Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the National Squib Owners Association held on 27th June 2007 at SCYC, Abersoch
Present
The Chairman, Peter Marchant welcomed 71 Members to the Annual General Meeting
Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from Celia Bennett, Mike Barsby, Ben Bibby, John Good, Andrea Holland, Peter Johnson and several other Members.
Minutes of the 2006 AGM
The Minutes of the AGM held on 5th July, 2006 (copies of which had been circulated) were approved and signed.
Proposed: Peter Jackson
Seconded: Adrian Fluker
Matters Arising
Dinghy Show 2007
The Chairman thanked Peter White for running an excellent NSOA stand in March. Pete offered to run the stand in 2008 provided storage could be found for the equipment after March 2008. It was agreed to find someone to help pack up the stand and remove & store the equipment (preferably with the assistance of a transit van).
Accounts for the year ending 30th April 2007
Andrew Porteous circulated the accounts and explained various details. There was £431 surplus on the balance sheet which would be transferred to the mould replacement fund. The website was an increased item of expenditure but the sailboat costs were significantly reduced. The subscriptions amounted to £7,000. The cash reserves of £15,000 were necessary to rebuild the Squib mould when required. The original mould is 12 years old, the master plugs were made in 2002 and the deck mould in 2004. The Treasurer was therefore happy that with the surplus owing from adverts in Squibble and the existing subs - there was sufficient cash for the needs of the Association and in view of the extra work an increase would cause for the Membership Secretary, he felt it was not necessary to increase the subscriptions in 2007.
David East asked whether the moulds were insured and to what value and were they in the same building as the plugs. It was confirmed the plugs are in a different location to the moulds and Parkers were responsible for the insurance of the moulds as they are on their premises.
The accounts of the NSOA for the year ended 30/4/07 were adopted.
Proposed: Tony Saltonstall
Seconded: David White
The Chairman thanked the Hon. Treasurer for his Report. Andrew Porteous thanked Richard Sullivan for making it a very easy and smooth handover.
Subscriptions
It was agreed that the subscriptions for 2008 should remain the same - an incredibly cheap price of £15 - full member & £10 - associate member.
Proposed: Tony Saltonstall
Seconded: Gerard Dyson
The Proposal lodged by 2 members to change to white sails
The Chairman stated that everyone present had received the Notice of AGM and the letters from Pete White and Nigel Harris supporting the above proposal and the report from the Technical Sub-committee (on behalf of the NSOA). The Chairman explained to the Meeting that it had been agreed to incur the additional expense of a separate mailing of all the papers relating to the Notice of AGM. It was an important issue and therefore it was necessary to ensure all the information went out to every member within the time limit set out in the NSOA constitution. The Chairman said he had called for proxy voting as not everyone could attend the AGM and the resolution to change to white sails would affect the whole membership.
The Chairman then asked the Proposer - Peter White to address the Meeting.
Pete said “I’m sure you have read my proposal - I have no issue with the colour of the sailcloth but I do have an issue with the quality of the sail cloth. Last year I received very poor quality material which I was embarrassed to sell to friends and customers. Although I have no issue with the colour, the class could go forward if this restriction was removed. The sailcloth provided this year was of a better quality but Ed Hyde has said that Contender are not consistent with their promises. I am concerned that with their existing track record the sailcloth might be ok for 1 or 2 years but then might deteriorate once again."
The Chairman asked the Seconder - Nigel Harris to address the Meeting. The Chairman was informed that Nigel was not present at the Meeting.
The Chairman then asked Malcolm Blackburn, Chairman of the Technical subcommittee to address the Meeting on behalf of the NSOA.
Malcolm said that no doubt all present had read all the papers but he reported that the Notice of AGM & papers had been sent out before he could add the point that two sailmakers had checked and approved the facts of his report.
He further reported that the tighter specification on the sailcloth had only been given to Contender in September 2006. It was true that Hyde had rejected a fair amount of sailcloth. However, in the past, the specification was too wide for the sailmakers to be able to reject the sailcloth and therefore as the new regime had only been in existence for less than a year, the Technical subcommittee felt it was too premature to vote on this issue.
