MINUTES OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE OF THE NSOA HELD AT ALEXANDRA PALACE, LONDON, AT 1400 ON SATURDAY 7th MARCH 2009
Present: David Wines - Chairman
Gerard Dyson – Acting Secretary
Andrew Porteous - Treasurer
David West - Publicity Officer
Max Evans – Chairman Championship Sub-committee
Sean Clarkson - Webmaster
Pete Richards – Editor of Squibble
Peter Marchant
Peter Jackson
Colin Norman
Apologies: Tony Saltonstall, Lou Bibby, Malcolm Blackburn, Michael Barsby, Jill Fleming, David Pearce, Peter Johnson, Chris Pope, Steve Warren-Smith, Sally Everitt.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked Gerard Dyson, who had kindly agreed to be Acting Secretary in Lou Bibby’s absence.
Minutes of the last meeting held on Monday 10th November 2008 at The Naval Club, London.
The Minutes were unanimously approved and duly signed by the Chairman.
Matters Arising
Deck Mould
The Chairman reported that Parkers had completed the new deck mould the bill for which was £5490. This figure was less than Parkers estimate of £5000 plus VAT.
Hull Mould
Parkers had provided a written estimate stating that the price for a new hull mould would not exceed £5700 including VAT. Although there may still be a little life left in the existing mould, it was agreed unanimously that it was in the best interests of the Class to proceed now with the purchase of the new hull mould. The Chairman undertook to write to Parkers and place the order.
Action: David Wines
Sub-committees
Details of the role and membership of the various sub-committees had been published in Squibble. Action to publish photographs of the respective chairmen remained outstanding
Action: Pete Richards
Fleet Captains Meeting
It had been decided not to proceed with a Fleet Captains marketing and Class promotion meeting at the Dinghy Show. However, it was hoped such an event could be held in the near future. Peter Jackson undertook to investigate whether it would be possible to find a space and date for such a meeting to be held, subject to Marketing Sub-committee agreement, during the Nationals at Weymouth.
Action: Peter Jackson, Mike Barsby
Squib Flag and Banner
A Squib Flag and Banner using designs by Mike Barsby, based on the newly adopted Class Logo he had produced, had been purchased. The Chairman asked that a vote of thanks be Minuted to Mike Barsby for all his design work and for arranging the supply of these items. Both will be displayed at the Weymouth Nationals.
Action: Peter Jackson, Mike Barsby
Irish Forum
In the absence of Jill Fleming there was no Irish Forum Report. On behalf of the Committee and all her many friends in the NSOA the Chairman said that he would convey to her all best wishes for a speedy recovery and return to good health.
Gerard Dyson drew attention to the beautiful wooden trophy which Emmet Dalton had sourced from Australia and presented as an Irish Travellers’ Trophy. Gerard suggested that it would be good to have a similar travellers’ trophy for events held in England, Scotland, and Wales. The Committee agreed, and Pete Richards, who had been closely involved in developing the programme for such an award in the Merlin Rocket Class, undertook to assist Gerard develop the proposal further.
Action: Gerard Dyson, Pete Richards, David Wines
Treasurer’s Report
Andrew Porteous circulated the latest balance sheet and income and expenditure account. He reported that the Class finances had been boosted by the receipt of building fees for new boats with further income expected from recently placed orders. The income to date is satisfactory and includes subscriptions received up to the end of January. He pointed out that many members had not yet changed their standing orders, and asked that Fleet Captains be charged with reminding owners that they had to be fully paid up members at the right rate before they could be issued with the yearly sticker by the Membership Secretary. Costs so far include two Squibbles and all usual expenditure for this time of year. Looking forward, if the subscription income comes in at the hoped for level the NSOA will finish the year with enough funds to meet the cost of new moulds and an expansion of benefits for the membership, together with the continuing promotion of the class.
Andrew drew attention to the fact that the NSOA owned moulds and plugs are not currently insured by the Association, but as part of Parkers own insurance cover. He felt that it was important that the NSOA should hold insurance cover on these valuable assets, and that they should be clearly labelled as property belonging to the NSOA. There was unanimous agreement on these points. On a related insurance point, David West questioned whether the NSOA was currently adequately covered for risks. Andrew undertook to look into the Associations Insurance Policy with a view to making any necessary adjustments to ensure that the NSOA was adequately covered for all these requirements. Peter Marchant offered to assist by obtaining some alternative quotations. The Chairman undertook to contact Parkers to ensure that the all NSOA plugs and moulds were clearly marked as belonging to the Association.
