Park City native sails into international competition at Newport Bermuda race

Calvin Marsh (left) and his sailboat crew. Photo: courtesy of the Marsh Family

Calvin Marsh came up through Sail Park City and now trains at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, putting those skills to work on the world stage

BERMUDA — Calvin Marsh, 20, a former member of Sail Park City, finished the international Newport Bermuda sailing race on Tuesday, competing as part of a crew representing the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

The Park City High School graduate and his co-ed crew sailed a 12.52-meter Mills 41 named the Hunter across the finish line at 10:53 a.m. Tuesday, posting an elapsed time of 3 days, 20 hours, 53 minutes and 17 seconds. The result placed them 30th out of 144 boats overall.

Marsh served as navigator and tactician. Every member of the crew was under 23, competing against professional sailors decades into their careers, and the Hunter’s age range earned the boat one of the race’s special Youth category prizes.

Conditions varied sharply over the course of the race. A photo taken shortly after the start shows the Hunter out in front, when winds gusted up to 40 mph and seas ran six to eight feet. By the second night, those winds had died completely, and the crew, sleeping in shifts aboard the boat, found themselves crawling along at half a knot. The lull let slower boats further back in the fleet catch up, effectively resetting the race and forcing competitors to refind their position in the field.

Marsh’s boat in the lead in this photo during the race. Photo courtesy of the Marsh Family

Sailors from China, Canada, Argentina, Sweden, Great Britain and Spain, among other countries, took part in the 636-nautical-mile race, which is held every other year and typically takes three to six days to complete. This year’s race was the 54th since the event’s founding in 1906 and marked the 100th anniversary of the partnership between the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, which jointly organize it.
The race has drawn as many as 4,000 spectators watching from shore or personal boats in recent years, with another 12,000 following a livestream online. Organizers emphasize safety, seamanship and the spirit of amateur sailing.

When he’s not racing, Marsh is finishing his sophomore year at the Merchant Marine Academy, where students complete a year at sea split into two four-month deployments. Marsh served aboard a military supply ship that resupplied the USS Iwo Jima and USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carriers, including during operations connected to the capture of Nicolás Maduro in the Caribbean and tensions involving Iran.

Resupply runs to the carriers happen underway, since the larger ships rarely come into port. Both vessels stay at cruising speed, often around 20 knots, while transferring supplies on the open ocean.

“It was all pretty wild at the time. Locations were confidential, and we couldn’t talk to him for large stretches of time,” Casey Marsh, Calvin’s mom told TownLift. “But we trusted the process, and in the end he has the stories of a lifetime.”

Marsh and his classmates complete four years of coursework in three years on campus, with Coast Guard licensing requirements fulfilled during their time at sea. He’s set to graduate with a double major in naval architecture and marine engineering, along with an unlimited tonnage Coast Guard license.

Marsh is home in Park City now that the race is over, but only briefly, when he returns to New York to continue his coursework.