Malcolm confirmed that in the future it might be necessary to change but while Contender are co-operating and making the sailcloth to the higher spec. and it was being monitored - the NSOA were against the proposal lodged by the 2 members.
David Garlick said he felt aggrieved that it seemed like only 5 minutes ago the class went through the whole consultation process and how he felt it was a waste of time to be revisiting this topic in such a short timeframe. It would be good to finally knock this topic on the head and leave it well alone - whatever the result.
The Chairman then allowed numerous questions from the Meeting concerning the existing sailcloth and possible future options. There followed lengthy discussion on the subject but to summarise:-
Timing - over the last year, the technical subcommittee had got together with the sailmakers to try and improve the sailcloth. This had resulted in a higher cloth specification with tighter tolerances to enable Contender to deliver the desired product.
The point was made that if the sailcloth was sub-standard and was rejected, the sailmakers would then be without any sailcloth for months.
Toby Taylor made the point that now there was a spec. - the previous problems shouldn’t arise. The issue however, was that there was a higher level of sailcoth available, the next generation of sailcloth - polycote. This lasts far longer, is stronger and performs better in heavier conditions but it can’t be used due to the fact the sails look terrible as the mace colour cracks - something that doesn’t show if the sails are white. The class membership need to address this issue & decide where the future lies - there is a solution in sailcloth quality but not in terms of sentiment over the mace colour.
Malcolm Blackburn reported that Contender are the chosen supplier and they are happy to make polypreg or polycote cloth. A trial jib was made 3 years ago and examined at Rutland but was rejected as a material due to damage to the jib clue and where it flaps around the mast. The trial is continuing so other options can be considered if there are problems in the future with the current higher specification.
Tony Saltonstall said that the sail was available for the Meeting to examine it - after 4 seasons it could still be used competitively.
In brief - it was agreed the current debate is about the quality of the sailcloth. The reality is the membership want brown sails but the real issue is that if the Class move to the next generation of sailcloth - polycote - the sailcloth has to be white due to the cosmetic appearance of cracked brown sails.
It was agreed that if in the future, the Class Membership decide on a different finish for the sailcloth, this would need ratification by a 2/3rd’s majority vote at either an AGM or EGM.
The Chairman concluded that it had been important to discuss the issues at the Meeting - the completed voting slips would now be collected and the results made known by the end of the Meeting. Peter White and Tony Saltonstall collected and counted the voting slips. The proxy votes had already been checked and counted (only full members can vote) & the Chairman informed the Meeting of the numbers so everyone present knew how the rest of the Membership around the Country felt - the Chairman said 114 proxies were against the resolution with 16 in favour.
Result of Resolution
34 votes for the resolution
162 against the resolution
2 spoilt ballots,
9 spoilt proxies
The Chairman declared that the Resolution was not carried as it did not receive the required 2/3rd’s majority.
Election of Officers
The Chairman said that Pete Richards was doing a fantastic job as Editor of Squibble (unanimous applause) and David West had kindly offered to stand as Publicity Officer instead of Pete. Pete would continue editing Squibble and would liaise with David on all publicity matters.
Proposed: Steve Warren Smith
Seconded: Peter Jackson
The nominations for the other officers remained the same, as follows:-
Chairman David Wines
Hon. Secretary Lou Bibby
Hon. Treasurer Andrew Porteous
Hon Technical Advisor Tony Saltonstall
Hon Auditor Richard Sullivan
Hon. Membership Sec. Sally Everitt
There was a unanimous vote in favour of the Officers of the NSOA. At this point the Chairman thanked Sally Everitt for all her hard work and presented her with a bottle of champagne.
Election of Committee
The following who were elected for a period of two years at the 2005 AGM retire and offer themselves for election for a further two years:
Peter Jackson Weymouth Sailing Club Fleet
David Wines Plymouth Fleet
The following who were elected for a period of two years at the 2006 AGM continue in office for a further year.
