Mumm 30 North American Class Association

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

October 23, 1999

Annapolis Yacht Club

Attendees:

Dave Irish opened the meeting at 8:03 a.m.. The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.

Ed Collins gave a summary of the International Class Annual General Meeting and 1999 Worlds. He said that the European Class was very organized. The European Class was concerned about the helmsman rule, but there was only one person that applied to drive at the Worlds who was found ineligible by the Committee. The European Class has not organized their sail button database and boats have been showing up with new buttons at each event.

Italy has scheduled 8-9 events for their National Circuit. They have suggested having more European Circuit events to increase participation. Other regional schedules have not been finalized yet. Collins stated that there were several European boats that would be attending Key West Race Week and SORC in 2000. He added that the 1999 Worlds were well run, with good sailing conditions and lots of boats.

Dave Irish asked for comments on the new International Class Constitution. Mike Lathrope noted that a member may be suspended under rule 4.4, but an appeal process is not indicated. Renee Mehl said the original format came from another ISAF approved constitution. Lathrope suggested linking to the US Sailing process with protests and appeals. Irish stated that the Constitution is for the ISAF International Class, and there may be ISAF rules that govern the appeal process for these instances. He suggested adopting the Constitution as is, and working on the problems. A motion was put forward to adopt the International Class Constitution, seconded and passed.

A 2000 US Circuit scheduling report was given by Fred Sherratt. He stated that the scheduling committee had reviewed the proposed 2000 schedule which included Key West Race Week, SORC as a three-day venue, the Annapolis NOOD, the NYYC One-Design regatta as the North American Championship, and the Verve Cup in Chicago. A decision is pending on the Lewmar Cup. Renee Mehl informed the committee that the Annapolis Yacht Club has tentatively scheduled the Lewmar Cup for October 27-29, 2000. It can't be earlier due to the Fall Series. This presents a problem with getting the boats down to Miami for the Worlds on November 8. Hosting a regatta in Long Island Sound was suggested, but dismissed due to logistics. Sherratt said another alternative would be to adopt the Newport Gold Regatta in June as the sixth event, and to skip Annapolis in the fall next year.

2000 Local Circuit scheduling reports were started by Mike Lathrope. He stated the Great Lakes still needed to finalize their schedule. The Midwest fleet had a good number of boats and there were 12 boats participating in the 1999 Lake Michigan series. Sandy Malakis reported that the 1999 Chesapeake Bay circuit had 15 events with 12 qualifiers. They will plan a similar schedule for next year. Nelson Stephenson reported that seven boats sailed in the four East Coast events in 1999. Their 2000 schedule has not been finalized. Phil Garland added that a three-race winter series for 2000 had been proposed by Mark Ploch. The St. Petersburg NOOD on February 18-20 was considered for the third event, with two out of three to count toward a trophy.

2000 Worlds report was given by Ed Collins. The Storm Trysail Club will run races off Miami Beach on November 8-11, 2000. All boats will be docked at the Miami Beach Marina, which has been reserved by Renee Mehl for 45 boats. The Avalon Hotel will offer discounted room rates, and will host a party.

The North American Class financial report was given by Fred Sherratt. He stated that the finances had been thoroughly reviewed in the spring, and it was found that Champagne Mumm had missed six months of payments in 1998, which Farr International has been compensated for by the Class. Mumm has recently paid funds for 1999, with US $20,000 for the European fleet, $20,000 for the North American fleet and $10,000 for the International organization. Bodo von der Wense asked what the alternate funding for the Class would be if Mumm did not renew their sponsorship for 2000. Sherratt replied that dues would be raised, or another sponsor could be found. Ed Collins noted that Mumm contributed heavily to the World Championship. Geoff Stagg said that they got a great deal of media exposure from the Worlds and the Tour de France.

Ed Collins gave the Technical Committee report. He stated that there were some new submissions to the Committee at the World AGM. Ratchet blocks are not discouraged in the class as long as they meet or exceed breaking strength and weight and purchase ratios are not increased. As per class rules, some hardware may be added, but none can be removed. He noted that Lewmar has been a long term supporter of the class and asked that owners please support them by using their gear.

The Italians have proposed a new sail button allowance based on the number of events attended. After a boat sails four Circuit events, they would be allowed one additional sail button to be used at the World Championship.

