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Conceived by a Wizard, Hatched in a Chicken Coop, Flying Fast and Fun, Merlin was born for the Transpac!

The Merlin Mission

The team was established in 2017 after Chip Merlin, a Tampa based attorney, purchased the iconic sailboat from Bill Lee, the ship’s creator. Chip Merlin has done quite a bit of east coast sailing, mostly in Annapolis, Maryland and Mobile, Alabama. His most recent program being the B-32 “Chips All In” sailing out of the Davis Island Yacht Club.

With the new crew, the boat sailed in its first race from St. Petersburg to Habana, Cuba, on February 26, 2018 and was first In Line Honours and first in its class.

Merlin Yacht Racing brings innovation and nostalgia to the sport of sailboat racing. With the boat weighing 24,000 pounds, a beam of 12 feet, and a sail area of 1,800 square feet, the hours of engineering that were spent to create the Merlin in 1977 made sailing a large ultralight-displacement boat something special – the motto “Fast is Fun” lives on.

Merlin represents the boundless enthusiasm of the seventies and the mystique of unconquered waters of today.

Recent News

Transpac Progress Report

July 21, 2019

Day 8 brings beautiful views and our first step on solid ground in over a week. Overall, we traveled 2382 NM over 8 days 3 hours 32 minutes 14 seconds.

Transpac Progress Report

July 16, 2019

Day 3 of the race and its been busy. Running under spinnaker now for several days means that in addition to sailing hard we have to continuously check the gear and fix any wear and tear.

Transpac Progress Report

July 20, 2019

Day 7 A key part of life onboard Merlin is routine, however as the race progresses some routines have strengthened and some have fallen by the wayside.

Transpac Progress Report

July 15, 2019

Day 2 of the Transpac finds Merlin in better breeze experiencing the conditions that this race is famous for.

Transpac Progress Report

July 19, 2019

Day 6 hats off and a big shout out to all the women sailing in the 2019 50th anniversary Transpac.

Transpac Progress Report

July 14, 2019

We are still playing the very low velocity winds and attempting to go fast.

Transpac Progress Report

July 18, 2019

Day 5 turned into an intense night after a few spinnakers went up and down and dodging little black clouds and intermittent showers.

Press Release

July 5, 2019

The world-famous sailing yacht Merlin is set to embark on the 50th running of the classic Transpacific Race from California to Hawaii on July 13.

Transpac Progress Report

July 17, 2019

Day 4 of the race and we are just starting to see some of the masts from boats in the prior starting divisions as we catch up.

Merlin Video

July 5, 2019

Conceived by a Wizard, Hatched in a Chicken Coop, Flying Fast and Fun, Merlin Shows She Was Born For The Transpac

Merlin in action

Contact US

For any inquiries please email

merlinyachtracing@gmail.com