It appears we may be closer to answering the perennial question posed by new sailors to the IOD...

Usually it is couched in the form of ’how far will it tip?’ or perhaps, if there is a foot of water in the boat – we’re sinking!!!’

Now you can put there fears to rest with a digital presentation – this is Encore during hurricane Florence, September 2006 in Bermuda.

Freeboard, about six inches. Standing on the cockpit floor the water was up to my knees – well above the height of all the cockpit step boxes.

Any improvement on six inches???

If you attended the annual meeting in Long Island Sound in September you will be aware that a new fleet requested recognition by the WCA.

The request was, I gather – I was holed up in Bermuda dodging a hurricane – unanimously approved and I thought you all might like to know a little more about the new fleet.

Basically, with the decline of the Scottish fleet, a group of classic yacht aficionados located in the extreme southwest corner of the United Kingdom – Cornwall – started purchasing the boats located on the Clyde.

To date they have acquired six boats and managed to have them all in one location – St. Mawes, which is on the eastern side of the Falmouth estuary.. A seventh boat is close by having moved to the area directly from Cowes when the original English fleet fell in to decline. At the time of writing negotiations are under way to acquire this boat and move it over to St. Mawes.

Earlier this year I took the opportunity to get down to Cornwall so that I could get to see the fleet and the sailing area and meet those involved. All preliminary moves to be sure I could answer questions at the annual meeting!!!

Many of our Class members have in fact already met the sailors from St. Mawes because they have been issued invitations to the last two Bermuda International Race Week regattas.

The fleet Captain is Johnny Bingham and behind him there are at least half a dozen movers and shakers who are all working hard to develop the fleet.

For those of you not familiar with the area, Cornwall is a rugged coastline with lots of quaint little villages on the edge of the ocean and the enormous Falmouth estuary (home of the famous Carrick Roads) where most of the fleet sailing will take place..

St Mawes is one such village. Here are some photographs.

Finally, after months and months of work by a dedicated group of individuals and around the world conference calls with the Fleet Captains, the membership has approved a new Constitution, By-Laws and Championship Regulations.

The documents were approved and adopted on May 04, 2006 at a Special General Meeting convened in Bermuda during Bermuda International Race Week and are effective from that date. Meaning particularly, that the changes to the Championship Regulations will be active for this years world championship regatta in Long Island Sound.

With the exception of Sweden all fleets were present for the many hours of discussion needed to ensure that each fleet was entirely comfortable with the documents before adoption.

These documents will shortly be posted by your Secretary, on this website under the heading of Administration

My sincere thanks go out to all of those who were involved and gave willingly of their time to ensure an up-dated set of guiding documents for the future of the Class. I am reluctant to name names because so many were involved, however, it would be remiss of me not to single out Greg Mancusi-Ungaro of the Marblehead fleet to who agreed to Chair the group an guide discussions over what turned out to be a far more protracted process than anticipated. Greg - on behalf of the Class membership - thank you.

As a generalisation, the changes have reduced the Constitution to a small number of pages. This has been achieved by moved things around to where they make more sense and has also addressed some of the known issues that have developed since the Constitution was last am mended in 2002 A new document called the 'Schedule of Fees' has been developed to stand outside the Constitution and therefore permit easier management of the Class finances...........with, of course, membership approval!

You will note in looking at the documents that there are almost no changes to the Specifications contained in the By-Laws. This is the next monumental task and will again require a dedicated group to consider the technical aspects of the classes development.........but enough, everyone needs a break and we will not start to look at that issue for several months.

Robert Duffy
President

It' s time for some action!!!

Here in Bermuda we are just about to start our sailing season and I suspect the San Francisco fleet is still going strong. For most of you, however, it is still many months until you start to sail.

So, armchair sailors - it is time to help out with the management of our Class. A small group have worked feverishly all winter to try and overhaul the Class Constitution, By-Laws and Championship regulations. It has been a much bigger challenge and taken much longer than expected but now we have a draft of the documents available for discussion.

..............and, in capital letters, IT IS A DRAFT!!!

