Council Delegates Present:

David Medhurst CAA (President)
Dennis Sherwood CAA (Treasure)
David Innes BAA (Secretary)
Roger Thomas USAA
John Duncan USAA (Past President)

Association Members in Attendance:

Haakon Kerulf CAA
Charles Chapman CAA
John Luard   USAA
John Lawser USAA
Ken Ayrton BAA
Ron James BAA

1. Apologies for Absence

Bill Pickering BAA
Carl Cheney USAA

2. Minutes of Previous Meeting:

The chairman noted that only one Canadian delegate had been named in the minutes. The secretary pointed out that the CAA had only nominated one person at the meeting but intended to notify the council of the second name after the CAA committee made their selection at a later date. In fact, no nomination had subsequently been made to the IAA secretary.

It was agreed that no further action was now necessary and it was therefore proposed the previous minutes be adopted as submitted.

Proposed J. Luard

Seconded K.S. Ayrton

Approved

3. President's Report:

David Medhurst welcomed IAA delegates and National Association members to the Royal Canadian Yacht club and hoped they and all competitors would enjoy both the Championship and the social activities. He mentioned the hard work carried out over the past 2 years preparing for the championship, and proposed a vote of thanks to Ian Rodgers and his regatta committee. Approved

The President spoke about the work of the IAA and the opinion sometimes overheard that it was not a particularly dynamic committee. However, 3 main objectives have been pursued by the IAA:

1. To secure consistency and commonality in the rules of the Class.

2. To arrange the Bi-ennial Regatta.

3. To develop the Class world wide.

In general (1) had been achieved, apart from occasional minor discrepancies.

Item (2) continues to be achieved and strong overseas entries to each Regatta are welcomed by the host country and provide the necessary stimulus for healthy competition.

Item (3) has still to be achieved but, given the present financial situation and other resource restrictions, this is not realistic as yet. However, ways of encouraging the growth of the class should be sought by us all, and the need to encourage new builders is particularly relevant, especially in North America.

The President concluded his report by thanking members for their support and continued interest in the Class.

There followed discussion on development of the class:

Stated that Southern Ireland had a fleet of about 12 Albacores near Cork, and friendly links had been established between them and the BAA. Also, in Cyprus there were 50-60 Albacores although many were fairly old ex UK armed forces boats.

Suggested both groups should be invited to become associate members of the IAA .

He also felt that while it was not essential that Albacore building firms be big, it would obviously help. However, it was essential that each country had enthusiasts to promote sales or have keen and committed agents.

Stated that in Pakistan, South Africa and other similar countries, interest in dinghy sailing was growing but fleets were a miscellaneous assortment of boats. He suggested it may be economically viable for someone to ship out a batch of boats (Albacores) possibly 10 or 12 to such areas, to stimulate interest and encourage growth.

Suggested also that the promotion of Albacores in clubs and areas of the 3 major countries should be considered as a priority activity.

4. Treasurers Report:

Dennis Sherwood reported the IAA finances were healthy with $C1532 in credit although about $50 is due to D. lnnes for secretarial expenses (mainly postage) over the last 2 or 3 years. Membership of the RYA had not been renewed as yet and it agreed that the treasurer send the requisite fee to the RYA. It was also agreed that a contribution be made toward postage of the first IAA Yearbook which was anticipated being ready this week. Action: D. Sherwood

5. Amendments to the Constitution

No new amendments had been submitted. However, it was pointed out that the CAA should have re-issued the constitution incorporating changes which had been agreed at the 1981 IAA meeting at Gwynn's Island. The President apologized for the omission and stated that the agreed amendments would be made and copies of the revised constitution would be sent to all delegates. Action: D. Medhurst

6. Specifications and Class Rules

The specifications committee, comprising J. Luard, K. Ayrton and D. Whitfield met on Saturday 20th August and considered the following matters.

6.1 Changes to the Class Rules shown in addendum 1 were discussed and approved.

6.2 2 Headsail Rule (UK only): The Specifications Committee expressed concern that the NAA had adopted a 2 headsail rule against the recommendation of the I.A.A.

