2001 (archived)
2002 (archived)

January 11, 2003 Minutes
February 8 Minutes
March Minutes

Minutes of the Meeting of the J/105 Class Association Fleet 6 on January 11, 2003

Twenty members and guests attended the meeting held at the McMichaels Yacht Yard in Mamaroneck, NY at 2:00 p.m. The meeting was duly called by e-mail notice and served as the Annual Meeting of the J/105 Class Association, Fleet 6. Association ($50) and National ($25) dues were collected from those present prior to the start of the meeting. Joerg Esdorn, Fleet Captain, welcomed everyone to the meeting at 2:15 p.m. A quorum was present.

Approval of the minutes of the meeting on March 16, 2003. Fleet Captain Joerg Esdorn asked for approval of the minutes from the prior meeting of the Association. The minutes were available as hard copy. The motion was duly seconded and unanimously approved.

Election of Officers. Joerg Esdorn presented the slate of candidates proposed by the Executive Committee and noted that no other nominations were received. The officers were elected by unanimous consent. The Fleet Officers for 2003 are:

John Coffey – Fleet Captain
Matt Berger – Measurer
Mike Lindberg – Treasurer
Henrik Pedersen - Secretary

Joerg Esdorn remains on the Executive Committee as the past fleet captain. He was thanked by standing ovation for his tireless efforts and work in promoting the activities of Fleet 6 and for his strong leadership over the past year. New Fleet Captain John Coffey then resumed the meeting.

Changes to the National Constitution. Fleet Captain John Coffey asked Joerg Esdorn to review the submissions on various rule and constitution changes from the National Executive and Technical Committees. Submission 1 to replace the constitution with one designated as Schedule 1 was discussed. A motion to replace was unanimously approved.

Changes to the National Rules. Joerg Esdorn presented the changes introduced by the National Executive and Technical Committees related to rule changes. The changes to the class rules specified in submission 2 noting modifications to the float line and weight certification were unanimously approved. Submission 3 to add rule 7.9 was defeated by a vote of 7 in favor and 8 against. Submissions 4 and 5 were discussed and unanimously approved. These submissions relate to the use of alternative shackles on jib and spinnaker sheets as well as spinnaker tack lines (submission 4) and clarification on the status of owners and drivers on boats with multiple financial partners (submission 5). The results of the voting will be transmitted to the National organization by the fleet captain.

Announcements. Fleet Captain John Coffey surveyed various ideas related to fleet building. Members generally favored an increased set of social activities, a distance race in which to compete as part of the Fleet 6 schedule, perhaps a team racing format and a set of clinics and seminars on boat tuning, racing and the rules. A tentative racing schedule will be presented at the next meeting of the Association.

It was announced that Continental Airlines is again sponsoring a Corporate Regatta to be sailed by owners of J/105s, their crew and corporate guests on Thursday, July 10, 2003. The regatta format is (friendly) match racing and the venue is NY Harbor. Details for owners were described and further information will be distributed shortly.

It was also noted that Dave Perry will be presenting a talk on Jan. 30 at AYC. The Spring tune-up and sailmakers talks are being planned and details will shortly be available.

Matt Berger informed everyone that the PHRF rating for the J/105 in the YRALIS series will be 105 for the 89 m2 configuration. A rating of 111 is used for the one design configuration with the 77 m2 chute. The boat must otherwise conform to all the requirements of the class rules for these ratings. Joe Schulz-Heik has been invaluable in promoting adjustments to the rating before the PHRF board.

Fleet 6 class rules. Some preliminary discussion on possible changes to the Fleet 6 class rules were presented. In particular, the use of more than one set of sails during a race was introduced. In addition, modifications to the ‘junior rule’ were described and discussed. These proposals will be more extensively debated at the next meeting with pro and con arguments expanded on. Formal voting on changes was reserved for the next meeting of the Fleet 6 class association.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m. The next meeting of the Association is scheduled for 2:00 pm, February 8, 2003 at McMichaels Yacht Yard in Mamaroneck.

Respectfully submitted,
Henrik Pedersen
Secretary
January 30, 2003

Minutes of the Meeting of the J/105 Class Association Fleet 6 on February 8, 2003

Twenty-three members and guests, representing 18 boats, attended the meeting held at the McMichaels Yacht Yard in Mamaroneck, NY at 2:00 p.m. Five voting members were present by proxy. The meeting was duly called and an agenda posted by e-mail notice. John Coffey, Fleet Captain, welcomed everyone to the meeting at 2:15 p.m. A quorum was present.

