S/V Merlin

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Merlin approaching Diamond Head

The Merlin is a 68 foot long by 12 foot wide monohull (ULDB) racing yacht designed by Bill Lee. Weighing 25,000 pounds, it is considered one of the most famous racing yachts in the United States, and has won numerous offshore yacht races including the Transpac (Transpacific Yacht Race) in 1977, establishing a course record that stood for 20 years. The victory became the subject of a feature article in Sports Illustrated, further enhancing its prestige.[1] In 2017, Merlin was purchased by William F. "Chip" Merlin, founder of Merlin Law Group, as part of a transition from a legal career into a sports career. Merlin has since upgraded the ship and made it the centerpiece of his Merlin Yacht Racing team, having competed with it in nine races and regattas since 2023.

History[edit]

Bill Lee is well-known in the yacht racing circuit as one of its most integral figureheads. Dubbed “The Wizard,” Lee first achieved recognition in the 1970s with his boats Chutzpah and Merlin, both of which having won the Transpacific Yacht Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu on multiple occasions. Merlin’s record-setting Transpacific Yacht Race voyage was completed in 8 days, 11 hours, and 1 minute. The record stood from 1977-1997.

Design[edit]

Lee’s design came from his obsession with crafting a narrow and light boat that could essentially surf on the water—Merlin can be likened to a sled, of sorts. With this in mind, Lee got to work designing boats that were half the size of the competition. What these boats lacked in size, they made up for in speed. The slogan, “Fast is Fun!” became Lee’s mantra and embraced his mindset in forging a new class of racing vessel.

Notoriety[edit]

Part of the reason why Merlin is lauded amongst the racing community is that it is heralded as the first of its kind. Lee’s innovative, yet at the time controversial, design reshaped the schematics applied to racing vessels. Lee’s background was certainly not given proper attention, as he held a mechanical engineering degree and worked in the defense industry performing stress and weight analysis tests on amphibious crafts and submarines prior to his yacht racing endeavors.

This defiance for the racing design norms of the time coupled with the Cinderella story of Merlin being reunited with Lee later in life make for quite the narrative. Aside from that, Merlin’s success over the years speaks for itself. In fact, Merlin still competes at a high level to this day.

Latest Tenure with Chip Merlin[edit]

William F. “Chip” Merlin was looking to purchase a racing yacht to take his father Bill Merlin, former U.S. Coast Guard admiral and competitor in the 1954 and 1956 Bermuda races, in order to sail the storied race together. Merlin happened to come across an advertisement for the famous yacht and contacted Bill Lee that same night. The next day, Merlin’s boat captain Brian Malone flew out to meet Lee and inspect the vessel. Having the same last name as the esteemed yacht was purely coincidental, but more than enough of a sign to push Merlin to pull the trigger on acquiring it.

Merlin won three separate regattas in 2018. It also set another course record in the 50th running from St. Petersburg, FL, to Isla Mujeras. Under Merlin’s ownership, the yacht continued to make waves and eventually landed on the December 2018 cover of Sail Magazine.

A boat with this long of a lifespan has undergone multiple renovations and Merlin is making some of his own, including a retrofit adding modern carbon fiber and updated rigging. His goal is to make this the fastest version of Merlin to exist. Best of all, Bill Lee is still involved in the process and collaborating on these renovations.

Course Records[edit]

