From: Tom Bojland, April 27, 2003
To:
505 e-mail list
Subject: Presidents letter
Dear 505 sailor
It's spring (on the Northern Hemisphere) and it's time to get your boat out of the garage, on the trailer and down to the harbour.
First of all, I think it must be a good idea with a short introduction of my
self.
I'm 39 years old, live in Denmark, has been sailing the 505 since -89, and before that 470 and several local classes. I have been national secretary for the Danish 505 class as well as working in the dinghy section for the Danish sailing association.
Where do I see the 505 Class??
I believe that the 505 class is the perfect class for the skilled sailor, that wants a boat which is fun to sail, can be sailed without the use of a 3 hours training session every day, can be raced on
clublevel as well as worldclass level. It is relatively cheap (maybe not to
buy but seen overall), and have an active class association that maintain the class and the activity.
What kind of development do I want in the class?
First of
all, � I'm not against changes in the class. But I have 1 major rule
� the ratio between the fun and the cost (fun factor) shall be good, because I believe that we all uses a lot of time and money on this basically because
it's fun! The new spinnaker was a good example � cheap and fun!
What is going on in the class right now?
We had a successful Worlds in Australia and it's impressive to se the activity especially in Fremantle, and I look forward to the next worlds in Australia. I also look forward to see the video from the worlds, I hope it will be a god "marketing tool" so you guys, go out and show it to the sailors in the local club and tell all the fun stories about the class.
The European season is just in the beginning and in this winter, the Norwegian 505
association had
it's birth and we will se the first Norwegian boats in Malmo. Rumors says that the first
Polish sailors are in touch with the 505 class. I even heard that some boats are sailing in Turkey.
The Finnish
association is still growing (they just wait for the ice to melt these days).
The French association just had their inland championships which was well attended, and in Germany
it's even hard to buy a decent used boat these days.
In the US it seems that the class will continue to get bigger and go faster!
Off course we have one or two countries which are in trouble, mainly because of competition from single manufacturer classes
� I think we should focus on the differences � what can we offer compared to those classes?
� First of all international competition, democracy and individuality to make the boat and class fit you and not the opposite way!
Future worlds:
Malmo is tuning up � those of you who wants to check out the conditions, there is a great opportunity first weekend in May.
2004 Santa Cruz � if
it's like in 92 � you should go � can't be better, 2005 Warnemunde � best sailing place in Germany and the Germans are great organizers (they promised free beer).
It's now you should plan a bid for the 2006 worlds. I have heard Adelaide and Thailand mentioned
� what do you think? Finland is going for the Worlds in 2007.
Europeans:
We are in a process of changing the format for the Europeans and Eurocup
� primarily because we have too many events in Europe, I think that we will upgrade the Euro
Cups, and stop having a formal European Championship every second year.
� But
it's up to debate these days, so if you have comments � SPEAK UP NOW!
The Class organization:
The International Rules Committee is now upgraded with very skilled people from UK,
Germany, France, Australia and the US. They are working on the ballot for the rule change regarding carbon fibre spars and you will see this soon.
Boatbuilders:
The Aussie builders have built a lot of very competitive boats the last few years, and Rondar has now started the production of their new model and have a bunch of boats in the order book as far as I'm told. And in general the boats has a longer and longer lifespan which is good for the class.
Communication:
I think we should use the 505 mailing list more, this is especially mentioned to the people who writes reports from races anyway and put them on the local list servers/websites, write a short story in English. Don't worry about the spelling and get it out to the rest of us.
Please encourage all sailors to join the international list, also non-505 sailors are welcome to use it to 505/sailing related matters.
Also check out "Whats new" on
www.int505.org
I also want you to forward this message to your local mailing list so everybody has the possibility.
I look forward to meet you guys on the water.
Tom Bojland
President
International 505 Class Yacht Racing Association
