CHAMPIONSHIP FLEET OVERALL: North Sails were 1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and 20 of the top 25 
Steve, Congrats on a great year with 533 since you launched it a year ago September. Your latest win was the Bloody Mary but what other victories did you guys win? 
Steve, what are your plans for 2010 in the Thistle? 
So North customer Stu Robertson ripped his spinnaker in race one (after he had an excellent 5th place) and needed a replacement. Even taking a high speed motor boat ride back to the club would take too long so Stu got creative. With his crew sailing his boat as close to the beach as they dared (and near the breaking surf by the way) Stu dove out of his boat and swam through the waves to the beach. He walked 1/4 mile back to Mission Bay Yacht Club and then back to the beach with a replacement spinnaker under arm. He bought a boogie board from a surfer (at a good deal of course), laid the replacement spinnaker on the board and paddled through the surf back out to his teammates sailing patiently in and out of the waves. He missed one race but made the third race and sailed well enough to still finish 5th overall!!
This past weekend the 2008 Thistle Oyster Roast was held in Annapolis. In true Chesapeake Bay fashion unfortunately there was only breeze on Saturday and the fleet sailed 2 races. There was a valiant effort to make the Sunday's race happen but it had to be abandoned at the top mark when the Bay glassed off.
Vlasta Kunc with crew Natalie Pheasant and Bill Bradshaw won with a 3,2,1,1,1.
Brent McKenzie ( 2007 South Atlantic District winner) with crew Robert Gregory was second. Brad Russell with father Andy was fourth and Fred Griffin was 5th.
It is extremely important not to over trim either of the sails. Over trimmed sails cause the helm to feel sluggish and unresponsive - there will be no groove to steer in. You will not be able to speed up without loosening the sheets. Don't even think about putting the boat in third or fourth gear, make continuous adjustments to keep the speed up and make sure that you have your 4WD low gear ready for the inevitable 2-foot powerboat
wake. The crew should be far forward to get the stern out of the water and
reduce the wetted area. Crew movements in the boat should be smooth and rare. In a complete drifter, a small heel to leeward will help fill the sails and provide a bit of feel to the helm. 
Congratulations to Robby Brown on winning the 2007 Thistle Southern Circuit...a combination of scores of the Midwinters held in St Pete the first week of March and the Jacksonville Orange Peel hosted last weekend by Florida Yacht Club.
Robby bested some of the class's finest sailors in the overall. 
Congratulations on a great week of sailing! You were able to perform well over all conditions, what were the keys to your success at the Midwinters?
Congrats on your victory! What are the key success factors in your winning MWW?
The 2004 Thistle Midwinters East greeted 62 competitors with fabulous
weather, decent breeze and some of the best Race Management around.
With sunny, 80+ degree weather, few could complain about the post-card “look” of
St. Pete. The breeze, however, didn’t cooperate 100%. Most races
saw dying winds giving competitors fits and rewarding those with patience.
The good news is that the team at SPYC made the most of the conditions
and 8 races were completed (most in recent memory)!
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Thistle Sails
Great news from the 103-boat Thistles Nationals hosted by North Cape Yacht Club in Monroe, Michigan. Boats powered by North Sails, again, dominated the event!
This was a great event for the Thistle class as a wide range of conditions were sailed...while the series was primarily light, there were 2 days where the breeze reached as high as 20mph. North Cape did a superb job and promoted some tremendous racing and made the event one of the very best socially. Many of the sailors camped and most of the teams were made up of family teams...a very strong characteristic of the Thistle Class! In fact, Mike Ingham with wife Delia and son Sam dominated the event and won by 11 pts with all their finishes in the top 10. Mike sailed the North Fisher main, the Proctor jib and the .5 oz radial spinnaker. The fact that his team at 430 lbs performed so well in all conditions is testament to not only Mike's great sailing abilities, but also the sails ability to change gears. Nice job Mike, Delia and Sam!! It was nice that in the top 5 there were 3 teams with family on board...our team with my wife Jo Ann and Jeff Eiber was third and Chris Pollak with his daughters Meghan and Jocelyn were 5th. For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts. Thistle Sails
St. Petersburg Yacht Club There were 43 boats that attended the 2010 Thistle Midwinters East Regatta
in St Petersburg Florida. The temperatures were a little colder than normal
but the atmosphere on shore was as warm and friendly as ever. After
abandoning sailing on Monday and Tuesday, the always terrific SPYC race
committee ran 7 races in the final three days of the regatta. Wednesday's
race was sailed in heavy winds (gusts to 28) and featured numerous capsizes
and at least 2 broken masts. The two races on Thursday were also sailed in For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts.
Thistle Sails
SB: Our Fall series results were: First at the Old Goat @ Lake Lanier SC, Second @ the Old Salty in Charlotte, NC. LNYC and First at the Bloody Mary @ Western Carolina SC. Your Thistle sailing has been special for a bunch of reasons. One is that you've always raced with your twin brother Shawn- and just the two of you. You've actually also won numerous regattas over the years in several classes. How long have you been sailing together? What are some of the highlights? SB:It’s great to be back in the Thistle Class. The racing is very competitive and the atmosphere of family and good friends is Terrific. As you know having a great crew makes all the difference in the world. My brother Shawn and I have been racing against and with each other for over 30 years. We sailed together at the snipe Jr. Worlds in South America 25 years ago. We have sailed together with my Dad on his 30 footer and raced off-shore with friends for many years. We spent several years racing in the Melges 24 class as well as the Melges 32 Class. Most recently we have been sailing together on a Swan 42 in Newport. You are sailing #533 that has been "in the family" for many years at Lake Lanier Sailing Club. Its maiden voyage after you refurbished it from stem to stern was last year's Dixie Regatta at AYC which you and Shawn Tied for second out of 72 boats. What is the history on 533? SB: It was a special day launching the boat for the first time in over 20 years at Lake Altoona. That is the same lake the boat was first commissioned 59 years earlier. 533 (Sinbad) arrived in the southeast in 1950. Delivered by Sandy Douglas to “Sinny” Sinclair (The original “Old Goat”) and his wife Marion in Marietta, Ga. Shortly there after fleet 48 was born on Lake Altoona. Sinny went on to win the 1957 Mid-winters in 533. The boat remained in the Sinclair family for many years and was campaigned by Sinny’s son John for several years. ‘Sinbad’ lived in a barn for sometime and was brought back to life once before in the late 70’s. In fact I sailed on 533 for a season as forward crew when I was twelve. However; the years took there toll and dry rot ran its course. I became the proud new owner of SINBAD in 1990.
SB: Yes, it was a much bigger project than I anticipated. What all did you do to 533? SB: I started by removing all of the hardware; stripped all of the old varnish and epoxy off the inside of the boat. In doing this I uncovered a lot of dry rot. (A Lot of Dry Rot!) I discovered I needed to replace the trunk to save the boat. At this point several years went by while 533 dried out in my garage. Friends would come by (while I was sanding) and help me contemplate the fate of the boat. Suggestions were made to make a bar out her. Some recommended a thistle fleet 79 bon-fire. Can you tell us a little about the setup you use for the boat tuning wise? SB: I set the boat up pretty much just like the north sails tuning guide suggest. That was a big help. I tried to keep the rigging as simple as possible. Which model North sails are you using? SB: The Fisher Cut; it’s hard to argue with your success. You sail a great deal in puffy shifty conditions...good boat handling is critical. What have you found to be most important to keep the boat at speed? SB: Constant adjustments and gear changes. I try to anticipate the next puff and adjust for it. I’ve been really lucky to have a great crew which makes this process much easier. When Shawn couldn’t make it I had my brother Robert and his wife and Robert Gregory (who has deep Thistle roots) In these conditions it's tough to develop a game plan. Do you work towards a strategic plan or is playing the shifts more a feel/reaction situation? SB: I just try to keep my head out of the boat and play the shifts the best I can. I try to react to the changing conditions as quickly as possible. A good crew makes that process much easier.
SB: I plan on sailing in as many Southeast regattas as I can. Starting with the Orange Peel in Jacksonville in March. Are you aiming at the Nationals at North Cape in Ohio next August? SB:I would love to do nationals if possible next year. However; it’s more likely that I will be in San Diego in 2011...
Thanks for sharing! Good luck and great sailing next season!
Thistle Sails
The 2009 Thistle Nationals at Cedar Point was a great event with more than 80 boats from all over the country. The wind was light, but we did manage to get in all seven races. One thing that really helped our performance was excellent speed and pointing, so I want to share some thoughts about our boat set up, sail trim and how we sailed the boat. I think it’s important to get the boat and sails set up correctly, but even more critical is how you sail the boat during the race. Some of my comments will be specific to the sail designs we used (North Proctor), but most of them are relevant and important no matter what type of sails you are using. Boat – I sailed the same boat (3825) that I have owned for 20 years. It’s a Great Midwest that we custom-rigged and it weighed in at the minimum. The day before the Nationals we turned the boat over to wet sand it (with 800) and finish it with Teflon polish. Every day on the way out to the race course we sponged off the scum that had accumulated on the waterline while the boat was sitting in the water that morning. Sails – We used a new set of 2009 North Proctor sails (I have used Ched’s designs since 1985). Before the Nationals we used these for only two days at our Districts. They seemed very fast then, so we put them back in the bag and saved them for Nationals. Crew weight – We sailed the Nationals at about 455 pounds.
