boards and a springy tapered mast. It was love at first sight.

As thoughts of buying one in ten years after someone with more money used it and tossed it to Craigslist at a bargain rate, I clicked on. I watched the videos, read the material, and finally clicked request a quote. Wait. That price can’t be right. And it comes ready to sail? Sails, lines, boards, throw in a trailer, and this can be ours. I must know more!

I ended up on a call with the very same sailor in all the Melges 15 videos, Eddie Cox. He told me about the prototyping process, the decisions made along the way, the capacities, the materials, and most importantly how they sail. Just keep checking those boxes. Armed now with my own set of marketing materials, it was time for the most important conversation – the one with Stacy.

The conversation was short and right to the point. This is the right boat for us, at the right time, for the right price. Stacy is an excellent keelboat racer, teaches new foredecks on the Santana 20, and has grown in her confidence on the helm and as a skipper. She’s dipped her toes in dinghies, but most were overpowered, difficult to right, and too intimidating. The desire was there, but not the right boat until the Melges 15 came along. A dinghy we could sail together, learn in, and grow a new fleet from the ground up. Something lightweight we can take on the road to all the wonderful lake series races from Fresno to Eugene. This is a boat we can race, a boat to teach others in, a boat for our daughter to grow into. The answer was a confident, “Yes, let’s make this happen.”

So, in the midst of a pandemic with so much uncertainty swirling around, a brand-new boat was ordered. Ordering was simple, pick a spinnaker color, give a credit card number for the deposit and congratulations, you are #17 on our build schedule with possible delivery in late July. Now, we wait.

In the time that passed, I felt like I was becoming a Melges stalker, craving any word on the build process, watching every video… By the way, where is Zenda? After driving by the Melges plant a dozen times on Google street view, the message came: “On track for delivery July 29.” We watched the updates as our boat was loaded on the top of a trailer with 3 other M15s, all heading West. Text messages along the way, updates on timing, introductions to the other M15 buyers. We would all meet Eddie and take delivery in Tahoe Keys Marina.

As the boats were unpacked, it was all a bit surreal. Taking shrink wrap off all brand-new sailboat parts. Building the mast sections, finishing the trailer, sorting out which boat gets which sails. We carefully packed our new gear and worked our way down the hill from Tahoe avoiding every pothole, going the speed limit, even stopping to check the straps.

Safely back in Folsom, our neighbors watched the show as we rigged for the first time. Everything was familiar but different, sail controls like the Vareo, rigging and stepping the mast like the Santana 20. The years of experience paid dividends as we figured out all the little details. Rigging the boat took 4 hours the first time and less than 30 minutes by the third attempt.

Video: How to Rig the Melges 15

Then came the first sail. In fine Folsom drifter fashion, our first race saw a max of 8 knots. The buzz at the ramp was exciting. Who doesn’t want to check out the shiny new toy?

On the water in light conditions, the M15 did exactly what we expected – sailed beautifully upwind and downwind but struggled to run deep angles and was far more fun to reach with. The tradeoff of an asymmetrical on a flat bottom boat is no planing means no apparent wind to shift the angle forward. Later that night, we got just a taste of what was to come as a small gust sent us planing on the sail back to the marina. Like a drug, you get hooked.

Our second sail was on a Beer Can Wednesday with a solid delta breeze forecasted. The forecast and the M15 did not disappoint. Short, steep chop and 13 knots of breeze sent the M15 into FUN mode. Upwind punching thru waves, water shooting up, over and everywhere, crew testing the hiking straps and our out of shape abs. While physical, it never felt like it needed to be. Had we not been racing, we could have simply sat on the rail, depowered the sails, and cruised comfortably. Then we turned downwind, and it was like falling in love all over again.

Stacy executed the spinnaker launch flawlessly, I eased the main, and we shifted our weight back. Our reward for good sail trim was a boat now skipping over waves with double-digit speed and the grace of a dolphin. As we looked back while rounding the leeward pin, the large gap between us and the rest of the fleet was something to see. Nothing but smiles as we punched our way back to the finish line.

