Merit 25s and the Photo of the Week From Sequoia Yacht Club

Carol Bagley sent in the Sequoia Yacht Club photo of the week with a report from their Wednesday evening beer can series. As we write, the South Bay is also active with the Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation hosting the C420 North American Championship. It reminds us that sailors are on the water all the way from Redwood City to Stockton.

Carol got word from Spinnaker Sailing that the boats in the picture below are two of the 16 Merit 25s that Spinnaker has in its one-design fleet. The boat on the left is skippered by Juan Blanch; his crew are Michal Galik, Brian Hughes and Hong Cai. The boat on the right is skippered by Brett Herr, and his crew are Jon McCarty, Isabelle Liu, Ben Carman and Brian Ford.

Carol noted, “The winning photo this week illustrates the neck-‘n’-neck competition of our Merit 25 One Design Fleet. We had a TIE this week! Amazing!”

Along with the photo of the week we received a bit of history on the popular Merit 25: The Merit 25 has been a popular one-design boat on the Bay since its inception in 1978. Designed by Paul Yates, 780 were built by Merit Marine.

Inspired by the J/24, the Merit 25 does have some noticeable differences. It’s stronger, more comfortable, and arguably faster in certain conditions. It’s a boat that performs well in light winds and is easily handled in the stronger winds here on the Bay.

The Merit 25 one-design fleet on the Bay was at its peak in the mid ’80s with 15+ boats at the start line. Now, Spinnaker Sailing’s one-design fleet consists of 16 boats, and it’s not uncommon to get 10+ out on the water for the Sequoia Yacht Club’s Wednesday Sunset Series.

Spinnaker has raced the entire fleet during corporate team-building regattas and their annual Cheeseburger Regatta. To our knowledge, Spinnaker has the largest fleet of Merit 25s in the country. Even being 40+ years old they continue to be a pleasure to sail.

Thanks to Carol for the photo and slice of sailing life in the Sequoia Yacht Club neighborhood.

If you have a photo and slice of sailing life in your sailing ‘hood, send it to [email protected].

If you’re looking for a great deal on a boat in the 25-ft range (Including a 1972 Westerly 26 for just $1!) check out the current listings in Latitude 38’s Classy Classifieds.