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2005 news archive

Informational topics (on separate pages)

27/11/2005 - Report to MYA AGM 12/10/2005 - Big debate on the IOMICA forum 08/10/2005 - IOMICA AGM minutes published 20/09/2005 - Comment by Lester Gilbert on the rejection                                    of the class rule changes part A 20/09/2005 - Summary minutes from the IOMICA AGM 05/09/2005 - Results of NCA for GBR poll 26/08/2005 - IOMICA statement on AGM item 2.1 25/08/2005 - Comment by RR on AGM item 2.1 22/08/2005 - IOMICA Candidate statements + update 19/08/2005 - Mailshot to members - updates coming in 17/08/2005 - Mailshot to all members - update (2) 12/08/2005 - Mailshot to all members - update (1) 09/08/2005 - Mailshot to all members 23/06/2005 - June and earlier

27/11/2005  NCA report to MYA AGM	Read the NCA for GBR Secretary's report to the MYA AGM.   Following the AGM,  the NCA Committee remains unchanged.	Report (pdf file)
12/10/2005  Big debate on IOMICA forum	Currently,  there's a big debate going on in one of the public sections of the IOMICA forum - the debate is concerned with the Class Rules and what to do next following the rejection of the Class Rule Changes at the AGM.  Use the link below to go directly to the relevant topic  (you can browse the topic as a Guest - it's not necessary to register) http://www.iomclass.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=801 There's also some interesting posts in the Events and Event Management forum - IOM 2005 World's Review and DeBrief.
8/10/2005  Minutes of IOMICA AGM now published	The minutes of the IOMICA AGM have been published on the main IOMICA web site.   The document includes the Agenda,  the Class Rule Proposals,  the Nominations,  the NCA voting strengths as well as what are extermely terse minutes,  a table showing the detailed voting and a list of the owners who attended the AGM.   Use the link below to open the pdf file holding the minutes   http://www.iomclass.org/history/2005_wc_meeting_minutes_final.pdf
20/09/2005  Comment by outgoing Chairman Lester Gilbert on the rejection of class rule changes part A	The following comment was posted by Lester Gilbert on the IOMICA forum on 20/9/05 VCinfocomms wrote: Resolution 2.1 (rule changes part A) was rejected 32 votes for, 24 against (2/3rds for required to pass) Apart from introducing a complete ban on hulls with any Texalium in them (and first measured after 15 May 2003), it may also be worth noting the other major results of the negative vote: Corrector weight(s) can be altered or moved between heats.   This could be rather useful.  For heavier winds, you would install a corrector weight that was 100 gm or 200 gm heavier than needed for achieving the minimum weight.   No problem having a range of weights in the tool box to fit as needed during the day.   Similarly, you can refit your batteries in a different position, and can substitute your pack with one that is heavier or lighter as you wish.   This could be quite fun.   To remain fully competitive, all hulls would need to have at least three battery positions available -- stern, midships, and bows.   And, if you didn't want to mess with corrector weights separately, you could have different pack sizes and weights -- 4 cell AAA for light airs/low power needs,  5 cell AA for medium airs,  and 6 cell Cs for heavy weather.  No problem having a set of these ready and charged for the day, but I'm not sure I was really ready to "invest" in a new hull just yet...   Also, you can remove and refit your bulb to take a different attitude or position between heats.   Great! To remain competitive, every boat will need an incidence-adjustable bulb -- around 0.5 degrees for light air, 1 or 1.5 for medium, and 3 degrees for heavy air.    A pity if your current bulb is not removeable, but hey, you wanted a good reason to upgrade anyway didn't you?    While you are about it, have the bulb moveable longitudinally as well -- "L" for light air, "T" for medium, and "reverse L" for heavy.   This will help re-trim the hull along with the different battery positions and corrector weights, as well as ensuring the correct twist to the fin to match the lift regime required.   I'm looking forward to this!   But this is the best part: you can change fin, rudder, and/or bulb between heats. You will now need different fins, different weight bulbs, and maybe different rudders, to fit and refit. Narrow chord low area appendages for light airs with 2.2 kg keel weight, up to high area broad chord appendages with 2.5 kg keel weight.   If you really wanted to get sweet, you'd need to have a long thin bulb for smoother water, and a fatter shorter bulb for choppier water.   Terrific! Who said this class was cost-controlled?   Your sail numbering is not grandfathered,  so if your numbers do not conform to the current rules on spacing,  then you'll have to erase them and re-do 'em. Not so wonderful - an easy way to pretty much destroy a No.1 rig.   Bummer.   If your jib is attached to the deck with a bit of string wrapped around the boom, this is not legal.   Quite easy to fix, though - just add something that could be called a fitting at the point of attachment.   A good one, this: although permitted as a condition for racing in section C, it is not clear that you can actually use a sheet control line while racing...    A sheet control line is not listed as a permitted item of running rigging in section F.   Oh heck, permitted in one place, not permitted in another...   Who wrote these darn rules anyway?   Never mind, we know that to err is human, l et's just hope that our event measurer thinks section C over-rides section F rather than the other way around (smile).   And finally, your sail panels must be from the same piece, sheet, or roll of material, not from different lots.   Not what the rule actually intended, of course, but never mind, you don't make your own sails anyway, do you?   Sail prices will only increase a little...
