Merle Hallett R.I.P

TYD#763

 - A man, a sailor, and an entrepreneur.

- Merle allowed me to design one of his boats, the 42' Scaramouche, which he built in his own Boatyard.

- She has been a successful racer on the East and then the West Coast, where she collected many trophies in San-Francisco.

 

- Unfortunately, Scaramouche is not faring well these days. She is on the West Coast now, at Mission Bay near San-Diego. Somewhat converted into a Cruiser, plans for long-distance passages never materialise, and the boat has been sitting in a slip for a couple of years. When I learnt about her demise, I got interested in purchasing her for a distress price. But after inspection by a Rigger, a friend of mine, he suggested that I replace the entire rigging for the serious offshore sailing that I intended to do. The genoa/jib and the mainsail without a cover were not inspected, leaving suspicions about their condition.

                                                                                   

- I had him take a few pictures for the sake of it. So, for me, it became a little complicated, considering, at my age, to be able to handle a boat on the West Coast and the typical situation when the owner ran out of money and was stuck in a Marina.