February 1955

A winter social dinner was held at the Princeton-Brown Club in New York on January 15, where various prizes were awarded to contestants from last year's Nationals at Fenwick. The awards went to notable skippers and crew members for special efforts and accomplishments.

The National Championship Regatta will be held August 23-25 at the Crescent Sail Yacht Club in Detroit. The schedule includes races on Sunday and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and Thursday with finishing races on Friday. Registration and measurement will take place on Saturday and Monday.

The Governing Board approved a Class Yearbook for the association, though budget constraints required careful planning. The yearbook will include race results, cruises, and literary contributions. Contributions from members are being solicited, and advertising rates are available.

Fleet Number 3 from Sandusky, Ohio has revised the deed of gift for the Carl Barnett Memorial Trophy. The trophy will now be awarded annually to the skipper achieving the highest average position of finish in the National Championship Series for the current and two previous years.

Fleet 48 of Atlanta, the world's largest Thistle fleet, elected new officers for 1955 at a meeting at Jack O'Shea's house on December 15. Jim Ness was elected captain, Bob Schwab was named secretary, and Andy Foster was elected treasurer.

This technical article continues the series on sailing a Thistle in heavy winds, focusing on off-wind techniques. It covers planing strategies, weight distribution, boom vang adjustments, and various sailing maneuvers to maintain control in blustery conditions.

The Chief Measurer discusses proposed changes to measurement procedures for determining the legitimacy of mainsails and jibs at large regattas. He explains that the Governing Board has declared certain procedures "free passage" and therefore illegal, with simplified methods now submitted for approval at the Annual Meeting.

Dick Parker of Fleet 54 was named New Jersey State District Secretary at a meeting in early December. Parker is an active fleet member and skipper, with plans to include benefit boat plans for this year's Atlantic Coast Championships and a complete scheduling of all intra-regattas.

Tom Young describes a memorable family cruise in his Thistle, the Snapper, from April through December in the first year. The family departed from Riverside, Connecticut on August 7 and sailed to Quissett, Massachusetts, a distance of 150 miles as the crow flies. The cruise included fishing, swimming, and visits to various harbors along the New England coast.

George Devlin provides an autobiography describing his long history with Thistle sailing and boat ownership. He discusses his early involvement with power boats, his shift to sailing, and his experience fishing on the Great Lakes and other waters. He details his boat building interests and his pride in designing and constructing boats, both wooden and metal.

Various boat and equipment listings for sale, including Thistle sailboats and sailing gear available to interested buyers.

The editor addresses difficulties in determining what the majority of readers want from the Bagpipe. He solicits suggestions from readers about which types of content—racing reports, technical articles, family cruising stories, or other topics—would improve the newsletter.