Team Koschalk win the 2010 Thistle Midwinters West!
A lot of tight racing in San Diego produced smiles for Craig Koschalk, Karl Felger and Lauren O'Hara!
The Thistle Midwinters West regatta is one of the hidden gems in the Thistle Class. Hidden, mainly, because the class has East USA roots and not many have the opportunity to experience the great sailing off of Mission Beach!
The 2010 version of this event started with a Tuning Clinic headed up by Skip Dieball and Greg Fisher. Local fleet stalwart, Cesar Romero ran a bunch of practice starts and a few windward/leeward races, where the coaches video taped and debriefed with over half the fleet that would attend the MWW the next day. Great sailing and good camaraderie made the debrief productive.
For the MWW racing, the organizers decided a few years ago to race exclusively in the Ocean. This provides some challenging sea state and winds that require careful attention. Only if the surf is treacherous will they sail inside the bay.
The first day, Thursday, found great conditions out on the Ocean. Three great races were run and after the first day David Tillson mounted some great comebacks to take the early lead over Craig Koschalk, Greg Fisher, Doug Hart and Mike Gillum.
The second day produced bigger winds which forced some to retired or fix stuff on the water. Craig Koschalk's team had a great day until their jib tack fitting blew apart. Quick thinking saved their regatta and allowed them to finish up the day in the lead. Greg Fisher, as always, proved to be the one to beat as he was hot on Craig's heals, thus setting up a great finale.
The final day, the swell was too big for the fleet to head to the ocean, so they raced in
very puffy/shifty bay conditions. Craig's team won the first race to Greg Fisher's 6th, giving them a little cushion. After some intense racing and Greg producing a couple of bullets, Craig held on and won the Thistle MWW for the 2nd time.
The San Diego group has embraced Dieball Sailing as a partner to the Thistle Class. We delivered a number of new suits of sails and helped anyone that needed assistance. We are proud to be part of such a great group of sailors!
