CharlieHarrett  (Melges)   

           

John Hayashi (Windward)

 

C.      Approval of Minutes - there was a correction to the June 22, 2007 NCESA Annual Meeting minutes to the number of Directors represented on the Board of Directors from the ECESA region - changed from 4 to 3. No changes to 2006 Board of Directors meeting minutes. Motion to approve the minutes made by Bill Wyman and seconded by Art Brereton. Passed unanimously.

D.      Old Business - Rick explained a proposal received for regatta registration software from Dierk Polzin.  After a review of his proposal and investigation of alternatives, the Officers recommended the use of US Sailing partner Regatta Network's Web solutions for regatta registration and membership management.  Rick also explained it was necessary to hire a new consultant to maintain the Association's web site. Bartell Computer Consulting was selected. Bill is redesigning the e-scow.org site and we hope to present it to the membership in mid November. There was an expenditure of $2500 to Dierk Polzin for web software to provide pre-registration for the 2007 National regatta. There was also a down payment on a $2500 contract with Bartel Computer Consulting.  There was a motion by Tim O'Keefe to approve the actions and expenditures by the Officers. It was seconded by Pete Price. The motion passes unanimously.

E.       Committee Reports

1.       Rules - Ted reported the vote was 88 approved and 2 opposed to the rudder ballot submitted to the members at the beginning of the year. The change allowed the existing foil rudder shape to be put on older rudders with the bent rudderpost, and not to restrict that shape for use only on straight shaft rudder posts.

Ted indicated that the wording of the rules needs some work to clean them up. Not to change the meaning, but to improve it, such as make measurements consistent in style. He indicated the work would be completed by the end of February so that it is ready for the 2008 Yearbook/Rulebook publication.

 

The Rules Committee recommendation on the experiment for a 2^nd set of mast spreaders for the asymmetrical sail was deferred to after lunch and discussed under F. proposed Amendments. He thanked the members of the committee for their participation in the conference call to complete the recommendation to the Board.

 

Ted reported the forestay headfoil experiment is on hold for now. 

 

Toby Sutherland moved to approve the report and it was seconded by Kevin Jewett. Motion passed unanimously.

 

2.       Regatta - Rick Turner reported on the great job the Carolina Yacht Club did on hosting the 50 boat 2007 National regatta in Charleston, SC. He recommended they be considered for future regattas.

 

Rich indicated that Chris Creighton, from Chautauqua, is the 2008 National regatta Chairperson. There is a preliminary NOR prepared that is waiting for some decisions by the Board before posting. The regatta dates are June 27-29. Ted Beier will be the head judge. Races will be run by two US Sailing judges from the Cleveland area, PRO Bruce Ericson, and Chip Ulrich. Registration will be available on-line January first. Also merchandise and social packages will be available.

 

There was discussion if future National regattas will be in June (4^th weekend) or September (weekend after Labor Day).   Art Brereton moved and Peter Koar seconded, that the membership should be polled this Fall and after the 2008 June Nationals to see what the membership preference was for future regatta dates. Motioned passed.

 

Art Brereton put a bid in for the 2011 National regatta at Torch Lake.

 

Tim O'Keefe moved, and Bill Wyman seconded, that the Regatta committee report be approved.

 

3.       Regatta Bids - Bob Cole moved, and Art Brereton seconded, that the 2009 National regatta be awarded to the Oshkosh Yacht Club and the 2010 National regatta was awarded to Little Egg Harbor. Motion passed unanimously.

 Future regatta bids are:

2011 - Torch Lake

2012 - Hopatcong

 

Because of the early June National regatta, it was noted that the Annual Membership meeting was held before the Regions were able to elect their new NCESA directors. Therefore the membership was never able to vote on the new Directors nominated by each region. A motion by Brian Porter and seconded by Art Brereton, to appoint the newly elected directors for each region to the Board of Directors. The motion passed unanimously.

 

4.       Financial - Balance sheet showed the association to be in good financial standing with a balance of $64,102.84 up $406.17 from the previous year. The 2007 profit and loss report showed income = $32,765.44 and expense = $32,359.27 and a profit = $406.17. The 2008 Budget projects a small profit ($340) for operations not including the publication of an NCESA 50^th anniversary book. That item was deferred to the Publication report.

Lon Schoor suggested the three year membership category at a discount was somewhat of an administrative hassle with Regatta Networks and not helping the association's annual operating revenue. A motion was made by Tim O'Keefe and seconded by Ted Beier, to eliminate the 3-yr $125 membership option and honor the memberships that have been paid. It passed unanimously.

 

There was a discussion about the free membership that came with the purchase of a new boat that paid the $200 new boat fee. A motion was made by Ted Beier and seconded by Kevin Jewett to eliminate the complimentary memberships for those members purchasing a new boat. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Regatta expenses have increased. There was a discussion about the $80 National regatta entry fee. It was moved by Rick Turner and seconded by Ted Beier to change the 2008 National regatta fee to $120, with a late fee of $160, and a $40 fee for skippers 25 years old or younger with no late fee penalties. Motion passed unanimously.

 

The stipend amount that is given to the host club of the National regatta was discussed. Item was referred to the Regatta Committee.

