Tom Beckham Memorial Regatta 2024

Thistle Class Association

Tom Beckham Memorial Regatta

Notice of Race 

July 13 & 14, 2024
Cathlamet, Washington 

A Pacific Northwest Thistle District Traveling Regatta

Hosted by Thistle Fleet 125

from Willamette Sailing Club, Portland, Oregon

Fleet website:

http://willamettesailingclub.com/fleets/thistle

Rules:  This regatta will be governed by the ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing 2021-2024 and the prescriptions of US Sailing and the Thistle Class Association, except as any of these are altered by the Sailing Instructions. 

ALL BOATS AND SKIPPERS MUST BE REGISTERED WITH THE TCA AND BE CURRENT WITH THISTLE CLASS DUES AS WELL AS DISTRICT DUES.

Measurements may be checked.  USCG Approved life jackets required.

Venue:  We will be camping at and launching from the Elochoman Slough Marina, in the town of Cathlamet, Washington, downstream on the Columbia from Portland and Longview.  

Racing:  We are planning on sailing as many races as possible. The minimum for a regatta will be one race. There will be no races started after 3pm on Sunday.  Racing will be in the Cathlamet Channel of the Columbia River.  There is current and tidal change.  The NOAA chart is here. 

Scoring:  The low point scoring system, Appendix A, will apply, with no throwouts.  Each boat’s score will be the sum of all races sailed.  

Schedule of Events

Friday, July 12

Check in at group camp after 1500 

Saturday, July 13

1030 - Competitor’s Meeting  

1200 - Warning, first race

Dinner after racing in the covered BBQ area -- bring your own food. 

Sunday, July 14

1030 - Warning, first race of the day

No start after 1500

Weather:  Forecast for Cathlamet can be found here.

Here is the weather history for a week in the middle of July, 2023.  Each day has afternoon westerly breezes of 10-15 mph.

Directions:  From I-5, exit west towards Longview/Kelso and continue on WA State Route 4 to Cathlamet.  It is about 1 1/2 hours from Portland, 2 1/2 hours from Seattle and 3 hours from Eugene.

Here is a link for Google Map directions.

Camping Details:  Tent camping is at the Elochoman Marina group camp.  Camping will be available for Friday and Saturday nights. We expect that our group camp site will accommodate all the tents that participants will need.  We will have the group camp on the back of the marina along Wesley Avenue.  It is shown on the map as spots 1-5 but there are actually 8 official spots there now, some of which have room for up to four tents.  The marina has made recent improvements including adding fire rings and RV hookups for water and electrical, and an adjacent brewery and restaurant.  If you plan on bringing a vehicle larger than a small camper then separate RV camping and cabins are also available but note that the registration fee includes the group camp.  

The Elochoman Marina Street Market will be running Friday from 3:30 to 6:30 pm so parking may be tight until the market is over.  Here is a map of the venue.  Come down 2nd Street to drop your boat in the parking just south of the ramp, and then unload at the group camp.  Once things are unloaded please move your trailer and extra vehicles to the 3rd Street Overflow area.

We are keeping it simple for our first regatta at this new venue, so please bring your own food for dinner on Saturday after racing.  There is a group shelter with a propane BBQ, which can also be used for breakfast.

Boat Storage and Vehicle Parking:  Launching will be from the ramp at the west end of the marina.  The launch fee is included in your registration.   Note that depending on how many people we have the car parking in the group camp could be tight, so plan on parking extra vehicles at the 3rd Street Overflow area. 

Fees:  Regatta Registration Fee: $125.00.  There is a $50 registration discount for skippers under 26 and an additional discount of $50 for skippers under 22.  Use the stackable promo codes UNDER26 and UNDER22 as appropriate at checkout.

Questions?  Email regatta chair Paul Cone at paulkcone@gmail.com or call (503) 568-5071.