Bill and Chip Merlin enjoyed a special day aboard the yacht Merlin. By Chris Museler
Our spectacular morning of reaching through the Gulf Stream on Sunday came to a grinding halt when we parked up next to the Gunboat Tribe late this morning.
I still have scar tissue from the six restarts in the 2014 race where our Carkeek 47 Grundoom saw much slower, older boats catch up and pass us each time we raced ahead. There must be some sneaking boats sailing around us out of sight. It has and does continue to happen.
For now, a light staysail and main pulls us along as the sun bakes our necks and the main boom yanks from side to side, shuddering the rig and deck. The crew is relaxed though the heat and opinions have risen on occasion. There seems to be no right decision when drifting in a race. Change sails? Try a new tack? Head east to head into the cold eddy or west to avoid it?
Today is Father’s Day, however, and 12 of the 14 men aboard are celebrating the day their 20.5 (one wife is pregnant) children entered into their lives. Young James Clappier seems to be plenty happy to have waited, at the moment, to have children.
Today is basically the reason we’re all in this race, on Merlin. You may recall Bill Merlin raced in the 1954 and 1956 Bermuda Race as Coast Guard cadet and graduate. He even sailed to Bermuda in 1950 aboard the USS Eagle training tall ship.
Son Chip wanted to have that quintessential father/son bucket list experience of bringing his father back to this race to celebrate Father’s Day on the sea. Finding Merlin was not in the original plan, but serendipitous for sure.
And the two Merlins are a joy to watch as Chip chuckles embarrassingly, head shaking, watching his father cheer us up with sea shanties. Bill sits with the navigator often and has been learning modern navigation while sharing well-earned tips.
Trimming sails, going to the bathroom off the sugar scoop transom of the boat, Admiral Merlin is a full crew member. He’s always smiling, quick to help, even at 83. Chip is visibly happy just watching his father exercise his slightly clunky sea legs.
Most of my five Bermuda Races have been over Father’s Day. And like those I have a hand-decorated note from my three daughters. Thoughtful and creative, there are colors and stick figures and flowers.
It’s tougher and tougher to leave a growing family, more aware of what I’m missing. They sent me off in Newport, loved the “Hello Kitty” rainbow on the boom and high-fived our crew. We all know what we’re missing aboard Merlin, and we know our children are cheering for Merlin and watching the tracker.
The glassy sea may lead to a longer wait to see our children, but Bill Merlin feels like the luckiest father in the fleet. “This is probably going to be the number one celebrated Father’s Day I’ll remember,” he said with a small smile on his face. As he looked down at his snack he was preparing. “I’ll always remember where I was this Father’s Day.”
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