Mel Zikes, 74; Former Sports Writer, Boating Columnist for The Times

Mel Zikes, 74, a former sports writer and boating enthusiast who wrote a boating column for The Times four decades ago, died May6 of heart failure in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, said his wife, Kathy.

Born in Wichita, Kan., Zikes studied journalism at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio.

During World War II, he was a member of the Army’s highly decorated 101st Airborne Division, known as “the Screaming Eagles.” He was wounded during their assault on France.

After the war, Zikes wrote sports stories for newspapers in San Antonio and San Diego and for magazines.

He wrote a Times sports column called “Waterways” from 1961 to 1962, about yacht races and developments in sail and motor boating. Zikes later worked in public relations.

An avid boater, Zikes competed in outboard championship races at Lake Havasu and elsewhere around California.

In 1965, he suffered a punctured lung and two fractured ribs when he was thrown out of his speedboat in a turbulent wake at Lake Havasu.