Action: Andrew Porteous, Peter Marchant, David Wines
Membership Secretary’s Report
In Sally Everitt’s absence Andrew Porteous presented her report. At the present time there were 491 Full Members, 119 Associate Members, and 482 boats. Despite all efforts to ensure that members paid the correct new subscription rate, some 81 subscriptions which had been received so far were at the old rate. It was agreed that the cut-off date in terms of membership information for the Handbook would be 13 March 09 (amendment to the earlier agreed date of 5 March). It was suggested that Fleet Captains should be fully involved in helping to chase up members and the Chairman agreed to ask Sally to circulate the necessary information to them for this purpose.
It was pointed out that Sally had done a magnificent job in recovering unpaid subscriptions as well as keeping on top of the additional workload involved as a result of the increase in the subscription rate. In was unanimously agreed that the vital work carried out by the Hon. Membership Secretary was thoroughly deserving of recognition in the form of a small annual honorarium.
Action: Sally Everitt, Andrew Porteous, David Wines
Marketing Sub-committee Report
Squibble – Pete Richards reported that edition No 119 produced by a new printer had marked a major step forward. The paper quality was better, the artwork improved, more colour had been included, and the printer had been quicker and cheaper. Looking ahead, Pete said that copy date for the next edition would be 1 May 09, and for the Handbook 31 March 09. David West kindly agreed to update the history of the Squib which appears at the front of the Handbook.
Action: Pete Richards, David West
Dinghy Show – It was agreed that a full wash-up on the Dinghy Show would take place at the May meeting, however, it was clear that the NSOA had mounted an excellent display. Many had been involved in the exercise, but particular thanks were due to Tony Saltonstall, for providing his magnificently restored No 11 – “Squib”, and of course to Toby and Margo Taylor for their tireless enthusiasm and energy in mounting the display and fronting the stand. Brief discussion followed about the ongoing problems surrounding the transportation and storage of the steps. Peter Marchant suggested that there may be value in using the services of Pencilpatch – a firm who will store stands and erect them when required, and he undertook to investigate further and report back at the next meeting.
Action: Peter Marchant, Mike Barsby
Website – Sean Clarkson tabled report. Responding to Jill Fleming’s observation about the purchase of domain names, Sean recommended the purchase of two names, NSOA.org.uk, and National Squib.co.uk. This was unanimously agreed. Sean also briefed on the ongoing problems with the membership section which Will Bibby was very kindly helping to resolve. It was agreed that this problem needed to be resolved as quickly as possible. As a fall back position, Sean undertook to investigate the cost of purchasing a new membership system. The Chairman thanked Sean for his report, and for all his excellent ongoing work as Webmaster.
Action: Sean Clarkson
Publicity and Advertising – David West reported on the new advertising campaign running in Yachts and Yachting (Y and Y). In addition there had been various pieces featuring the Class in Y and Y, on the Y and Y website, and in Dinghy Sailing Magazine. There had also been an excellent photograph in the latest RYA magazine. David reported that he had held a very useful meeting that morning with Gael Pawson the editor of Y and Y, who was keen to feature more about Squibs over the coming year. She was also interested in taking part in a race during the Championships at Weymouth, and David had offered her his boat for this purpose. It was agreed that this had the potential for excellent publicity for the Class. Peter Jackson undertook to brief the Championship Committee on the matter. The Chairman thanked David for his generosity in offering to lend his boat, and all the excellent publicity he had been achieving for the Class.
Action: David West, Peter Jackson
Technical Sub-committee Report
In the absence of Malcolm Blackburn, the Chairman took the meeting through his report. As Des McWilliams was no longer part of UK Halsey, steps had been taken to remove his name from the list of Squib Class licensed sail makers. The RYA was writing to Des McWilliams informing him of the decision. In response to a query by Jill Fleming, the Chairman undertook to contact her to reassure her that there was no change to earlier decisions which were recorded in the Minutes on this subject.
