I was thinking more like 2 kt true. Many's the time I've watched
Thistles chugging around the race course when it was glassy calm.

Maxprop wrote:
I think we cheated a lot. :-) Ooching and such were typical in Thistle
fleets. But your point is well taken--Thistles are slippery.

Yes they are. A certain amount of rocking, pumping, and ooching is
legal. Common practice in most fleets, shucks even the better PHRF
racers are doing it nowadays.... but so far I haven't seen any boat do
it as fast as a Thistle.




I used to race my MC in 20kts. or better, but always with an agile monster
crewman up front. Of course we sat back on the transom in such winds, and
planed like scalded cats. Fun.

I bet so. I am tempted to look for an MC, but you say they are not
comfortable? How so? I'm also tempted to get a Megabyte but don't think
there is as much of a fleet.


I've never been a great fan of scows, despite racing both MCs and Es. I've
always tended to go where the large, competitive fleets are. And in the
Midwest that's often scows.

Yep. Can't swing a dead cat without hitting a E on most midwest lakes


During our Snipe days we thought nothing of driving all weekend for a
five-race regatta. Today, however, I'd have to agree with you.

It's partly that traffic has gotten so much worse, and partly that the
good old days of camping & partying on the lawn are mostly over. Even
the avid dinghy racing clubs are getting stuffy these days, it seems.



.... We have a Lightning
fleet nearby and have considered their Wednesday evening series, but that's
about as close to one-design racing as we've gotten in years.

Lightnings are fun boats, a bit of a crew-punisher but nothing near as
bad as a Thistle or a J-22. We've had some great times in ours.... my
wife felt that the Lightning fleets we ran around in were not friendly.
But they're nowhere near as bad as some of the arrogant butt-heads I
used to cross tacks with in 470s.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King