Eight Bells: Wayne Pignolet

Thistle Class Chief Measurer, lifelong Thistle sailor, and four-time Tartan Ten North American Champion skipper Wayne Pignolet died April 13, 2024 in Portland, Oregon after suffering a heart attack. He was 64.

Wayne grew up sailing the family Highlander and Thistle at Mentor Harbor Yacht Club east of Cleveland on Lake Erie. He competed in Sears Cup junior sailing and was team captain on the Ohio Wesleyan University Sailing team.

He finished second in the Thistle Nationals in 1985, sailing with his brother Jerry and forward crew Julie Steigerwald, and again in 2023 with his daughter Elaina (above) and Jerry. With Jerry and Elaina as crew, he also won the 2024 Thistle Midwinters West Championship, his last regatta.

He crewed frequently with lifelong friend Matt Fisher, winning Thistle Midwinters East in 2019, finishing second there in 2020 and fifth in the 2018 Thistle Nationals and sixth in 2014. He was a member of the Willamette Sailing Club in Portland, where he also raced ILCA 7s.

“Wayne wanted to win, but he was especially proud of sailing as a family and doing well,” said Jerry, who has been racing with his brother for nearly 60 years. “He was beyond himself finishing second in the Nationals last year and first at Midwinters West this year with his daughter Elaina as the forward crew.”

“Our father Wesley bought a Highlander in 1964 because he wanted a family activity,” said Jerry. “That choice was everything. Sixty years later, we’re still together around sailing. Even the siblings not on-board watch, support, and cheer.”

The Tartan Ten successes came with his parents, his wife Jody and his three brothers and two sisters on board. “After several years of rotating family members at the helm, we concluded that Wayne was either our best helmsmen or the best at pretending to be the worst crew,” said Jerry. “Once we settled on him as skipper, we started winning regularly.”

His affinity for family went beyond blood, Jerry said. “There’s a boatload of people who consider themselves his best friend or part of his family and each of us siblings feel like we had the special relationship with him.”

His recent Thistle success came in hull number 376, a wooden boat built in 1947 or 1948. Wayne estimated he spent 2,000 hours overhauling the boat. Less than two years later, he found hull 53 in a barn in Montana and essentially finished that restoration this winter.

He was the Thistle Class chief measurer for three years and also served on the governing board. He had been the chief measurer for the Tartan Ten Class in the 1990s. He also served as the linchpin and chair for the 2019 Thistle Nationals on Lake Pend Oreille in Sandpoint, Idaho, considered one of the most fun and well-run events in class history.

“Wayne served the class formally and informally,” said class President Nicole Shedden. “He was always quick to lend an ear, offer a hug or drop a coy joke. This class brought him joy, and he gave it right back to us.”

Immediate past President John Howell said Wayne followed three principles when considering modifications to the class specifications. “He asked whether it made the boat easier to sail, last longer, or be cheaper to own and sail. He set a standard for chief measurers to consider anytime modifications are proposed.”

In addition, Howell said Wayne championed the idea that class regattas are a product that should deliver a high-quality experience for all participants.

His recent business experience was facilitating industrial safety leadership training and inclusive leadership training. He and Jerry were launching a new company called Feel Safe Leaders combining his recent experience.

Wayne is survived by his wife of 38 years, Jody; children Carli, Elaina, and Glenn; a granddaughter Frances who lit up his life; his siblings Scott, Sue, Dale, Jerry, and Nancy; a dozen nieces and nephews and two great-nieces.

Memorial services will be Friday, April 26, at Edgewater Yacht Club in Cleveland, OH.