The Melges 15 has created a true bright spot amongst all the bad news and challenges we are all facing this year. In my opinion, the builder has truly hit a sweet spot with a fun, planing, approachable, comfortable, and fast two-person boat that people can afford. Stacy and I can’t wait to see what adventures await us. We look forward to growing the fleet, meeting new people, and seeing just how fast this little 15-footer can go.

First Impressions with Bob Mosby

Bob and Krista Mosby of Asheville, NC were searching for a boat they could sail together and with their son before he left for college. After looking at everything from outdated, one-design dinghies to the larger sportboats, they found a sweet spot with the modern Melges 15.

Melges: What is your sailing background? How long have you been sailing?
Bob Mosby: I am 58-years old and have been sailing since I was six. I was raised on the Chesapeake Bay and sailed or raced everything from Sunfish to NACRA catamarans for many years. I was a sailmaker in Hampton, VA for eight years and raced primarily keelboats for a living. I have been fortunate enough to race sailboats from Annapolis, MD to Key West, FL, and cruise from the Chesapeake to the BVI.

Melges: What attracted you to the Melges 15 in the first place?
BM: I was looking to get back into sailing after being away for too many years and was very aware of Melges’s great reputation for modern designs and quality craftsmanship. I wanted something livelier and more modern than some old 1950’s one-design class. But there is a big void in the market for new, performance two-person hiking dinghies in the 15-17-foot range. I looked at used 20-foot sport keelboats, but, between the price and need for three-person crews, it was not the right choice for me. Along came notice of your new Reichel-Pugh designed Melges 15, with an introductory price offering, to boot, and I was sold. You built exactly the boat I was looking for.

Melges: How did you decide that the Melges 15 was the right for you?
Well, beyond the design and reputation mentioned above, my new boat had to be a two-man hiking dinghy with a bowsprit launched, asymmetrical spinnaker. This had to be a boat that I could campaign at the club level with my wife, or 17-year-old, without this old guy having to get out on the trapeze!  I was really looking for something stable, lively, responsive, and fast. If that doesn’t sound like the very definition of the Melges 15, I am not sure what does.

Melges: What were your impressions after sailing the boat?
BM: I am absolutely loving this boat. It has some great features and gear, is easy to set up, and is a great boat in all conditions. The M15 does not seem to like a tight, pinching mode, and really makes good progress to windward a little bit eased and letting her foot a bit. Off the wind, it’s a dream to sail. The boat is SO responsive to puffs and stays stable and manageable even in the bigger gusts. It is almost effortless to get up on a plane and GO! An all-around excellent sailing platform.

Melges: What features do you like most about the Melges 15 (Stability, Systems, ease of use)?
BM: The hull design provides a modern level of performance with increased stability and was the first draw for me to the Melges 15. I do really like the asymmetrical spinnaker and bowsprit “single-line set up” for ease of use and de-mystifying handling the chute for less experienced crew. This is also my first boat with a gnav, and it has really increased my use of the vang as a more active sail control. The boat responds beautifully to tweaks on the sail controls, whether it be the gnav, outhaul, cunningham, or lead positions.

Melges: What are your plans with your new boat?
BM: I will be sailing local club events and races near where I live in the Asheville, NC area. But I will be taking it on the road to future class events as they are established, and am actively looking to help build the fleet in the mid-Atlantic region. The boat will be going with me next month for a weeklong trip back to the Chesapeake Bay area, and I am really looking forward to getting the boat on some bigger water and stretching our legs.

Melges has delivered a top-notch boat to this segment of the dinghy market. I look forward to the active support and growth of fleets around the country. As mentioned, the 15-17 foot segment of newer designed dinghies is underserved at the moment, and this boat is a home run. Additionally, as a customer, I cannot say enough about the unconditional support and near-instantaneous response to communication that Melges is providing. You guys have really got this figured out, both from a product and customer service standpoint. Thank you, so much, for bringing a great little boat to the market that hit on every one of our needs and wants. You have won over a lifelong customer.