  • July 1977: Transpacific Yacht Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu – Merlin set a record by finishing in 8 days, 11 hours, and 1 minute, beating Windward Passage’s 1971 record by over 22 hours. Merlin held this record for 20 years.[2][3] Merlin held this record for 20 years.[4]
  • February 1978: San Diego to Manzanillo, Mexico – Merlin won the 1,110-mile race, finishing first in the big boat class and fifth overall on corrected time.[5]
  • July 1978: Victoria, BC to Maui, Hawaii – Merlin set a new record finishing 2 days and 17 hours ahead of the previous record held by Grand Illusion.[6]
  • July 1980: Pacific Cup – San Francisco to Hawaii, finished first overall with a time of 10 days, 4 hours, 51 minutes, and 52 seconds.[citation needed]
  • September 1983: Windjammer from San Francisco to Santa Cruz[citation needed]
  • July 1987: Transpac from Los Angeles to Honolulu – Merlin was first to finish and became the third boat in Transpac history to score three elapsed time victories. The crew was awarded the Steve Newmark Seamanship Trophy.[7]
  • July 1995: Transpac from Los Angeles to Honolulu – First corrected overall yacht. Won the King Kalakaua Trophy.[8]
  • July 2017: Transpac from Los Angeles to Honolulu – Merlin, reacquired by Bill Lee, finished in 8 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes, and 9 seconds. Although this did not set any records, it did beat her 1977 time of 8 days, 11 hours, 1 minute, and 45 seconds.[9]
  • St. Petersburg, FL to Habana, Cuba (February 2018): First to Finish.[citation needed]
  • June 2018: Newport to Bermuda – Merlin finished with the fastest time out of eight yachts in Class 10, St David’s Lighthouse division, on June 19 at 16.11 and 52 seconds, an elapsed time of 97 hours 41 minutes 52 seconds.[10]
  • Regata del Sol, St. Petersburg, FL to Isla Mujeres, Mexico (April 2018): First to Finish in 1 day, 24 hours and 24 minutes, setting course record at the 50th Anniversary of this Regatta.[11]

Transpac’s The Merlin Trophy[edit]

In 2009, Trisha Steele, a fourth-generation Transpac racer and herself a former owner of Merlin, dedicated a new trophy, The Merlin Trophy,[12] for the fastest elapsed time for the unlimited class of yachts competing in the Transpac Race. The trophy was built by Ken Gardiner and is a scale model of Merlin itself.[13] The Merlin Trophy was for RSS 51 and 52 waiver yachts (exempt from the Racing Rules of Sailing limitations on moveable ballast and/or stored power) up to 100 feet with the shortest elapsed time but since 2019 the trophy has been awarded to yachts with manual power only, making previous winners like Alfa Romeo in 2009 now ineligible.[14]

Ownership[edit]

  • First: Bill Lee 1977–1983
  • Second: Don Campion 1983–2000
  • Third: Al Micallef 2000-2002 (Briefly changed name to Merlin’s Reata)
  • Fourth: Orange Coast College School of Sailing and Seamanship 2002–2004
  • Fifth: Trisha Steele 2004—2007
  • Sixth: Bill Lee or Donn Campion 2007—2008
  • Seventh: Jere Sullivan 2008-2015 [15]
  • Eighth: Bill and Lu Lee 2015–2017
  • Ninth: William F. “Chip” Merlin 2017—Present

References[edit]

  1. ^ Yachting. January 1985.
  2. ^ "Merlin Finishes First, Sets Pacific Race Mark". The New York Times. 1977-07-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  3. ^ "Those 'Downwind Sleds' Are Chosen to Battle for California Cup". Los Angeles Times. 1985-04-12. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
  4. ^ "Bill Lee and Merlin Return to the Transpac After Historic Race 40 Years Ago". www.stfyc.com. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
  5. ^ Johnston, Richard W. "GOING WITH THE WIND". Vault. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
  6. ^ Merlin Log.pdf "1978 Victoria to Maui Race" (PDF). {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  7. ^ "Transpac 2019". 2019.transpacyc.com. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
  8. ^ "Transpac 2019". 2019.transpacyc.com. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
  9. ^ Museler, Chris (2018). Merlin's Return. Sail Magazine. p. 40.
  10. ^ "2018 Race - Newport Bermuda Race". bermudarace.com. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  11. ^ Sol, 2024 Regata del Sol al. "2024 Regata del Sol al Sol". 2024 Regata del Sol al Sol. Retrieved 2023-12-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Transpac 2017". 2017.transpacyc.com. Retrieved 2018-12-23.
  13. ^ Mysailing, Systems (2009-07-12). "Alfa Romeo smashes Transpac record - Mysailing". Mysailing | Australian Sailing News, World Sailing, Yacht Racing. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  14. ^ "Transpacific Yacht Club". transpacyc.com. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  15. ^ "Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation - Hall of Fame 2016, Jere Sullivan".
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