20/09/2005  Summary minutes from IOMICA AGM	Short draft of minutes from the 2005 IOMICA World Council meeting,  Mooloolaba,  Australia as published on the IOMICA forum by Anders Wallin on 18th September. NCA's present (country representative or person appointed by proxy) AUS BAR CAN CRO DEN FIN FRA GBR GER IRL NOR NZL RSA USA Executive committe members present (or representative appointed by proxy) Lester Gilbert (GBR),  Roy Thompson (ESP),  Anders Wallin (FIN),  Rob O'Brien (AUS)   Resolution 1 (arcos fees) rejected 3 votes for, 14 votes against 2.1 (rule changes part A) rejected 32 votes for, 24 against (2/3rds for required to pass) 2.2 (rule changes part B1) rejected 30 votes for, 26 against (2/3rds for required to pass) 2.3 (rule changes part B2) rejected 25 votes for, 31 against (2/3rds for required to pass) 3. Executive Committee 2005-2007 The meeting elected the following committee:   Chairman: Greg Willis (AUS)   VC Technical: Nigel Winkley (GER)   VC InfoComms: Anders Wallin (FIN)   Treasurer: Rob O'Brien (AUS)   VC Events,  VC Measurement Secretary:  Open Open Open
05/09/2005  Results of NCA for GBR poll	As can been seen from the right hand panel above,  the outcome of the mailshot to NCA for GBR members resulted in a total of 543 members being entitled to vote and 103 of those members actually returning a valid voting paper.  Only one voting paper came back without a member's name or number filled in.   Result of vote Number of Certificated Owners = 526       Number of Certificated Boats =  824    Number of Registered Owners = 543   Number of Registered Boats = 854   Membership database last updated : 22/08/2005 Registrar database last updated : 19/08/2005 Number of Owners who voted = 103   For Against   Item 2.1 33 66   Item 2.2 Part A 94 3   Item 2.2 Change B1 90 8   Item 2.2 Change B2 87 11   Chairman   A Wallin G Willis  38 59   VC Technical N Winkley R Langbord 61 34
AGM Agenda item 2.1
28/08/2005  IOMICA statement	The IOMICA Executive has given permission for more information to be published on AGM Agenda item 2.1.   The information is contained in a separate page.   To view the statement - click here.  When finished,  close the page to return here.