Approval of the minutes of the meeting on January 11, 2003. Fleet Captain John Coffey asked for approval of the minutes from the Annual Meeting of the Association. The minutes were available as hard copy. The motion was duly seconded and unanimously approved.
Announcements. Fleet Captain John Coffey noted the participation of Fleet 6 boats in the recently completed Key West Race Week. This annual event is highly recommended to all. John summarized the recent changes to the National constitution and National rules that followed voting by all fleets, including the input of Fleet 6. In particular, no shroud tension changes are allowed during racing. The complete constitution and rules are available on the national website, www.j105.org.

Fleet 6 local rules. Some preliminary comments by John Coffey on the format for introducing changes to the Fleet 6 class rules were presented. For the two rule changes, the use of more than one set of sails during a race and modifications to the ‘junior rule,’ were presented first in a pro/con format with one member taking the lead for each side, followed by general discussion amongst all members.

Joerg Esdorn introduced cons vis-à-vis any changes to the rules allowing multiple jibs and/or mainsails to be used during a race. He noted that the National TC is not in favor of this rule. Its adoption by a local fleet may jeopardize participation in National events. The definition of ‘event’ has been recently changes that would now permit changing of sails between events that cover multiple weekends. The sails hold up well and wear-and-tear issues are not significant enough to consider this as a rational basis for rule changes. Finally, it was noted that the class rules target recreational and family sailors and should, as such, remain simple.

Joe Shulz-Heik, taking the ‘pro’ position on a rule change, noted the disparity in the number of races sailed by boats that leads to uneven sail degradation over the course of a season. Fundamentally, he noted, it makes sense to allow for sails bought and registered according to the rules to be used by the owners. The choice to change sails at any time, amongst their registered sail inventory, would be completely up to the individual boats. By making the rule broad, it avoids use of wind speed as criteria for implementing allowable conditions for a sail change.

In the general discussion, it was suggested that a rule allowing for unrestricted sail changes would lead to ‘light’ and ‘heavy’ sail inventories. This could potentially favor boats with larger sail budgets. Several comments were made in relation to the level of sailing expertise needed to implement sail changes during racing. In particular, a more ‘professional’ level of crew performance would likely be needed to make sail changes under all but the lightest conditions and this runs contrary to the target ‘non-pro’ audience for the boat. The ability to use of sails that were bought and registered by owners, particularly spinnakers, was a consistent theme for those taking the ‘pro’ position.

Several amendments were introduced. Billy Baldwin introduced a motion to petition the National TC to consider changes and specifications to the wind threshold limit for allowing the back-up spinnaker to be used. The criteria related to gusts or sustained winds should be further clarified. The amendment was passed unanimously. Joerg Esdorn introduced a motion to permit the use of a back-up jib if the wind speed exceeded a threshold limit. The motion was defeated, 18-3, with several abstentions. The lack of a positive vote for a rule change allowing even limited sail changes during racing was viewed as a consensus that the owners were not in favor of rules allowing sail changes beyond those that already exist.

The discussion was moved to consider a revision to the ‘junior rule,’ Article 9.8 of the Fleet 6 Articles of Association. John Coffey argued the ‘cons’ of this rule (against the current rule) by noting that it could be used as a disguise that allows for added weight to be introduced on a boat. Joe Shulz-Heik debated the pros of the rule by noting that it allows younger sailors to be introduced to and otherwise more involved in yacht racing. The number of one-design fleets has steadily decreased over the years and measures are needed to counter-act this trend. He also noted that the boat is an ideal training boat for younger sailors. John Coffey introduced a motion on whether the junior rule should be continued. The continuation of a junior rule, in principle, was approved by a vote of 20 in favor, 1 against. Mike Lindberg then introduced a motion to modify the existing rule to sailors under the age of 12; this was amended by another member to the age of 14 and accepted by Mike. A vote on whether to change the age at which a sailor is considered a junior to 14 or younger was taken. The motion was approved by a show-of-hands with 15 in favor and 8 against. The new Article 9.8 will be posted on the website.

Fleet 6 2003 Schedule. The racing schedule for 2003 was described by Mike Lindberg. It had been previously discussed at the past meeting of the association. The Championship schedule consists of seven (7) regattas, some covering multiple weekends. A distance race series of three (3) regattas was also introduced along with the Larchmont YC NOOD and Fall Championship series. A motion was introduced by Joerg Esdorn to restrict the J/105 class in the NOOD to a Saturday and Sunday timeframe. The motion was defeated and the NOOD will be sailed for the J/105 class as a three-day event. The schedule was unanimously approved. It was also voted to allow for Level B racing among non-top-5 boats throughout the Fleet 6 Championship season. Previously, this was restricted to the first five races on the schedule. The YRA racing schedule will sail with amended rules as noted on the website.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,
Henrik Pedersen
Secretary
April 24, 2003