SANTA CRUZ 27 How. Phil also represents the younger generation of sailors who have maintained the SC27's notoriety. In his words, "The SC27 is a fantastic platform that is perfectly suited to sail singlehanded, doublehanded and, eventually, fully-crewed again" — pandemic pending, of course. "I hope with an active fleet, others will be inclined to keep a lookout for their own SC27 to resurrect and get out on the race course." After speaking with so many passionate SC27 owners, we were compelled to find out what Bill Lee thought of this runaway success in particular. After all, The Wizard (as he's known by many) went on to build much larger, more high-profile boats — most notably Merlin, which set and held the Transpac course record for the 20-year period from 1977 to 1997. Merlin was adapted to become the Santa Cruz 70, the first of the California sled fleet and the next progression in big-boat racing. When asked about the Santa Cruz 27's enduring popularity — which in no small way can be credited to its design — Mr. Lee maintained an even keel. "You never know what is going to turn into a cult following and what isn't," he said. But that isn't to say that it was all a shot in the dark. More
The next-next generation: Gary Mirfield on SC27 'Good Timin', sailing off Santa Cruz with his family and their dog.
directly, he added, "They are great boats, and they just keep going." Bill Lee retired from building boats in 1994 — and still lives in Santa Cruz. — ros de vries
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• September, 2020