Mumm 30 Owner's Meeting

January 19, 1998

Pier House, Key West

Attendees:

Roll Call

Dave Irish opened the meeting at 4:20 p.m. and started by saying that a roll call would be taken so that all the owners could introduce themselves.

Minutes from Annapolis

Dave Irish asked if there were any comments regarding the minutes from the previous owners' meeting in Annapolis. A motion to accept the minutes was made, seconded and unanimously approved.

Owners Association Constitution, announce an adoption vote, comments

Dave Irish stated that the Constitution was circulated through the mail along with correspondence from him and Farr International for approval. Aside from some minor fine tuning, all changes must now go through ISAF for approval. The document cannot be changed without going through a process that takes several months. The North American Class Association is one of several national Class associations, all of which make up the International Class. Geoff Stagg proposed forming a World Council to oversee the International Class.

Status of Mumm 30 World Council

Geoff Stagg suggested that each region should have two representatives. At present, the largest concentration of the fleet can be divided amongst the North American, European and Pacific regions. The World Council should have a constitution modeled on the North American version.

It was established that the Mumm 30 World Council should meet at the Mumm 30 Worlds. Geoff Stagg stated that there would need to be a representative from North America to represent the council at the meeting. Fred Sherratt proposed that Ed Collins, as the Vice President/Technical Chairman, and Dave Irish, North American President, should attend. The motion passed.

It was established that the highest attended regatta each year has been in Annapolis. Since the Lewmar Cup precedes the Worlds and the ISAF meeting, it was established that the North American Annual General Meeting will be held in Annapolis.

Marty Slagowitz inquired as to the growth of the class. Geoff Stagg commented that there has been a great deal of activity in Europe. The Mumm 30 has been chosen for the Tour de France a la Voile, displacing the Jenneau 35 One Design for this prestigious honor. In Europe there have been 52 boats sold to date. The sales are going very strong in France and Italy with close to 20 boats sold in each country. The Tour de France will be held in 1999 and the boats have been chosen for five years. With the decision, the organizer Bruno Trouble believes that 150 more boats will be sold for this event. Renee Mehl went on further to explain that the Tour de France is a circuit held over three weeks that starts in the North of France and is sailed around the coast, ending in the Mediterranean. It is a principally a professional event and will have 18 solid teams with the likes of Russell Coutts racing, which generates tremendous publicity. There are also traditionally two other classes in the event, an amateur division and a student division.

Budget/staff/finances of our class association

Dave Irish stated that the Mumm 30 Class has been under the protective wing of Barry Carroll and Geoff Stagg. If the owners are to make a transition to take over the class, they need to know the financial status of the class. Renee Mehl is preparing a budget for the class that shows where the class funds are spent. She explained that last year's dues went to pay for trophies, measurement expenses, the ISAF application, US Sailing membership, office expenses and postage. Geoff Stagg went on to say that Farr International pays for the time for Renee and Amy. Champagne Mumm gives the Mumm 30 and 36 classes $35,000 each year for support, most of which has gone into advertising expenses.

Marty Slagowitz asked for a clarification of measurement expense. Renee explained that the measurement costs include accommodations, airfare and rental cars for class measurers. It was also explained that during some of the regattas Renee and Jim Andersen's airfare and hotel expenses were covered by the owners they were racing with.

Technical Committee Comments

Ed Collins said that he has not received any letters or heard of any concerns about rule changes. Mark Ploch stated that he has a rust problem with his stove and heartburn because of it. (Due to the expense of changing the stove and ORC regulations which require it for some races, the rusty stove problem cannot be solved at this time). Ed Collins went on to say that owners can write or E-mail him with any questions. Dave Irish said that the great thing about this class is the strict control on the One Design Rule. Geoff Stagg agreed that the integrity of the class must be protected and that is why the boats are weighed each year. Nobody else in the world does that and we will continue to show the integrity of the class to the world.

Jeff Goff asked why the information about individual boat weights from Annapolis wasn't made public. Jim Andersen explained that a check weighing at a World Championship or other major regatta didn't count for the voluntary re-weighing each owner is entitled to each year. It is a check measure for gross errors. All of the boats in Annapolis were within a 25 pound range, which is very close. The check weight should not be compared to the builders weight that is on each One Design certificate because the check weight includes the mast, fuel, and some water in the form of damp cushions etc. We didn't feel it was relevant to give out those figures. For the record, the lightest nor the heaviest boat didn't win the regatta.

Competitor eligibility

Dave Irish announced that Renee Mehl is now an official member of the US Sailing eligibility board. There has been a tremendous amount of activity. The board has done more than 200 cases since November. Mark Ploch stated that it is difficult to enforce the rules at world events. He believed that there was a lot of lying going on and a lot of the world championship events should be better monitored. Renee Mehl stated that they did try to clear up the eligibility issues ahead of time, but the Europeans did not comply in advance. However, there was a very strong eligibility board assembled at the Worlds that made rulings on the spot. Geoff Stagg went on to say that the Europeans wanted to tighten the rule up themselves after the event.

Dave Irish was asked about the inconsistencies about ruling, especially sailmakers. He went on to explain that he knows it isn't perfect, but Appendix R is all that is out there. It is a work in progress. A Cat. 2 for example is a sailmaker that doesn't race with his or her customers. There were a number of early rulings made in the beginning that we know we have to review. Bill Lockwood brought up the point of his sisters that are part of his marine business, one of whom is a bookkeeper. If he brings both of them, who are not pros, then he can't bring his sailmaker on the boat. Dave Irish explained that the rule does not make any attempt to judge skill. Irish is aware of the case of the Lockwood sister, and there is no easy way to get around that at the moment. It is the unintended consequence of grouping people.