 

Motion made by Ted Beier and seconded by Art Brereton to accept the financial report. Motion passed unanimously.

 

5.       Publications - Steve Anderson reported the 2007 REPORTER is progressing and is on target to be mailed after the holidays. He reports some work has been started for the 50^th Anniversary Book and Pat Dunsworth has sent him his archive of photos. He will need everyones help for research, information gathering, writing, and editing. Hiring someone with editing and/or writing experience would be most helpful.  A book of 200 pages and perfect bound will cost about $40,000 for 1000 copies, or $52,500 for 2500 copies.

 

A discussion of the finance options included: advertising, sponsors, book sales, and hiring help. A motion was made by Ted Beier and second by Art Brereton to commit $20,000 to the book project and have Steve and the Publication Committee build a budget and plan for final approval of the Board with the goal of having the project break even financially. The motion passed unanimously.  

 

Lon Schoor reported the use of Reaches and Digital Reaches to provide information to the membership. Digital Reached is sent to 553 people. The Board discussed Reaches verse Digital Reaches for distribution of information to members. A motion by Tim O'Keefe and second by Ted Beier, to use the Digital Reaches as the preferred source for the distribution of information to the membership. Motion passed unanimously. The NCESA web site will maintain an archive of Digital Reaches.

 

The web site is being redesigned by Bill Bartel and will hopefully be released to the membership in mid November. It will have a new look but much of the old content will be linked in until it can be reformatted to go with the new look. The new web site will use US Sailing's Regatta Network's solution for membership application and renewal, and a full function regatta registration solution. Discussed adding a section on the web page for members only, using a sign-on method, to participate in forums and blogs when using real names.

 

Ted Beier made a motion and Bill Wyman seconded, to approve the Publication Report. It passed unanimously.

 

6.       Membership - Rick Turner reported that the Wawasee Yacht Club is no longer a part of the MESA region and has joined the WMYA region. There was discussion about how the memberships work at the various regions and what members pay.  ILYA members have to pay $70 for their annual membership and their club pays additional fees to the ILYA of several hundred dollars depending on the number of ILYA fleets racing. MESA, WMYA, and ECESA do not collect regional association membership fees, but they require NCESA membership to sail in their regattas. The clubs in the WMYA pay $140 annually. The ECESA has an annual $20 fee per fleet. There is great concern that the ILYA sailors do not join the NCESA unless they race in the National regatta.  A motion was made by Rick Turner and seconded by Brian Porter, to attempt to increase ILYA member participation by requiring NCESA membership for the Geneva Spring regatta. The NCESA would provide some regatta support or trophy.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

 Ted Beier moved and Bill Wyman seconded a motion to approve the Membership committee report. It passed unanimously.

 

1. Regional Reports - Pete Price reported:

Invite at Chrystal - 20 boats,  1 symmetrical sail

Westerns at White Lake - 8 A-sails/7 symmetrical

9 boats out of 9 converted at Chrystal

9 boats out of 10 converted at Torch

2 boats out of 5 converted at Spring

3 boats out of 5 converted at White - Don Nelson converting this winter

Fleets are stable with much more enthusiasm from the young and the old.  Growth is the topic and is more promising now, after all of us converted.  Crews are talking about converting older boats into marketable A-Sails.

 The WMYA handed out traditional trophies at our Championships to the symmetrical fleet and to the first 3 for the A-Sail; it really worked to our advantage.  Crews received prizes that never were in contention before.  Just that kept them in the game for next year.

 

Bill Wyman briefly summarized the ILYA report since it has been posted on the web. The big change was to use time based race management when setting the course length (i.e. to keep races to an hour in all sailable wind conditions). To improve participation, the E-fleet requested that regatta be held on the weekends and not mid week, and discussed having gold, silver and bronze fleet designation for different aged boats or skippers experience. It was noted that the Lake Geneva fleet voted to convert to the asymmetrical for 2008.

 

Erik Johnson reported the ECESA association is healthy and the local fleets are doing well. 35 boats attended the Eastern Championship. There is concern about the impact the asymmetrical will have on local fleets and older boats. They are especially concerned about Hopatcong and Keuka. Younger sailors (20, 23, and 25 years old) are joining their fleets to skipper boats.  There is new blood and we are having fun.

 

Ted Beier reported MESA had a championship regatta at Carlyle with 8 boats, 5 a-sail and 3 sym.  

 

F.       Proposed Amendments -

1.       Discussed the asymmetrical scantling recommendation of the Rules Committee to the Board.  [See Asymmetrical Scantling Changes]

      There was discussion about the number of spinnakers that could be allowed. There was no motion to change the recommendation and only one spinnaker can be declared for an event and carried on the boat while racing. If your asymmetrical spinnaker is damaged it can be replaced according to existing rules with the permission of the Judge.

After considerable discussion Brian Porter moved and Ted Beier seconded a motion to retain the three tape measurements of the asymmetrical spinnaker and eliminate the girth measurement. Essentially it was determined that since only one spinnaker is allowed for an event and carried on the boat,  and the 6 inch tolerance meets our one-design definition for size, the girth measurement could be eliminated. The motion passed.

