History of Merlin

Original:

• Designer, Builder and First owner:  Bill Lee

• Launch     February 1977

• Sail number      8955

Course Records:   

• Transpac, Los Angeles to Honolulu  July 1977

• San Diego to Manzanillo, Mexico  February 1978

• Victoria BC to Maui, Hawaii   July 1978

• Pacific Cup, San Francisco to Hawaii    July 1980

• Windjammer, San Francisco to Santa Cruz  September 1983  (still stands)

Only the hull is original:

•  2nd complete deck and deckhouse, painted hull blue: (These changes made it almost unrecognizable from the original)

•  2nd interior

•  3rd keel

•  4th mast

•  4th engine

•  4th rudder

Keel changes:

• Fixed keel replaced with canting keel in 1997

• Canting keel replaced with fixed in 2016

Owners:

• 1977 - 1982: Bill Lee

• 1982 - 2000: Donn Campion

• 2000 - 2002: Al Micallef

• 2002 - 2004: Orange Coast College

• 2004 - 2007: Trisha Steele

• 2007 - 2008: Donn Campion

• 2008 - 2015: Jere Sullivan

• 2015 - 2017: Bill and Lu Lee

• 2018 - Present: Chip Merlin