2007 December NE District Winter Meeting Minutes 

Call to Order 

The 2007 New England District Meeting was called to order by Bob Shapiro at 12:05 p.m. on December 2, 2007. 

Roll Call of Fleets

(25% of paid fleets required for quorum – paid fleets listed below)

            121 Newburyport – Present (Patrick Gallagher, Scott McBurney)
            145 Spofford –  Present (Bob & Sterling Bush)
            151 Annisquam –
            189 Marblehead –
            273 Massabesic – Present (Walt Coulantano, Mike Adams)
            301 Malletts Bay –
            332 Squam Lake – Present (Dan Egan)
            493 Bow Lake – Present (Bob Shapiro, Margo Krukonis) 

Maura Power (event chairman for 2008 Districts in Marblehead) and Tris Wallace (district secretary, unaffiliated) were also present at the meeting. 

Secretary's Report 

A vote was approved to dispense of the reading of the secretary’s report.

Treasurer’s Report

Balance a few days after the Summer 2997 Meeting (as reported in the Minutes of the Summer 2007 Meeting) was $1244.33.  An additional $20 fleet dues (from Massabesic) was collected, and the balance now stands at $1264.33. 

 The treasurer’s report was approved by a vote.

Old Business

Trophy Status
Status of Trophies is as follows:
Women’s: Meridith Powlison won in 2007and should have the trophy.
Master’s: Mark Gardner won in 2007.  This trophy has been missing for years.
Junior’s: Peter Hazelett won in 2007. This trophy has been missing for years.
District Championship (including base!): Patrick Zachary won in 2007 and has this trophy.
Pratt Trophy: Bill Fastiggi won in December 2006 and will return trophy at 2007 Winter Meeting.
Sportsmanship Trophy: Dan Egan won in December 2006 and will return trophy at 2007 Winter Meeting.
District Circuit Trophy: Bill Fastiggi won in 2007.  This trophy has been missing for years. 

2008 Districts in Marblehead
Maura Power, Chairman from Marblehead Yacht Racing Association.
CH Ritt Regatta Chairman and Scott McBurney assist.  This is the qualifier for the NA’s in Newport, RI. 

Maura Power reported that plans are well underway for the 2008 WJM and Open district championships and provided an update on plans to date. Highlights include:
-     All boats will be wet sailed. If Marblehead hosts the Sears Cup Area A Qualifiers, any boat that is loaned for that event will be allowed to pull and be re-launched.
-          Trailers will be stored off site.
-          Boats will be moored in the harbor and will be asked to share a mooring with a second lightning. Bumpers or other cushioning devices are encouraged and an allowance will be made in the SIs to allow for them to be left off the boat during racing.
-          Four judges are secured for the event
-          Lightnings will race in our own race circle
-          Marblehead Racing Association is actively recruiting both charter boats and junior sailors to participate in the Junior Championship. They have also secured Tyler Doyle to do on-the-water clinics during the event.
-          Housing availability has been secured at Salem State College at very reasonable rates. 

Maura estimates that the costs for holding this regatta in Marblehead will be higher than the average district regatta. Bob Bush made a motion to allocate funds from the District budget to compensate for the higher costs. Patrick Gallagher seconded the motion. The following motion was approved: The New England District will spend up to $600 from the district budget to cover entry costs for the 2008 NE Districts that exceed $100 per boat. This subsidy will only apply to New England District boats, not out of district entries. 

Bob Bush will also contact Jan Davis and apply for funds from the Limbaugh Fund to cover the entry costs for the Junior District Championship. 

Regatta Participation and Challenge Between Fleets
Update from Bob Bush on Fleet Challenge - Bob reported that he is still working on details of the challenge and will provide an update  by the summer district meeting. 

Participation in district regattas was down this year. A suggestion was made to provide both pre- and post-regatta promotion for each regatta to the district email list. To help build the district email list, the district requests that emails be collected from every person that attends a regatta and send those emails to the district secretary. In addition, a suggestion was made that both the district and each individual regatta organizer send out reminders about upcoming regattas. 

Dan Egan also suggested that the District submit each regatta winner to US Sailing for their sailor of the week feature. He indicated that US Sailing is in need of nominations. 

2009 Districts (possibly) at Squam Lake

Update from Dan Egan - Dan Egan reported that Squam Lake will host the 2009 Districts. Dan has requested that the regatta be held prior to July 4^th. 

New Business

2008 District Racing Schedule
The 2008 schedule was approved and is posted on the NE District Website.

Bob Bush has requested that the District consider moving the Burlington Spring Regatta to later in June and beginning the season at Lake Spofford. There is concern that the district sails the furthest north and in the most open water at the beginning of the season.  Tris Wallace will discuss this with the Burlington fleet for consideration for the 2009 schedule. 

2008 Area A Junior Championships in Lightnings
The district has been asked to host the Area A Championships. Marblehead YRA is looking into having Boston YC host them the Wednesday & Thursday prior to districts. If Marblehead can not host them, the district will look into Squam Lake and Mallets Bay as alternatives. [Post meeting update: They will not be held in Marblehead.  Burlington is considering holding them.] 

2009 World Championships in Burlington, VT
Discussion of the Worlds and what support is needed from the District - No discussion was held as there was no representation from Fleet 301 due to weather. 

2007 Pratt Trophy (service to the District) Winner
The 2007 Pratt Trophy was awarded to Dick Fastiggi. 

2007 Sportsmanship Trophy Winner
The 2007 Sportsmanship trophy was awarded to Patrick Gallagher. 

2007 District Circuit Championship Trophy Winner
The 2007 District Circuit Championship was won by Bill Fastiggi. 

Replacement Trophies
Should we purchase new trophies to replace any of the missing ones? 

The district approved an expenditure of up to $250 to replace the Junior District Championship trophy. The motion was made by Walt Coulontano and seconded by Scott McBurney.  Tris Wallace will contact Nick Mercier to determine if he has the Junior District Trophy. 

Fleet Updates
No fleet updates were made. 

Thank you to Massabesic Yacht Club for hosting this meeting
$25 honorarium to the club approved. 

Adjournment

The 2007 District Meeting was adjourned at 2:09 p.m.