St. Augustine, FL 4/27/19
All officers were re-elected for another year.
George presented data regarding attendees at 2018 regattas compared to previous seasons. The average number of registered skippers down again for another year. Discussion from members included comments regarding new, up & coming classes i.e. DragonForce etc. that are “grabbing” everyone’s interest. Also several of our skippers sail several different classes and must balance their time across each boat. Other members commented that we must remember to be “ambassadors” at all times even in the heat of a regatta. That means you must watch your language and your manners. We have significantly improved in this area (behavior). Also, remember to support new sailors (offer to help trim, discuss race strategies/insights (between races not during). Monitor the EC12 “Chat room”. This is hard since now there is the additional FACEBOOK page to monitor as well. Members brought up how expensive it is to participate in the regattas (motel, gas, meals, spouses go off shopping). Perhaps we should consider having “one day” regattas. One upside to fewer attendees at regattas: Many this season were sailed as “one fleet” regattas which in turn results in more sailing.
A lot goes into planning a regatta, waiting to the last minute to register makes it even harder on the event planners. Please, if you know you want to race, register early. All venues MUST register their individual regatta with the AMYA through the AMYA website. This will prevent conflicting events and also is a good way to “get the news out.” Race Directors (RDs) should be aware of conditions that cause consistent problems for the entire fleet (mark too far from shore and directly in sun-glare causing most skippers to miss rounding it repetitively). RDs must ensure fairness, safety, and minimize frustration. Quality racing over quantity.
The fee for entering a regatta is now $35
There was a discussion regarding how to address non-members (a skipper that has not paid their due to the Florida EC12 association). This shall be tabled for the time being.
Florida EC12 membership dues shall now be due at the beginning of each racing season.
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Submitted by Brenda Pardee, Florida EC-12 Association Secretary/Treasurer
St. Augustine, FL 4/29/17
All officers were re-elected for another year.
George presented data regarding attendees at 2017 regattas compared to previous seasons. The average number of registered skippers down by two skippers. Bob Dudinski confirmed similar results for regattas “up North.” Discussion from members included comments regarding new, up & coming classes i.e. Dragonforce etc. that are “grabbing” everyone’s interest. Also several of our skippers sail several different classes and must balance their time across each boat. Other members commented that we must remember to be “ambassadors” at all times even in the heat of a regatta. That means you must watch your language and your manners. On club practice days, be ready to put your radio into the hands of any interested spectator. Do all you can to encourage new, (younger) sailors. Frank Ligon brought up how expensive it is to participate in the regattas (motel, gas, meals, spouse shopping). Comments included the cheaper hotel (Super-8) in Palm Beach is usually comfortable and in a good neighborhood. Local club members are also encourage to host out-of-town skippers whenever possible.
We have lost Naples as a regatta site due to low attendance for several years in a row. Also, even with great effort, the St. Pete regatta did not happen. Without a local club, we must face the fact that this venue is also gone. A lot goes into planning a regatta, waiting to the last minute to register makes it even harder on the event planners. Please, if you know you want to race, register early. Alan Perkins stated that The Villages regatta now has to be limited to 30 skippers. The Villages residents have implemented this restriction due to the number of parking places we were taking up.
New ponds are being looked at as possible venues. A pond in Sarasota described as a rowing pond and two ponds in Sebring were mentioned. Several members volunteered to be on a research & development committee. Frank Ligon is trying to build a club in Palm Coast.
The Villages and the Jacksonville (St. Augustine) venues will host two regattas per season.
All venues MUST register their individual regatta with the AMYA through the AMYA website. This will prevent conflicting events and also is a good way to “get the news out.”
Bob Greer suggested a traveling group of RD’s that could help a new club run especially their first regatta. Alan Perkins pointed out how that would reduce the number of racing skippers. Well established club request help from skippers who sail other classes.