BOAT/RIG SET-UP Rig tension – In all conditions our forestay tension was about 325 pounds. This is roughly 25 on the Loos Pro tension gauge. When it’s windy I’d like to go a little tighter, but I usually don’t do that because I’m worried about breaking the boat. Mast rake – For the Nationals we were set up at about 27’ ¾”. This is measured to the lower aft edge of the tiller hole with the tape measure attached to the main halyard shackle and the halyard pulled all the way up (past the halyard ball). This is a little less rake than what is suggested in the tuning guide, and less than most people use I think. When I have the mainsail fully trimmed in 8 knots of wind, the vertical distance from the underside of the boom to the top of the traveler track is roughly 9 inches (but this would be different for other sail designs). Diamond tension – On the Loos Pro gauge our diamond tensions are roughly: Top 10, Middle 11, and Bottom 12. I don’t think these exact numbers are so important as long as you are in the ballpark. I do spend some time adjusting the diamonds to get the mast straight from side to side (to do this I hold the mast horizontal with the mainsail track up, and I sight down the track from the top of the mast). Mast Step/Pre-bend – This is very important I think. The butt casting on my mast sits squarely on the mast step (in other words, the butt casting does not overhang the step either fore or aft). The step is positioned on the grating so that when the mast sits squarely on the step, the mast is at minimum J. I did not do any filing on either the butt casting or the mast step. I use the step just as it comes, except that I have a thin shim underneath the front of the mast step. The purpose of setting up the mast step this way is so that when rig tension is applied: I generally don’t use any mast shims while racing. In light to medium air, I think we have less mast bend than almost any other boat out there. When it gets windier and we start to become overpowered (i.e. we are fully hiked and I start dumping the main a little to keep the boat flat), I have been experimenting with adding a shim under the aft part of the butt casting to bend the mast more and flatten the sail. Jib lead position – We generally put the jib lead in one place and leave it. To describe that position, I trim in the jib upwind, and then estimate where an extension of the jib sheet would hit the plane of the seat. My base setting for the jib lead is: 16” from the boat’s centerline and 108.5” from the center of the forestay (at the top of the hole where it goes through the rail, measured over the grating). On my 1989 GMW boat, an extension of the jib sheet would hit right at the aft edge of the seat (and 16” off centerline). SAILING SET-UP Traveler position – The main thing we did differently was pulling our traveler pretty far to windward going upwind. At the Nationals I did this all the time (except a few times on the last day when we were fully hiked and overpowered). My standard setting is to pull the traveler line so that the center of the traveler car is about 5 inches to windward of the center of the traveler. I put a mark on the traveler line at the cleat so I know when it’s in the right place without looking aft. With the traveler to windward like this, the boom is on centerline (or even slightly to windward) when the main is fully sheeted, which is good for pointing. Mainsail trim – I constantly adjust the mainsheet and I never cleat it. My basic philosophy is to keep trimming the main harder until I feel the boat just start to slow down. Then I ease the main slightly to improve speed and then I start trimming again. Trimming harder helps pointing, but it also makes the groove narrower and less forgiving, so you need a good feel to make sure the speed doesn’t crash. This is a dynamic process that requires constant attention to the way the boat feels and your performance relative to other boats. For example, if I’m slower than nearby boats I never trim the main harder, but if I’m faster I almost always trim harder and try to point better. I go by feel much more than visual guides such as the angle of the top batten – but I do know that when I’m at max trim the top of the sail is quite closed (i.e. batten angled to windward) and the leech telltale there is stalled most of the time. I also put a clear mark on my mainsheet that is right near the mid-boom turning block when the main is trimmed to its average upwind setting. This way I can quickly get to the right main trim (e.g. after tacking) without looking up (at the sail) or down (at a mark near the ratchet block), and I can easily reproduce fast settings from tack to tack, or leg to leg. Jib trim – We also trim the jib fairly tight (which is possible at least partly because we trim the main harder), At max trim in good pointing conditions, we pull the jib in so there is one inch from the leeward side of the jib to the inside of the rail at the closest point. At the same time, the leech of the jib is about ½” from the end of the middle spreader (the end of my middle spreader is about 9” from the side of the mast). We adjust this trim setting often on the beat (but not nearly as much as I play the main). We leave the jib lead in the same base position unless: 1) it gets windy so that we are overpowered and starting to ease the mainsheet; or 2) it’s quite choppy or light and we have to ease the mainsheet for speed. In these situations, we move the lead about one inch farther outboard. As far as jib luff tension goes, I have always been a fan of a looser luff, but at Nationals I sailed with it slightly tighter than usual. I think we were right in the middle of the fleet on this one. Some people sailed with fairly significant luff wrinkles, but I went with just a hint of wrinkles at each luff tab. Crew weight – In the light air and slight lump at the Nationals, we tried to get our weight forward and low. As the helmsperson I did not sit ridiculously far forward, but I was as far forward as I could be and still comfortably steer, trim the main and tack. We did work a little harder at getting weight low, especially in the choppiest conditions. Often our forward crew was sitting on the bottom of the boat, just forward of the seat on the leeward side of the boat. If it looked like we would stay on one tack for a while, my middle crew occasionally sat in the same position on the windward side. I would then move to control the heel. If we had enough wind (at least 5 knots), we would sail the boat very flat, but in lighter wind, especially if there was chop, it felt easier to sail the boat with a little heel. Other notes – Going into the Nationals we anticipated light air and tried to optimize the boat for these conditions.
Thistle Sails
This past weekend the Thistle ACC was hosted at Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis. 50 boats sailed the 4 race series held just off the mouth of the Severn River. The regatta brought a variety of conditions, so consistency was key. It was brought out by the fact there were 4 different races winners over the course of the weekend. Saturday brought a shifty and puffy westerly. Being consistent was key. Race one Dave Dellenbaugh lead at the first mark and down the reaches to the leeward mark. We managed to pass Dave on the 2nd beat and hold on until the 3rd leg. The two of us had a large lead until the very end when a huge left shift and puff came through the course. Brian Kichin and team made most of the opportunity and won the race, followed by Dave Hansen and Dan Reasoner. The 2nd race brought more crazy conditions and big shifts. Scott Latham played them perfectly and won the race by a good margin. The 3rd race the wind was at its height of the random conditions. Brent Barbehenn was able to port tack the fleet easily and maintain a large lead throughout the race. We were able to round the first mark in the teens, but ground back to 2nd. With the win in the final race, we were able to secure our first Thistle ACC Championship. Special thanks to my lovely wife Katie and Sarah Paisley for sailing with me this weekend. They both did a great job and we had an absolute blast sailing the Thistle. Also thanks for Greg Fisher for loaning us his speedy yacht and thanks to all the Thistle folks for making us feel like a part of the group for a great weekend of sailing and socializing. This was only my second time sailing a Thistle, and it is a great boat and a great group of sailors! Top 10:
All the boats in the top 10 had North Sails, except for Brad Thomson who had North Upwind sails only. For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts. Thistle Sails
Thistle sailors gathered this past weekend at Cowen Lake in Cincinnati Ohio for the Michiana Districts. They where greeted by light and fluky conditions which made for some tricky sailing. Cowen Lake is a long yet skinny lake down in a valley surrounded by a lot of trees and countryside. Saturdays racing consisted of 2-5 knots of breeze out of several different directions. Two races where sailed and even with some mixed up scores the racing was still pretty tight. Dick Bartz was leading going into Sunday with Nicole and Jesse Shedden close behind and Champ Glover 1 point behind Nicole. Saturdays festivities consisted of great food, close friends and a cornhole tournament. Sunday brought similar conditions, lots of lead changes and mixed up scores. In the end it was Nicole and Jesse Shedden who where able to figure out the tricky conditions and take the win. Champ Glover was second, and Andy and Patty Lawrence where third sailing with a brand new set of Proctor sails. Michiana Districts June 13th and 14th 2009 Cowan Lake Sailing Association For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts. Thistle Sails
Brad: Absolutely. It’s a great regatta and we love going every year. I believe my dad only missed it once since 1964 and I only missed it once in my life. We love the people and it’s always a lot of fun. If there’s one Thistle regatta everyone should go to once is his/her life, it’s the Dixie. It was a special victory for you and your family as it was nearly a family sweep since your Dad, Andy tied for second and ended up third. He probably had mixed emotions about what meant most to him! Brad: That was really special for us. I hear there were mixed emotions on his boat about whether to slam me or not on the last leg of the last race, but luckily we just had to stay near him to win so we were able to split a little bit and not put him in that position too many times. It meant a lot to both of us to finish so well, especially with the great competition and the breeze. The Dixie usually is characterized by light winds, yet this year was quite different. How windy was it? Brad: Saturday it blew hard, probably upper teens and lower twenties with gusts of more. We were in full depower mode for most of the day. Saturday was in the low teens, a little less or a little more at times. It certainly wasn’t the Dixie we were used to - I don’t think the Allatoona Shuffle was in full effect, fortunately. What model sails do you sail? Did you set your rig or trim the sails any differently in the very flat water you sail in Atlanta? Brad: I sail the Fisher design North Sails and I love them. I tend to sail heavy, so our diamonds are on the tighter end of the spectrum, but everything else is set pretty much to the tuning guide. Our rake is close to 26'11 1/2 ", our rig tension is at 32 and our diamonds are 8-15-7, bottom to top. We didn't shim the mast butt much but we still developed the overbend wrinkles down low when the breeze was up. It was really helpful to be so fast and able to change gears easily in those tricky conditions on Lake Allatoona.. Right now we have a great combination of sails, boat setup, and crew and I have to thank Greg for helping me with that. Maintaining good pointing ability is always key in shifty puffy flat water sailing. What are some keys you've found to help sail high with speed in breeze? Brad: Keeping the boat flat at all costs so the foils can work is the biggest thing to sailing high and fast. Everything we do is to get the boat flat. We get on a tack, hand the jib sheet to the forward, and have the middle play the vang almost continuously to help. When it really blows, we pull it until we think it’s too much, then pull a little more. It’s critical to get it back off if it eases up and before tacks. As the puffs hit and you ease the main, it also helps to ease the jib a little to open up the slot as well. Of course, hiking hard is very important. How about tactics up wind in that stuff? It's easy to find yourself on a "corner" in those conditions. What is your key focus upwind tactically in shifty inland sailing like you sail at the Dixie. Brad: I enjoy the strategic part of lake sailing more than anything else. Unfortunately, two poor starts took a lot of options off the table early in the races and we really had to fight to get back. To make decisions I want to know what the baseline direction is, where we currently stand, and what’s coming ahead at all times. I will go to a side if I feel confident that I know what’s there. I think there’s a huge difference between going to a side because you’re hoping for a shift and going to a side because you see something there. If I am on one side, I look for opportunities to get back to the middle and consolidate when I can. Staying in phase is important, but in lake sailing you have to react to your part of the lake sometimes, instead of focusing on people on the other side. How about downwind? What do you look for to align yourself for the puffs yet keep a clear lane with that many boats on a small lake? Brad: I think it’s easier with that much breeze than in the light stuff. We were able to gybe quickly a few times to get a clear lane when most boats went the other way. When you are in a pack I like to talk to the boats around me to tell them what I want and know what they want. It’s better for everyone to just go fast and fight it out later. We were able to stay out of the big packs, which really helps. What's your next event? Are you, Emily and Ervin heading for the Nationals in Westport? Brad: Ervin and I just got back from the Bottoms Up in Columbia, SC. It was another weekend of good breeze and a lot of great sailors and we were happy to come out 3rd. I think we’ll do a few more up and down the East Coast before August rolls around. I’m still undecided about nationals, but I hope to be there as skipper or crew. Finally, we gotta ask...this year the Dixie had a mechanical bull for the party. How long did you stay on?? Brad: My dad told me it was not in my best interest to ride the bull. I was going to anyway, but the last few hours of bull riding were rained out so we didn’t get to do it. I’m sure it would’ve been ugly though. Congratulations Brad for your great perfornamce at the Dixie! Thistle Sails
71 boats sailed in the annual Dixie Thistle regatta held over Memorial Day weekend. Unlike normal Dixie's where often the sailing is nowhere near the main attraction, the breeze was up both days with puffs to 18+ on Saturday. 3 races were sailed with some very tough competition from as far away as Kansa, Ohio, Rhode Island and Florida. The Dixie is always one of the most popular events on the Thistle circuit...for good reason. The social aspects are always tough to beat...this year a mechanical bull livened up the party!
