2006 ACMSC
Winter Planning Meeting
Notes from the meeting and
proposed calendar dates....
First of all, thanks to all of those individuals who gave up
their time on a Sunday to get together and plan the season. Your
participation is what makes our club great. Dennis, Scott,
Aaron, Brett, Dick, Andy, Andrei, Travis and Brittany were all present for the
meeting.
2006 Proposed calendar...
The following dates are the tentative schedule for ACMSC
events between March and July. The remainder of the schedule will be set
sometime before the end of July--more than likely in a meeting after the June
or July race at the pond. There is still no word on the calendar of the
RC powerboat group, and when that is released we may have to adjust our
calendar accordingly.
March
18-19 -- White Rock Cup for Victorias in Dallas, TX
25 -- 2nd Annual 'Ice Breaker' tune-up Race (non-points)
April
22 -- Club Championship Series Race
#1 (1 Meter Sport)
May
6-7 -- Victoria Region 5 Championship Regatta in OKC,
OK (hosted by the Sooner State Model Yacht Club).
20 -- Club Championship Series Race #2 (1 Meter Sport)
June
2-4 -- AMYA/SCOA Seawind Region 4 Regatta (Seawinds only).
24 -- Club Championship Series Race #3 (1 Meter Sport)
July
15 -- Club Championship Series Race #4 (1 Meter Sport)
You'll all notice there are a couple of things absent
here... one would be 32 Sport races, and these may be added to the
calendar later. However, only 3 of the 5 local Victoria skippers were
present (Aaron, Dennis, Travis) so input from those other individuals on this
will/is necessary. Preferrably they should only be in months where only
one other event is already planned. April would be a great month for
one.
In addition, another club picnic will be scheduled in July,
and a 'fun sail' will be added to the calendar as well--possibly in conjunction
with the picnic and/or in April. It may be proposed that no 32-Sport
racing start until the second half of the season, since there will be
opportunity for Victoria sailing at the Region 5 regatta in May... we'll
see about that.
Meeting minutes (key topics
discussed)...
Simplified Sailing Rules...
It was agreed that these simplified rules (look for them to
be posted on the Yahoo site soon, and later on the new web site) are a good
idea--with a few minor changes.
1. Item #14, which deals with what to do with skipper
responsibility if there is a collision will be changed. Instead of
insisting that if the skippers cannot agree on fault, then the both must do
penalty turns. Due to problems with enforcement and the lack of a PRO at
regular club races, we've opted to delete that statement. Instead,
skippers are encouraged to 'if in doubt--do a turn' and if needed, launch a
protest hearing to be dealt with at the conclusion of racing, so that skippers
can LEARN from the situation. We will also create a protest form using
the US Sailing form. We feel this will encourage discussion of
rules--especially for those new to sailboat racing.
2. We agreed to change the wording of item #10, to say
that we would use a one or two minute start sequence instead of a one, two
or five minute sequence.
Sailing Instructions
Item 2.1--everyone agreed to add 'or 32-Sport' to
the valid Club Championship Series classes.
Item 4.1--everyone agreed that the start time
should be kept at 11:00am, and we voted in favor of changing the wording on how
often breaks will take place from after every 4 heats, to after every 2-3
heats, since that's more consistent with what we've done in the past.
Item 5.1 (Rotating PRO) Though we doubted that we
would ever use it, we did vote to keep the wording and clauses in place for the
rotating PRO option.
Item 6.1--We voted to add wording stating that the
club uses the US Sailing 'I-Flag' starting rule (no dipstarts, and if you cross
the line early you must go around either side (staying away from other boats)
and start again. This has been the practice of our club ever since the
regional and we're used to it, so we have just opted to add that into the text.
Item 7.2--We elected to add wording stating that
for a boat to request to be Finished in Place (FIP) or be designated as such,
they must complete 1/2 of the total laps for the heat (for example, most of our
races are 2 lap races, so they would have to complete 1 full lap.
Item 8.1--We will add wording stating that the
scorekeeper may have the power to issue individual recalls and call for a
general recall if necessary at the start if no PRO is present.
Item 8.3--Wording will be added reminding skippers
to make sure that the scorekeeper hear's your number when you call as you cross
the finish line, and the scorekeeper (or PRO--if one present) will call any
'photo finishes'.
Item 11.7--We voted to change the minimum heats
allowed to constitute a regatta from seven to five.
Seawind Region 4 Regatta
The members present voted in support of once again hosting
the Seawind Region 4 regatta. The dates (pending class approval) will be
June 2-4. Scott Loesch once again volunteered to serve as PRO for this
event (we're very lucky for this!), and Travis Donily will once again serve as
helper and/or mark judge.
Frequency Chart and Disputes Policy -- EVERYONE READ
THIS!!!
The growth of our club has been fantastic, and we're all
happy to see new members join. However, with the growth comes an
increased importance on close monitoring of the club's frequency chart.
The following items are not entirely new, but will be enforced this year due to
the increased demand on frequencies.
Beginning with this season...
1. Skippers who would like a frequency on
our chart reserved, must participate in a minimum of FOUR club racing events.
(there was some debate about whether or not it could be ANY
four events--including fun sails and the club picnic, etc, but it was decided
that the majority of our club events involve racing, and are the 'backbone' of
our activities)
2. Members are only allowed ONE reserved frequency on
the chart. The only exception to this is the club loaner Seawind, which
will retain channel 78.
3. NO skipper may reserve any frequency without a
SIGNED MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION ON FILE.
4. At the time of the January meeting
following the season, the frequencies of those individuals who do not meet the
requirements (4 events participated) will be forfeit and subject to
reassignment as necessary.
Right now, the frequencies that are available are...
The entire 27mhz band (6 channels)
68, 82 and 90.
'RESTRUCTURING' of ACMSC
officers...
Those in attendance agreed that having officers with titles
was irrelavent if those titles have no defined duties. In response to
that fact, a new structure for leadership was proposed and accepted:
The ACMSC will now be lead by an 'Executive Board',
consisting of the following members...
Andy Rust -- Board organizer
Aaron Roush
Andrei Condratov
Dennis Cross
These members will share the responsibility of making
decisions regarding the postponement or cancellation of events and any other important
decisions that might arise between now and next year's meeting. Dennis
Cross has agreed to be responsible for membership information, and has
suggested the creation of laminated membership cards that can be used to mark
your frequency on the frequency board at the pond. In the event of
incliment weather, these board members will decide (through 2/3 majority vote)
on the above stated issues.
YOU'RE INPUT ON ISSUES IS STILL AS IMPORTANT AS
EVER... the board will consider the opinions of any individual requests
on issues during the season, and in fact your opinions will be solicited as
always. My duties will likely not change, so don't expect any noticeable
differences in the way the club is managed from the perspective of the general
membership.
Membership Application
I was decided that the current application will be left
largely in tact, with some minor changes being made to some of the optional
volunteering ideas listed on it.
Promotion...
It was agreed that increased promotion would be a good
thing. Andy suggested using #28 as a possible display boat for one of the
local hobby shops if possible, along with club literature for promotion.
It was also suggested that the local media be contacted in advance of the
Seawind Region 4 regatta in hopes of getting some coverage.
I think that about covers it. Please check your
calendars and email me ASAP for any suggestions regarding the running of
32-Sport races and/or the scheduling of fun sails.