Hey Fleet 43!

Here are a couple important updates and reminders:

1) Fleet Launch-May 21st at HBS starting at 8:00 am
Please make sure to have $50 to pay for launch

You may have noticed in the J 24 Class notes I sent out that the Class wants to scan all J24s for illegally
placed lead and metals by the end of 2011.  Steph Helms, our fleet measurer, will begin scanning Fleet 43
boats at Fleet Launch on May 21st.  When your boat passes the scan, it will be recorded with the J 24
Class.  Please be prepared to take some time to have your boat scanned at the Launch.

2) May 25th Race Committee Night at PYC 6:00-7:30 pm

We will be hosting an RC Night and hope that each fleet boat will send at least one crew member to brush
up and learn some new things about running race committee.  Each boat that has a representative present
will start the season with a “bullet” (first place.)

3) The fleet calendar and RC Duty schedule have been updated.  Please check it out to make sure you are
available for your RC night and try to swap with another boat if it doesn’t work for you.

Thanks for all of your help and cooperation!  I know we are all looking forward to a successful season.
Molly

Hey Fleet 43 Sailors (Skippers and Crew)

This Sunday is Spring Cleanup at the club.  Free brunch will be served at 11:00AM. It would be great to see some J24 sailors out there-sporting their Fleet 43/J24 gear!  Please swing by even for an hour!

Thanks!
Bill & Molly

A quick reminder about two important dates:

This Wednesday, April 27th from 5 to 8:00 pm meet up with fellow J24 sailors for a Fleet Happy Hour at Oasis!

Wednesday, May 4th, from 5:30-7:30 pm swing by Handy Boat Service for the Points East Crew Match party.  Find crew, find a boat, have munchies and beer!

Don’t forget that a week from tonight, Fleet 43ers are gathering at the Oasis to catch up and start preparing for the 2011 season. We hope to get as many J24 sailors out of the wood-work as possible! Tell your crew and friends.

When: Wednesday April 27th

Time: 5-8:00 pm

Where:  The Oasis on Wharf Street in Portland

Why: To catch up with fleet members, recruit new ones, and play giant board games.

Hope to see lots of folks there!

New J/24 Class Rules Effective April 14, 2011

Please direct your members to the IJCA website for information:
www.j24class.org

The International J/24 Class Association has received approval of its
proposed rule changes from the ISAF. The new rules will be in effect as of
April 14, 2011.

The biggest change, which will affect all J/24s, is the 15 kg reduction in
the all-up weight for racing. This will not require your boat to be
re-weighed, but will only require changes to the Optional and Required
Inventory List that should be kept on each boat while racing.

If you have a valid IJCA measurement certificate, you will not be required
to obtain a new one.

The new all-up racing weight for the J/24 is 1330 kg, down from the previous
1345 kg. This means you can now remove some of the items that perhaps are
kept on your boat merely to make the all-up weight.

A copy of the new Optional and Required Inventory List is attached and also
available online here:

http://www.j24class.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/J24-Inventory-Form-4.14.2

011.pdf

Other changes to the IJCA Class Rules include:
- Class Rule 3.8 was modified to deal only with “Fixed Fittings” to be
carried when racing. This is a wording change and does not alter the way the
boat is provisioned or sailed.

- Class Rule 4 was modified to remove the word “safety” from the title. This
is a wording change and does not alter the way the boat is provisioned or
sailed.

- Class Rule 8.1.5 was deleted as it is redundant to the RRS.

- A proposal to allow a wire strap between the mast bearing beam and the
underside of the deck was not included in the new IJCA Class Rules. All rule
changes require the approval of J/Boats Inc. (the J/24 copyright holder) and
the company was unwilling to allow this rule change until the affect on the
hull structure could be studied more carefully. The ISAF therefore rejected
this rule change proposal.

A full list of the changes approved by the ISAF is attached or can be
downloaded by here:

http://www.j24class.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Summary-of-J24-Class-Rule

-Changes-4.14.2011.pdf

The latest complete version of the J/24 Class Rules is attached or can be
downloaded by here:

http://www.j24class.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/J24-Class-Rules-April-14-

2011-1.pdf

Hey Everyone,

Don’t forget that we are getting together at Rich Ketchum’s house (just up from the Yacht Club on Old Powerhouse Road in Falmouth) to work on Downeast Planning.

As I have said before, Jess and I welcome any to attend this meeting and help us plan and generate ideas.  The more the merrier!

Hope to see you on Monday the 11th at 6:00 pm

Thanks!

Another event to throw on your J24 calendars is the J24 North Americans. This year they will be hosted in Halifax, NS. It looks to be a great event, awesome venue and is about the same distance as Lake George from Maine.

Remember that sailing in District 1 Championships, Northeast Regionals and North Americans confirm you a spot in the 2012 Worlds in Rochester, NY.

http://j24northamericans2011.wordpress.com/about/

As we near the start of the 2011 season, I wanted to follow up on a few items discussed at the annual meeting.  I have copied parts directly from the meeting notes and then added any additional information in BLUE as well as noted the update.

Please let me know if you have any questions.  Hope to see you all at Oasis April 27th for Happy Hour 5 to 8!