25/08/2005  Comment by RR	Richard Rowan writes....  I have been contacted by a number of NCA for GBR members requesting additional information on the AGM Agenda item 2.1.  I would like to make the following statement: (1)  This item appeared from nowhere when IOMICA issued the Agenda for the AGM in July.  Up to that point,  NCA members of the World Council were not made aware of any issue. (2)  Following the first request,  I contacted the IOMICA Executive via the IOMICA forum and requested that IOMICA make an additional public statement.  So far no further statement has been made. (3)  I would therefore like to state my personal position,  which is to vote against the resolution.  The reason for doing so is that IOMICA derives a substantial proportion of its income from levies on international events.  It is therefore not satisfactory for event organisors to withhold this levy,  particularly a long time after the event has been held. (4)  I would also note that the following statement has been made publicly by the NCA for Australia (read it here) : Resolution 2.1: The AUS NCA recommends a no vote on the basis that the IOMICA Executive has not provided sufficient background information as to the reasons for their recommendation.  The amount involved is substantial and as fees from Championships are currently the IOMICA's only source of income the revenue is important to the ICA's viability.  Approving this recommendation would also set a bad precedent
22/08/2005  Candidate statements	Greg Willis and Roy Langbord have now posted candidate statements on the IOMICA forum in the Class Associations and Class Management sub-forum.  Use this link to get there quickly   http://www.iomclass.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=755
22/08/2005  Info coming in from owners	Richard Rowan writes....  I am now getting a number of web responses and letters containing both updates to membership information forms and voting papers.  After doing some more work on the database yesterday to speed up the process of outputting information,  I will be starting this evening to acknowledge the updates either by email where I have been given an email address or by letter otherwise. I have also sent a list of all members registered for an individual club to the club secretary - so club secretaries,  if you would like a list of mebers for your club,  then please contact me.
19/08/2005 (20:00 hrs) Updates coming in	Richard Rowan writes.... Thanks to all those members who have been talking to me and sending me updated information today.  I will be updating the database and sending out updated membership information sheets by email over the weekend.  The membership information forms will be attached to the emails in pdf format.  If you are having difficulty with opening or reading pdf files,  then click on the link above to read some notes on how to solve a couple of known problems. You will need AcroReader installed on your computer to be able to read these attachments.  If you don't have AcroReader installed,  then click on the link above to download version 5.1.  Version 5.1 is not the latest version but it installs and runs quickly and will open the membership info form without difficulty.
17/08/2005 Mailshot to members - it went in the post today	Richard Rowan writes....  That was quite a bit of work - but I am pleased to advise you all that the mailshot went into the post today lunchtime.  Its coming 2nd class,  so I suppose it may not reach some of you before Monday. The IOMICA documents referred to in the mailshot are all now published on the opening page on the IOMICA web site.  There is also other information on the forthcoming AGM in sub-pages on the site.  Click here to open the IOMICA web site in a new page. You may also find some of the dicussion on the IOMICA forum to be of interest.  You can browse the forum as a Guest - you do not require to log on.   Click here to open the forum web site.  Then browse to the forum entitled "Class Rules" and have a look at the topic  "Proposed Class Rule Changes".  As I write this paragraph,  there are 74 postings in that topic alone. I hope to make some revisions to the Registration form at the weekend to make it easier to update your information.  The existing form will be available while I create a series of new forms.  So,  keep a watch on this page for progress.
12/08/2005  (20:00 hrs) Mailshot to members - real time report	Richard Rowan writes....  This is a short running progress report.  Its turning out to be a "good" weekend (not).  After having to attend to an emergency computer repair for a client this morning,  I picked up the paperwork from the printers and started stuffing envelopes about 3.30 this afternoon.   Jan (my PA in my office) and I managed to get about 200 done before the end of the business day today.  However,  a couple of problems have emerged - firstly the database report has hiccuped about 1/2 way through the print run so that the owners boats were not being printed - this will have to be corrected by a supplementary print run.  Then,  tonight,  Ken Dobbie from Australia kindly pointed out that the voting form (as published below) was missing the contest for VC Technical (my fault for not sitting constantly watching the IOMICA web site) - so it looks like another complete print run is going to be necessary on Monday.   The voting form was re-published on 14/08. So,  its looks like Tuesday before the mailshot goes in the post.  My apologies for this - please be patient.
9/08/2005 Mailshot to members	Richard Rowan writes....  At last the members are going to receive a letter from me. A letter plus details of each members record and a voting form in connection with the forthcoming IOMICA AGM will be sent out this week  (probably on Firday 12th August).  Click here to see the letter Click here to see an example membership information sheet   Click here to see the membership information notes - read these in conjunction with the info sheet Click here to see the NCA voting paper - the voting paper must be returned to me by 31st August Note the voting form was republished on 14/8/05 to reflect additional nominations for VC Technical. If you don't receive a letter from me and you think you should have done,  then please contact me immediately by email or telephone. Finally,  as this will be the first time that the database is validated,  you may find some of the information inaccurate  (particularly with respect the boats listed against your name).  If that is the case,  please advise me of the necessary changes as soon as possible.  Use this link Click here to register with the NCA Secretary to submit updated information.