These drafts are posted on a special 'blogsite' that can be directly linked from this bulletin. They are also being circulated to Fleet Captains in the hope that individual fleets will make the time to discuss the proposed changes and provide feedback. Your fleet is required to vote on these proposals with a view to adoption, at a Special General Meeting to be convened in Bermuda on May 3rd 2006 - during Bermuda International Race Week.

This is OUR Class and these documents will be used to govern how we conduct our business for the next few years. YOUR input, as an individual or a fleet is actively sought.

Just remember, inaction essentially means you are supporting the changes.

Here is a draft of the proposed changes to the Championship Regulations.

Please note a change in the Executive.

Due to pressure of work Tony Huston has had to step down as Class Treasurer.

Between now and the Annual General Meeting in September the position (by Exec. appointment) will be filled by Kin Yellot

Thanks Kin – greatly appreciated. Thanks also to Tony for the last two years

Just a brief up-date on the work being carried out on the proposed changes to our constitutional documents, regulations and so forth.

I am afraid I have to admit that we have bitten off a much larger piece of the pie than we are comfortably able to handle.

The schedule of completion and reporting that I undertook at the last Annual general Meeting is long in the past. Never-the-less a small dedicated team continues to work on it with weekly telephone conference calls.

A blog-site ( for those of you more conversant with computer technology than I am) has been set up and information is posted there as soon as the review group considers it to be in a ‘close to final’ format.

Please take a look at his site and comment. It is important that you have the opportunity to have your say in the future of the class………and these documents are our future.

You will find it elsewhere, but here again, is the blogsite address.

http://iodbylaws.blogspot.com

For those of you new to the Class I attach a note on the passing of a strong Class supporter. This notice is taken form Scuttlebutt, a sailing forum to which many of you may subscribe.

EIGHT BELLS
James Mertz of Rye, NY passed away Wednesday at the age of 94. He held the
record for number of Newport-Bermuda Races sailed - 30, plus 7
Marion-Bermuda Races. He was hoping to sail this year's Centennial
Newport-Bermuda -- the boat "Allegra" will go as planned. The funeral was held
Saturday, Jan. 28, at 11:00 AM Christ's Church, Rye, NY.

Jim's association with the Class goes back right to the beginning of our history. He was married to Allegra Knapp who was the sister of Arthur Knapp (we still give Arthur's book 'Race your boat right' to the last place finisher in our World Championships) and they were all associated with Corny Shields and the Larchmont Yacht Club which was where the first International One Design fleet was established at Christmas of 1936

One of Jim's best stories was of the dire need for a trophy in a new championship, so Leggy (as his wife was apparently affectionately known) grabbed a rather ornate ash tray in the form of a shell from one of their side tables and glued it to a backing of wood. To this day that trophy remains our second place finishers prize in our world championships.

Jim was a good friend and frequent visitor to Bermuda for both the Bermuda and Marion ocean races. His many great stories will be sadly missed.

You may remember that a set of Constitutional proposals were prepared earlier this year for presentation to the membership at the Annual General Meeting in Norway

Shortly before the meeting it became clear that the proposals fell short of perfection in terms of their clarity and ability to be unambiguous.

Accordingly the proposals were withdrawn and the membership convened a Special General Meeting to take place in Hamilton, Bermuda during the period of the Bermuda International Race Week regatta in the spring of 2006 – specifically to discuss and, if appropriate, adopt the proposed changes.

Changes to the Constitution ( which includes By-laws and Regulations) are issues that affect the whole membership.

You have a voice and now is the time to exercise it. Get involved by reading the documents that you will find elsewhere on this site and feel free to comment – your Executive and the small review group responsible for the completion of these proposals do not have ‘a lock’ on ideas and will gratefully receive comment.

Note the schedule for returning comment. These time lines will be strictly applied to ensure we are ready for the SGM

Fundraising, by fleet assessment and individual contribution continues successfully and we are now approaching 70 percent of our target – which you may remember was just over $100,000

I am grateful to the fleets that have already submitted their assessment and offer to our many benefactors and supporters, the grateful thanks of the Class for their contributions.

