• LGYC RACE CALENDAR
  • DINING & SOCIAL CALENDAR
  • LGYC DINING MENU
  • DINING GUIDELINES
  • DINING NEWS & EVENTS
  • DINING & EVENTS PHOTO GALLERY
  • RECIPROCITY
  • LIVE WEBCAM
  • LGYC MEETINGS
  • MINUTES & FINANCIALS
  • MEMBERSHIP PROCESS
  • MEMBER STATEMENTS
  • 2023 YEARBOOK
  • 2022 YEARBOOK
  • 2021 YEARBOOK
  • LGYC CLASSIFIEDS
  • CONTACT LGYC

Lake Geneva Yacht Club

CLICK FLEET FOR 2024 REGISTRATION

A SCOW SPRING SERIES RESULTS

A SCOW A SERIES RESULTS

E SCOW SPRING SERIES RESULTS

E SCOW A SERIES RESULTS

E SCOW B SERIES RESULTS

E SCOW FALL SERIES RESULTS

C SCOW SPRING SERIES RESULTS

C SCOW A SERIES RESULTS

C SCOW B SERIES RESULTS

C SCOW FALL SERIES RESULTS

MC SCOW SPRING SERIES RESULTS

MC SCOW A SERIES RESULTS

MC SCOW B SERIES RESULTS

MC SCOW C SERIES RESULTS

MC SCOW FALL SERIES RESULTS  

MELGES 24 A SERIES RESULTS

MELGES 24 B SERIES RESULTS

MELGES 24 FALL SERIES RESULTS

MELGES 15 A SERIES RESULTS

MELGES 15 B SERIES RESULTS

MELGES 15 FALL SERIES RESULTS

MELGES 14 A SERIES RESULTS

MELGES 14 YOUTH

MELGES 14 YOUTH RESULTS

X BOAT A SERIES RESULTS

X BOATS B SERIES RESULTS

IOD A SERIES RESULTS       IOD B SERIES RESULTS

WOW REGISTRATION

lake geneva yacht club

Published on July 10th, 2015 | by Editor

Buddy Melges Sailing Center Officially Opened

Published on July 10th, 2015 by Editor -->

Officers, directors, and members from Lake Geneva Yacht Club and the Geneva Lake Sailing School celebrated the official opening of their new facility – Buddy Melges Sailing Center – with a ribbon-cutting ceremony July 3.

The building is located on South Lake Shore Drive in Fontana (WI) on property that the yacht club has occupied since 1926 and where the school began in 1938. The new facility, which contains approximately 12,000 square feet of interior space, houses the sailing school on its first floor and the yacht club on the upper floor.

The entire property, which consists of approximately eight acres of land and includes a number of outbuildings, has been named the Buddy Melges Sailing Center in honor of the club’s most accomplished sailor, whose accolades include Olympic Gold and Bronze Medals, an America’s Cup win, and numerous other sailing championship awards. He was a student at the sailing school in the 1940s and later an instructor.

Briohn Construction Corporation of Brookfield, WI, was the general contractor and builder. The company began work on the property last fall.

lake geneva yacht club

“The new Buddy Melges Sailing Center, home of the Lake Geneva Yacht Club and the Geneva Lake Sailing School, is the culmination of many years of planning and represents a significant milestone in the history of these two great organizations,” said the yacht club’s Commodore F. Terrence Blanchard. “We believe the facility will be one of the finest sailing centers in the country and will provide current and future members and students a very special home where we can continue to promote and enjoy the sport of sailing on Geneva Lake.”

This year’s programs at the sailing school started on June 9 and will continue until mid-August. During 2014 more than 400 children and adults from the local community received their certificates. Instructors teach students in six indoor and outdoor classrooms as well as on the water. Fleet racing at the yacht club started later in June.

“The Buddy Melges Sailing Center provides a state-of-the-art facility for the Geneva Lake Sailing School to teach and grow the sport in a safe and enjoyable environment,” said the Geneva Lake Sailing School’s President Thomas Freytag, a top sailor and a graduate of the school. “We are very excited about the future of sailing on Geneva Lake.” Tom Freytag also serves as co-chair, with Past Commodore John D. Simms Jr., of the Buddy Melges Sailing Center Funding Committee and the Building Committee.

Lake Geneva Yacht Club traces its roots to 1874 and the first Sheridan Race, an event established to honor General Philip H. Sheridan during his visit to the area and a highlight on the club’s racing calendar ever since. The first clubhouse was built in 1906 at Cedar Point in Williams Bay. Members of the yacht club founded the Sailing School, which became an independent entity after being incorporated in 1953.

The Lake Geneva Yacht Club is proud to be hosting the Inland Lake Yachting Association Annual Championship Regatta, August 19 to 23. This event, which is expected to attract more than 200 boats, will also be held at Lake Geneva Yacht Club in 2016 and 2017.

Report from ILYA.

Photo caption: (left to right with scissors): Geneva Lake Sailing School President Tom Freytag, Past Commodore John D. Simms Jr., Buddy Melges, Past Commodore Gloria Melges, Commodore F. Terrence Blanchard, and other officers and directors at the ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the official opening of the new facility for the Geneva Lake Sailing School and the Lake Geneva Yacht Club. Credit: Michael Moore photo

comment banner

Tags: Buddy Melges , Buddy Melges Sailing Center , growing the sport , Lake Geneva Yacht Club

Related Posts

lake geneva yacht club

Securing the future of sailing →

lake geneva yacht club

Hoping to inspire the next generation →

lake geneva yacht club

Growing the Fleet: Listen to what they do →

lake geneva yacht club

Lightning Class dangles a big carrot →

© 2024 Scuttlebutt Sailing News. Inbox Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. made by VSSL Agency .

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertise With Us

Get Your Sailing News Fix!

Your download by email.

  • Your Name...
  • Your Email... *
  • Comments This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

lake geneva yacht club

IMAGES

  1. Lake Geneva Yacht Club

    lake geneva yacht club

  2. Lake Geneva Yacht Club

    lake geneva yacht club

  3. Lake Geneva Yacht Club

    lake geneva yacht club

  4. LGYC PHOTOS

    lake geneva yacht club

  5. Lake Geneva Yacht Club

    lake geneva yacht club

  6. Lake Geneva Yacht Club

    lake geneva yacht club