Molly

4. Food-Shelly
Shelly presented the information about a new food option for summer 2011.  The cost would be the same as this year $260 per boat if we can guarantee 10 boats.  Since we saved about $450 on food last season, we could credit that to the coming summer’s food.  The list of menu items are as follows and would also include salad and rolls:
Meat Ravioli with sauce
Meat Lasagna
Stuffed Shells with sauce
Portabella Ravioli with Sauce
Mac and Cheese
Beef and Bean Burritos
Cheese Ravioli with sauce
Fried Eggplant with Ricotta and sauce

We polled those at the meeting and we currently have 8 boats that agreed to give the food one more try.  We need to get two more boats on board to make this happen.

We will also schedule 2 nights (one per month) of BBQ and bring in sides to change things up a little bit.  Sarah and Molly will coordinate and Steph, Andrew Stern, and Gretchen offered to help grill on those nights.

Update: At the Annual Meeting 8 boats said that they would do J24 food.  I would really appreciate an email confirmation to make sure you are in for the food before we make a commitment to Shawn.  So far I have heard from Hankey, Al, and McGee-please email me and confirm your food plan.

BBQ nights tentatively scheduled for July 13 and August 10.

3.    Race Committee
Talked about ways to improve our Wednesday Night RC.  Decided to keep it run by fleet members/boats.  A member from each boat is expected to attend either a Race Management Seminar or the J24 RC Management workshop (put together by Molly, Steph and others.) Attendance to the event will result in a 1st place scoring for the boat.  No attendance will result in a DNS for the first score.  The hope is to provide at least one “expert” on the Lindsay Lord to improve our Race Management.

In addition, Steph and Molly will draft a RC Expectation document that will be presented to all members of the fleet so that we are all on the same page as far as RC is concerned.

Update: The RC night will be held on June 25th during regular Wednesday night time.  Anyone that would like to help plan and present this please email Molly White mollyfrommaine@yahoo.com or Stephanie Helms returns5@gwi.net

5. Chase Boat
Erica had expressed the concern about not always having a chase boat present on Wed nights.  It is a safety concern as well as having a mark boat speeds up the course setting process.  We will look into purchasing a chase boat to share with the Etchelles and PYC RC.
Update: The Etchelles fleet captain, the PYC race officer, Junior Program Director, and Water Front Manager and I met to discuss the possibility of sharing a chase boat.  We came up with an agreement to share a chase boat between PYC Race, the Etchelles Fleet and Fleet 43.  The three groups will share the 18 foot Maritime Skiff.
This will be an advantage to the fleet for many reasons; After 4 Man-Over-Boards from J24′s (2 on Wednesday nights, we realized how crucial it is to have a second maneuverable boat on the race course, a chase boat will enable race committee to more easily adjust or shorten courses to improve Wednesday Night Racing, we will have a mark boat for DE, and we will be able to get great photos of out fleet in action.

6.    Dates-Launch/Haul & Start/End of Season
Proposed-
Launch: After a spring districts or May 21st (try to avoid Memorial Day)
Racing begins May 25th or June 1st and Ends Sept 7th
Last two Wed earlier starts. (8/31 and 9/1)
Double handed: August open weekend (Sat or Sun?)
Downeast : September 10th and 11th
Haul Out: Immediately Traveling boats at DE or Monday morning after DE with 2nd Haul out after Fall Series.  Boats can also haul out at Leafer’s if they decide to sail in the event.  Will ask Jay about an earlier haul out-but HSB may only want to do one Saturday.

Update: All these dates have been set please visit the fleet calendar www.j24fleet43.org

7.   Downeast Regatta-Event and Chairs
Jess Harris has offered to return as Regatta Co-Chair.  We are still looking for other individuals to Co-Chair or learn the ropes.

We are currently running an “Early Bird” Discount on DE entries from now until November 19th of $200.  Sign up now!

Update: Monday April 11th we will be meeting at Rich Ketchum’s house (Old Power House rd. Falmouth) to work on Downeast Regatta planning-all are welcome!

“Early Bird” $200 Downeast Special ends on Friday April 1st!  Sign up now-we already have 10 boats.

8.    Nominations-this year and next
There were no nominations for this season so the officers will stay the same: Molly White-Fleet Captain, Shelly Paules-Treasurer, and Steph Helms-Race Officer

This will be the last year for all three, so the fleet will need to be looking for the 2011 officers during this next year.

Update: Looking for folks to work on nominating new fleet officers for the 2012 season.

Fleet 43 says farewell to one of our own, Jim Dodd passed away on Thursday.  For many years he was an active member of Fleet 43.  He will be missed.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/james-dodd-80-adventurous-sailor-teacher-affable-landlord_2011-03-17.html?searchterm=james+dodd

Hey Everyone,

Jess and I are looking for some creative and ambitious people to help out with the planning of this year’s Downeast Regatta.

If you would like to help out with this, have suggestions, or ways to improve an already spectacular regatta, please join us!

We will be meeting on Monday April 11th at 6:00pm at Rich Ketchum’s house.  (email if you need directions)

We look forward to seeing you all there!  As always, please share this information with others I may have missed that would be interested.)
Thanks

Molly and Jess