The South Atlantic Districts were held in conjunction with the Atlanta Yacht Club Open this past weekend with 28 boats in attendance.  Three of the five scheduled races were sailed Saturday in easterly 10-15 mph breeze that gradually increased as the day progressed.  The racing was tight and exciting at the front of the pack (that’s what I was told anyway!).  Saturday ended as the approaching cold front pumped the breeze up a little.  The fleet retired to the new AYC clubhouse with the top 4 boats all within 3 points of each other (Brad Russell, Gavin McCormack, Buddy Wainwright & Bryce Dryden).

Sunday dawned with a steady, cold rain and a band of approaching thunderstorms.  After an hour or so under an in-the-clubhouse postponement, the races were abandoned for the day giving Brad Russell and AYC crew Sean Adams a set of 3 red chevrons for his sail.  Nice job Brad!

Click below for full results.

Read more: 2013 South Atlantic Districts & AYC Open

Well, another great Carolinas Districts are in the books. We had 4 close races in light conditions.  Scott and Nerissa Griffin dominated the weekend by playing the shifts and connecting the dots masterfully.

I look forward to see everyone on the water,
Howard Mendlovitz,
Thistle 3985

You know you had a fun regatta when a neighbor of the club post on the BSC Facebook page how much fun she had listening to our live music on Saturday night. In particular, she mentioned Tate and Kat Beckham’s rendition of Wild Thing! Both have great voices and it is really fun to hear them sing together. Also fun to hear everything from Bob “Dylan” McCormick's attempt at "The Times They are a Changing" to Alex Paget's very funny R rated and politically incorrect songs. And of course, Buddy Wainwright, who makes the whole thing happen, sang numerous crowd pleasing songs. I was disappointed Carrie Elizabeth Krumdieck didn't perform this year until Capt'n K told me she was trying out for the X Factor in New Orleans (we knew her when) Good Luck!

And we sailed too. On Saturday, Bob Blythe as PRO, got off 3 good 45 minute races. The wind was steady out of the north with significant current on the east side of the lake. Most banged the left side all day. I went right once and paid dearly. Some of the top sailors said it was tricky (but it is all tricky to me). The windward mark was right in the current and it really had to be played just right. Brad Russell hit it twice and still managed a second. Said he got good at 360s.

Read more: 2013 Southeastern Interdistrict Championship Results

By Mike Ingham

The 2013 Orange Peel, as we have come to expect, is a well-organized and well-attended event.  Greg Griffin with his posse of volunteers and sponsors puts on a great show. Florida Yacht club in
Jacksonville is the perfect host both on the race course with Tim Monahan’s RC work and on land with the use of the facilities for meals and all the on shore regatta activities.

Congratulations to Steve Burke of Atlanta for winning the 39th annual Orange Peel regatta! He pulled off a win in the only race sailed as Tim managed to find a short window of time between T-storms first thing Sunday morning. In second was Doug Kaukeinen from Rochester followed by regatta organizer Greg Griffin.

Read more: 2013 Orange Peel Regatta Writeup

After a great week of sailing and fun the final results are in from MWE in St. Petersburg, FL.  Congrats to Skip Dieball and team for sailing a great event.  Follow the link for full results.

Click Here for Pictures on the SPYC site

Read more: 2013 Thistle MidWinters East Results

We are only two days away from that parking lot we all love to hang out in.  If you are unable to join us this week you can still keep up with all the action, and anyone coming this week can receive updates as they happen.  We will be updating the website and list-serve, but the best way to get instant info will be on Twitter.

If you use twitter, please tag all tweets from MWE with #TCAMWE

If you don't want to sign up for twitter, but still see all the updates, use this link to get all the MWE tweets.  Bookmark it and check back for updates:Thistle Midwinters East #TCAMWE Twitter Feed

There are several Thistle sailors who use Twitter and will be posting pictures, updates and general thoughts on the racing all week.  Below is a list of some of the Thistle sailors you can "follow" for the week and see all of their updates (this is not a comprehensive list).  I encourage everyone to try it; it is a real effective way to keep up with all the action.

Here's thistle users who will be at MWE and tweeting:

@Thistlesailing
@Arrow3993
@skipdieball
@bradarussell
@Thistle1784
@Stupidfast
@Paul_Abdullah
@TimSails