For complete results, click here. For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts.To order North fast Thistle sails, click here.
Thistle Sails
Congratulations "Yoda", Brent Barbehenn for winning last year's East Coast Fall Series If Yoda uses North Sails, why not you?
Thistle Sails
29 boats sailed the 2009 Thistle Midwinters West regatta hosted by Mission Bay YC. The regatta had a "little bit of everything" condition-wise but when it was all over we were excited that North customers dominated the regatta, both divisions in fact! In A Division North Sails were 1,3,4,5,6,7*,8,9,10,11,12,13. Terry Lettenmaier from Oregon with his wife Laurie and brother Dennis won with Snipe Champion Doug Hart from San Diego with Moni Lampe and Cesar Romero in third. Mike Gillum was second overall. In B Division North Sails were 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13,14 Mike Poltorak with Kory Smith from San Diego won followed by Bryan Jerman from Rochester with daughter Ashley and Dan Fien in second (Bryan used North's for the first time!). For full results, click here. There's always a good story from every regatta and MWW was no exception...
We had a great support from Garth, Kate and Kris Zillman. In fact Garth sailed with the regatta chairperson! He was a huge help in loading all the sails for customer pickup and then again when the regatta was over. I really appreciated everyone's support from North One Design and it was nice to be able to introduce the North team to our customers at the party Thursday night. Thanks you guys for all the extra effort you put out!! For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts.
Thistle Sails
The Lake Erie Thistle district had their final regatta of the season hosted by Buckeye Lake Yacht Club on Saturday, October 18. Twenty boats showed up for a fantastic day of fall sailing. They were greeted with cool temps, a brisk breeze, and plenty of sunshine. Four races were sailed in breezes ranging from 5-15 knots and oscillating 30 degrees, which made for some interesting racing. Race one was sailed in the most breeze of the day, and Fred Bauer and team were able to figure out the crazy and frequent wind shifts to win the race with Kevin Bradley close on his heels. Race two was sailed in a little lighter but puffier conditions with shifts favoring the left side of the racecourse. Nicole Shedden and team pulled out a fantastic second beat to take the lead and hold on to the finish. Race three saw similar conditions with the breeze being very unstable and puffy. It was a tough battle between Kevin Bradley, Nicole Shedden, Kyle Finefrock, and Fred Bauer. Kevin Bradley split the leeward gates with Kyle Finefrock heading up to the finish and was able get into a little bit more pressure to take the bullet. The fourth and final race of day began with a big wind shift to the left, which caused the first general recall of the day. After a clean start, it was Jack Finefrock who took an early lead and held it to win the final race. Kevin Bradley’s team took second, sealing the regatta victory.
9 out top 10 boats had North Sails! For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts. Thistle Sails
North Sails dominated the event by finishing 1,2,3,4*, 5* plus 28 of the 33 boat fleet sailed North sails!! Brent Barbehenn with team mates Scott Meyer and Ted Resheteiloff won the event over 2008 Championship of Champions winner Doug Kaukenien. Top five: For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts.
* partial inventory
Thistle Sails
On September 20th 13 Thistles headed out from Cleveland Yacht Club for 2008 Thistle fall regatta. The fleet was presented with light winds and sunny skies. The PRO decided to run windward leeward courses once around to ensure that they could get 6 races in for the series. The first race Nicole Finefrock and team found their way up the middle of the course and help off the fleet to win the race. At the start of the seconded race a big left shift came in which forced the fleet to start on port tack. Nicole’s father Jack and his team was on top of the crazy wind shift and won the race. The next three races saw similar conditions, which kept the racing tight and mixed up. For the sixth and final race of the day the PRO decided to run a triangle course. On the first reach leg the breeze decided to die which caused the fleet to spread out a bit. The top three boats which where, Kyle, Nicole, and Jack Finefrock where neck and neck most of the race. In the end of the shortened race Kyle held off his sister Nicole and father Jack to win the final race. After the days racing the competitors headed to a local bar and grill for a few laughs and friendly conversations about the regatta. Top 3: North Sails won every race and 11 out of the 13 boats where armed with North Sails. Good times were had by all. For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts.
Thistle Sails
This past weekend we sailed the Thistle Atlantic Coasts in Sayville, NY out on the south shore of Long Island. We were pleased as this was our second Thistle event of the year. I've not always been competitive in the big breeze but with Jeff Eiber and my wife Jo Ann we were able to squeak by with a 1, OCS, 1, 4, 1 so we're psyched for the Nationals coming up in two weeks! Our customers are fired up as well as we expect breeze in Pensacola. For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts. Thistle Sails
In a hotly contested Florida District Championships sailed on May 3rd at The Florida Yacht Club in Jacksonville, FL, North Sails sailed to an impressive first and second overall beating some of the best sailors in the district. The conditions were light to medium air and quite shifty and class veteran Chris Klotz and crew Andy Culvert and wife Antoinette won the regatta by virtue of beating second place Robby Brown with partner Dave DeCamp in the middle and Ginger Denn on bow. Going into the last of five races there was a virtual dead heat between the top three boats with four boats with a chance to win. In the end, Chris Klotz and team sailed a great last race to finish first and win the event in a shortened race in the dying breeze. Other noteworthy performances were Matias Heinrich who stayed in the regatta right up to the end and finished third overall. Greg Griffin, always strong on the St. John’s River, was fourth. Everyone enjoyed the great sailing and strong competition in a very nicely run event by Rick Preston, a reliable source of quality race management in Northeast Florida, and is looking forward to the Nationals in Pensacola and the Summer Thistle sailing season. For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts.
Thistle Sails
Great news from Lake Chautauqua, New York this past weekend. North Sails finished 1,2 over all in the 16 boat fleet. Congrats to Bill Wilson, for finishing first and to Tom Hubbell for second. Tom's report follows: "Let's see, October in western NY - often in the 50's with high wind and some rain, but no; how about a high of 82 degrees, 8-12 mph thermal from the WNW, and sunny! Add 16 Thistles, 5 races with > 1 mile beats, fall colors on the trees, and a pretty good party with catered dinner, a visit by a paddle-wheel steamboat at sunset, bonfire, camping, and the Milky Way overhead. Bill Wilson's team grabbed the glory for the second year in a row (2,2,8,4,1). My team was second, Andy Lawrence's boat was third. Every boat had at least a 7th, so the scores where close and it wasn't over until. well, you know how that goes. Afterwards we learned that a crew with Sandy Douglas' '58 & '59 Nationals wins watched the regatta from the far side of the lake. [There must be a present or former Thistle sailor behind every other gas pump or on every other boat on every body of water.] For complete results, click here. For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts. Thistle Sails
This past weekend the 2007 Thistle Oyster Roast was held. Here's the top 10:
* partial inventory! Below the story of the regatta written by past President Peter Hale. My good buddy Brent Barbehenn sailed his brand new (right out of the box) # 4004 to a win with finishes of 2,1,3 overall. His team was Jess and Chris Murphy. Congrats!! Great turnout with 40 boats at the ECFS Oyster Roast
Regatta at Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis!
Beautiful weather, and a break from the recent heavy
air at other ECFS events. Brent Barbehenn returned
to Thistle skippering with his new ash-trimmed #4004,
taped "Bad Ash" for the weekend, winning the
shortened 3-race event with a 2-1-3, followed by
John Baker, Doug Kaukeinen, Tom Lawton and Dave
Parker. For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts.
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Berlin did a FANTASTIC job taking over the CYC regatta! The regatta fee actually dropped at the door from 30 to 20 with dinner included! When is the last time you saw that??? 15 boats competed, they came from cleveland, columbus, berlin and detroit. The wind (8-13) was beautiful and enabled five heavily contested windward leeward twice around races. Jack Finefrock dominated his home lake walking away with 9 points and several fall series keepers. Rockstar came out of semi retirement to race with Jack and Kathy. Kyle was second with the lovely ladies Jackie Bouillon and Anne Keyser. Champ Glover and Nuke finished 3rd! Special thanks to the Highlander fleet at Berlin for being the race committee for the regatta. We couldn't have done it without you! For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts.
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65 boats made the trek to Eugene, Oregon for the 2007 Thistle Nationals. We sailed on Fern Ridge Reservoir, a good sized body of water that easily "housed" the fleet and allowed for super nice, and long, courses. None the less, Fern Ridge is indeed a lake and acted just like one with 30-50 degree shifts 4 o5 times up a weather leg. Couple that with heavy breezes hitting the 20's sometimes ( most races were sailed in 12-18mph) it was some interesting sailing. The Eugene Yacht Club should be commended on running a superb event with a nice social event nearly every night and some especially talented race management action. Thanks the Winchesters, the Baloughs and all those who made it happen! When it was all over Mike Ingham, with wife Delia and long time crew John Baker dominated the series in winning by 18pts over Scott Griffin of Jacksonville. Terry Lettenmaier was third, our team with my wife Jo Ann and Brent Barbehenn was 4th and Lloyd Kitchin was 5th. North Notes:
* main/jib only
Needless to say we are thrilled and proud of all our customers who sailed so well and sailed so fast!! Also, here is a link to a round table video taken during one of our one race days…it is especially nice as there is representation of all the North designs ( Fisher, Proctor and Northwest) …lots of talk about trim and boat handling. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7136125255027532398&pr=goog-sl Congrats too to Matt Soderlund with Dad Dave and his girlfriend Jennifer Griffith for winning the Presidents division by 1 point over Ron Smith. Tyler Andrews from Indianapolis won the Juniors in a close finish over Kevin Bradley from Toledo. In the Women's Nationals, Haley Lhamon sailed to win in a close series over Nicole Finefrock. We are looking forward to a great fall and winter! For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts.
