Lou Bibby - Hon Secretary

                   Andrew Porteous - Hon Treasurer

                   Malcolm Blackburn - Chairman Technical Sub-committee

                   Mike Barsby

                   Peter Horton

                   David Wines

                   Colin Norman

                   David Pearce

                   Peter Jackson

Apologies:      Max Evans, Tony Saltonstall, John Good, Richard Hinsley, Chris Pope, Gillian Guinness, Fred Campbell, Steve Warren Smith, Sandy Bremner, Robert Marzetti, Peter Johnson.

Minutes of the last Meeting held on 4th March, 2007

The Minutes were approved and duly signed by the Chairman.

Matters Arising

Registering the Squib Name Internationally - Malcolm read out an email received from Ken Kershaw at the RYA confirming that the RYA hold the Squib copyright & furthermore they have registered the name "Squib" as a UK trade mark (no. 2194100).  The RYA legal department were of the view this protected the name Squib even if someone tried to register the name international Squib - a conflict with the trade mark would be identified and contested by the RYA thus protecting the name.

The Meeting agreed that the NSOA were suitably protected if someone ever tried to use the Squib name.

Booms - Malcolm reported that he was about to finalise registering the 24 illegal booms with the RYA as previously agreed.

Masts - See below under Technical Subcommittee’s Report.

An article has been written on this point for the May Squibble and it was only fair to remind Members/competitors that it is their responsibility to ensure their boat measures and conforms to the one design rules.

National Championship Sub-Committee's Report

SCYC Nationals Update

Max Evans reported by email that following consultation with all NSOA Committee Members regarding the 8 race format trial proposed by SCYC - there was no case for changing to an 8 race programme.  Malcolm Blackburn informed the Meeting that the Notice of Race had been altered to reflect the Main Committee's decision to remain with the standard 6 race format.

Venue for 2010 Nationals

The Championship subcommittee had considered extending the venues for the 2010 Nationals as agreed at the 2006 AGM. They had received 3 offers, Royal St. George, Kinsale and the pre-existing offer from Royal North of Ireland YC.  The subcommittee were in favour of Royal St. George YC and it was unanimously approved by the Committee to include Dun Laoghaire as the 2010 venue on the Notice of AGM which will be circulated to the Membership at the end of May.

Class Rule Changes at AGM

The meeting then discussed the problem of constantly revisiting perennial class rule issues which require membership approval to change.  It was noted that other classes had a rule in place to prevent topics being raised & voted on annually.  Obviously, it was important to discuss each issue as it is raised but not to put it to the vote if the Class had only recently voted on an issue.  LCB will check other class rules and it was unanimously agreed by the Meeting that any rule change requiring a vote of the membership which has recently been debated & voted on, cannot then be revisited for a further 5 years.

It was felt that changing the class constitution to implement the above at the June 2007 AGM would send out the wrong signals to the Membership, due to the contentious nature of the Members proposal to change to white sales but holding an EGM at Rutland in October to alter the Squib constitution would be a good idea to prevent certain issues being voted on ad nauseum.  It was likely an EGM would be necessary anyway at Rutland to formally approve the current Class rules rewrite into the ISAF format - as agreed with the RYA.

Hon Treasurer’s Report

Andrew Porteous reported that the NSOA year end of April made it very difficult to reconcile all the figures ready for the May meeting & finalise figures for the June AGM.  It was unanimously agreed to change the year end to 31st December forthwith.   The next accounts will thus be for a short period drawn to December 2007.

Andrew circulated his report & accounts to the Meeting and explained various items to the Committee.  As a new member to the Committee, Andrew wished for clarification on the existence & state of the master plug and the deck, hull and keel moulds as well as their insurance status.  Peter Marchant will meet with Parkers and report back to the Meeting on the above.

Andrew said an important source of revenue was the hull mould fees but he would appreciate tighter controls on the sail numbers and hull fees.  Evidently 848 & 849 were on the water but the NSOA had not yet received the mould fees.  (Since the meeting - Parkers have paid the outstanding £600).

A large debtor existed (approx £900) partially due to the outstanding Irish subscriptions although Sally Everitt was working very hard with the Irish Fleet captains to get subs paid directly into the new Euro account.

The website was a major item of expenditure due to the makeover & improvement re: security.

The sailboat costs were greatly reduced this year by not having electricity on the stand so although income was down, so was expenditure.

The Treasurer reported he was happy with the financial state of the Class. Advertising revenue was due for 2007 Squibbles & the Handbook .The main financial issue is whether there are sufficient reserves to build a new mould should something happen to the existing one.

