Bill Lee (yacht designer)
Encyclopedia
Bill Lee is the designer of many famous ocean racing yacht
s, and one of the founders of the Santa Cruz school of boatbuilding, known to many as the Wizard. Several of his designs achieved notoriety in the 1970s, with Chutzpah and Merlin having won the Transpacific Yacht Race
from Los Angeles to Honolulu many times. Merlin set and held the course record several times as well, shaving days off the prior fastest times.
Mr. Lee's designs are noted for having been narrower and much lighter, often half the weight of competitors at times. His designs helped define the class of boat known as a ULDB, or ultra light displacement boat, which tend to excel at surfing
downwind with spinnaker
s in heavy breeze. These boats required fewer crew, made better use of scarce resources in their construction, and generally attracted highly skilled sailors with big-wave surfing backgrounds at breaks such as Steamer's Lane, Ghost Trees
and Mavericks
. Many folks had to get their hair cut before sailing on one of Lee's ULDBs since they went so fast their hair often got quite tussled.
Mr Lee is also known for his boatyard on Hilltop Rd, Soquel, CA, known as "the Coop", as it was a chicken coop before Lee and his associates converted it into a boatyard.
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
s, and one of the founders of the Santa Cruz school of boatbuilding, known to many as the Wizard. Several of his designs achieved notoriety in the 1970s, with Chutzpah and Merlin having won the Transpacific Yacht Race
Transpacific Yacht Race
The Transpacific Yacht Race is an offshore yacht race starting off Point Fermin, San Pedro, near Los Angeles, and ending off Diamond Head Lighthouse in Honolulu, a distance of around . Started in 1906, it is one of yachting's premier offshore races and attracts entrants from all over the world...
from Los Angeles to Honolulu many times. Merlin set and held the course record several times as well, shaving days off the prior fastest times.
Mr. Lee's designs are noted for having been narrower and much lighter, often half the weight of competitors at times. His designs helped define the class of boat known as a ULDB, or ultra light displacement boat, which tend to excel at surfing
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
downwind with spinnaker
Spinnaker
A spinnaker is a special type of sail that is designed specifically for sailing off the wind from a reaching course to a downwind, i.e. with the wind 90°–180° off the bow. The spinnaker fills with wind and balloons out in front of the boat when it is deployed, called flying. It is constructed of...
s in heavy breeze. These boats required fewer crew, made better use of scarce resources in their construction, and generally attracted highly skilled sailors with big-wave surfing backgrounds at breaks such as Steamer's Lane, Ghost Trees
Ghost Trees
Ghost Tree is a famed big wave surfing location off Pebble Beach, California. On December 4, 2007, big wave surfer Peter Davi died surfing Ghost Tree.- References :* Masters, Ryan. Surfer]], June 2005 - Vol. 46 #6....
and Mavericks
Mavericks (location)
Maverick's or Mavericks is a surfing location in Northern California, U.S.A.. It is located approximately 2 miles from shore in Pillar Point Harbor just north of Half Moon Bay at the village of Princeton-By-The-Sea. After a strong winter storm in the northern Pacific Ocean, waves can routinely...
. Many folks had to get their hair cut before sailing on one of Lee's ULDBs since they went so fast their hair often got quite tussled.
Mr Lee is also known for his boatyard on Hilltop Rd, Soquel, CA, known as "the Coop", as it was a chicken coop before Lee and his associates converted it into a boatyard.