Jon Luscomb questioned the particulars of the “5-minute” hold. Changing rigs does not qualify. Joe Walter stated that, as RD, he calls a break to change rigs in cases of extreme weather. An RD must be cognizant of the safety of the fleet. Today we had a skipper call for a 5-minute hold although, as it turned out, he was back in the water at 2 minutes. However, the fleet was held for the full 5 minutes because several other skippers used the “hold” to visit the Head. This is permissible and understandable.
Jon Luscomb then questioned the reason we have throw-outs. After much discussion, including data that seemed to confirm that throw-outs ultimately had little effect on the final outcome of a regatta, the throw-out throw-outs motion was defeated. Then a milder version 1 throw-out for every 8 races passed which will begin next season. There was some interest in Liz Perkins’ suggestion to have only one throw-out per regatta to ensure that RDs were not pressured into quantity not quality to ensure a certain number of throw-outs.
Bob Dudinski made a motion that was seconded by Jon L to make all the regattas count meaning you had to attend every regatta to stay “in contention.” Some skippers commented that the only reason they missed a regatta was due to severe sickness or a death in the family. The motion was defeated.
The meeting was finally adjourned due to extreme hunger ….If I missed anything blame it on Baron as I was trying to keep him informed on what was being discussed.
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Submitted by: Brenda Pardee
The Meeting was held April 23 2016 after the days
sailing at the St. Augustine EC-12 Regatta.
The meeting was brought
to order by Chairman George Balaschak.
The first order of business
was the presentation of an award to past Chairman Dick Hedderick
for his leadership of the FLEC-12 Association from 2012-2015.
Review
of the 2015-2016 Season
While we had one less race than in previous
seasons the average skipper attendance per race remained about
the same as in past years at about 24.
A discussion about conflicts
with local events which cause EC-12 skippers to not attend events
on the Florida EC-12 Association schedule was held suggesting that
possibly planning would allow more to attend our events.
Nominations
for the next year’s officers were held and all current officers were
re-elected unanimously:
Chairman, George Balaschak
Vice Chairman, Dan Pearce
Secretary Treasurer, Brenda Pardee
The next topic on the Agenda was “How do we stay in touch?” A problem exists in that the email addresses of the skippers who should be informed is somewhat dated. We have no methodology to keep it current such as a web site log-in. As a result, it is difficult to communicate efficiently with each other. Please refer to Florida Roster Needed: (See below)
Dues:
Dues confusion caused by changes
in racing season: Dues of $10 paid to Brenda Pardee (Class Secretary
/ Treasurer) due beginning each calendar year. Brenda will send
email receipt. Be sure your contact information is up-to-date.
Membership form is on Floridaec12.com website: “How to Join” tab. By-Laws specify must be paid in order to be eligible for trophy. Club decided to be lenient for 2015-16 year because of all the confusion. Treasurer should not be “dues enforcer” just “dues
collector.”
Florida Roster Needed:
Members need
to sometimes contact other members and would like entire roster
of contact information. Contact information should not be shared
unless an individual has given permission for global sharing (between
other members). Dan will contact Jim R. (resource for on-line automated
forms) re: adding check-box to say “yes” my contact info can be
shared with all other members.
Regatta Schedule for next season:
Punta
Gorda will swap dates with the Villages to accommodate a Soling
1M women’s Championship:
Punta Gorda Regatta: Nov 12-13 2016,
Gator Regatta: Dec 3-4 2016
Naples on traditional date Jan 7-8
2017
Palm Beach Gardens back to the Valentines weekend
Feb 11-12 to be Region 7 Championship
St Augustine (Hosted by
Jacksonville members): April (may switch with St Petersburg which
traditionally was held in March)
Missing March Regatta:
Members were in favor of getting back to a 6 regatta
season. The St Pete regatta was not held this season as there
is no active club in St Pete. Possibility of other venues including
a pond in Sebring was discussed.
St. Pete Regatta Revival:
Started
as discussion on how to increase attendance at individual regattas.
One idea was, because of costs, members do not travel to regattas
that are distant. St Pete is a central location. Lots of enthusiasm
for bringing back St. Pete. Bob D. volunteered to RD. Bob Greer
volunteered as assistant RD and to work with Bob to make it happen.
