2011 Annual Meeting
Noroton Yacht Club, May 29th, 2011
- Tim opened the meeting at 7pm.
- Tim began with a big thank you to Job Sandberg and the Noroton Yacht Club for putting on a great event despite less than stellar weather
- A well received thank you was issued for the many years and many projects that Jonathan Clapp took on as secretary- treasurer of the class. We all wish him luck with his new job and hope to see him again
- Topics that were discussed:
- President’s report
- Treasurer’s report
- Measurer’s report
- Increasing Participation
- The Santa Cruz Worlds
- Elections
President’s report
- Through the efforts of many people, the new website came together and seems to be a large success.
- However, the website is not done, the purpose of the website is to facilitate growth
- All members need to contribute even one article a year and a few comments will soon lead to a huge collection of information.
- The website is only as interactive and useful as the members make it
- Planning to have the online PayPal membership dues option up and running soon.
Treasurer’s report
- Although Jonathon could not make it, Tim spoke on his behalf
- We need to catch up on membership dues
- Some payments are still owed to class members
- Overall the account is in good shape and all is well.
Measurer’s report
- Paul brought up the issue of asymmetric spinnakers
- The general consensus seemed to be that it was not currently the correct move for the class
- Chris Wrenn asked if it would bring new people to the class
- Paul mentioned that the German’s were not fond of it currently, and as the largest portion of the class, would have some control over the issue
- Lin did not believe that the benefits would outweigh the issues of cost and change
- The prospect of Duane going into production with a US built boat was brought up.
- People are interested in this, both here and potentially internationally, with the current strength of the Euro
- Paul Scoffin commented on the prototype he had sailed at the last Nationals, saying it was a good boat that just needs minor work in the systems and rigging.
- Tim would love to see a couple boats for the SC worlds
- Would be a great testing ground
- Paul Hemker expressed cautious optimism on the timeline working out
New Business – Santa Cruz Worlds
- Discussion of effectively marketing the 2012 worlds focused mainly around organization and having marketing packages ready for both potential sponsors and competitors.
- Chris Wrenn thinks we need to create a marketing package, perhaps tying it into Sailing Anarchy so that sponsors know what they are getting.
- Also believes that the budget should be coverable by the entry fees and that the lower we can make the fees the better.
- Jason believes that we should have a proper project manager to effectively distribute the work load for such an event.
- Lin Believes that group passion, as opposed to individual passion is the key to successful events like this.
- Tim Noted that Zhenya has started many committees that are just starting to become active in the matter.
- Discussion on a draft NOR ended in Chris Wrenn volunteering to find a path and get the appropriate dialogues going.
- It was unsure who should actual author the NOR, Santa Cruz Yacht club, or the class.
New Business class promotion
- Tim: one of my goals was to get the US class on a national and international level, and we have come near to maxing that out, now we must shift to the local events and bring more people to the class
- Given the current membership, it seems as though the international and national participation is at a peak, and so we need to start local to continue to grow the class.
- Many agreed that having a mentor figure was key for them making it into the class
- It was agreed that we as a class need to be willing to travel to regattas, and that we need to create more regattas.
- The Second Annual Spin Pole regatta will be held in Newport RI September 17th and 18th
- Try to reach out to inactive members and invite them to local events.
Elections
The slate was voted in
- President: Tim Sayles
- 1st Vice President: Jeff Wrenn
- 2nd Vice President: Mike Maszaros
- Secretary-Tresurer: Chris Liberti
- Chief Measurer: Paul
- Trustees -Lin Robson and Chris Wrenn ( to serve out the remainder of Tom Vought’s Term)