23/06/2005 Short update	Richard Rowan writes....  I have been monitoring the IOMICA web site and forum and have found that there is very little to add to what I wrote in May as below.   I go on holiday next week for a couple of  weeks and will therefore be out of immediate contact.  However,  if you wish to make a last minute nomination for a post on the IOMICA Executive,  you will require to make that nomination at least a couple of days prior to 9th July.  As I will be away until after 9th July,  I would ask that nominations be forwarded to Chris Durant,  the MYA Secretary.
22/05/2005 Forthcoming IOMICA  AGM	IOMICA have now started notifying World Council members (I am currently the representative for GBR) of the forthcoming AGM of the World Council.  The AGM will be held at the IOM World Championships in Australia in September.  NCA's will be called upon to vote on the election of the IOMICA Executive for the next two years,  and (I understand) may also be called on to vote on class rule changes.  I will be compling a fuller web page on all of this in the next week or so. In the meantime,  if anyone wishes to make a nomination for the IOMICA Executive,  they should contact me immediately.  Nominations have to be submitted to IOMICA by 9th July. I would also advise that I have today submitted an updated membership list to IOMICA.  The list shows 486 certificated members and 23 registered members.  According to IOMICA's regulations,  this level of membership will give GBR a total of 11 votes on Ordinary Resolutions and 10 votes on Special Resolutions.  Following a decision of the World Council made in April 2004  (ie Resolution WC-2004-01)  all of the votes granted to a Member NCA/NCS by Regulation 4.13 shall be voted in accordance with the decision of the ballot of the NCA Owners (Certified or Registered as relevant to the ballot),  where the decision shall be required to be 2/3rds or more in favour in the case of a Special Resolution,  or more than 1/2 in favour otherwise.
22/05/2005 Membership update	Richard Rowan writes....  I have just completed a major exercise in extracting data from the MYA membership database and merging it with information from the IOM Registrar's database.  This has permitted the addition of nearly 300 extra owner names to the NCA database.  Each of the names added are club affiliated members of the MYA and have one or more registered IOMs. I will be writing to everyone shortly with details of their NCA record.  At the same time,  I will be trying to upgrade the web based forms to make it even easier to return information to me.
30/04/2005 Short update Also,  the web based email form is now working again	Richard Rowan writes....  I have been busy with many other things since January including some for the MYA (ie I am responsible for the MYA email system and am also District Councillor for Scotland) I am finding it quite difficult to do all the things necessary to get the NCA administrative tools up and running.  However,  the work and objectives of the NCA are being carried on in other sections of the MYA,  namely Technical,  Registrations,  Racing and International.  All of these sections report what they are doing via the main MYA web pages and via Acquaint. I became aware today that the web form for submitting your registration and information details was not working properly.  Its quite likely to have been like this for a couple of months  (unfortunately,  the MYA's web hosting company changed some settings and I failed to update the form correctly).   However,  its working again - so please feel free to submit new registrations and boat updates via the web.     Footnote - the April 30 fix may not have worked properly with some email addresses - another update has now been made - I think the new version is now working ok - but please let me know if you have any difficulty.
16/01/2005 Short update	Richard Rowan writes....  This is just a short update pending a fuller report soon.  I was re-elected Class Secretary at the AGM last November.  After consultation with Mike Clifton,  we decided that it would not be necessary for me to attend the AGM.  In retrospect,  I think that was not a good decision and I apologise for my non attendance.   Part of the reason for not wanting to attend was suddenly being quite busy at work and being away from home on a contract in Belfast. Although I have not got much to show as yet regarding the development work I have been doing over the winter months,  I can report that I should soon be able to permit registered members of the NCA to view their details via the web.  When that facility is enabled,  I am planning to write to all members with information on their registration details and various other matters. It's a year now since the NCA was setup and I feel that not enough progress has been made.  I could use some help - so if anyone feels able to contribute in some way,  could they please give me a call.