Malcolm’s report highlighted that changes to the Racing Rules of Sailing 2009 – 2012 made it preferable to amend the Class rules in two areas. RRS 2009 -2012 Rule 87 Change to the class rules states:
The sailing instructions may change a class rule only when the class rules permit the change, or when written permission of the class association for the change is displayed on the official notice board.
As a result Malcolm proposed that the following changes be made to class rule C.10 Limitations, and class rule C.5:
C10 Limitations
Add:
2) Event Notice of Race and or Sailing Instructions may increase the number of spinnakers carried. However only one spinnaker shall be used in a race.
C.5
Add:
C.5.1(b)(4)
Marine band hand held VHF radio
The proposed changes were unanimously agreed.
Action: Malcolm Blackburn
Personal Buoyancy - Andrew Porteous expressed concern that the minimum standards laid down for personal buoyancy in the Squib Class Rules might be inadequate for the boat and the higher range wind and sea state conditions in which it is frequently raced. It was agreed to ask the Technical Committee to investigate.
Action: Malcolm Blackburn
Flares – Noting that the Class is frequently required to carry flares e.g. some Championships, Cowes Week etc, discussion took place on the matter of disposing of out of date flares as it is understood that the RNLI will no longer accept these. It was agreed to ask the Technical Committee to investigate and advise on the matter.
Action: Malcolm Blackburn
National Championship Sub-committee Report
Max Evans reported that the Royal Dart Yacht Club had written to formally bid to host the 2012 National Championship. The Royal Victoria Yacht Club had also bid to run this event, however, Andrew Porteous said he thought they might now be looking to host the event in 2013. It was confirmed that despite their reported interest, no formal bid had been received from Holyhead SC to run the event. After discussion, Max undertook to contact Royal Victoria Yacht Club to clarify their position. It was agreed that if they confirmed that their bid was now for 2013, the 2012 Championship would be awarded to the Royal Dart Yacht Club.
Further to proposals that a future National Championship should be held at Bridlington, Gerard Dyson reported that there was no progress to report on a start date for Bridlington Marina although the Council and Harbour Commissioners were now in full agreement that a marina should be built.
The Chairman reported that planning was underway for the 2011 Championship at Plymouth. The dates for the event would be Saturday 25 June to Friday 1 July 2011 (Note: amended date).
2009 National Championship – Weymouth
Peter Jackson reported that preparations for the 2009 Championships were proceeding well. A brochure, similar to that produced by Royal Victoria Yacht Club in 2006, was in course of production and would be sent to all entrants at the end of May. The brochure would include the SIs. The social programme was also firming up, and fuller details would be available on the Championship website shortly.
Action: Peter Jackson
Any Other Business
Building Fee for Squib 868 – To date the NSOA had received no building fee for Squib No 868, the boat awarded as a raffle prize at the 40th Anniversary Regatta hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club at Burnham – on - Crouch. A copy of the invoice had been acquired from Parkers which showed that the building fee had not been included in the price at which the boat had been supplied. The Chairman undertook to contact Adrian Fluker, who had placed the order, and to request payment of the outstanding building fee.
Action: David Wines
Squib Class attendance at Cannes Regatta – The Chairman asked if anyone knew any more about the event than had appeared on the website. In view of the potential for good publicity from such an event, it was hoped that if a start was offered for the Squib Class, details would be made available through the NSOA to enable all interested Squib owners the opportunity to enter.
In-House Sail Certification – Peter Jackson raised the issue of In-House Sail Certification which had been introduced by the RYA. It was clear from the short discussion which followed that little was known about the new system. The Chairman undertook to look into this and to consult with Malcolm Blackburn with a view to getting some information about the new arrangements onto the website.
Action: David Wines, Malcolm Blackburn
East Coast Championship
Colin Norman reported that Medway Yacht Club was keen to host the East Coast Championship again in 2011 and he would be liaising with the other east coast clubs on the matter.
Action: Colin Norman
Next Meeting – The next meeting will be held at The Naval Club, Mayfair, London at 1600 on Monday 11May 09. It is planned to arrange dinner for those who wish in the The Naval Club on completion.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 1650.