Merlin Runs Away With the St. Pete-Havana

Author:
Peter Swanson
Publish date:
Feb 28, 2018

Merlin lies alongside at Marina Hemingway in Havana after a speedy run from St. Petersburg.

“Sails like a witch,” New Englanders used to say about a particularly nimble and speedy craft. The same could be said of wizards. At 7:20 a.m. Merlinarrived at Marina Hemingway as part of the revived St. Petersburg-Havana Race, and she was nearly 12 hours ahead of the second boat, a catamaran.

Merlin, built by Bill Lee, is one 20 boats that started this year’s race, which was revived in 2017 after a 58-year hiatus. She averaged 5.7 knots over the approximately 280 miles between start and finish.

Ultimately, she ended up winning both line and handicap honors.

That Merlin is swift should surprise no one. In 1977, Merlin completed a roughly 2,560-mile TransPac ocean race, setting a record that would endure for 20 years.

Tracking software shows Merlin at rest with the rest of the fleet miles away.

For details, visit http://spychabanarace.com

February 2018

Related

05-DSC_0638

A sail on Lake Tahoe has been on my bucket list since the day I first laid eyes on it, and come hell or high water, I decided I was going to someday charter a boat there. North America’s largest and deepest alpine lake, Tahoe sits at 6,225ft above sea level and straddles the ...read more

East-River-Rapids

I was never supposed to take my boat through New York City. After getting sucked backward through the Cape Cod Canal on my way south from Maine, when the speed of the current exceeded the maximum speed of my little electric auxiliary, I wanted nothing to do with Hell Gate and ...read more

LEAD-Celeste-in-the-Tuamotu

As a classic-boat sailor, I’ve long held that simpler is the better. I still think this is true: a simpler boat is cheaper, she has less gadgets to break down and there’s a certain satisfaction in knowing you’re able to handle a bit of discomfort. Thus, for a long time, I sailed ...read more

01-LEAD-IDECsport_180919_032

Design and Technology

Although the 1903 defender of the America’s Cup, Reliance, was deemed a “racing freak”—the boat pushed design rules to their limit and couldn’t be beaten, at least in very specific conditions—designer Nat Herreshoff was nonetheless onto something. A century later, purpose-built ...read more

BVIFeetup

Three tips on managing the madness First-time charterers and first-time sailors aren’t at all the same thing. One group may struggle with beginner chartering issues, like sailing a multihull, catching a mooring or dealing with base personnel. For the other group, though, ...read more

AdobeStock_455372159

Sailboat Cruising

Even the dome of light glowing above the city behind us had disappeared as if swallowed in a gulp by Noah’s whale. The moon was absent. Not a star twinkled overhead. The night was so dark we could have been floating in a pot of black ink. The only artificial lights to be seen ...read more

00-Lead-549215sJL2uLEa

Every year, countless parents find themselves navigating the do’s and don’ts of enrolling their children in a summer learn-to-sail program for the first time. While the prospect of getting your kid on the water is exciting, as a sailing camp program director, there are a lot of ...read more

ntm

Some thoughts on a couple of recent developments on the U.S. racing scene that are more than a little at odds. To start with, congratulations to the US Sailing Team (USST) and its outstanding showing at the 53rd French Olympic Week regatta in Hyeres, France, with not one but ...read more

CLOSE

CLOSE

CLOSE

CLOSE