Jim & Brenda P. volunteered rescue boat etc.
Date for regatta may or may not be in March due to Grand Prix (car
event). Stay tuned for further developments…
Regatta attendance:
Other ideas to increase attendance (in addition to above):
- Each
club have a “club boat” ready at pond for curious on-lookers
to sail during club practice days.
- Clubs have members who volunteer to be “hotel” for
out of town skippers to help decrease costs
- Continue to insist on “Fair
and Just Sailing” (Corinthian Spirit)-
Winning by cheating (knowing you broke a rule and did not do
a turn) is shallow. Best sailors should be role models at all
times to encourage less experienced sailors i.e. This is fun
(and fair) for everyone!
- RDs should not end a day of racing early because
of a few unruly skippers. RD must go directly to individual offender
(No matter who they are or where they are from) and administer
disciplinary consequences such as: additional points, ending
their individual racing day etc. Skippers are encouraged to help
maintain order and if necessary protest a skipper for bad behavior.
- It was noted that our Florida Association regattas
this year were well behaved and friendly.
- Encourage Friday Night
Before Regatta Get-to-Know-You get-togethers
When do we quit sailing if it
blows “like stink.”
The discussion
pointed out that the class rules permit a small “C” rig for these
occasions. Make all aware of that. RD is the final say regarding
entire event. Each regatta is unique. RD is responsible for safety,
fairness, etc. of all participants including his/her own staff.
An RD can accept suggestions but when decision is made that decision
should be respected (and not further debated). This includes calling
a regatta because of wind, lightning etc. However, participants
should be ready for sailing in conditions that call for a C-rig.
If an individual skipper does not have a C-rig and cannot control
their boat then they should retire from that day’s racing. The
regatta should continue for those that have C-rigs and can safely
sail (or don’t mind trashing their boat).
3 Rigs Definition (By
Laws specify):
Only allowed a total of 3 rigs at any individual
regatta: If you have a rig and, for example, and the jib breaks
and you fix by changing out to a new jib, you now have used 2 rigs
of your 3 that are allowed. The original rig has been modified.
Bow
Bumpers Discussion:
Short Answer: Not mandated; Individual members gave examples of
circumstances where bumpers either did not prevent damage or caused
damage to their own boat (cut jib sheet)
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The 2014 Annual Meeting of
the Florida EC-12 Association was held on April 26 2014 in St.
Augustine Florida after the racing for the day was completed.
The meeting was called to order at 1700 hrs. by Richard Hedderick,
Florida EC-12 Association Chairman.
Dick informed the attendees
that the regatta attendance was up 11%, 158 vs 142, compared
to the last year’s season.
Dick talked about an email
survey that he conducted regarding online registration for regattas.
The response was overwhelmingly positive with 100% of the skippers
indicating they liked the online process. Love it...Easy and
Fast...Works well, were some of the comments.
A discussion of the online registration process fees for regattas
was held. As the cost for handling fees add $1.25 to the nominal
$30.00 fee, a motion was made to raise the fee to $32. This
was voted on and carried. All regattas will use the online process
next year.
Dick presented some statistics
on the top 3 RC boat classes in Region 7 (Florida).
| Boat |
#skippers |
#boats |
Boat Value |
| EC-12 |
92 |
137 |
$200,000 |
| Soling |
237 |
334 |
$100,000 |
| Micro Magic |
64 |
77 |
$25,000 |
The Soling has the greatest
number of boats.
The EC-12 has the greatest
value in boats.
The MM has the greatest growth rate.
A vote was held to name the
officers for the club.
Chairman - Dick Hedderick (Re-elected)
Vice Chairman - Jon Luscomb (Re-elected)
Secretary - George
Balaschak (Re-elected)
All approved unanimously.
A request to email a list
of Skippers and their boat sail number was made. The secretary
will do this.
The regatta schedule for the
next season was presented noting that the Palm Beach Gardens
regatta date was moved 1 week later than previously. The schedule
will be sent out by the Chairman.
