A ssociated with our move to #3806 we also lost our fourth boat partner, Liesl. This was a major loss because Liesl not only added a nice feminine element to the partnership, but she was also the only one who really knew what the hell she was doing. Fortunately, Liesl has not been lost to all of Thistledom, just our boat partnership. Three years later we are still trying to fill the sailing-information-vacuum left by Liesl's departure.

I n 1999 we splurged and purchased our first set of brand new sails. Whooo-wee! I will never forget the first race we used those sails at. Never mind that it was a portly Tuesday night race, but jeez was it fun. It seemed we could point 10 degrees higher than even the fastest boats. While the sails never seemed to perform quite that well again, they certainly make a big difference. Probably the biggest difference they make is that new sails completely eliminate the number-one excuse we previously had for poor performance... "our sails suck".

A round this time we also developed another speed theorem. That theory simply put is "weight matters". While this probably comes as no surprise to sailors with lots of dingy racing experience, it took us big boat guys two or three years to figure it out. Using sophisticated statistical sampling techniques we started noticing an odd pattern: we actually did better when only two crew showed up. Now, I am not going to go into specifics, but I think it is safe to say we aren't the lightest boat in the lake. In fact, our crew weight has occasionally earned us the somewhat inglorious nickname of "Gludius Maximus" (you can do your own Latin translation). And we always wondered why all the fast boats have a petite female on the bow!

O ver the years I think we have gradually improved. It certainly hasn't happened overnight. Over the last few years we have had moments of brilliance tempered by consistent mistakes and blunders. One particular example comes to mind that illustrates brilliance followed almost immediately by a blunder. One Tuesday night I was racing with my brother Scott on a light winded evening. Those that took my "weight matters" theory to heart will instantly recognize that we should have had an advantage. Well, low and behold we did! We screamed up the first weather leg and were the first boat around the mark. The fact that we rounded the correct mark is in of itself a fairly major accomplishment, and the fact that we did it well ahead of the pack is another.

W ell, as we round the mark and set the chute, the blunder begins. Somehow the spinnaker sheet is caught under the boat. Scott is unable to clear the line, so I go to the bow and try to clear the mess. As I am leaning our over the bow, looking something like a human bowsprit, the Lettenmaiers (2nd around the mark) literally sail over to us and politely comment that "you should really get your spinnaker up" and "it's not fast to have all that weight in the bow". Now anyone that knows much about Thistling (or perhaps sailboat racing in general) knows that the Lettenmaiers are some dang good sailors. We reach a new pinnacle of embarrassment as they sail on leaving us to completely re-route our fouled sheet. Bottom line, when one looks at the results we seem to have almost earned our way to a respectable middle of the fleet position. Sometimes it is hard to differentiate whether we have improved, or if new Thistles have joined our fleet and we have moved up relatively. Oh well, as long as we are still having fun.

I n 1999 we attended no traveling regattas, but I did fly down to San Diego for Midwinters to crew for Tim Mortimore in Ruffian. While I know my contribution did not help our standings, I had a great time. The weather was great and the sailing was better. When you are from Seattle, one really can't beat sailing in San Diego in January. More later on our own 2001 trip to Midwinters West.

I n 2000 we put our traveling shoes on and actually made it to two traveling regattas—Sequim, Washington and Flathead Lake, Montana. Both are incredibly beautiful venues. We had raced at Sequim before in 1997 in the pouring rain. I find that ones perception of most places in the northwest is highly weather dependant, and Sequim is no exception. In 1997 it poured and Sequim sucked. In 1999 the weather was nice and Sequim was wonderful. If you would like to read a little more about Sequim, read the following few paragraphs from my Cruising Clayoquot story.

F lathead Lake is about a twelve-hour drive from Seattle. Despite a lack of air conditioning and seatage in the truck, Curt, Dan and I managed to have a great road trip and still like each other by the end. The weird winds at Flathead had me pulling out most of my hair, but the scenery, company and view were top notch. It was at Flathead I finally realized just how over our heads we really were. My realization started off as a conversation with Pat Shirmer about shimming centerboards. Somehow the discussion meandered around and we ended up comparing centerboard design to the wing design. This seems innocent enough until one realizes Pat makes wings at Boeing, whereas about all I know about wings is that they are a requirement for flying. I think there is something to be said about marrying a technical background/education with Thistle sailing.

T histling in 2000 was memorable for a couple other reasons. First and foremost, good old #3175 made a re-appearance on the Leschi docks. We had sold her to a guy who lived faraway from the racing scene on Bainbridge Island. One strange day in 2000, Dan saw a mast crutch sitting in the Leschi parking lot that looked strangely familiar. About a hundreds yards away, was a blazing yellow hull that could not be mistaken. #3175 had sold yet again, this time to the Mo's who own and drive her to this day. As you can imagine, this really made us feel good and nostalgic. 2000 was also the year Thistling attendance went crazy in Seattle. This phenomenon can easily be traced to a guy by the name of Keith Graham. Keith not only knows something about sailing, but more importantly, he knows something about PR, marketing and promotion. The story has been told a number of times, but the outcome was lots and lots of people and boats showing up to go racing. Now that is cool.


[NEXT: on to 2001 Midwinter West]

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