Jack Lefort said that the logistics for regattas were getting more difficult because of weight and eligibility requirements. He suggested adopting the Farr 40 rule that states you can have a certain number of pros and they can be Group 2 or 3. He thought it would get the class moving ahead and not be a logistical nightmare. Mike Lathrope said that would scare away potential owners by having too many pros, especially in the Chicago area. Jack Lefort said that it would be much simpler to do it with three pros.

Jeff Goff went on to say that was what destroyed the Mumm 36 Class on the Lakes, because it became pro. Many owners expressed apprehension about letting more pros on the boats. Marty Slagowitz asked if the pro level was stopping sales of the boat and questioned what could be done to make the class grow more and sell more boats. Jack Lefort said that it seemed the Farr 40 One Design driver rules were tighter. Geoff Stagg stated that lessons were learned from the 30 classes and applied to the Farr 40 Class. Any owners that drive the 40's must be Group I and any Group I non-owner helmsman will be subject to a review board in the 40 class.

Geoff Stagg said that there were only three professional owners out of 150 Mumm 30 owners. It wouldn't make a difference if the rule was changed. More awareness needs to be made, as people are using that excuse to not buy the boat. Mark Ploch suggested that some marketing should be done to change the perception. Stagg said the reality is that an owner has to buy a boat to race it. Dave Irish said the discussion was good and the issue needs to be kicked around to the other owners to discuss. Geoff Stagg said that a proposal to change the owner/driver rule for the North American group could be done independently, but Class rules would prevail at a World Championship. Ed Collins cautioned against becoming a subgroup of the international class. Nelson Stephenson suggested having only two professionals on the boat with no restrictions on type, for which considerable support was expressed by owners present. Dave Irish suggested that any proposal for change should be written up and submitted to the Class. Irish also stated that if anyone sees something wrong out there with categories rulings, bring it to the attention of Renee or Dave and they will investigate it.

North American Schedule

Marty Slagowitz said that the regional fleets had been polled and it seems that nobody has a problem with the preliminary schedule except for San Francisco if we do low point scoring. It was agreed that San Francisco will be taken off the list.

The issues of non-Mumm circuit events were brought up. Owners are working to get Mumm 30 starts in different territories. Promotional help from Farr was requested to get more of these Mumm starts. One example is the Black Seal Cup that Peter Reggio runs with seven starts a day. The regatta is June 6-7.

Mark Ploch stated that he believes it is unfair to leave the San Francisco boats out. It was too bad that Big Boat didn't happen. Ed Collins agreed that the West Coast shouldn't be ignored. Geoff Stagg said that the offer for a separate start was rescinded by St. Francis.

Stagg stated that he was able to secure the Swedish sponsor Investor to host a circle for the Mumm 30, Mumm 36, Farr 40 and Corel 45 in Miami for the SORC. In additional they will host a cocktail party on Saturday night.

In regards to the Worlds to be held in Hilton Head, all the good/bad points were brought up. Mark Ploch stated that it is not on the way and it is not cheap. Nelson Stephenson said that airfare to Savannah was reasonable and a condo for the entire crew would run about $1200. Renee Mehl reported that there was dockage right outside condos that would be discounted. Marty asked if it was still during the hurricane season, but it was pointed out that any East Coast venue would be in peril.

Sandy Malakis asked if three or four events would count for the circuit. It was decided that another event should be added to the circuit to add more support to the class and four events would count. Marty Slagowitz suggested that Marblehead be added, because it was such a great event last year. Roland Arthur agreed that it was a great regatta, but cold. Dave Koski suggested Mentor, Ohio after the Verve and on the way back to Annapolis. Dave Irish stated the committee has set this year's agenda, and there would not be any further changes on the schedule. It was agreed that four out of six events would count for circuit points.

Jeff Udell discussed the Atlantic City problems with parking and the cranes last year. He promised that all would be better arranged this year and parking would not be a problem.

Ed Freitag wanted to know why the date of the Lewmar Cup was changed to September 11 - 1 3 from October. Renee Mehl stated that they were earlier so people could do both the Worlds and Lewmar without a time conflict, ie. taking time off work. She also mentioned that the Annapolis Yacht Club was planning on opening their boat yard across the creek as a one design center. Therefore, all of the boats could be docked at the annex. Sandy Malakis suggested that before the Lewmar Cup there is a regatta in the Chesapeake that would be a great warm up for owners during Labor Day weekend. The Mumm 30's will have their own start.

Dave Irish stated that Charlie Lawrence was retiring from his position as Treasurer, and if anyone would like to volunteer for the position, they should see him after the meeting. (Subsequent to the meeting, Fred Sherratt was co-opted to the position of Treasurer under 6.5 (b) of the North American constitution.)

Dave Irish wanted more owners to communicate via E-mail and said the Farr office would circulate the list. He suggested building a network to poll all owners on E-mail. It can make the owners association more efficient. Irish asked if a web site was available. Tom Tatum stated that it isn't a problem setting up the web site, but they have to be updated at least once a week.

Sandy Malakis brought up the issue of dockage during the SORC. Merrill Stevens can put the boat together and there is unlimited boat storage at Moby's. Jeff Goff added that Peninsular Marine in Key West was storing boats for $5/day. Jack Lefort mentioned that there is a NOOD regatta before the SORC in St. Petersburg if anyone wanted to go to that. Mark Ploch and Ed Collins were planning to attend.

Jeff Udell said that there would be a Mumm 30 displayed at the Sail Expo Show February 4-7 in Atlantic City. He invited all the owners to stop by and help endorse the class.

Dave Irish asked if there were any other issues to be brought up and thanked everyone for attending. The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m.