Mike Barsby Rutland Sailing Club Fleet
Louise Bibby Royal Anglesey Yacht Club Fleet
Max Evans Felixstowe Ferry SC Fleet
John Good Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club Fleet
Colin Norman Medway Yacht Club Fleet
David Pearce Waldringfield Sailing Club Fleet
Gillian Guinness Howth Yacht Club Fleet
Fred Campbell Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club Fleet
Peter Horton Lowestoft & Oulton Broad Fleet
Richard Hinsley Burnham Fleet
Chris Pope South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club Fleet
Steve Warren Smith Royal Victoria Yacht Club Fleet
Robert Marzetti Aldeburgh Yacht Club Fleet
Sandy Bremner Royal Tay Yacht Club Fleet
The following who were elected during the year resign and offer themselves for election for a further two years.
Peter Johnson Dartmouth Fleet
There was a unanimous vote in favour of the new Committee.
Future Championship Venues
2008 Lowestoft
2009 Weymouth
2010 Dun Laoghaire
The Chairman said he looked forward to seeing everyone at Lowestoft next year. Weymouth SC reported that plans were well under way for 2009. The Chairman said it was good to be supporting a new fleet & venue at Royal St. George in 2010.
Future Venues - The Chairman said that in reality there weren’t that many suitable venues and it would be good to have a few more available. Belfast had expressed an interest for the future, likewise, Holyhead, Kinsale, Royal Victoria YC again and Bridlington once a marina had been built. It was agreed it was important to have a home squib fleet otherwise the Nationals lost the personal touch each fleet/club gives to the event.
Any Other Business
The Chairman said before he opened questions to the floor there was a matter he felt concerned about. The Squib website had been rebuilt to address the security problems but sadly it had been hijacked by a few members making personal remarks with unnecessary comments about the NSOA committee.
Peter Jackson agreed and said it would be good to return to the old style forum of the website. Jenny Riley asked if a link could be arranged to Lowestoft. Gerard Dyson confirmed he was managing the site with the help of Sean Clarkson and was trying to improve it the whole time. NSOA committee minutes were now available to view on the website.
Flares - Adrian Fluker asked if it should be mandatory to carry two red flares in view of the ageing nature of the fleet. It was agreed that carrying a VHF was very useful in light of an earlier incident during the week.
The Championship subcommittee will be asked to consider the request.
Masts
David White said he felt the existing situation with Superspar masts was very unsatisfactory in a one design class. Currently Superspar has a competitive edge due to the top section weighing 1.2 kg -v- 1.5 kg. Now that the centre of gravity has been sorted he felt the Canopus mast is disadvantaged by Superspar.
Tony Saltonstall made the point that under the class rules, some people gained a competitive edge by sailing boats with low sail numbers with slimmer keels. This was why there were one design rules in place although many of the rules are in the process of being looked at and tightened up. Furthermore, all the boats currently leading at the Nationals were using Canopus masts.
Malcolm said that scrutineering and weighing all the masts at the Nationals had been a very useful exercise - he had yet to analyse the data but lead had been added to approx 10-15 masts including 2 Proctor masts. Some of the Superspar masts had been built incorrectly and were not within the RYA tolerance of 1 mm. Pete White said if there’s a written rule and a set tolerance allowed - it must be enforced.
The Technical subcommittee will review and advise on this matter.
Richard Sullivan made a further point concerning measurement re: new boats that been certified but carried illegal masts. Malcolm said that masts hadn’t been checked before but would be in the future and this further point will be investigated by the technical subcommittee.
New Class Members
The Chairman felt that a bigger issue was trying to encourage more youngsters into the Class. The age of the class was increasing although it was good to see an 11 year & 12 year old competing with their Dads in Abersoch.
The Chairman then added before closing the Meeting, how much he had enjoyed being Chairman for the last 3 years and how much he had enjoyed the job. He paid tribute to a great team of people and thanked Lou Bibby for her support as Hon. Secretary.
David Wines, the new Chairman then replied by saying what a fantastic Chairman Pete had been and how he had chaired all his meetings, efficiently and without losing his cool & had guided the class magnificently through some important changes eg. choosing another Sailmaker, dealing with the RYA re: ISAF format for the class rules and self furling jibs while keeping a sense of perspective of the integrity of the existing one design nature of the Class. He then presented a silver photo frame to Peter with the engraving “Peter Marchant - Chairman NSOA 2004-7 from all your friends in the Squib class”.
There being no further business the Meeting ended at 19.30 hours.
Lou Bibby
Hon. Sec. - 4.7.07