About The thistle Class
Meet The Thistle Class
Welcome! So you’re interested in sailing a Thistle? Let us introduce ourselves.
About the Thistle Class Association
We’re a community of people who love the Thistle and get a thrill out of sailing it with our friends – new and old.
The Thistle Class has been around since 1945 when Sandy Douglass introduced his new one-design sailboat and amazed the naysayers. The class is still growing and active; you can find Thistles – and Thistlers (that’s what we call ourselves) – all across the country.
We have as much fun on shore together as we do racing. You might see group yoga on the grass, a camping chair circle (always room for more!) or an impromptu training session at someone’s boat. We love sharing knowledge and getting people up to speed. Walk up to anyone in the parking lot and ask about their strategy, rigging, mast tune, anything! We’re glad to help.
You’ll find lots of family boats in the Thistle Class, and it’s not unusual to see young kids sailing with their parents or grandparents. Quite a few marriages have come from people getting to know each other through Thistle sailing!
Thistlers are competitive, but we value the camaraderie we have in the Thistle Class.
We often call these people our “Thistle family.” Join us!
Would The Thistle Class Be A Good Fit For You?
“I’ve never really sailed (unless that one time counts?), but it sounds cool.”
New to sailing? You might become a Thistler if:
- You enjoy being outside and appreciate nature, especially water
- You’re looking for an exciting new hobby (Like hiking, biking, climbing? So do we!)
- You want to do that hobby with great people and find your tribe
- You’re up for a (doable) challenge
- You love a good adrenaline rush every now and then
In short, if you love being active outside, try sailing a Thistle with us. You’ll enjoy being in the boat – it’s fun and fast – and you’ll be welcomed by a great community of people. (Don’t be stuck on shore…give it a shot!)
“I regularly sail other boats, but the Thistle looks interesting.”
Do any of these sound like you?
- “I just finished college sailing and need to find a new boat to race.”
- “I don’t have a ton to spend on a boat, but I want something that’s fast and competitive.”
- “I want great racing in a class where it’s not about the money or the paid crew.”
Looking for fun people to sail with and against? We’d love to meet you and get you in a Thistle. You’ll be part of a welcoming community, and you’ll love the speed and responsiveness of the boat.
Here’s what new Thistlers who’ve sailed in other classes say
about why they participate in Thistle sailing:
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The Thistle provides a great challenge and an opportunity to grow your skills with a fun group of people. If you’ve just bought your first Thistle, your first year of TCA membership is free. And if you’re under 27, the class offsets fees for the big regattas to make them fit into your budget.
The Thistle Class is a proud member of US Sailing
The Nyack Fleet , lead by Kat and Ryan Harris, ran another great Paul Lo Gerfo memorial regatta with beautiful weather although light wind.![]()
Congrats to Tom Lawton, Sarah Hatselll and Ben Yanelli!![]()
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Cool fact: there were 3 family teams!![]()
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Lloyd, Brian and Riley Kitchin,![]()
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Don , Jane and Melissa Dexter![]()
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Ed, Meredith and Micaela Adams!
The Fall Frontier, hosted by the Rochester Canoe club, brought feisty west winds to the competition on both Lake Ontario and Irondequoit Bay! Wind blew 15- 20 with gusts to 30kts.![]()
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The bay brought its own famous westerly shifties! An updraft was even reported!![]()
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The great sailing each day was followed by yummy trash can roasted turkey dinners on Saturday and fantastic turkey and corn soups on Sunday!
That's a wrap! The 2024 Thistle Nationals concluded with Paul Abdullah, Marie Thompson Abdullah and Jesse Shedden as National Champs! ![]()
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We had 4 days of sailing in mostly the upper teens and low twenties (no racing Friday since Debby bumped the breeze to 40+). Big breeze all week didn't dampen the parties, though! ![]()
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We can't say thank you enough to the Toms River Yacht Club for being our hosts for the week. Brian Gabriel and the TRYC team of volunteers ran efficient tow lines, manned the hoist, served delicious breakfast, post-racing snacks and dinner, and put on one heck of a multi-day regatta party. International Race Officer Mark Foster and the TRYC race committee gave us excellent racing all week. The Lake Hopatcong Thistle Fleet also put in untold hours to make this regatta happen!![]()
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Notable happenings:![]()
✅ 32 kids participated in the on-site Thistle Kids’ Camp. Parents dropped off their children at the junior sailing center before racing each day and picked them up upon returning to shore. That's 1 kid for every 2 boats! #fleetbuilding![]()
✅ Over 25 women attended a women-only “Peeing Roundtable” hosted by a few female class leaders. The group discussed different techniques to comfortably relieve oneself while on the boat.![]()
✅ Third place finisher Riley Read sailed the regatta as the TCA’s first boat grant recipient. Riley races with Newport Thistle Fleet 169 and used the fleet’s Monday night races as practice for Nationals.![]()
✅ Mike Ingham gave parts to 5 of his competitors so they could repair their broken diamond wires after racing on Tuesday.![]()
✅ Bob White was the oldest skipper; he won Thistle Nationals 47 years ago in 1977.![]()
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We'll see you in 2025 at the Sandusky Sailing Club, August 3-8!![]()
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(Photos by Frank Parisi Photography. Video from TCA Instagram story.)
The Thistle Class Womens and Junior Nationals were raced on Saturday August 3rd at Tom’s River Yaccht Club in Tom’s River NJ. 9 womens team and 2 junior teams raced in some nutty and challenging conditions with winds puffing from 2 - 20 knots and wind shifts up to 120 degrees. The racing was tight and fun and provided a great treat to spectators who could watch all the nuttiness from the TRYC deck and pool.![]()
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Congratulations to 2024 Women's National Champions Eileen Gladd, Cairn Kraft, and Meg Farrugia, and 2024 Junior National Champions Benjamin Usher, Shea Hoffacker, and Darby Dryden!![]()
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Results and link to more pics below!![]()
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craigp.smugmug.com/Sports/Thistle-Womens-Juniors-Nationals-2024![]()
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thistleclass.com/regatta-results/