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Vlasta Kunc sailed impressively over the weekend of July 14 th & 15th in Fernandina, Florida to win the Gregor MacGregor Regatta hosted the Fernandina Old Town Dinghy Club. Saturday provided for quite a bit of unexpected excitement when a huge thunderstorm blew through shortly after the start of the first race sending the fleet for cover on the beaches surrounding the racing area. The sailors had to beach their boats and lay down away from the boats due to high winds and frequent lightning. No races were completed on Saturday due to the inclement weather. Vlasta remarked, however, that it was a real treat to see the wild horses and flamingos that inhabit Cumberland Island where he and a number of other boats sought shelter. The whole fleet was buzzing at the end of the day about the experience. No one was injured, but it was quite an ordeal for all involved. Sunday brought more favorable sailing conditions with four good races being sailed in great conditions. The first three races were sailed in a fairly steady southwesterly land breeze blowing around ten knots. Vlasta sailed extremely well finishing with a 1,2,1. In the last race the southwesterly began to waiver as it fought a developing sea breeze and became very shifty. The current also became a big factor in the dying breeze. Vlasta sailed conservatively to protect his lead and wound up holding on for the win in a three-way tie against some of the best competition that the Southeast has to offer. Greg Griffin was second and Scott Griffin was third. Congratulations to Vlasta on a great win. Vlasta, powered by North, was sailing with a new team who obviously did a nice job. We look forward to seeing Vlasta at the coming events and wish him the best. See complete results at www.macgregorregatta.com . For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts.
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A North domination! 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 overall!!!! 52 boats descended on Toms River Yacht club for the Thistle ACC's this past weekend. We sailed 5 good, but tricky, races over 2 days in westerly ( most of the time!) winds from 10 to 15 with some much higher gusts. Mike Ingham, with team mates wife Delia and John Baker crushed the competitive fleet with 5 straight bullets! Our team, with my wife Jo Ann and Brent Barbehenn, was second, 14 pts back. Third was Brad Thompson from Cedar Point YC 10 pts back from us. Lloyd Kitchin and Dave Hansen rounded out the top 5. Our own Allan Terhune sailed his first Thistle regatta with his wife Katie and Dave Burkowski and finished 6th, 1 point from 5th. Full scores, click here. The Toms River Yacht Club ran a great event both on an off the water. Al's dad Allan, was the PRO and made some superb decisions about race course setup and timing so we got all 5 races in and still had time for the wonderful Saturday steak dinner and party! Will Demand went way over and above the call of duty with finding housing for 35 of the 52 BOATS (67% of the attendees)! Thanks again to everyone at TRYC who helped make it one of the very best, as well as well attended Thistle regattas on the east coast this summer. For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts.
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June 8/9 the New Jersey/Long Island Sound Districts, Lake Erie and Central Atlantic Districts were sailed...and all three were dominated by sailors using North Sails! North Sails were first in all three! Congrats to all our fast customers!!! At the Lake Erie Districts held at Cleveland Yacht Club 22 boats sailed. Kyle Finefrock, Sarah Paisley and Ben Mercer dominated with dad Jack in third! North Sails were 1,3 and 7 of the top 10!! At the NJ/LIS Districts held at Nyack, NY 32 boats sailed. Mike Ingham won followed by Chris Murphy and Brad Thompson. North Sails were 1,2,3 and 10 of the top 10!! At The CAD Districts, held at Newcastle, De. 20 boats sailed. Scott Latham with Kevin Bradley and Logan Hearn dominated the regatta with Charlie Krafft with Doug Krafft and Martin Krafft in second and Chris Annand with daughter Megan and Candace Ewalt in third. North Sails were 1,2,3 and 9 of the top 10! For more info on the fastest North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts.
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Vlasta had arguably the best speed in the medium wind flat water. The conditions were tough as it was shifty too. Here's what Vlasta and Bill had to say: "Having superior boat speed in light wind and relatively flat water is really important, second only to showing up on a race day. There are several factors that most sailors associate with boat speed such as hull age, mast stiffness and rake, and sail shape. We think that what really matters is how you sail the boat. And by you, we don't mean the skipper, we mean the plural you. Everybody on board should understand his or her tasks and focus fully on their assigned tasks. Having reliable and readily adjustable equipment is important. If something does not work on your boat, either fix it or get rid of it. Either way, you will be better off. Good sails will definitely give you an edge, but you need to sail well to use this slight advantage. When the wind is light and the water is flat, we really work on (1) focus/crew work, (2) steering/balance, (3) anticipating changes/trimming sails, and (4) maintaining a positive attitude. We focus on our respective responsibilities. Going to windward, the skipper keeps the boat going fast; the middle crew looks for wind, monitors other boats and adjusts the jib; and the forward keeps track of compass headings and immediate port-starboard situations. There is a lot more to say about task assignments and communication, but that is another article. The point is that if the skipper keeps checking the compass because the forward keeps looking at the tale-tales and telling the skipper to head up, the boat will probably not go very fast. There are two basic steering modes upwind: below hull speed and at hull speed. Thistles don't need much wind to reach the hull speed, therefore we will discuss each separately. In very light wind, we are looking for power and speed, the direction becomes a secondary concern and pointing higher seldom pays. Greater speed will get you to the next puff faster and allow your centerboard to work better. To the maximum extent possible, steer the boat without using the rudder. If you are new to the concept of using the body weight to sail the boat, try coupling your body movements with your rudder movements. Between races on a day with light/medium air and flat water (or better yet, on practice day), remove the rudder and steer only with your bodyweight. You will find that you can tack and jibe, you can even fly the chute without the rudder. The boat will round up when you heel the boat to leeward and drive off when it is heeled to windward. You will also learn to anticipate the wind and heel to steer the boat. Don't forget to have the crew practice steering the boat with their weight, the ability to feel the boat and help the skipper steer is a critical skill for each crew member. Keep looking for new wind, drive toward it, and have set a routine for adjusting to puffs to keep the boat balanced and driving. Our sequence of going to the rail is skipper-middle-forward. We come off the rail in the reverse order. As puffs arrive, remember to flatten the boat. This keeps the centerboard working and minimizes weather helm. Once you reach hull-speed, power is no longer the singular objective. An increase in power will result only in a small increase in speed. More pressure will give you more height, allowing you to shift to a higher gear and point higher without sacrificing speed. At this point, it becomes very important to go the right way as each boat is going very nearly the same speed. Getting back to lighter air, the best sailors anticipate changes in wind speed and direction, reacting to small changes in wind direction and velocity before the sails stall. Although it gets a lot of attention, we don't pre scribe a specific tension for your vang or distance from the jib to the top spreader. We don't believe in one optimum setup, it must be continuously found and then found again. (Knowing a reasonable range of adjustment is certainly good. In case you were wondering, we keep the jib 1-3 inches from the top spreader, and we keep the vang loose until we can no longer flatten the boat.) Again, sailing without a rudder will help you learn how to anticipate and adjust to changes in the wind without applying your brakes ( i.e., turning the rudder). Finally, there is no substitute for attitude. It's easy to work hard on the race where you got the best start, hit the first shift, and coast along in a steady 8 to 10 knot breeze with wide open tacking lanes. It's a bit more difficult coming off the second row with everyone is tacking on you, or worse yet when you win the start in fluky conditions but watch half of the fleet sail by because the first big puff came from the wrong side. However, races are not over in the first 5 minutes. Regattas are seldom lost due to a bad start; but the results for the weekend can certainly be affected by one bad finish. That's why it's important for everyone on the boat to have a positive attitude and race every minute - from the start to the finish - of every race. This is particularly true in light wind, when other teams are distracted or frustrated. Sometimes a positive attitude is the only thing working in your favor. More importantly, racing is supposed to be fun, and you won't have fun when you can't find the positives. So don't look at light wind or flat water as boring, look at is an opportunity to outperform the other teams with superior focus, better steering, anticipating the next puff, and a winning attitude!"
Thistle Sails
We are quite pleased and proud that North Sails finished 1,2*(main/jib),3,4,5 overall at the 2007 South Atlantic Districts this past weekend in Atlanta, GA. The regatta was hosted by Atlanta Yacht Club on Lake Altoona. I understand that there was quite a variety of conditions from a good blow on Saturday and quite the drifter ( see the pictures!) on Sunday. Brent McKenzie, of lake Lanier sailing Club, with Pete Gregory and Scott Schulze, remained on his winning ways and won yet another Thistle Championship! Congrats guys! Brent, who has had a great year in the Thistle, winning the Great Pumpkin last fall, the and was second at the Farragut in Knoxville, had this to say about what he felt was important to his wins: "Since I have been out of the class for almost 25 years jumping back in requires understanding what has changed and what has not and what I may be able to use over the years and from other classes to help speed up my learning curve to the thistle of today. First, Look for as stiff a boat as you can get or afford as the thistle's design and shape make this important. Then get new sails, sails are the engine and newer is better. I Go with a tried and true design and I try to go with someone who has done a lot of testing and class experience. Then really pay attention to the tuning guides. These have gotten a lot better and much more detailed than they were 25 or 30 years ago. I am pretty close to the tuning guide numbers although I want to buy a new loose gauge to make sure the borrowed one I used is still accurate. We set the boat up close to the numbers and then start practicing. Tiller time and time with the crew on execution is more important than anything!. When I am sailing I try to keep a close eye on the main leach. The thistle has a big one and depending on if you need speed and power or you need to point you adjust it all the time. I do use a main sheet cleat because I try to go single purchase as long as I can and I'm not that big or strong anymore but I don't cleat it often. When sailing on the lakes we vang sheet a lot to help control the proper leach angles. On the lakes the traveler just isn't fast enough to keep up with the change in direction and velocity we usually see. On big open water and its blowing 15 you might see puffs of 5 or 10 degrees and puffs to 18. On the lakes if its blowing 15 you might see puffs to 25 and hard shifts of 15 to 30 degrees, you can run out of traveler real quick and its just to slow to keep the boat reactive and flat. We are still learning how to fine tune and get more speed so I continue to talk to people about little things they do or have tried. I think the new tighter rigs are much faster but I still need to fine tune my diamonds to what works best and best for me. There still may be more speed opportunity here as I learn this part. Hope some of these thoughts help. See you on the water." Here are the results and a few pictures of the top 5, again all had North Sails!! The Atlanta Yacht Club For more info on speedy North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts.
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Congratulations Robby Brown and team!
