Longtime Inverness weekender Charlie Merrill, a business
executive, yachtsman and conservationist, died Feb. 2 in his Sausalito
home of natural causes, one month to the day after his 95th birthday.
In addition to his other activities, Mr. Merrill built
four wooden vessels in his home workshop, and sailed roundtrip seven
times from the Golden Gate around Point Reyes to Tomales Point, sometimes
navigating in the foulest of weather.
A founder of the Point Reyes Bird Observatory’s
Farallon Patrol, which provided a transportation service to the islands,
Mr. Merrill made 65 trips ferrying scientists and supplies to the Farallons’
marine biology station.
Skillful skipper
Known for his skill in maneuvering boats in tight
places, he was the only skipper in the patrol to bring his boat directly
under the hoist in Fisherman’s Bay, eliminating the need for a
dinghy for unloading passengers and goods.
In the early 1930s he visited West Marin for the first
time with his Stanford fraternity brother, Tony Morse, the father of
local realtor Dan Morse.
In 1945, no longer a college boy, Mr. Merrill bought
a summer home on the bluff above the Inverness Yacht Club with his wife,
watercolor artist Virginia Merrill — known as Clem.
Rebuilt Inverness Yacht Club
After the end of World War II he helped rebuild the
Inverness Yacht Club, which had been boarded up since the Depression.
He and his family cut eucalyptus on the Lunny Ranch to be used as materials
for dock pilings.
"The eucalyptus rotted fairly quickly and had
to be replaced, but it was a start," noted his daughter, Jenefer
Merrill of Inverness.
Mr. Merrill later organized boat races at the club,
including those for kids.
"Charlie was one of those grownups with whom
we always felt welcome," recalled Point Reyes resident Michael
Mery, who grew up in Inverness. "He was a man of good and gentle
humor, even when chiding me for some obstreperous behavior."
Added Mery, "He had a capacity for enjoying himself
which continues to inspire me."
Sausalito patriarch
Charles Holbrook Merrill was born Jan. 2, 1911, in
Fair Oaks, now part of Menlo Park. He graduated from Stanford in 1934,
and joined the family business, Holbrook Merrill Co. During World War
II he served with the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Sailing and racing were his lifeblood, but he created
the time to serve on numerous community boards, many related to conservation.
He was also a member of the Marin County Grand Jury.
A prominent patriarch of Sausalito, in 2002 he was
chosen as Grand Marshal of the town’s Fourth of July parade.
"Up to his last day he was organizing his younger
friends to do things he thought were possible to support preserving
the maritime history of Sausalito," his daughter wrote.
Cheerful and determined
His family remembers him as cheerful and funny, yet
stubborn and determined. Observed longtime friend Norma Wells of Inverness,
"he was a very special man and certainly his own man."
Mr. Merrill was predeceased by his wife, Clem Merrill,
in 1996.
He is survived by his daughters, Molly Merrill Sterling
of Mill Valley; Alice Merrill of Sausalito; daughter and son-in-law,
Jenefer Merrill and Mark Switzer of Inverness; son, Bruce Gunn of Sacramento;
brothers, Lewis Merrill of Aptos; and Peter Merrill of Belfair, Washington;
six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday,
March 18, at Christ Episcopal Church, Santa Rosa and San Carlos Avenues,
Sausalito.
Family members suggest that any memorial contributions
be made to: Richardson’s Bay Maritime Association, PO Box 1108,
Sausalito 94966.