Thistle Fleet Captain : Robert Mitchell

Reported by Nancy Molitor

Who cares about the Presidential primaries? We Thistlers can pick a darn good slate in less than ten minutes, balancing ham biscuits and Rita's to-die-for eggnog on our lap at the same time. And our candidates don't even have to be present to win! Moreover, they take over without pontificating and invent their own platform as they go along -- to wit, our first "meeting" of the year all business was set aside in favor of a fleet bowling night. Though inclement weather daunted all but a motley crew, those that did venture out had (dare I say it?) a ball(!) and vowed to hold an annual rematch. In any case, what's not to like about our new administration? With Robert Mitchell at the helm and sidekicks Doug Folk and Chris Payne as Secretary and Treasurer, the year ahead is already looking mighty fine. Apparently this trio of running mates did make some bold promises about filling the lake by Dixie Weekend, so we can only hope they are as good as their word.

Though it's only January, the Thistle calendar knows no boundaries for a few of our core competitors. Yay for Scott McCormack, who will be heading to San Diego this year for the Midwinters West on February 7-9. Scott has Paul Abdullah and Skip Dieball taking his boat out there, crewing (yikes -- what a team!) AND bringing the boat back to Florida for Scott to sail the Midwinters East in March, followed by the Orange Peel a week later. Meanwhile, bro Gavin and Robert Gregory will be heading to Jacksonville, where they are taking Scott's boat for another training seminar this winter. All this commitment is sure to pay off, and it is fun to see some of our own heading for the major leagues.

Others are still in the wings deciding about Midwinters, but the only one my roving reporter says is going "for sure" is Buz Benzur, who is looking for crew. A first! I hear also that Mike Ross and Clayton Dixon, and Jim and Amy Roberts, are going to the Orange Peel, and there are probably others. They will all be one leg up (hold that thought. . .) on the rest of us by Commissioning, which will be here before we know it. What you need to know right now about Commissioning aside from the date (April 5) is that this is a KILT year! The Fleet Brass is going to be leaning on all of you -- newbies included, no one is spared! -- to be sportin' the tartan, especially since we have our very own bagpiper lined up for the occasion, 11-year-old Jacob Payne. Also, you will recall, we retired our somewhat reluctant outgoing Captain English Newnham with a parting gift of a kilt of his own. It is going to be hard enough for Arlene to get him to wear it, but if the rest of you don't show up with yours -- well, it's NOT going to be pretty. New Captain Mitchell regards the tradition with a much more jovial attitude and, I am told, has tailors combing the continent for the finest Mitchell tartan, which he has pledged to display in April. Now see? All this does rather give new meaning to "one leg up," hmmm?

Commissioning heralds, of course, the beginning of fleet races, the first of which will be scheduled for Sunday the 6th. We got all our new boats measured last fall, so everybody should be race-ready -- no excuses! Look for an announcement about a tuning clinic this spring, if not right at Commissioning, then soon. At the suggestion of some of our own movers and shakers, the fleet is also considering making some changes in our fleet race agenda, including our scoring system, to encourage more skipper-crew exchanges and buddying-up of experienced sailors with newer ones. Ideas will be tossed around at our next fleet meeting, which will be our annual most super funnest of all party nights at the Tumlins' Shrimp Boil and Guest Night on Saturday, February 23. Mark your calendars now, not just to show up but to INVITE all those people you keep meaning to invite and never get around to! Crews, new or prospective members, neighbors or co-workers who keep asking you where the heck you GO every weekend. . . anybody you know who might have fun doing what we love to do. Guests are on the house, so this is the time!

And while you're planning your spring calendar, cordon off the 29th of March for our last in-town meeting before the sailing season begins. We are resurrecting the Thistle version of "To Tell the Truth," great game night where you will learn amazing, astonishing and downright stupid stuff about your fellow fleetsters. Between now and then, be thinking of some little-known something about yourself that no one else knows or is likely to guess, keep it to yourself and share it in private with one of our gamemeisters when the time comes. (Samples? "I set off the security alarm in the Oval Office at the White House." "I was offered a job by the Sheik of Kuwait." "I steered a 40' Morgan near a passing ship so that one of my shipmates could moon the crew." "I was a member of an all-kazoo band by the name of "Liberace's Leftovers." "I fell off a horse while it was standing still." "Until I was in college I thought a bagel was a hunting dog." And these are people you KNOW!) See? You can do this! So be sure to save the date.

