Rules update

The changes to spinnaker and kicker you are discussing were approved at last years UKMCA Annual General Meeting.

The changes are going through the review process as outlined in the post at the start of this thread, but for the UK its a done deal as agreed at the 2007 AGM.

The only way to attempt to reverse this would be to make a fresh proposal at the UK 2009 AGM (Its too late to make any new proposals for the 2008 meeting)



I assume the 3 proposals made for the 2008 AGM will go through as without a problem.

<b>Provided we get a quorum for the meeting! </b> <img src=icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

Was the procedural debate over number of people present from last years AGM ever resolved?


Sinker



Edited by - sinker on 21 May 2008 00:01:13

Further to the comments about adding to the cost of new spinnakers, the current Mirror spinnaker with its <i>simple</i> design is a near identical price to the Cadet kite with its conventional design.
Similarly this is not just a junior classes pricing issue as the kites are not too far away from the cost of a GP14 kite.

Internet spinnaker prices:
Speeds Mirror 239 Cadet 237 GP14 296
P & B Mirror 249 Cadet 235 GP14 285

Sinker

I have a brand new RS400 spinnaker in a cupboard- so if we could allow that it would cost me nothing! It would also be quite entertaining for us spectators -though I suppose we may need a stiffer mast which could cost a lot more than a new spinny!

More seriously the new spinnaker was clearly recommended by those who attended the last AGM (at least the proposed rules this year have been well aired, which I think may not have been the case last year) and I am sure it will go through ISAF.

It is clearly an upgrade cost for anyone serious about racing as it will certainly be faster. This problem will probably be more felt at club level than by the relatively few doing the circuit, as I suspect replacement timescales can be drastically different-

Unfortunately for the clubs with fleets like Brightlingsea with a few very keen sailors it could be somewhat devisive; though we are thinking that we may agree a local rule for a year to stick to the old kites for club races and I suggest this may be worth considering for others.

However the point has been well made by others that without change classes slowly die. The inititaives by those involved over the last few years have certainly raised the class profile and has I think staved off potential loss of RYA staus, which I believe is critical to the success of the class.

I think this years suggested change have no negative impact but then it is time for consolidation?

The discussion on impact of rule changes is an interesting one, ever since Mirrors started racing and long before any rule changes, there have been boats that were optimised for racing, which were faster than you typical Mirror. So Mirrors, like most classes (even manufacturer's One Designs) have had a two tier structure.

My experience of the recent round of rule changes is they have actually benefited the older boats, the perfromance differential has still existed but the front of the fleet have sold off their newish gaff rigs and sails to club boats, lifting the standard of kit on the older boats. The new spinnaker rule could also have the same impact with a flood of newish kites becoming available and even if they are to the old rules they will certainly be an improvement over the holey affairs many boats make do with

MCA Secretary

Sinker

A quorum was in place at the start of the AGM in 2007. Therefore, it was legal, if people drift off that is there issue. We actually only covered about half of the issues at the last meeting, none on keeping the wooden hulls up to date.

The issues of electronic compasses was dismissed in the UK last year but has support internationally as I recall correctly.

On the wooden boat front there is a working party of sorts looking at the proposals presented and others that have come out of the international discussions. Due to time constraints none have been presented this year.