Hi Mark and others,
Just my thoughts on the subject :
"After your first response to George, I had the impression that your main objective was to try to motivate people to assist in promoting the class. Personally I don't think that is a good basis on which to restrict membership. I think as long as an owner of a compliant boat demonstrates a genuine desire to sail as F16, you will gain little by placing additional burdens on them."
Guys, If a F16-compliant boat "demonstrates a genuine desire to sail as F16", why would such a sailor have difficulty in attending ONE regatta a year as F16 ? If he sails his boat WITH SPINNAKER in any ONE regatta in open class, or in any F16 organised event, he qualifies. I can`t see this as placing additional burden on him to attend events. Personally I`d have made it 3 events per year.
"I can understand your concern that subgroups may influence the class in ways not necessarily in the interests of the class overall. And I can imagine that this may be particularly important while F16 is still in a fairly early stage of development."
I don`t even think that it`s because the class is young that this issue has arisen, quite opposite, I think it has come about because the class is now attracting the attention of many who show no commitment to the class in any way, yet have an overwhelming desire to have a say in how things get run. It`s not about the fact that any one OD class could "hijack" the class (although this could happen), it`s more to weed out those who have lots to say but do nothing.
I wish my yacht club were run this way - when a member I`ve never seen stands up at the AGM with lots to say about how the club is run because he pays his miserable little annual fee, I`d love to ask him how many regattas he attended or supported in any way, and then tell him to **** off.
I think this would be an ideal way to separate the members from the spectators. It also keeps a system in place which prevents an OD class with a lot of members who sail their boat actively as OD, but never sail with spinnakers, never attend F16 organised events (even though these events are organised and held in their country by a group of "not-quite-full-F16" sailors), but then shout the loudest when decisions within the class don`t quite go their way. Personally I think these sailors should have NO say in anything F16 related until they start showing some form of commitment or involvement.
I think the F16 class is unique in the way it is run - do the F18 sailors get to have input and vote on decisions, or even make suggestions ? We must remember that this is NOT a OD class, it`s a mix of several OD classes, one-off`s and home-built boats, and can`t be managed the way you would a OD class.
I sail a boat that has dispensation and must therefore be re-evaluated as to whether we are included in F16 on an annual basis, in terms of the class rules. The way I make sure that my boat has a chance of staying in the F16 class is to be an active sailor and promoter of the F16 class, without doing so I would just be dead wood, and would not recieve dispensation the following year. This is why many classes of boat that were given dispensation in the early days of the class have not been re-granted this status, because they were INACTIVE.
I would seriously question anyone`s motives to want to have a say in how things get run, without so much as showing up for one regatta in a year.
Hell, you guys are lucky I`m not Chairman !

Steve