Abdullah builds lead at Thistle Nationals

Jacksonville, FL (May 19, 2022) – With qualifying complete at the 2022 Thistle US National Championship, Paul Abdullah with crew Marie Abdullah and Barret Rhodes strengthened their grasp on the lead today with a 1-3, building an 18 point lead over Daniel Hesse in second with Dave Dellenbaugh another two points back in third.

This was a long day of sailing on the St. John’s river. Anticipating an 11:00am on time start, the fleet left the Florida Yacht Club harbor before 10:00am and followed the RC boat for the next three hours waiting for the wind to settle and fill.

Racing started after 1:00pm in a moderate oscillating southerly and strong southbound flood current. The runs on the windward-leeward courses were long and hot in the 90°F temperature.

Between races, support boats refilled water bottles keeping the fleet coherent and making a second race possible. The RC did a great job quickly starting the second race, yet the last boats pulled out of the water just after 6:00pm.

One one race remains tomorrow to complete the series.

Race details – Results – Facebook