After six Circuit events, they could have two extra buttons for the Worlds, and after seven Circuit events, they could have up to three extra buttons total for the Worlds. These extra buttons would not be added unless the boat sailed the World Championship for that year. Those sails could thereafter be added to the inventory. The proposal was intended to increase participation and not penalize those who sailed in a lot of events.

Sandy Malakis noted that the Chesapeake Bay fleet sailed 15-20 events per season under the sail button rule, including regional Circuit events and Wednesday nights. Ed Collins noted that a Circuit event must be two consecutive days to count for the extra button allowance.

Dave Irish noted that the proposal must go through the rule change process, which would take a year to ratify. Bodo von der Wense said that the cost to owners should be kept in mind. Geoff Stagg added that the three button rule seemed to be working, and the proposed extra button after four events seemed too generous. Fred Sherratt suggested that the proposal should note that the button year should run from the ending date of the Worlds to the beginning of the next Worlds.

Stuart Townsend said that most owners replaced their mainsail, the 30/20 masthead spinnaker and the light or a medium jib every year. After three years of campaigning for some owners, there are other sails that need to be replaced. Collins noted that if the owners wanted a rule change, it had to be submitted in writing. Geoff Stagg suggested that it would be easier to just add one more button, and would help control costs. Dave Irish asked for a show of hands for supporters of the sail button rule "as is" which had three supporters. Irish asked how many supported the Italian proposal, and no one responded. Eighteen owners supported adding more buttons to the rule.

Sandy Malakis asked about not buttoning the #3, which Collins supported by adding that it was a required sail for ORC regulations.

Collins continued with technical committee issues by saying a proposal had been put forward to increase the vang purchase by one block to make the boat easier to sail. Stagg said that the management group was looking at that from an engineering point of view.

Stagg added that the backstay proposal to substitute Spectra for the currently supplied Vectran was approved by the management group. Phil Garland elaborated by saying that Vectran breaks down where the top batten of the mainsail hits it. A backstay with visible wear at that point was tested.

The breaking strength was reduced by half. He suggested taping the Vectran backstays at the batten to increase longevity, and inspecting them frequently. Vectran has less stretch than Spectra, but Spectra has better UV protection and is stronger and more slippery, which helps to clear the batten. Garland also noted that he was not easing the backstay downwind in heavy air.

Jim Allsopp distributed a proposal to increase the foot and mid girth of the .75 fractional spinnaker by cutting down an existing .75 masthead spinnaker. Ed Collins noted that it should be submitted to the management group for engineering considerations.

Dave Irish asked if there were any additional candidates for North American Class Officer Elections. No write-in candidates were received by proxy and none nominated at the meeting. All present were in favor of the proposed slate of officers, which was Nelson Stephenson for President, Ed Collins for Vice President and Fred Sherratt for Treasurer. Irish added that the President and Vice President should be nominated as delegates to the World Council. The nomination was made, seconded and passed.

Dave Irish opened the floor for any other business. He stated that there was tension regarding the proposed ISAF competitor eligibility code. There was potential to destabilize the class if the new system had to be adopted. Fred Sherratt added that it was a difficult situation, since sailors from other nations were unhappy with the US rules, but the proposed ISAF code is unproven. Geoff Stagg said that the Farr 40 Class opposed adopting the ISAF code until it was proven and voted on by the owners. The penalty for not complying would be losing the ability to host a World Championship. Dave Irish will represent the class at the ISAF meetings in Sydney.

Mike Lathrope noted that questions have been posted on the Mumm 30 forum that have not received an official response from class officers or from Farr International. Ed Collins said that any technical questions have to be sent to Farr International in writing as per the class rules. Lathrope suggested noting that on the web site. He also asked about matching the bow numbers to the sail numbers on a permanent basis, which had been discussed at the last AGM. Renee Mehl noted that it was difficult to anticipate ordering bow numbers for the Lewmar Cup with the NOR going out late. It would be difficult to keep them on permanently, since the Racing Rules of Sailing Appendix G advertising rules state that the front 25% of the bow is reserved for advertising of the event organizers choice. This would be problematic at Key West and SORC.

Geoff Stagg thanked Dave Irish for his work as President of the Mumm 30 Class. He stated that Irish has been a great influence for the Class and has helped from the inception with great work.

The meeting was closed at 9:15 a.m.