Notes of Open Forum
discussions following close of formal AGM business at Cascais, 26 September 2001
Approximately 30 people remained for this
discussion after the AGM. Ali Meller opened the discussion by referring to the
discussion on the format of championships and the courses at Durban. As a result of
this, and subsequent e mail discussion, the IEC had changed the format for the current
championship to provide for nine races, with two double race days, and had altered the
course to provide for two windward leeward legs and one triangle. He was interested
in the reaction to the changes.
1 Courses
There was general consensus that the new course configuration was better in that it kept
the fleet closer together for longer and made for more interesting and tactical
racing. One disadvantage was increased congestion at the leeward mark, which caused
more pile-ups in light wind a potential for damage in stronger winds. There was general
agreement that a leeward gate, ie with two marks would be an improvement. Krister
Bergstrom suggested that a windward gate would also improve matters. The point was
made that this could be problematic for Race Officers as two marks would have to be moved
in the event of a shift during the race. KB made the point that if there was a
spacer mark there were two to move anyway. However, it was agreed that the IEC
should bear the points in mind in discussions with Organisers of future championships.
Howard Hamlin raised the question of the reaching angle following the introduction of the
new spinnakers. It was agreed that we would move from the present triangle with
internal angles of 55/70/55 to one of 45/90/45 (using the windward leg as the base).
2 Race Programme
A few of those present preferred the old format of one race per day, but a majority
favoured having more races. However, there was no consensus as to how many extra
races should be held. Opinions expressed ranged from aiming to get in two races
everyday for seven days, to having two races on five days with a spare day in the middle
and at the end. A few wanted the championship condensed into one week, although more
felt that this would devalue the event and make it less likely that we would get a
satisfactory series. The views on the principle of a programming a spare day were
sought. Although there were a few strong advocates on grounds that this would make
events more attractive to those with families, the majority preferred that the programme
be continuous on the grounds that many programmed days had been lost at recent events, and
if conditions were good we should sail when ever possible.
Johan Arvedson made the observation that clearer rules were needed to deal with the re
running of postponed races. Under the old system this was clear, but the
modifications made for this year had led to confusion, as illustrated by the
correspondence on the Race Notice Board.
The point was also made that the programme and race lengths would have to reflect the
venue. Matt Hansen made the point that in Freemantle, the first race of the day
would normally be scheduled for 13.00 hrs as they were reliant on a thermal breeze.
If conditions were not perfect, getting two 2� hour races in for a large fleet before
nightfall could be difficult.
No clear consensus was reached but it was agreed that the IEC would try and give due
weight to the various opinions expressed in settling the programme for future events.
3 Entry Fees
There was a brief discussion on entry fees for championships following concern that the
fee in Durban had been very high. It was pointed out that the fee for the current
championship was about half of the Durban figure although there was an additional 100 euro
supplement for those using the Macs containers. (It should also be pointed out that
the quality of the meals and social events in Durban was better). The Secretary explained
that the Association would not normally get involved in the financial aspects of
championships, but could only stress the need to keep overall costs to competitors at a
sensible level in order to maximise attendance.
C G Thorne
International Secretary
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