The Treasurer was thanked for his hard work & the figures would be posted with the Notice of AGM before the end of May.

Hon Membership Secretary's Report

Sally Everitt reported by email that having spent some considerable time she was now up to date with the database & subscriptions. Her report was duly circulated to the Meeting.

Sally said she had been working hard with the Irish Fleet Captains to ensure the subscriptions were paid into the new Euro account.  Sally felt that having the Form in Euros was helping as she has received Euro cheques & requests to pay by standing order. However, there was a debtor of approx £900. It was agreed to do whatever could be done to make the Membership Sec's job easier.  Pete Marchant to investigate with Ian Mitchell possibly paying subscriptions via the NSOA website.

Marketing Sub-committee's Report

Pete Richards reported by email that this subcommittee planned to meet during the SCYC nationals in June to discuss future advertising/promotional campaigns.  A major topic for discussion will be the Dinghy Show. Mike Barsby felt that it was the least expensive and best opportunity to exhibit the boat to future potential squibbers.  By not attending the dinghy show, it greatly reduces the advertising opportunities of promoting the class.  However, this was completely dependent on someone offering to attend Alexandra Palace with a Squib.  It was agreed that Lou would write to Dave and Pete White thanking them formally for running the stand and asking whether they would be prepared to exhibit again in 2008.

The meeting discussed asking all the Fleet Captains to update the Yachts & Yachting website with details of any Squib open meetings which would be a very useful flag waving exercise.

Squibble

Pete Richards hoped to send it to print by the 20th May but once again was in need of good copy and photographs.

Website

It was agreed that having a forum was an important area of the website but unfortunately some postings have been unhelpful.  David Wines queried the rules enabling comments to be posted on the website as he had recently noted postings by a yachting pundit who was - as far as he was aware - not a NSOA member.  Pete Marchant undertook to check this with Ian Mitchell.

Technical Sub-committee

Malcolm Blackburn circulated their report to the meeting:-

Masts - most of the non-tubed Superspar masts have been checked and rectified.  A very small number may have fallen through the net.  However, contrary to previous information it has been found that some of the original tubed masts do not comply with C of G.  They are about 0.6 kg overweight.  The owner has 2 choices.  Remove and lighten the tube and place higher up the mast or add 180 g weights to the mast crane.  Masts will have to be scrutinised at the Nationals.  Bryan Riley has purchased scales and calibration weights & a number of stick on alloy wheel balance weights will be available for rectification on the day.

Booms - see above but the numbers will be lodged with the RYA shortly.

Lonton & Gray Spinnakers - A request came from Ian Gray and measurer Chris Henderson to increase the half and 3/4 width measurements.  They claimed that they have been making spinnakers to the old rules and now check to the new rules and find them out of class.  The technical subcommittee have checked this & conclude otherwise, that in fact L&G have developed their spinnaker by increasing the leach lengths to max and thus the measurement points now are lower and hence too wide.  L&G have been told verbally that the NSOA will not change the rules & they must rectify all spinnakers supplied to make them comply with the current rules that have been applicable for their whole period of the sail manufacturing licence. Malcolm was instructed to write formally to L&G confirming that this will be done.

Sailcloth

Malcolm reported that Hyde has received new cloth to a tighter spec from Contender and are pleased with the results of their tests.  Hyde are monitoring a few sets of sails for improved life. Dick Batt was to make a jib from the polycote cloth (i.e. impregnated with the hard resin) and sail it this season at events.  Unfortunately, the jib has yet to be seen sailing thus missing us the opportunity to re-visit this cloth option.

Bow-Sharpening - there are a number of boats sailing where the bow has been deliberately sharpened. See technical committee. article in Squibble.  It is not thought to gain a performance advantage but it is breaking the class rules.  It is intended to point out the problem to the owners at the SCYC Nationals & request rectification. There is also an issue with a few boats filling in the transom radius and making a sharp corner which does give a performance advantage, but the effected area is so small it is felt to give negligible effect.

The meeting discussed the problem of hull modification and it was unanimously agreed that the Class rules do not allow it and therefore a clear stand must be made by the NSOA to enforce the one design nature of the class.