The Southern Circuit is a new concept promoted by Greg Griffin starting last year. Greg was the regatta chair for the Orange Peel, an event that is growing quickly and is a great draw for those sailors who want some great southern hospitality and a little warmth, but don't have perhaps the whole week necessary to sail the Midwinters. There was a good group who sailed both this year, nearly 30 boats, and qualified for the overall circuit.
We already shared the report on Midwinters East a couple weeks back. The Orange Peel, with 55 boats in attendance was sailed in a wide variety of conditions, but for sure there was no lack of breeze. Saturday it blew 10-20mph and was just a bit shifty!! Sunday a bit lighter, but certainly no more steady. But the temperature was great and the regatta a huge success. The racing was close...in fact, at the end there was a tie between Mike Ingham and Skip Dieball with Skip winning on the tie breaker for first overall. Mike sailed with his wife Delia and Dan Fien. Skip sailed with Mike Stark and Ryanne Gallagher.
Robby Brown, who finished third, sailed with David O'Riely and Dave Decamp. A clinic, hosted by Greg Griffin, Skip Dieball and myself kicked off the Orange Peel regatta followed by a great dinner/party night on the town on the river in Jacksonville. Greg organized about 8 powerboats to shuffle the whole regatta up the river to downtown Jacksonville. It was for sure one of the more memorable regatta party nights I've been to! Saturday night, a nice banquet was held where JD Reddaway was awarded the Van Allen Clark US Sailing sportsmanship award. JD comes from a strong Thistle family from Atlanta and the entire class is proud that JD earned this prestigious award! Don't miss the Orange Peel next year! For certain it will be even bigger! We were pleased that North sails performed so well at the Orange Peel, following up some super results at the Midwinters. In Jacksonville, North sails were 2,3,7,8,9,10,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,22,24- that is 17 of the top 25!!! Both Mike and Robby, again, second and third, used the Fisher design main and jibs and the Full Radial spinnaker. Don't hesitate to contact our Thistle experts for more details on our designs, tuning tips and sound advice. See you on the water soon! Thistle Sails
NORTH WINS... AGAIN! 69 boats sailed the 2007 Thistle Midwinters sailed at St Petersburg, Fl. A wide variety of conditions met the record fleet ( largest since 1978) with one day sailed to an abbreviated one race due to light winds and the last day with only one race due to too much. Carol Bardes and her team did a superb in providing both great race courses and decisions on when to race in the trying conditions. When it was all over my team of my wife Jo Ann, Jeff Eiber and myself was fortunate to take the regatta win with scores of 1,2,2,7,1,5,6. It was a special win for me since I was sailing with Jo Ann and Jeff who I first sailed Thistles with in 1981! We had a 12 pt lead over last year's runner-up Paul Abdullah with Andy Lawrence and Tim Fitzgerald. Robby Brown with Patrick Wilson and Merrill Talen was 4 points behind the Abdullah team. As usual the popular "Coach TCA" program was in full swing with a record 1/3 of the fleet participating. Coach TCA ( Tom Hubbell's brainchild) is a special series of seminar and coaching sessions for those who are looking for a little extra help from some of the best sailors in the class. This year there were 20 coaches total so everyone had a good piece of personal attention and instruction. We were proud that North Sails customers had a great showing this year!!! North Sails were 1,3 overall and 5 of the top 10 ( more than any other sailmaker) PLUS we had 15 of the top 20 and 21 of the top 30! Both Robby and I used the Fisher design mains and jibs and our .5oz Full Radial spinnaker. However it was interesting that in the top 20 there were 7 sets of Ched Proctor design North sails and 8 sets of Fisher designs. We have different designs available for different tastes or styles in sailing the Thistle! For more info on speedy North Thistle sails contact our Thistle experts.
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GREG FISHER INTERVIEW WITH MIKE INGHAM & Mike, congrats on your big win at Thistle Midwinters West in San Diego a few weeks ago! That must have been a fun regatta! Mike It's always good to get out of Rochester in the winter. We have a great IC frostbiting series but that just keeps us sharp for these early spring regattas . It’s a pleasure to stay with Leslie Klein and her son Alex, we look foreword to that every year. You sailed a chartered boat in the regatta and only had one day to prepare it before the racing started...yet you had great speed in the choppy conditions you sailed in the ocean as well as the flat water in the Bay. What areas did you concentrate on the most in boat preparation for the racing? What areas were of least concern? Mike - I have not had good luck chartering in the past, so having speed was a relief. This was a proven winner boat but it has not been sailed hard the past 10 years. There were some things broken like the rudder head . Our two priorities were to replace anything that might break and to tune the rig up the way we like it. Of least concern was making it look nice. We did not change much rigging either preferring instead to adapt to what was already there. Did you tune it to the tuning guide? What was your rake, rig tension and diamond tension? Mike - We tune right in to the tuning guide, we did not do anything different . We had to spend some time cleaning the boat and mast up as it was stored in a warehouse full of pigeons! That was disgusting.
I had hoped you'd say you were on the tuning guide numbers since most of the suggested numbers came from your boat! Mike - We have been going well and we have been able to reproduce the speed through different boats, different hull manufacturers, different blades etc. To be able to reproduce we have had to take good notes and keep track of our measurements, which has turned into at least some of the tuning guide North today. You sailed with Sarah Paisley and Kyle Finefrock, two excellent Thistle sailors in their own right, yet you guys hadn't worked together as a team. How did you work out the communication, delegation and even the boat handling. Your boat handling ( again with only a few hours of practice) was nothing less than spectacular to watch! Mike - We talked about who was to do what role on the boat ahead of time so it was very clear. We did not have much time to sort things out so we had to do so on land first. The cool thing about working with Sarah and Kyle was that they both actually implemented our agreed upon plan right away. But they also both understand what is going on so well that when something went a little wrong, they were not afraid to re-prioritize and make something happen. For example, something went wrong with the jib halyard one time and the leeward mark was fast approaching, so Kyle stepped in and pulled the chute down without anyone saying a word -the job just got done. They both were also flexible, for example, we had agreed that Kyle was to pull up the chute, but the halyard and cleat was at the base of the mast and they figured out on the fly that Sarah needed to pull it up. Having the practice clinic Wednesday was a huge help too. Thanks for that. The choppy, wavy conditions in the ocean are always tricky when it comes to boat speed. You Kyle and Sarah always seemed to have speed, height and acceleration consistently. What was key for you in those conditions? Mike - We felt we had a significant boat speed advantage in the ocean waves, but not as big an advantage in the bay. This led us to believe that a lot of the ocean speed had to do with driving, body movement, and trim. I like the fullness and amount of hook the leach has in the Fisher cut main, but with that extra speed comes the responsibility not to over trim it in the waves. We were dynamic with everything we did and worked hard to keep the boat moving. We pointed well but not by trying to point, but rather getting the blades to work by going fast first, then letting that turn into height because the blades were working. I look foreword to seeing the video you took. Our technique was all done by feel in the waves and I am curious to see what it looked like from off the boat. But the sailing inside on the Bay was 180 degrees different! Totally flat water and shifty puffy conditions were the norm. Did you set the boat up differently? Steer the boat differently? Mike - We did not set up the boat any different, but we trimmed harder and were less dynamic because we did not have to steer around waves and play the radical apparent wind changes. I had the opportunity to watch and video much of the racing..one thing that stood out to me was that you never wound up on a corner..or even far off from the middle. It seemed as though you were really careful to stay away from the edges of the course. Was that an intentional strategic move? Mike - We had done some local knowledge research before we went sailing, but it seemed like there were 15deg or more shifts that would last a long time. We could find no pattern nor sign as to when these shifts might appear and how big they would be. We decided to guess the best we could, but then not bet the race on our guess. So we would just stay on what we thought was the favored side of the majority of our competitors. For example, if off the start we thought the left was favored, we stayed to the left of most of the fleet. Our guesses were often wrong, so this paid off big as we never got too far away from the majority. When we were wrong, we were still close enough to make it back.
You even started near the middle most of the time! Mike - We did not want to get stuck going to a side, and that can often happen from the ends. We also avoided clumps of boats at the ends because we wanted to go fast off the line. One time I saw you check the line head to wind at about 1 1/2 minutes...and then sail up closer to the committee boat to start. It was unusual for you...of course the wind shifted right and you had a huge lead 100yds off the start! What told you that was coming? Mike - Sailing back and forth on the line, I think I was on port and realized that I needed to sheet tighter than usual. That meant there was likely a big right shift. So we did a head to wind to check it out and sure enough, it was 15deg or more. We realized that most people did not notice it and the boat was wide open, so we went for it. Few Thistle Sailors have accumulated the long list of wins that you have...what do you think is most important to a winning Thistle effort? Mike - I think it is important not to try to be too clever. Whether you use the Fisher, Proctor, or North West version of the sails, follow the tuning guide. I have tuned many boats to help people out and I am always surprised at how many don’t follow the guide and they wonder why they are slow. I think one of the biggest keys to our success is racing with people that are willing to work hard both off and on the water. It's a team effort. It should also be with people you get along with well and there is mutual respect for. Things will always go wrong, and there will always be bad regattas no matter how good we are. We need to keep our friendships and still work hard at it no matter what our results are. We'll miss you at Thistle Midwinters East but you'll be off sailing the J/24 Worlds this March. That's got to be a totally different style of sailing compared to the Thistle. Is it hard changing gears? Mike - I think campaigning two boats helps us in the long run in 2 ways. The overall approach and preparation to big events is the same for both boats and as we learn more about preparation, we just get better and better at it. The other thing is the sail shape on each is so different that at first it was confusing, but now we can take what we learn from each and translate it to the other. It's getting easier as I truly understand how each of these very different boats goes fast. You have a great team for the J/24...we sure wish you luck!! Mike - We have great Karma on the team. Like our Thistle program, everyone works and travels so well together. Thanks Mike! We'll all see you at your next Thistle event! Mike - The people in the Thistle class are awesome. Too bad we can't do everything because I would sure like to be at the MWE.