If there are any readers of this column who feel they may also wish to contribute to this project - that will give out Class the ability to provide high quality fiberglass hulls for years to come………..please do not hesitate to contact me, or any member of the Executive, directly through the links provided on this website.

Please note a new entry field on the opening page of our Class website.

Register your e-mail address with the Class and you will automatically receive up-dates and the Class newsletter in electronic form.

You will also automatically receive all the circulations with regard to the proposed Constitutional changes – see elsewhere on this Bulletin Board.

Do not procrastinate – do it now……….while you have the website open!!

Back after a brief summer hiatus.

Hope you have all enjoyed a summer of active and successful sailing.

Congratulations to the members and supporters of the Norway fleet who hosted a great world championship in an astoundingly beautiful part of the world. Thanks should go also to the members of the Swedish fleet who willingly lend a number of their boats to ensure a large entry.

Congratulations should go also to Eugene (Penny) Simmons and his crew who, yet again, carried the winner’s trophy back to Bermuda with them.

For those of you who could not be present at this regatta I recommend you visit the Norway worlds website (a link is available on our own class website) and check out the photographs

Check out what John Burnham had to say about the worlds in his Sailing World Editorial – a different view.

Check out the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club website for coverage of the King Edward VII Gold Cup match racing sponsored by Investors Guaranty - raced exclusively in International One Designs

http://www.kingedwardviigoldcup.com/index2.html

The following email exchange between ISAF and the IOD WCA confirms the class's advertising Category:

From: Simon Forbes [simon@isaf.co.uk]
Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 9:42 AM
To: 'Robert Duffy'
Subject: RE: Advertising catagory

Bob,

I have discussed this with Arve and he is content that the straight forward Class decision to be Category C be registered on the ISAF website.

The relevant ISAF web page is accessed via: “Rules” - “Technical” – “ISAF Advertising Code” .

Regards

Simon Forbes

ISAF Secretariat

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Duffy [mailto:rduffy@logic.bm]
Sent: 16 August 2005 12:13
To: simon@isaf.co.uk
Cc: SachaSimmons; dannie@alum. mit. edu; Anthony Huston; Ali Kerr; Charlie Van Voorhis
Subject: Advertising catagory

Simon:

Further to your e-mail of April 15th the International One Design Class at it’s recent Annual General Meeting in Norway approved the newly worded declaration for Category C advertising (as approved by Arve) – see attached.

I would be most grateful if you would register the desires of our Class accordingly.

We will not post this on the Class website as definitive until you confirm.

Cheers

Bob

I have been asked by a number of people to make available the proposals that were adopted at the Annual General Meeting of the Class on Fisher's Island last year (and subsequently circulated to Fleet captains) to support the need for a fund raising programme to ensure the longevity of the Class through it's continued ability to provide new fibreglass hulls.

The presentation is in a PowerPoint format. Click here

Good news - Bad news. As always an upside and a downside.

Within the last year their has been a resurgence in the desire to own some of our beautiful wooden boats and as a consequence of this, boats have moved between fleets and, more importantly, in to new areas.

So here is a brief introduction to the developing areas. - and a couple of photographs. I understand that all of the new owners would be delighted to meet Class members if you are in their area.

Orcas Island

Located in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State, USA - Lat. 48.65N and Long. 123.00W if you are looking in an atlas.

Present size - 2 boats (one from Long Island and one from San Francisco) and looking for more.

Movers and shakers are Mike Douglas and Steve Pearson shown in the photograph as they picked up #81 in San Francisco three weeks ago in the pouring rain and facing a twenty hour tow after an evening race in San Francisco bay, and then a photograph of #81 in her new home for the next few months as a team of eleven volunteer shipwrights put her back in to racing shape.

Chester

Located in Nova Scotia, Canada - Lat. 44.55N and Long. 64.26W

Present size - 3 boats (one from Scotland, one from Long Island and one from Bermuda)

Mover and shaker is Rick Thompson, a Bermudian who spends part of his year in Chester. Photographs show Mighty mo after refurbishment and preparations for a race.

