RS21 debuts at St. Petersburg NOOD
Amy Baxter
Starting a new sailing class isn’t a simple recipe. But if the boat is easy to sail, fast to drive, and fun to race, it just might catch on. Enter the newest small keel boat: the RS21, which made its debut at the St. Petersburg NOOD regatta on Feb. 15-17. With just two entries among a mixed PHRF class of much larger yachts, the RS21 began its charter season without an established one design fleet.
One of those charters, Tampa-based Chip Merlin, owner of the 1977 68-foot racing yacht Merlin, got back to his small-boat roots, learned it’s still possible to teach an old dog new tricks, and got a taste for a new modern design during the regatta. Merlin and his crew took the boat for its first charter event, digging in with their own motto of “fast is fun” and finding meaning with the mission of RS Sailing to get more people sailing. Read on.