Thistle Sails
North Sails dominated the 30 boat Thistle Midwinters West sailed in San Diego and hosted by Mission Bay Y C this past week. 9 races were sailed in all-6 in the ocean and 3 in the Bay on Sunday. Mike Ingham with team mates Kyle Finefrock and Sarah Paisley dominated the championship division winning every race but one...Mike and his team sailed a very conservative series, nearly always starting near the middle of the line and rarely ending up out of the middle upwind. They demonstrated exceptional speed both upwind and down. Terry Lettenmaier with wife Laurie and brother Dennis were second, 20 points behind Ingham and 24 pts ahead of third. In the President's Division, Skip Kempff with JB Clemmons and Larry Klaasen, won over Wayne Balsiger with Karen Gilbert and Susannah Carr. It was a tight series with only 3 points separating these two boats...Dave Keran was third. The regatta was exceptionally well run with a major effort by regatta Chair Dave Bloomberg. There were great dinners ( and parties!) each evening. Saturday night Leslie Klein presented Mike Ingham with the Larry Klein Trophy for the Match race series held on Thursday. This is always a special event with Thistle sailers as Larry was one of the class's staunchest supporters. Although I didn't sail the event this year I had a great time helping moderate a roundtable discussion with the leaders each morning. I also shot video of the racing as well and we'll make this available to those who are interested. Drop me an email! Watch for an interview with Mike Ingham in the future on his feelings about his successful trip to Midwinter's West! North Sails were 1,2,4,5,6,8,9,10 overall in the Championship Division and 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10 overall in the President's division! Mike Ingham used the Fisher main and jib and the Full Radial spinnaker out of Contender .5oz fabric, Skip Kempff, using his new sails for the first time, used the Fisher main and jib and a Full Radial spinnaker from .75oz Airx. For more information about our fast Thistle sails, contact the North's Thistle Experts! DAY 2:
Day 2 was spectacular! The breeze was a nice 6-12 mph and the sun was out! Mike Ingham again dominated the long windward leeward windward courses with 3 firsts and Lettenmaier remained in second. Mike and team always started directly in the middle of the line and worked hard to stay near the middle of the course. The breeze was shifty with 10-15 degree oscillations but rarely did one side pay to the point where shooting the corner was beneficial. Those who took the least amount of risks usually were most consistent. Mike, Kyle Finefrock and Sarah Paisley won all 3 races of the day and enter today's racing inside the Bay with a huge lead over team Lettenmaier. Dave Keran from Fresno is leading the President's division over Wayne Balsiger from Seattle. North Sails are 1,2,4,5 in the Championship division and 1,2,4,5 in the President's division!
DAY 1:
Although the day started out warm with a nice 8mph breeze for the Thistle sailors racing Midwinters West, by race time the sun had disappeared and with it much of the breeze. 3 races were sailed with only the first having any substantial wind. It was downright chilly on the water with temps never getting above 50 degrees! The first race was started in breeze around 8 mph. Mike Ingham had a great start in the middle of the line and was in a fine controlling position half way up the first leg. But by the weather mark the breeze had faded left and Joe McCorkel from Annapolis had done a nice job working that side and rounded first with a nice lead, with Ingham in second. Mike Gillum was third. It was until half way up the second beat that Ingham caught and passed McCorkel and led to the finish. Since the wind was slowly fading the race committee wisely shortened the course to finish downwind. Unfortunately there was some confusion for some of the sailors about the position of the finish line and some of the fleet rounded and headed back upwind. McCorkel for one didn't recognize the finish and sailed all the way to the top mark....and then missed the start of the second race as a result. The second race started in some of the lightest breeze of the day and in a huge left shift...everyone tacked to port at the gun and were literally laying the weather mark. The breeze was spotty and the lead changed several times...Mike Polterak had the lead for a while, them Mike Gillum, but it was Scott Latham from Pennsylvania led at the top mark. It was also a reach back to the finish and it got quite tricky. Ingham once again slide into the lead and held it to the finish. The Lettenmaier team was second.... The third race was started shortly after the finish and this time the breeze cranked right at the start. It was Ingham and Latham who recognized this shift and raced up to the weather end. Mike, Kyle and Sarah had a sizable lead at the top mark as a result and held it to the finish of the windward leeward course. The Lettenmaier team was second again... With 3 bullets Mike Ingham commands a strong lead as we enter the second day, Lettenmaiers are second 6 points back. John Weightman from San Diego is in third. McCorkel with a 2, DNS, 3 is in 10th...no throw out for Joe unfortunately however! North Sails are 1,2 overall!!
GETTING READY FOR DAY 1:
30 boats are ready to sail the Thistle Midwinters West here in San Diego. The first day of racing, to be sailed in the ocean, starts today. As usual the out look is beautiful with breeze about 10-12. Yesterday the Larry Klein match race series was held inside Mission Bay. 3 fleet races were sailed in the morning to narrow the field to the top 8. After the ladder series was sailed, the final championship race took place between Mike Ingham from Rochester with team mates Kyle Finefrock and Sarah Paisley and Terry Lettenmaier from Eugene with wife Laurie and brother Dennis. At the start Mike was able to pin Terry out to the port end of the line and once they eventually made there way back to the start line well after the gun, Mike had the lead and covered the Lettenmaier team the remainder of the race for the win. We were proud as both Mike and Terry sailed full North inventories! Mike sailed the Fisher design main and jib with our Full Radial spinnaker and Terry sails the North West cut with our crosscut spinnaker. Both boats were obviously quite speedy! Today and Saturday I will be on the water shooting video and helping Thistlers in between races with their tune and trim. We'll be holding a roundtable discussion as well in the mornings and watch the video in the evening..it's a nice place to be and a great group to be with! Watch for more updates!
Report by Greg Fisher We are pleased to announce that North Sails won the 2006 Thistle Nationals sailed at North Cape YC in Monroe, Mich. 100 boats sailed in the event that offered up all different types of sailing. The first couple days were nice medium winds of 10-12 with some pretty light and lumpy stuff for the next 2 days. The finale was a 18-22mph blow with some good old lake Erie square waves. North Cape YC did a super job...Dave Schaeffer ran some fair and solid racing while co-chairs John Heagy and Skip Dieball keep the regatta organized and fun.
I, with my team of Brent Barbehenn and Sarah Paisley were fortunate to win. We had great speed especially in the light lumpy stuff and won by 19 pts.. Brent and Sarah were tremendous- Brent has won the Nationals 4 times himself as a skipper and there has never been a crew who has the resume Sarah has...though this is the first time she has won the Nationals. They did a super job. Scott Finefrock with crew John Riddle and Liz Laborde dominated the Presidents Division by a similar margin! They were exceptionally consistent with no races out of the top 5 in the tough conditions. In the Women's Nationals preceding Pictures will be posted here when available. We are working hard to continually develop better and faster sails. Our new FR1 spinnaker has been updated as has the Fisher jib, the Proctor jib and the Fisher main. We are looking forward to 2007! Any questions please contact Greg or Ched.
FINAL RESULTS - Top 10 CHAMPIONSHIP Fleet Series
PRESIDENT'S Fleet Series
For more information about our fast Thistle sails, contact the North's Thistle Experts!
Report by Chris Snow Congratulations to the Mike Poltorak, Evan and Scott Hoffman for winning the So. Cal Thistle Districts June 24 and 25 at Mission Bay YC in San Diego, CA. Sailing was in the ocean on Saturday and inside Mission Bay Sunday. Conditions were usually windy on both days with winds topping out at close to 20 knots. Mike and his team used our North West cut sails to sail away with this event. Skip Kempff who finished second in this event also flew a North inventory. For more information about our fast Thistle sails, contact the North's Thistle Experts!
Report by Greg Fisher 2006 Thistle Michiana Districts June 10-11 2006 Thistle Central Atlantic Districts June 10-11 2006 Thistle Mid America Districts June 3-4 2006 Thistle Lake Erie Districts June 10-11 2006 Thistle Long Island Sound Districts June 10-11 For more information about our fast Thistle sails, contact the North's Thistle Experts!
Report by Greg Fisher Our own Robby Brown, in a highly competitive fleet, won the 2006 Thistle Florida Districts. Not only did Robby win, but Chris Klotz, also a North customer, was third!
Robby's report is below. Robby's report: The Florida Thistle Districts were sailed at The Florida Yacht Club in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday May 13th. In a fickle westerly breeze ranging from five to fifteen knots, the race committee did an excellent job of keeping the race course true and got in five short but quality races. The quality of the racing was a credit to PRO Henry Mullen and mark boat captain Skip Miller as the wind shifted back and forth at times as much as 90 degrees. After a couple of quick abandonments in races that became untrue, the remaining five races were expertly kept square through aggressive course changes to keep up with the ever changing breeze. The regatta was hotly contested by some of the best sailors that Florida has to offer, not to mention the Thistle Class. 1990 National champion Chris Klotz, Midwinters champion Paul Abdullah, and Great Lakes champion Greg Griffin were in attendance. The short races provided lots of excitement with short starting lines and crowded mark roundings that placed a premium on boat handling and crew work as well as tactics to negotiate the shifty conditions. Robby Brown, recently getting back into Thistling and showing a strong finish of fourth at the 2006 Midwinters, and Chris Klotz got off to a quick start trading first and second in the first two races while Greg Griffin stayed close with two thirds. Paul Abdullah fell behind sailing without his regular crew and ultimately had to retire due to a starting line collision. In the third race, Robby and Chris again rounded first and second with Robby ahead. Greg, who was right in the mix, had gone back for a dropped spinnaker pole and rounded a little back in third. With Robby loose covering Chris to the right on the second beat, Greg and Paul found a large shift on the left and rounded first and second. Greg held on to finish first, but Robby was able to catch and just pass Paul at the finish. Chris dropped well back and finished fifth. The fourth race was hotly contested with Greg, Chris and Robby all trading places several times. In the end Robby won race four by about one foot. This would prove to be the critical element in Robby’s ultimate regatta win since Greg went on to sail a beautiful race five to victory while Robby moved up from a fifth place position at the first weather mark to third to hold on to win by one point over Greg who was second with Chris a few points back in third. In the end it was a beautiful day of sailing on the St. John’s River in Jacksonville Florida. The race management by The Florida Yacht Club was masterful. Robby Brown was first, Greg Griffin was second and Chris Klotz was third. Final Results:
For more information about our fast Thistle sails, contact the North's Thistle Experts!
