 Thistle
 The first of G. L. Watson's four America's Cup
challengers, Thistle, gave the New York Yacht Club the
first real fright in the history of their custody of
the Cup.
Built for a syndicate of Royal Clyde Yacht
Club members, Thistle raced the Edward Burgess-designed
Volunteer off New York in September 1887. The Cup
Races were not particularly successful being marred by
rating controversy and encroachment by the spectator
fleet; all smaller scale precursors of the 1895
difficulties.
Although indelibly associated with the America's
Cup, Thistle was particularly important as the first
large racing yacht to be built to the Length and Sail
Area Rating Rule.
This first successful example of
what could be achieved under the rule set out the
possibilities in such positive manner that the stage
was set for the appearance of so many of the greatest
racing yachts of all time; most notably Britannia.
 Similarly, within the context of the America's Cup, at
a time when it was on the verge of turning from a
trophy competed for by cruising yachts to one
competed for solely by radical racing machines, Thistle
has often been regarded as a perfect compromise.
Seaworthy and fast she was also amongst the most
elegant of all the fiddle bow and counter stern
cutters.
In the context of Watson's career, Thistle's
promise brought him considerable international
prestige. This was further reinforced in 1891 when she
was acquired by the German Kaiser to become his first Meteor, and the founding yacht of the Imperial German
Yacht Club. As such this one vessel was key in
establishing a new rival nation in the history of
International yacht racing.
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