2015 Open Sailors Forum

During the Open World Championship a Sailors forum was held in Talamone.

These were ideas from the room for the Board to think about/consider.

2015 Open Sailors Forum
World Championship
Talamone, Italy
Tuesday, September 22

Vice Commodore Gweneth Crook began the Sailors Forum with about 20 members present, with more attending as the Forum continued (maybe 30 total). Board members also in attendance were Pietro Fantoni, Luis Soubie & Zbigniew Rakocy.

Gweneth explained this was the forum for any sailor to present ideas, ask questions and have dialogue with fellow Snipe sailors.

…

Sailors Forum
• Discussion was held on the low attendance: sailors were tired after racing.
• Discussion that all members should have a vote; then they would attend.

Worlds – increased entries
Gweneth asked the sailors how they liked the large fleet:
• More boats means finding the right venue to host.
• More boats means possibly moving to having flights for starts. This may be especially true for the 2016 Europeans which we expect to be quite large.
• Suggestion to ask Japan how they handle large fleets.
• Larger number of entries good, but don’t want quality to go down.

Measurement
• The majority in attendance, if not all, complained that measurement at this Worlds was too long and the measurement team did not keep timely appointments
• Discussion from a current class measurer that the rudder template was incorrect
• Also that the MOI equipment was not set up correctly/did not have the correct equipment
• Sailors asked if measurement could open earlier and/or also allow measurement during the Jr Worlds (while they are racing)
• Care should be taken during the jr worlds as many of the juniors are not using their own boats and need assistance understanding the measurement rules & process.
• Adjustable mast position -why not allowed?
• Change the rule regarding tight rig for mast retention (mast is not tight going downwind) Note: mast retention rule passed for safety reasons.
• Jib cloth: provide samples to measurers for ease of identity in case stamp from sailmaker disappears.
• Jib cloth: measure thickness of cloth, not weight

Juniors
• SCIRA should provide a coach for juniors to help those with less experience and/or those without a coach at the regatta.

Courses
• Suggestion of finishing downwind rather than 3 upwind legs
• majority of sailors prefer “U” flag at starts
• Discussion of having people on the RC who understand the conditions; not just focused on wind speed. Follow up response that the SCIRA Rep is on the RC.
• Proposal to have a sailor representative on the water who can speak to the RC and represent the sailors. Vote at the beginning of the regatta for this representative.
• SCIRA should enforce check-in/check-out for sailors or use GPS.

Mixed Worlds:
Discussion held on the pros/cons of adding a Mixed world championship. Concern that a mixed championship may take away from the World Masters.