| Minutes to the 2000 Annual New England Lightning District Winter
Meeting
Roll Call of Fleets present and designation of Fleet Captain
Fleet 14 - Centerboard - John Tozer Fleet 121 - Newburyport - Patrick
Gallagher Fleet 145 - Spofford - Alex Gemmel Fleet 151 - Annisquam -
Georges Peter Fleet 189 - Marblehead - Rick Humphrey Fleet 227 -
Bomoseen - Raymond Harrington Fleet 273 - Massabesic - Joe Ray Fleet 280
- Wellfleet - Robert Cutting Fleet 301 - Malletts Bay - Tim Ambrose
Fleet 332 - Squam Lake - Doug Decluitt Fleet 493 - Bow Lake - Ned Hinds
Fleet Reports Fleet 121 - Patrick Gallagher - Another excellent
season, new boats added to the fleet from the outside and more boats are
coming out of the woodwork. Regatta went very well and we are encouraged
by the way things are coming together.
Fleet 145 - Alex Gemmel - Potential for 2 new boats this season.
Things are in a state of rebuilding for now.
Fleet 189 - Rick Humphrey - Took kids out a couple of times this
season.
Fleet 227 - Toni Harrington - No fleet racing, we are not going to
cancel the regatta this season. There are not many prospects for new
boats, but are trying.
Fleet 273 - Mo L'Heureux - Hoping on more participation this season.
Having problems with dry sailing because of space in the yard. Guests
are welcome, but cannot leave the boat in the yard.
Fleet 280 - Robert Cutting - Held districts this past year and it
went very well. There was no fleet racing in Wellfleet this year, but
things are looking better since they sold the club lightning and the
junior program is going well.
Fleet 301 - Bill Fastiggi - Have prospects for a couple of new boats
this year. Hosting the NA's and also the junior program is going strong.
Fleet 332 - Walley Ackley - Raced every Sunday in July and August. 10
boats on average. The juniors program is in its third year and it is
going very well. There are 20 boats in the fleet, with 13 active boats.
Fleet 493 - Bob Shapiro - 6 boats in the fleet and there has been
good improvement over the past season. The Opti junior program is going
very well and hoping to see results.
The minutes to the Summer meeting and the Treasurers report were
accepted as presented. Charges that did not appear included Tom Allen's
airfare to the Brian Hughes Regatta.
North American Discussion
Bill Fastiggi led the discussion. He pointed out that the host
district gets double the normal quota, which currently stands at 1 for
every 10 boats in the district and we have approx 80 boats in the
district. Fleet Captains should encourage local boats to join up to
increase the number of boats we can send to Malletts Bay.
They have been conducting planning meetings once a month since March.
The people responsible are as follows: Tim Ambrose, Bill Fastiggi,
Patrick Zachery are the co-chairmen for the Regatta Don Brush is the
Race Officer for NAs Mark Gardner is the Race officer for the WJM and
the Website Tim Ambrose is responsible for measurement Dick Fastiggi is
in charge of trophies, t-shirts, and the parking/land operations Heather
Rowe - Promotions and Advertising Lea Ann and Kika are in charge of the
entertainment Suzanne Hebeler - Housing
They will be wet sailing the boats and parking the trailers offsite.
Need help for the Measurement days and the 3 social events. These are
Measurement - Tues Aug 7th, Fri Aug 10th, and Sat Aug 11th. Dinners -
Bove's Aug 8th (Women/Junior/Masters), Pig Roast Aug 12th, and Dinner
Aug 14th. Haul out will be at the state access ramp where they can pull
3-4 boats at a time.
Really need volunteers to help with any and all of these events.
People need to contact the co-chairmen with when they are available and
what they would like to assist with. They estimate that they will need
about 100 volunteers approximately.
WJM will be a little different this time, as they will race Masters
and Juniors in the morning and Women's and Juniors in the afternoon.
Instead of 1 race per session, they will try to get 2 races in, thus
totals for the series would be 6, 6, and 12. Also noted the Sears Cup
this year is in Lightnings and is sailed 3 weeks later, so the Juniors
may be even more competitive. Races for the WJM will be held in the
Inner bay whereas the NA's will be sailed in the Outer bay. Reminded
everyone that the winners in the Womens and Masters qualify for the NA's
with the same ratio as for Districts (1 per 10 competing).
They are looking for a major sponsor to supply the up front money,
which all tolled will be somewhere between $7-10k. This covers trophies,
t-shirts, and other expenses that must be incurred before regatta fees
start coming in. If they are unable to acquire a major sponsor they may
need to ask the District for a loan of money from the treasury for this
purpose.
General Discussion
Topic of one day regattas came up. There was mixed feelings, some
thought it was good, others did not feel so. Some people felt that it
should be held on Sun instead of Sat, but when put to a vote for the Bow
Lake regatta, Sat won out handily.
Fleet schedules need to be published on the web. Mark Gardner has
graciously volunteered to provide webspace and services so that
individual fleet captains could post schedules and results to his web
server. He will also set up a message board where district issues can be
discussed. Patrick Gallagher will setup and maintain an email list for
the district.
Participation - Getting a guest speaker as was done in Newburyport
seemed to be agreeable to everyone. The exact format was up for debate.
Some felt that the format used was ok, but it lacked information for
newbies. Bill Fastiggi offered to help in any way he could. It was
agreed that whatever the outcome, it would need to be published well in
advance. One idea that was raised, done by the JY15 might be to have a
cocktail hour where a panel of the top 10 boats from the days racing,
were assembled to answer questions from the crowd in a fun but
informative atmosphere. Another good point was raised about the value of
on the water experience as was done in Massabesic 2 years ago.
Performing starts over and over with experts critiquing how individuals
perform is very good.
A committee of Fleet Captains will be formed in order to communicate
ideas and concerns of the individual fleets to the District officers and
vise versa. Tim Ambrose will serve as chairman of the committee. The
district officers will look to this group for help with recruiting and
planning events that will benefit the district.
District officers need help in closing the loop when contacts are
forwarded to the local fleets. This way we do not lose people because
they get lost in between. Alex Gemmel pointed out that the district
website did not put any focus on the recruitment of new boats. Spofford
is planning on updating their website and including recruitment
material. It was pointed out that other boats may show up to fleet
events if we publish this information, including increased participation
in evening races. This is a very good way to grow the district.
District should consider having a Non-Affiliated designation and try
to get those that are not affiliated to a fleet hooked up with a fleet.
An email list for the district would be a very good thing. Patrick
Gallagher has this and will formalize it in the future.
Bill Fastiggi was awarded the District Championship. Pratt trophy
will be awarded at a future date.
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