When several members of our Florida sailing club, the West Coast Trailer Sailors Squadron, decided to get together for a group daysail on a recent September morning, I knew I wanted to go along. I’d never sailed at the Dunedin Causeway, and I’m always up for a fun sail on Transmogrifier, my repurposed Thistle. Despite a weather radar showing thunderstorms, they were moving away when we convened, and we had blue skies, a few puffy clouds overhead, a gentle breeze, and pleasant temperatures following the storms.
In the light breeze, I left the beach under full main and jib. I’d acquired as a derelict hulk, but now with her cockpit decked over and a full-width cabintop, she’s a great beach cruiser, which I’ve dubbed a ThistleCruiser. Originally intended for a crew of three, she is over canvassed for a solo sailor, making for fast and exciting light air sailing. But her modified self-bailing cockpit makes her self-rescuing, and with her heavily weighted centerboard, she is nearly self-righting. I have modified her rig a bit with a masthead float, a freestanding roller furling jib and three reefs
