The President Turns 90

At cocktail hour tonight, we invite you to join us in raising a glass to the so-called President of the Pacific Ocean, Merl Petersen, who turns 90 today.

As noted in a Latitude 38 Sightings article this month, Merl reluctantly sold his 75-ft schooner Viveka recently, after logging roughly 150,000 miles aboard her during his 54 years of ownership. The highlight of that impressive run was a seven-year circumnavigation which produced a wealth of colorful tales. 

Merl’s old acquaintances will be retelling some of those yarns at his 90th birthday celebration tomorrow in Richmond at the Marina Bay Yacht Harbor harbormaster’s office, starting at noon. Please RSVP if you’d like to join the fun.

We’ll bring you more on Merl and the Viveka legacy in an upcoming edition of Latitude 38. Until then, our hearty congratulations to Merl on becoming 90 years young.