Report by Greg Fisher
We are proud that North Sails dominated the 2006 Buckeye Lake, Ohio ( about 40 miles east of Columbus) spring regatta April 29/30. Kyle Finefrock was first, Steve Lavender was second and local Walter Grubb was third. Here is a report: The weekend began Saturday with 10-12 mph winds out of the southeast and oscillating shifts of up to 20° - unfortunately the most difficult direction and conditions for setting a course on Buckeye Lake. However the Race Committee was able to set a "triangle-windward-leeward" that held well throughout the day. Saturday saw five good solid races with good starts and a very competitive fleet! The number of lead changes and the tightness of the fleet showed that we had not only 14 boats with good sailors, but also a good, competitive course. At the end of day one, Kyle Finnefrock of Berlin Yacht Club held first place with a very comfortable margin, followed by a tie for second between Steve Lavender of Hoover Sailing Club and our own Walter Grubb. Saturday afternoon and evening was filled with enjoyable social time and entertainment at the Club by Alex Bevan. Everyone in attendance had a good time. Sunday morning, we arrived at BLYC to find winds very much the same as day one. With a concern of freshening winds and incoming weather, the Race Committee got the course set and the boats on the water for an early start. Two more very competitive races and we were back on land. (The winds never freshened as much as we feared, in fact they dropped off a bit.) At the end of the weekend the final results were as follows: For more information about our fast Thistle sails, contact the North's Thistle Experts!
Report by Greg Fisher
We are extremely proud that Wes Harnish won the Thistle 8 Ball regatta held at Indianapolis sailing Club April 22/23! We also want to congratulate Steve Lavender for his finishing 3rd and Scott Latham for his 4th place finish in a very tough fleet. These 3 boats all sailed complete North inventories! Here is a report on the regatta as written by Andy MacDonald: We had 26 thistles show up for the Indianapolis Sailing Club> Thistle Fleet 8-Ball Regatta. The wind was PERFECT all weekend. The majority of the wind blew out of the west at 10 - 15 MPH with an occasional blast on the low 20's MPH. The temperature was in the low 70's. I raced all weekend in just my shorts and Tee-shirt. (life jacket also, the water is still cold) With the new Day Light Savings plan (first year for Indiana in 30 years) we could race longer than normal. We raced six races Saturday afternoon until 5:30 pm. We completed four races Sunday morning in similar wind. We considered renaming the event the 10-ball because of our 10 race series but the appeal is just not there.
Report by Greg Fisher We are pleased that North Sails were 1*,2,3 at the Thistle NCAL districts 4/17-18. Dave Keran, current Day Sailor North American Champion ( using North Sails) won the NCAL Districts using a North main and jib, Mike Gillum was second and North Rep Dean Iwahashi third with full North inventories! The regatta hosted by Folsom Lake Yacht Club. For more information about our fast Thistle sails, contact the North's Thistle Experts!
Report by Greg Fisher 50 boats sailed the 2006 Thistle Midwinters hosted by St Pete Yacht Club in some of the most ideal conditions we've ever experienced over an entire week. All would agree we sailed in a "little of everything" from a shortened drifter race to a couple races sailed in breeze up to 18mph. PRO Carol Bardes and her team did a superb job in providing some great race courses in trying conditions. In addition, the first 3 races were sailed on Trapezoid courses (experimented with to determine if appropriate for use at the Nationals) which when including a 25 degree wind shift were challenging to say the least. The "Coach TCA" instructional program was in full swing as usual. Instituted by Tom Hubbell, this week long coaching program has been aimed at helping new and intermediate sailors (and those never at a Midwinters before). This year nearly 20 boats participated with help from 10 supportive coaches (top sailors in the class who offer their time and effort to the program). Coach TCA has certainly helped with growing and maintaining participation at the Midwinters. When it was all over, our team of Jeff Eiber, Sarah Paisley and myself were fortunate enough to win the event with scores of 1,1,1,3,13,1,1,9. We actually tied with Scott Griffin, with team mates 2005 Midwinter Champ Paul Abdullah and Nicole Finefrock, but won on the tiebreak. Greg Griffin from Jacksonville was third, North Sails OD Rep Robby Brown was 4th and past National Champ Eric Gesner was fifth. We tried very hard to lose the regatta the last race. After a very rough 3rd row start we were indeed lucky to round the top mark in the high 20's while Scott Griffin was solidly in the top 10. At the very finish Scott had climbed to second but we caught one last boat to finish 9th and make the tie! In was a good event for North customers! North Sails were 1,4,5,7*,8,10. In addition, 39 of the fleet of 50 had North Sails on their boat. Click here for the full results. For more information about our fast Thistle sails, contact the North's Thistle Experts!
Report by Greg Fisher
We just returned from a great regatta in San Diego where 30 boats sailed the Midwinters West hosted by Mission Bay Yacht Club. It was a beautiful 3 days with typical light to medium San Diego breeze although it was a bit on the chilly side...but we certainly were not complaining! It was sunny and the sailing was superb. The race committee and everyone of Thistle Fleet 13 did a spectacular job. Kathleen Cummings especially deserves a great deal of credit as she put her heart and soul into making it fun for everyone! She was ably assisted by Kirsten Cummings and George Samuels. Although the turnout was a bit down from years past, the competition was especially tough...the 2005 Midwinters East, the 2005 Midwinters West and the 2005 Great Lakes Champions all brought their boats out from Florida and Kansas City to race the event. We sailed 3 full days after the Larry Klein match race was completed on Thursday- 2 days in the ocean and one in Mission Bay. When the smoke cleared our team of my wife JoAnn, Jeff Eiber and myself were fortunate to win with scores of 2,1,1,8,1 and 2,6,1 in the qualifying series. Craig Koshalk with Lauren O'Hare and Nick Turney from Kansas City were second with 1,4,2,2,8; Mike Gillum with wife Mardi and Fred Nagle were third, Paul Abdullah from Jacksonville was fourth and Kyle Finefrock from Ohio, with dad Jack and Rob Spring was fifth. Greg Griffin from Jacksonville was sixth. North Sails were 1,3,5,7,8,9,10! In the Presidents Division John Deermont with his father John and Mark Miller finished second with North Sails! Congrats to them as well! Click here for complete results. For more information about our fast Thistle sails, contact the North's Thistle Experts! To order our fast Thistle sails online, click here.
Report by Greg Fisher North Sails dominated the Thistle Nationals held at Lavallette, NJ this past week. Mike Ingham, with his wife Delia and John Baker dominated the regatta characterized by shifty trying conditions. North Sails were 1,3,4,5 overall and Walter Grubb won the Presidents division as well with North Sails! Here's the top 5:
Complete results, photos and more at www.thistle2005.com For more information about our fast Thistle sails, contact the North's Thistle Experts!
Interview by Skip Dieball
Paul: Well, like I’ve said before my team is the reason I do well. This week I had Scott Griffin and Sarah Paisley. Scott and I had just sailed together as crew for the previous week and a half on a J/24. I am extremely comfortable with him calling all tactics so it lets me focus on just starting and driving. Sarah is a top notch forward crew that started sailing with me a couple of regattas before. It doesn’t hurt that she’d been on the winning boat of both midwinters in 2004. We sailed very conservatively and let our boat speed get us to the front. I went for good clean air starts and not try to win each start at an end. Scott did his magic and connected all the right shifts to get us on top throughout the week. How did you have the boat set up (crew weight, mast tune, etc.)? Paul: Going to St. Pete, I plan on sailing a little heavier than I usually do throughout the year. We were about 500 lbs total. My mast stayed the same as it always does. I’m at 5-12-8 on my diamonds from upper to lower and 26’ 11” rake. You use Fisher Main and Jib and a new 500 AirC CrossCut spinnaker. How does this fit your sailing style? Paul: I’ve always used Fisher sails so I guess that’s my style. I like to vang sheet and really play the main sheet for how I drive. I use the main to help drive the boat up and around waves and it really seems to work. I change to the new Airx spinnaker and loved it! Having been in the class for some time, where do you think you’ve made the biggest gains in achieving the success you’ve had? Paul: I’m by no means an oldie in this class at 35, but the last few years my team’s finishes at large regattas have improved greatly. It is mostly because of the team I put together. I believe any good driver could do what I’m doing with the team I get to sail with. They make me look real smart, so it’s them that should get the credit. I have sailed more in the last 5 years than in the first 20, so that doesn’t hurt either.
The Jacksonville/Southeast area has really become quite competitive, how has this helped? Paul: We have all raised our level of competition around the southeast and everyone has benefited from it. There are at least 6-10 people who can win any given race on a weekend. With that kind of competition, in order to win the regatta you have to be very consistent. That consistency is what has made me better at the larger regattas. What advice would you give other “districts or fleets” to step up participation and competition? Paul: I’m not one to be handing out advice about many things, however sailing at the local level has been down for many years here. We don’t have the numbers down here like they do in the northern fleets. If you want to hone your skills and start on a line with more than 10 boats you have to travel. We enjoy meeting all of our fellow Thistle friends at all the southeast regattas. We race, party and camp out every other weekend during the season. It’s why I sail Thistles! What advice would you give new Thistle Sailors and/or Junior Sailors? Paul: Don’t expect too much too soon. Sailing is and art and you have to learn it one step at a time. It’s not going to happen in one year. Maybe not even in three, but if you ask a lot of questions from people who know, you’ll get up to speed a lot faster than I did. It took me over 7 years to win my first southeast series regatta. If I can do it anybody can! What do you have planned for the rest of the summer? Paul: I’m going to continue my normal life of sailing and working. I’m hoping to be at either ACC’s or Great Lakes. I’ll be Nationals for sure! Look forward to seeing everyone again soon!! Paul thanks for your time and thanks for your continued support of North Sails! For more information about our fast Thistle sails, contact the North's Thistle Experts!