Martin Grey commented that
the St Petersburg regatta was held on the same weekend as the
Indycar race and hotels were expensive and possibly moving the
date would alleviate the problem. A lively discussion followed
with Bob Dudinsky pointing out that the motel near the regatta
site had a rate of $89.
Fred Pfeil suggested that
a change of sailing times for the St Petersburg regatta could
eliminate one night’s
stay, and costs, for traveling skippers. The suggestion was to
sail noon to 1600 on Sat and 930 to 1330 on Sun. A motion followed,
seconded and voted. The idea failed to be approved.
Dick discussed the results
of Ken Morrison, a US Sailing Judge, logging infractions for
the current race in St Augustine. There were many instances
of open water Port-Starboard collisions. A lively discussion
followed with many skippers acknowledging that they were a guilty
Port-Tacker. Better communication on the race course and a bigger
picture view of the action were suggested to prevent these problems.
The meeting adjourned about
1745.
Submitted by George Balaschak,
secretary
TOP
--
April 2013
Florida EC-12 Association
Chairman's EC-12 Class
Overview
There are 650 EC-12's registered in the US.
That represents about $1,000,000 in total boat value.
The largest value of any US class.
In a regatta with 30 boats, about $45,000 of boat
value is on the water.
EC-12's are more than toy boats.
Supplier Recognition Award to Bob Dudinsky
Suppliers,
particularly hull manufacturers are very important to the class.
Since 2005, Bob Dudinsky has been a primary supplier of hulls,
fittings and complete boats. Bob has committed his life and business
to the EC-12 class. His work is innovative and of the highest quality.
Bob Dudinsky (RMD Marine) was honored with a supplier recognition
award.
Regatta Attendance up for our 2012/2013 Season
Total Participation in all six regattas was 142 participants compared
to 135 the prior season. (up 6%)
Total number of skippers participating
was 63, compared to 53 the prior years. Some skippers are participating
in fewer regattas, but this is being more than off set by new
skippers and new members to the association. (up 11%)
Election of Officers
Chairman - Dick Hedderick (Re-elected)
Vice Chairman - Jon Luscomb (Re-elected)
Secretary - George Balaschak (New)
Vote was unanimous for these officers.
Florida Fleet Management System
Florida is very fortunate to have about 30 participants at each
regatta. Since a maximum of 20 boats is allowed on the starting
line, the fleet must be split. As a trial, Florida used the "Florida
2 Fleet" system, the Odd-Even system, and promotion/relegation
(P/R) system, at various regattas in 2013. After each type of
system was used skippers provided comments about what they liked
and disliked about each fleet management system. These comments
are summarized below in the section "EC-12 skippers comments about
fleet management systems".
The Florida 2-Fleet system was the "official" system used in 2013.
Two motions were made to change the "official" fleet management
system. A motion was made to change to the Odd-Even system. The
motion did not receive a second and therefore failed. A motion
was made to change to the P/R system and use the National Seeding
List (NSL) to seed skippers in A or B fleet. This motion was seconded
and 100% of those present voted to take this motion to the membership
for vote.
About a week after the meeting, the membership
voted electronically. 85% were in favor of adopting P/R as the
fleet system for the Florida EC-12 regattas. Promotion/Relegation
will now be used at all Florida EC-12 regattas and the bylaws
will be changed accordingly.
Scoring for the Florida Cup
This subject is not about scoring during a regatta. This subject
is about how points are awarded for the Florida Cup. The Florida
EC-12 Association has been using a "low point" system
to award Florida Cup points after a regatta. There are drawbacks
to this system. One is that having different sized regattas can
skew the results. Also, non-competitors still get some points
(last place plus one). Scoring is a complex and arguable subject.
The Chairman proposed that points be awarded for
the Florida Cup using the National Seeding List (NSL) formula.
The NSL formula has been found to be very successful in comparing
results from different sized regattas. The winner gets 100 points.
Last place gets 10 points. A mid fleet finish gets 55 points.
Non participants get zero points. Listed below as an example
are the points that would be awarded for a 21 boat and a 31 boat
regatta. |