There followed prolonged discussion by members of the IAA on the basis that member associations are not allowed to create new rules as "National exceptions", without prior approval of IAA member countries. While it was agreed that it would now be difficult to revert to the one headsail situation in the UK, it was also agreed by all present that unilateral action like this could undermine the basic precepts of the IAA, and all the hard work previously carried out to establish a common and agreed set of rules could be negated if a firm stance was not taken. It was further agreed that the NAA be made aware (in a tactful manner) of the strength of feeling within the IAA. J. Luard summed up the general consensus by proposing that D. Innes handle this situation by writing to the NAA committee, and follow up with an "open letter" to ALIVE, the NAA magazine. Action: D. Innes

6.3 Centreboard Trunk (case): The Specs. Committee had discussed the problem of the 1977 WOOF Albacores where the C/B trunk was 20 mm. short. It was thought that replacement boards must be to the correct size and the C/B trunks must therefore be modified to suit. However, it was agreed that old boats would be allowed to compete with the shorter C/B trunk.

6.4 Rule Changes: These will be sent be the RYA for verification and will thereafter be returned to the specifications committee who will incorporate them into the Rules.

It was proposed by J. Luard and seconded by K.S. Ayrton that these changes be adopted with effect from 1.1.84. Agreed

6.5 Hull Weight: D. Sherwood was concerned that the hull weight should be nearer the specified limits without the addition of correctors, which could adversely affect hull strength. He was asked to prepare a proposal and send it to the Specification and Rules committee. Action: D. Sherwood

6.6 Referring back to item 6.2 (2 headsails rule in the UK), D. Sherwood proposed that this matter should be referred back to the Specifications committee. Following further discussion the IAA recommended that the Specifications committee reconsider the whole matter and make every effort to produce a written recommendation before the end of the championship. Action: Specs. Committee

7.1 UK: Sales of new boats were slow with only 15 in 1983. Good second-hand boats had been readily available and had saturated the market. However, there is a renewed interest and enquiries and orders are now beginning to come in. Membership is now between 350 and 400.

7.2 Canada: There is development in a unique sense for, although overall personal membership is down from over 500 to between 450 and 500, there is a very strong community club (joint members) membership, and a strong Sea Cadet Corps. New boats registered in 1983, approximately 20-25.

7.3 USA: Membership stands at 200 to 225 members with approximately 20-25 new boats registered per year.

8. 1985 Worlds (Weymouth, England)

K. Ayrton reported that the NAA proposed to hold no UK championships in 1985 and to make the Worlds an Open event with unrestricted entry. This engendered a strong reaction from the IAA delegates who felt this would not be good for the top competitors (who should after all be the ones considered). "Remember Plymouth" was the call! D. Innes also stated that although he had missed the latest NAA meeting, this new proposal was completely contrary to decisions reached at previous meetings.

Following discussions, it was suggested that the NAA consider the following: If an "Open" event is planned, the entries should be split into 2 fleets for the first 2 days with the top 30 from each fleet going into the "Worlds fleet" for the remainder of the week. A separate event could then continue for the rest of the competitors if desired. A method of ensuring that the Canadian and USA world qualifiers progressed to the Worlds series of races would be required.

9. 1987 Worlds (USA):

The USAA have suggested Gwynn's Island should again be the venue.

R. Thomas reported a small profit from the 1981 Worlds which would be used to sponsor US entries to the 1985 Worlds.

10 IAA Year Book:

D. Medhurst reported that the 1st yearbook should be available this week. The CAA proposed an annual issue of the yearbook. It was agreed that a small honorarium should be paid to the editor. Each National Association will be responsible for obtaining its own sponsorship and advertising. D. Whitfield (CAA) has expressed a willingness to edit the yearbook.

11 Election of President

D. Innes had been nominated by the BAA this was approved.

12 Nominations to the IAA Council

The following nominations had been submitted by the Nominating Committee, with the exception that K.S. Ayrton replaced W. Pickering for the BAA.

Councillors:

BAA: Ken Ayrton and Ron James

CAA: Haakon Kierulf and Dennis Sherwood

USAA: Roger Thomas and John Lawser

13 Officers of the IAA

Vice President:

Roger Thomas was nominated and this was approved.

Treasurer:

Secretary:

Either Ken Ayrton or Ron James would take over this post and the IAA are to be informed as soon as possible of the decision.

D. Medhurst proposed a vote of thanks to David Innes for his work as secretary since his appointment during the Kingston Worlds in 1977.

AOB:

D. Medhurst reported that Bacardi Rum had indicated that they would like to sponsor the Albacore Team Race as a permanent event at the Worlds. This generous gesture was approved and the IAA asked D. Medhurst to express their appreciation to Bacardi Rum.

There being no further business the meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the retiring President, David Medhurst.