Interview by Skip Dieball
Craig - I think the keys to our success at MWW were multifaceted. We had excellent boat speed. This enabled our team to overcome a lot of obstacles including bad starts and being on the wrong side of the course. We always seemed to have great speed which allowed us to point higher than the rest of the fleet. The new Fisher main gave us great boat speed and acceleration in the 4-10 knot range. We felt as though we were the fastest team there in every condition. Upwind, we found ourselves sailing towards the pressure more than most of the fleet. Our philosophy was to get to the pressure as fast as possible and deal with the shift when we got there. Then it just became fleet management by trying to lead people with us to the same side of the course without 'camping' on them. Downwind became much of the same. Nick kept us in the pressure and we would play the shifts aggressively. In the all around race course management we always tried to avoid large packs of boats or getting involved in a "one-on-one" situation with another boat. The one or two times this happened I think we finished 4th and 6th. Lastly, the advice that is available to our class is phenomenal. I have sailed other classes where the top guys are only seen on the water. Skip Dieball, Mike Ingham, Blair and Bryce Dryden, Eric Gesner, Greg Griffin, Paul Abdullah, Brent Barbrehan.. I mean the list is endless and each of them have been our "coaches" through the learning process. The information is there, it's all in the application. What/how did you get to where you are right now in the Thistle Class? Craig - I have been in the class for about six years now. First with 3731 and now with 3974. I had about a two year break from Thistles from 2000-2002. In 2003 I asked if I were to buy a new boat if Nick and Karl would sail with me. We wanted to form a regular team, define our functions in the boat, and sail only Thistles as much as possible. In the first year, we sailed more regattas by Nationals than I had in the previous years with 3731. We try to travel as much as possible (I think we log more miles than any other team in the class) to compete against as many people as possible. We sailed a total of 15 Thistle regattas in 2004 with some tuning sessions in between. What was your impression of MWW and MBYC? Craig -Fleet 13 did an excellent job. So much work to do for this event for a fleet their size. The race committee is on the ball. They have this regatta management down to a science. No detail went uncovered and the willingness to accommodate the out-of-towner s was overwhelming. What’s next for you and your team? Craig -We have a full regatta schedule for 2005. Do as many local regattas as possible and all 'the majors' including MWE, Districts, Great Lakes, and ACC's. How are you going to prepare? Craig - Lot's of practice and sticking to our routine. Keep pestering the top guys for advice and techniques. How did you have your Thistle Set up? (Tensions, Rake, Crew Weight, etc). Craig - North Fisher main, Fisher jib, crosscut spin. Diamonds are 6-12-10 from top to bottom with our rake at about 27' 1 1/2". Forestay is pretty constant at 32ish. We are a heavier team at about 490 to 500 lbs so we reduce prebend and the forward "rock" of the mast to keep the boat powered up. We have a shaved mast step and use shims to control prebend and the rocking of the mast forward. It's hard to explain on paper and I don't know if we are doing this stuff correctly, but it sure feels fast. What advice would you give someone looking to elevate their sailing/racing abilities? Craig -Listen to what the top guys are doing and apply it. Not all at once, but in increments. We go to regattas and actually work on only three goals (ie: starts, upwind speed, roll tacks). We don't really care about the scores, just want to work on our goals. It makes the boat handling and speed secondary which enables you to focus on the race course. Stick to the basics (everyone told me this when I asked for advice), don't try and re-invent the wheel. The basics work very well. Take time and set the boat up to the tuning guide. Make it an exact science before you go sailing and help eliminate doubt. Again, don't try and re-invent the wheel. The tuning guide was created for a reason, it simply works. Are you planning any other sailing this season? Craig - I plan on a lot of Thistle sailing. If anyone were to ask me to sail something else I would. I used to sail J 24's, Lasers, Lightnings, and Interlakes a lot. I don't own any now, so I'll probably stick to the Thistle. Thanks Craig and congratulations again on a great win!!! For more information about our fast Thistle sails, contact the North's Thistle Experts!
Report courtesy Scott Griffin 2004 Bloody Mary Regatta Thirty teams, the most in over 10 years, gathered for the annual Bloody Mary Regatta on a near perfect fall weekend. Competitors came from all over the Southeast and also from OH, PA, and even NJ (sort of). PRO Tommy Craft and his race committee team ran 4 races in 6 to 10 knot S-SW winds on Saturday. Unfortunately, there was no wind on Sunday morning, so after patiently waiting until 11:00 the RC had to cancel the one remaining race. The racing Saturday was very tight throughout the fleet with positions changing early and often. Paul Abdullah and his crew, Dan Borrer and Sarah Paisley, won the regatta impressively with three firsts and a third. In each of the three wins, they managed to move from third to first between on the final leg of the race. Greg Griffin and his crew, Mark Reddaway, showed tremendous consistency finishing second in all four races as well as the overall regatta. Continuing their strong performance throughout the Fall Series, Michael Lenkeit and Tanner Shultz finished in third place. Bryan Anderson and Jennifer Lund were rewarded for their solid sailing on Saturday and held onto fifth place overall, despite having to leave Saturday night due to another obligation on Sunday. As exciting as the racing was, what truly makes this regatta is the camaraderie shared off the water. Saturday night a great crowd gathered for a fajita dinner and a lot of socializing. Many crowded around the fireplace in the clubhouse to stay warm and share stories. Others hung out on the back porch under the clear, star filled sky and enjoyed recapping the days racing. There were quite a few families at the regatta, and an impressive group of kids scampering around the club all weekend. I would like to thank the 30 Thistle crews who attended for making this year's regatta such a great success. I look forward to seeing you all at the Bloody Mary again next year and at many regattas between now and then.
Report by Greg Fisher 2 weeks ago, again in Annapolis, the Thistle Oyster Roast with 30 boats in attendance, was held in a wide range of conditions over a beautiful weekend. The great news is that North sails were on all of the top five boats!! John Baker with Doug Kaukeinen co skippering won, Lloyd Kitchin was second, Don Stehle third, Tom Lawton fourth and yours truly with past national champ Brent Barbehenn co skippering in fifth. Actually for us, it was a great weekend. It had been a number of years since I had been in a Thistle and we sailed my daughter's boat. Brent and I co-skippered all the races with my daughter as crew ( and she co-skippered as well in one race- she was third!) with my wife filling in on Sunday. We had a fun series rolling along after the first race when while Brent was steering and leading up the last beat our main halyard came untied. Not good since, again, yours truly had tied it! We had to count a DNF that race.
Report by Skip Dieball August 1-6, Michigan City, Indiana A total of 80 boats showed for this year’s Thistle Nationals in Indiana’s Lake Michigan coast. In the end, the RC squeezed in the full allotment of races with 3 on the final day. Congratulations to North Customer, Eric Gesner with crew/wife Judy Gesner and Dave Hansen. They won the event by winning the last race of the regatta.
* partial inventory
Report by Skip Dieball July 17-18, 27 Thistles arrived at the Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club out of Montrose Harbor for the “Blue” Chevron Great Lakes Championships. Thistles have been active in the Chicago area for some time, but this is the first big event in a number of years. The City didn’t disappoint providing some great winds, waves and nightlife! Craig Koschalk with crew Nick Turney and Karl Bradley from Toledo, Ohio sailed a spectacular last race to force a tie and ultimately win the tie-break against Skip Dieball with crew Karl Felger and Sarah Paisley from Toledo. saturday’s conditions were epic! Winds up near 20 knots and waves exceeding 7’, made for some memorable rides downwind. Sunday’s conditions subsided a bit, but provided similar fun. Thanks to the Chicago Fleet for a great weekend! Results:
Report by Skip Dieball This past weekend the LE Districts were held at North Cape Yacht Club. Saturday was blown out due to 20-25 knot winds and 6’+ waves…a little too much for the deck-less Thistles. Steve White, from Pymatuning, won with a very impressive 3,3. Steve used Proctor Main, Proctor Jib and CC Spinnaker. Steve was happy with his speed! 31 boats total. North sails was on 87% of the boats! Here's top 5:
Report by Skip Dieball I’m happy to report that our Circuit Rep, Greg Griffin from The
Report by Skip Dieball |
Photo Char Doyle
My team this year took home top honors. We worked extremely hard to be as consistent as possible, which was very tough as the results show. My old buddy, J.R. Francis, came out of “retirement” to sail with me this year and he did not miss a beat. He kept the “big picture” strategy in mind and helped me stay focused. My Midwinters West teammate Sarah Paisley worked hard in the front of the boat and did an exceptional job calling the compass upwind and spotting breeze downwind when there was very little. She’s a great sailor and I hope that she enjoys her final season of college sailing! The competition this year at the MWE stacked! There were many past MWE champions along with a slew of past National Champions.
The breakdown of the results and sail selection is below. North Sails again showed tremendous consistency irregardless of the design. I used the Fisher Main and Jib and 2nd place finisher Eric Gesner used the Proctor Main and Jib. Our design and production team have done a tremendous job producing sails that best match your sailing style and weather/water conditions. Feel free to contact your Thistle Experts or anyone within the North Sails Loft Network to learn more about our proven designs.
Full Results, click here. For more information about our fast Thistle sails, contact the North's Thistle Experts!
Report by Skip Dieball
Thistle Midwinters West is a unique regatta in that it is more of a Winter Thistle Festival. With the long weekend format, gracious chartering help and lots of racing, there’s little excuse for any ambitious team to not make the trip to sunny San Diego in January. This year’s event started with an informal Seminar on Wednesday, which consisted of many short-course races to shake the wintertime rust. I buzzed the fleet giving on-the-water trimming & technique tips. George Samuals/Will Cummings and their team set great courses and quick sequences. Good practice for sure! Thursday brought the Larry Klein Memorial Match Racing event. Three very short fleet races were sailed in light/medium and very shifty conditions. With over 25 boats on a short course, escaping the corners was key. Mike Gillium dominated the Fleet Series and moved to the Match Racing bracket seeded #1. My team and I squeaked into the Match Racing by overcoming an OCS and 720. We moved our way through the entire group to win the Match Racing portion of this event. We relied heavily on speed and boathandling, especially at the corners. Nick Turney and Sarah Paisley did a wonderful job executing quick maneuvers. Friday brought the “qualifying” portion of the MWW event. The format was three races in the ocean, split the fleet and bring ½ the points forward to the Championship Series. Again, Mike Gillium showed his speed and qualified in a tie with Terry Lettenmaier, with our team a few points back in 3rd. Sailing in the ocean is interested as the swells put a premium on patience and making good “breeze” calls. Saturday was our last day on the Ocean. Three races were sailed in varying breeze/sea conditions. Nick, Sarah and I found the racing to our liking as we posted a 1,1,1 to take the lead over Mike Gillium and Terry Lettenmaier respectively. With Sunday’s racing on the bay, no lead is safe with the shifty conditions it usually serves up. Our anticipation of “small lake” sailing proved to be true as the three races that were sailed on the Bay were very, very exciting and never over until you crossed the finish line. We posted a modest 5,1,2 to seal the victory, which we were all quite proud to bring back to the Midwest. This regatta served up various conditions and North’s Thistle product line handled these conditions better than any other. I used the Fisher Main/Jib and Cross Cut Airx Spinnaker. We relied heavily on our speed and it didn’t fail us. Mike Gillium used the Proctor Main/Jib and the RC-4 Spinnaker. Terry Lettenmaier used the Northwest Main/Jib and RC-4 Spinnaker. Both seemed quite comfortable and were very, very fast. If you are interested in talking to any of our North Reps about the various products, don’t hesitate to call. We have a sail design that will match your sailing style or local conditions perfectly! Championship Division
Presidents Division
For more information on Thistle sails, contact the North Thistle experts. |
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