Notice of Annual General Meeting 2007

It was unanimously agreed to have a separate mailing of the Notice of AGM to the membership to satisfy the 28 day notice period. Normally the Notice of AGM is included with the May Squibble but due to unforeseen & often inherent delays with publishing deadlines & the likely contentious nature of the members proposal for white sails, it was decided to incur the extra expense of a separate mailshot.  The Chairman would write a covering letter explaining that he would be calling a poll at the AGM & asking for proxy votes. It was agreed to enclose letters from both Pete White & Nigel Harris explaining why they had lodged the proposal and also have a letter from the technical subcommittee explaining why they & the main committee were against the proposal.

The Notice is attached to these Minutes.

Membership Subscriptions -

At some stage they will need to be increased but it would be unfair on the new Membership Secretary to now oversee a change of Standing Orders when she was still sorting out the Membership database. Andrew Porteous was happy with the financial health of the NSOA & it was unanimously agreed to keep the existing subscriptions at £15 full member & £10 associate member for the year commencing 1st January 2008.

Members Proposal to change to white sails:-

There was lengthy discussion over the Members proposal & the Hon. Sec was informed that the wording of the proposal had to be typed verbatim as received by her, together with the existing rule.

The proposal as received by the Hon. Sec. is copied below:-

PROPOSAL TO THE NATIONAL SQUIB CLASS ASSOCIATION APRIL 2007

I request the members National Squib Class consider a change to the rules controlling the cloth used for the manufacture of the Mainsail and the Jib.

The proposal would mean a change to the Mainsail rule 16.3.2 (a)

Existing rule

Rule 16.3.2(a)  The body of the sail shall consist of 5.52 oz Impregnated polyester (e.g. Polypreg) sailcloth, The colour shall be 'mace' (or similar). The manufacturer as approved by the RYA.

New rule to read as follows.

The body of the Sail shall consist of a woven Polyester material of a weight not less than 5 ounce and more than 6 ounce and from January 2009 the colour may be White.

The proposal would mean a change to the Jib rule 16.4.1 (a)

Existing rule:

Rule 16.4.1(a) The body of the sail shall consist of 5.53 oz Impregnated polyester (e.g. Polypreg) sailcloth, The colour shall be 'mace' (or similar). The manufacturer as approved by the RYA.

New rule to read as follows.

The body of the Sail shall consist of a woven Polyester of a weight between 5 ounces and 6 ounces and from January 2008 the colour may be White.

Proposed by Peter White. Boat number 38

Seconded by Nigel Harris Boat number 65

3rd April 2007

Malcolm Blackburn explained that currently the NSOA dictate the sailcloth and the finish.  The two members wish to remove any restriction upon supply and finish in the belief that there are more suitable products available within the market, which would give increased life. The Technical Committee's view is that the evidence for this is unproven and the following points were made.

1. They dyeing process has no effect on the durability of the cloth.

2. The market has 2 finishes available.  Impregnated which is softer & Coated which is harder.

3.  Coated, we are told will give enhanced wave and gust performance, so it will become the preferred option irrespective of the effect upon life.

4. Coated finish was tried 3 years ago and rejected because it failed where bent sharply near the jib clew and around the mast.

5.  The damage will be the same irrespective of the colour, it's just more visible in mace.

6.  The route chosen at a meeting with sailmakers was to get the stiffest finish possible from the impregnated finish.  Hyde devised a specification and supplies are now available that meet this specification.

The membership survey 3 years ago overwhelmingly rejected white sails due to the loss of the brand identity of the Squib.  Therefore, the Committee unanimously agreed not to support the proposal and would ensure Fleet Captains collect as many proxies as possible so that the result of the vote reflects the true feelings of all the members.

The Chairman said he would also clarify in his Chairman's letter in Squibble that although there is a provision for 5 sailmakers in the rules, the NSOA had no intention to appoint another sailmaker. The option is in place should something happen to one of the four existing sailmakers thus removing the requirement for another Membership vote.

Election of Officers

David Wines - Chairman.

The remaining officers were happy to continue.

Irish Forum

Fred Campbell had been in email contact with Lou regarding a committee place for someone from the Irish Forum.  It was unanimously agreed that anyone from the Irish Forum could attend &/or email their report.

Any Other Business

Mike Barsby again stressed the importance of good photographs for Squibble - whenever an event was held could Members please email photos to Mike Barsby.

Inlands - Rutland

Date:  6/7 October 2007

Date of next Meeting

12th November 2007 - Royal Thames Yacht Club at 5 pm.

The Chairman thanked the Committee for their support and said how much he had enjoyed the last 3 years as Chairman. It was agreed with David Wines that Peter would chair the full AGM meeting rather than change over once the new officers were elected.

There being no further business the Meeting closed at 20.30 hours.