St. Mawes

Located near Falmouth on the Cornish coast, United Kingdom Lat. 50.00N and Long. 05.00 W

Present size - 7 boats (6 from Scotland and one boat that relocated to St. Mawes directly from Cowes with the break up of that fleet in the early seventies)

Movers and shakers are Roger Smith a professional shipwright, Robin Dicker, Andrew ColsonJohn Bingham, and Mike Conlan
Each a boat owner and skipper in their own right participated as a single entry in Bermuda International Race Week this spring (winning one of the races) and departed, we hope, with an increased enthusiasm for involvement with the Class.

Photograph shows the recently refurbished Mitzi

Solent - UK

For those of you who frequent the Solent area of the UK there is also one Scottish boat in the Solent (Stallion) - being used as a training boat for an 8 metre team

One of the areas that rarely gets addressed as we strive to move the Class back towards one design equality of the boats is……..the weight…….and contrary to what I occasionally hear, we do have weight parameters!

…..and as we all know. Light is essentially FAST……but not very helpful if you are attempting to develop a 'one-design' fleet.

The Technical Officer of the North East Harbour fleet is seeking views and opinions on methods that have been tried to equalize the weights of boats in existing fleets.

There seem to be two approaches that have been used. One is to weigh the boat and dump any additionally required ballast in to the bilge, the other is to try and disperse the weight throughout the hull at given stations fore and aft and from the bilge to the sheerline.

The other area of interest is in the inclination tables associated with each boat. Overall weight needs to be controlled but the placement of that weight to ensure that all boats heel to the same degree in a given wind speed are much more difficult to determine……….and probably, to rectify.

Does anyone have any experience/ideas on how these aims might (at a reasonable cost) be achieved?

Thoughts to the NEH Tech.Officer by clicking Here

Thoughts from Charlie Van Voorhis, shared at the President's Request:

Mr. President:

Having organized the Worlds last year at Fishers and having been exposed to many other fleets as well, it is clear to me that even with the best tuning, and equalization programs there will always remain differences between IODs that affect their performance.

Since one of the goals of the World Championships is to test individual skill against individual skill, differences between boats is a concern. The following proposal tries to minimize the impact those differences would have on the outcome of the regatta. Minimizing the differences between boats can be accomplished in two ways – shorter races and more of them.

Our current format of 7-11 mile races increases the importance of boat speed. Slower boats have a longer time to go slow and faster boats have a longer time to go fast. The long race favors faster boats over slower ones. Shorter races would not eliminate this, but it would reduce the imbalance. It is also the current trend in international competitions e.g. the Olympics.

A seven race series (the historical number) means that sailors may not sail half of the boats or more. Reducing the importance of a “good draw” by making everyone sail more of the boats would make the event an even better test of skill.

The World Class Championship schedule could be set at 10 races (or fifteen if we wanted to get carried away) or one less than the number of invitations if there were fewer than 11 invitations. There should be very specific rules covering the circumstances under which the spare races are sailed, so that there is little room for subjective decisions. There should also be no practice race it uses up valuable time and allows crews to become more familiar with a specific boat than the rest of the competitors.

If the shorter race format were approved, I think our fleet might reconsider the 360 penalty alternative.

To all International One design Fleets

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Annual General Meeting of the International One Design Class will take place on:

Tuesday 26. July 0900 hrs Fjaerholmen , Norway

The Chair will propose amendments to the Constitution and By-laws. These amendments will be e-mailed to Fleet Captains and posted on the world class website on, or before, June 1st 2005

This notification shall constitute notice as required by Article IX of the Constitution

NOTE:

It is essential that each fleet fully discuss the proposals and authorise their delegate to vote on behalf of their fleet.

Also, it their is an issue your fleet would like to raise it would be helpful to have that in advance (to the Secretary) who will ensure all fleets receive a copy of the proposal and it is posted on the world class website.

Thanks

Bob

I think we are now clear to move towards a new presentation to the
membership in Norway - the membership can then determine the direction in
which they wish to go.

Craig (Bermuda Fleet) FYI - looks like no decision before the end of July.

ALSO. Please note that Rich Pearce has tendered his resignation due to
pressures of work. I have appointed Dannie as interim Secretary to run out
the time to the AGM

Regards to all.

Bob Read the email chain

Notice of Annual General Meeting