 

Discussion on the use of diamond stays and second set of spreaders for either configuration lead to Tim O'Keefe moving and Ted Beier seconding a motion to allow the mast diamond stays, and optional second set of spreaders, to be used on boats of either spinnaker configuration if the asymmetrical spinnaker vote is passed by the membership.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

The proposed rule for measuring the bowsprit vertical height when extended was discussed next (previous rule III.5.H. - Vertical location of forward end of sprit).  Tim O'Keefe moved and Brian Porter seconded a motion to eliminate the measurement because it was unnecessary. The motion passed unanimously.

 

There was a discussion about when the pole can be extended and it was determined that the Sailing Rules and Instructions addressed the issue and a scantling rule was not needed.

 

It was moved by Tim O'Keefe and seconded by Brian Porter to approve the recommendations of the Rules Committee as amended by the Board. The motion passed. 

 

The next discussion was about the timing of when to implement if the asymmetrical scantlings aree approved by a membership vote.  Discussion centered around 2008 or 2009.

·   There was discussion about the feasibility of being able to convert the boats before the season start. Henry Colie made a generous offer to take parts and expertise to locations to convert boats and make the transition as easy as possible. Others made similar offers. It was indicated there would be available funds to help subsidize the costs of the conversions. Melges Performance Boats indicated they would have enough parts for the conversion and would be able to get them done. Windward Boats indicated the same thing.

·   Regarding questions of how long it took to convert a boat; two people could easily convert two boats in a day.  

·   There was considerable discussion about what to do with the awards at regattas. All options and permutations came out in the discussion.

·   The E-Fleets at Hopatcong, Keuka, and Charleston were identified as fleets that would struggle with the asymmetrical change and special attention should be given to help these fleets and other identified fleets if the change goes through.

·    Discussed concerns about people who have spinnaker inventory that they would not be able to use anymore.

·    Determined local fleets may have to meet separately to resolve the conversion and awards to keep their fleet unified.

·   People indicated it would take some time to develop asymmetrical expertise to compete at the National level, and others said it was very easy to sail.

·   It was noted that the last asymmetrical vote failed by 25 votes - if 12 people changed their vote it would have passed.

·   A committee should be formed to lead the implement and respond to issues along the way.

·   Most agreed they think the vote will pass. Some said we have to maintain a unified fleet by being sympathetic to those that oppose the change. Others felt like this has dragged on long enough and we need to get it over with because the class is being hurt more by waiting.

·   There was concern that if the asymmetrical vote failed the E class would split.

·   The Board also wanted to recommend to the membership a proposal that had the unanimous support of the entire Board of Directors. The sticking point was the year of implementation.

 

It was moved by Ted Beier and seconded by Kevin Jewett that if the asymmetrical vote passes, the E-fleet will sail as a single fleet in all events for the year 2009. The motion passed unanimously.

 

After a long and hard debate about implementation in 2008 it was suggested to let the membership make the decision.   It was moved by Brian Porter and seconded by Ted Beier, to recommend to the membership the Rules Committee recommendation on the asymmetrical spinnaker, as modified by the Board, and to ask the membership to vote on an implementation year of either 2008 or 2009. If 2/3s of the members vote for 2008, the implementation would occur in then; otherwise the implementation would be in 2009. The motion passed unanimously.

 

The idea of freezing future changes for a period of five years was discussed at considerable length. It was moved by Rick Turner and seconded by Toby Sutherland, that it is the intent to not accept experiments for the next five years, so as to minimize any significant change to the scantlings and the dollar amount associated with them. The motion passed unanimously.

 

It was decided to put a package of material together that addresses the numerous issues that surround the asymmetrical vote. This will be put on the web site and sent to members so they have it before they have to cast their vote on the asymmetrical recommendation from the Board.

2.       It was moved by Rick Turner and seconded by Erik Johnson to allocate the two director positions that belong to MESA and give them to a new 'At Large' region that would be made up of the following clubs: Carlyle, Grand Lake, Charleston, Sarasota, Augusta-Savanna, Seattle, and Montana. The MESA region has stopped functioning. The current directors representing MESA would be reassigned to the At Large region. Bill Misenheimer's term ends is 2008 and Ted Beier's term ends in 2009. The motion passed unanimously.

3.       It was moved by Tim O'Keefe and seconded by Jeff Solum to provide $10K for emergency expenditures in 2008 to be used by agreement of the class Officers. The motion passed unanimously.

 

G.     New Business - The suggestion to make the penalty for a racing rule infraction more severe was sent to the Regatta and Rules Committee for consideration.

 

Refer to the Rules and Judicial committees a request to allow a country identifier on the sails. There are fleets in Finland and Canada.

 

Continue to provide photo awards for participants and race committee.

 

In the upcoming ballot, only regular members in years 2007 and greater will be counted.

 

H.      Work continues on assigning people to the standing committees and the designation of a chairperson. Rick plans to have this done by the end of November and the appointments are effective on January 1^st.

 

I.        At 4:15 it was moved by Bill Misenheimer and seconded by Tim O'Keefe to adjourn. Motion passed unanimously.