Looking ahead still further, you will want to make note of the spring regatta schedule:

March 2 - 7 Midwinters East
March 14 - 15 Orange Peel
**April 19 - 20 South Atlantic Districts at LLSC?
(Be alert for a possible change, which may occur if the water level at Lanier doesn't improve by early spring)
May 3 - 4 Admiral Farragut
May 24 - 25 DIXIE
June 7 - 8 Bottoms Up

As I write, regattas seem far away. There is snow (white stuff -- turns into H2O!) on the ground, and most of us are taking a mariner's holiday. But not all! Dave Shively is still hard at work on his Rascal Runabout, a single cockpit classic with the look of an old-style Chris Craft that has been an ongoing project since he bought the plans from Wooden Boat Magazine two years ago. Dave finished the first layer of plywood over the summer and fall, then over the holdays has finished the bottom, complete with paint and varnish. Next is to finish the outer mahogany planking on the sides, then the mahogany on the top deck. Every so often he needs to call in some muscle power from several fleet members to get the boat turned over -- their reward, a chance to oogle at the work in progress and admire Dave's craftsmanship!

On a different note, Robert Mitchell has a good-news / bad-news / good-news boat story this year. Lauren found a little "pocket yacht" in Texas last summer and bought it for $200. After another $100 for tires and trailer lights, they towed her home with the intention of restoring. The first good news is that she is a one-of-a-kind, designed and built by a Lockheed Missile engineer in 1969 -- mahogany plywood, spruce mast, with a main, topsail, jib and staysail all on a 15' boat. The bad news is that with Thistling, four kids, a new puppy and. . . oh yeah, WORK. . . the Mitchells just didn't have time to do the restoration. So they put her on eBay and -- ready for the other good news? -- she sold for $2,445! What a FLIP! This is the kind of guy you want at the helm of your fleet, no?

Don't lose your water wings over the winter. See you at the Shrimp Boil!

02/08

About The Fleet

Don't you wish someone would design a boat that's spritely and challenging to race but also comfortable enough to take the family day sailing? A boat that can plane like crazy in a stiff breeze on open water but is still a pleasure to sail in the light-to-medium winds of Atlanta's inland lakes? A boat that with a lot of love and only a little expense will retain her value no matter how old she is? Well, good news -- someone did! Take a look at the Thistle, and you will find you can have it all!

The Thistle is a 17-foot, sloop-rigged boat with round bilges, open decking and a centerboard. Only 515 pounds, she is easily trailered, rigged and launched from a ramp. She has generous sail area in the main and jib and carries a spinnaker as well, making her not only beautiful on the water but fast-moving and responsive, quick to hop up on a plane and absolutely FUN to sail. The Thistle is sensitive to boat balance and likes to be sailed flat. Though she was designed to be raced with a crew of three, in light air at our lake we often "two-man it" or -- when we're not racing -- take as many as five or six out for a picnic or a swim. Such versatility makes her the perfect family boat.

Designed by Sandy Douglass in 1945, the first Thistles, made of wood, are still alive, well, and being raced today. New boats are now made of fiberglas -- easier to care for to be sure, but no less beautiful or competitive than the original "woodies". Design changes over the years have been few and carefully considered, always with an eye for not creating obsolescence for the older boats. The Thistle has a reputation for strong, conservative class organization and enjoys a network of camaraderie and competition with fleets all over the United States, including District, Interdistrict and Mid-Winter Championships and a week-long National Championship that rotates annually among host clubs.

Atlanta Yacht Club is home to Thistle Fleet 48, a flock of about thirty actively sailed Thistles, their skippers, families and crew. Boats are kept on trailers at the Club at Lake Allatoona, where we set sail for races with fellow Thistlers most Saturday and Sunday afternoons from late March throught October. Because there are many active Thistle fleets at nearby lakes and on the coast, a Southeastern regatta circuit in the spring and fall allows us the fun of traveling to compete at other clubs -- but always just with Thistles. Fleet 48 hosts its own regatta, the "Dixie", on Memorial Day Weekend, drawing 60 or more boats every year. If you'll pardon our bragging, we'd like to say that the Dixie is in contention for the best Thistle regatta anywhere! Maybe you'll be there to sail with us sometime soon and can judge for yourself.

The AYC Thistle crowd gets together monthly to "talk boats" and party, even during the off-sailing season. We would welcome the opportunity to tell you why the Thistle is so great, invite you to a meeting, get you into a boat for a trial sail or crew job, or even help you shop for a used boat!