The Tech Committee has now been seized of these requests for almost 12 months. One member of the committee is actually suggesting that we defer any decision until after the 2009-2012 updates to the ISAF rules have been published. Many may consider it quite laughable that anyone should believe that changes in the ERS might have any effect on the measurement of Footys, particularly since the only bits of ERS that are used are low-level (and therefore presumptively stable) definitions. One is left with a nasty suspicion that, come 2009, it might seem a good idea to put consideration of changes back to Preston Guild.

This is getting silly. Attempts have been made to nudge the process along, but I must confess that they have not been very energetic: waiting until after Birkenhead/Liverpool, which marked a step forward in Footys as a world class, was over and done with did seem like a good idea – and did provide some valuable insights. Since there is now quite serious (and justifiable) unrest among active Footy sailors, I have taken the bull by the horns and written to Bill Hagerup as chairman of the Tech Committee as follows:

I am instructed by my Committee to write to you as follows. You have had about 12 months to discuss the pros and cons of the proposed rule changes. It is not the function of your team to change the rule - that is the job of the members.
We are therefore instructing you to come up with either a clear recommendation where you have a degree of unanimity or else a brief reasoned case in favour of each of the available options. We expect to have the results of your deliberations by 7 September 2008. I would remind you that motions of the tech team are by a simple majority of votes. Angus Richardson Footy Class International Committee

Bill has signified that this deadline will be met.

I must confess that I had forgotten that the matter of ‘racing trim’ has actually been properly dealt with 18 months ago (a long time in Footy terms). See Clarifications . Nonetheless, I have requested the Tech Committee to draft a clarification on the position of the height of the hull in the box. I think this is implicitly defined, but it could be made clearer. In general terms, I would commend Keven Jackson’s very lucid explanation. It is not official, and I have not read it with a lawyer’s eye, but it seems to be a good commonsense guide.

THE SECOND POINT.

I would be the first to agree that the committee (which controls, hires and fires the tech committee and is therefore ultimately been responsible for its doings) has been remiss in not prosecuting these matters more diligently. There are always excuses (some of them quite good ones) but the fact remains that performance has not been up to scratch. The committee is appointed by members in each country, so if you want to fire the committee, do it through your own local class organisation. But remember that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence and you will need a replacement who will do the job better.

However, I will do my best to ensure that matters are processed much more quickly. The last changes to the technical and administrative rules were made in response to some perfectly fair (if very bluntly put) complaints by John "Waboats" and were made very quickly. We were accused in some quarters of acting out of panic – and there may be a grain of truth in this: John is a fearsome opponent when roused – but there was a sincere desire that the management of the class be transparent and visibly efficient. http://www.rcsailing.net/forum1/showthread.php?p=38979#post38979

That desire remains. If you have questions or want changes, talk initially to your national registrar, who is your representative on the International Committee. Note that in the USA this is John Amoroso, NOT Bill Hagerup. Anything that is urgent for any reason will be dealt with urgently and be subject to an official interpretation. Please do not expect ‘it would be nice if’ suggestions for changes (as opposed to clarifications) to be dealt with at the drop of a hat. No matter how dear your idea may be to you (and no matter how good it is), there are other considerations such as rule stability and how often members want to be balloted that must be borne in mind.

FINALLY

Many if not all of the more heated debates in this forum and in RCSailing have been driven by outsiders who do not have and probably never intend having a Footy but who enjoy a little sea-lawyering. I entirely appreciate that the protagonists in this debate are all active and committed Footy owners. You may be trying to twist the rule to your advantage (a perfectly legitimate desire), but it is a genuine debate which I promise you will receive the proper attention it deserves.

OK. So how do I do as a stand in for Tony Blair or Bill Clinton?? ;-)

Cheers,

Angus Richardson

Issue No. 152 (Summer 2008) of the official AMYA magazine "Model Yachting" has been released here in the USA. This issue is devoted exclusively to Footys. From the list of articles below you can see the rich content of this issue:

Introducing the Footy Class Bill Hagerup
Fascinating Footys Scott Spacie
Footy Design Trends Niel Goodrich
A Perfect Footy Stand Alain Jousse
Birth of the American Footy Dennis Desprois
Evolution of a Footy Andrew Cook
Building the 507 Keven Jackson
The McRig UnaRig, a Footy Original Bill Korsgard
The McCormack Rig (McRig) Brett McCormack
Building Cobra Mk2 Bill Hagerup
Getting the Most from Your V-12 Richard Proseus
Can Footys Handle Big Wind? Bill Hagerup
Moonshadow Angus Richardson
That's a Long Way for a Footy Graham McAllister

Non AMYA-members can order copies through the AMYA Ship's Store. Cost is $7 US plus shipping. This is a great resource and all non-AMYA Footy skippers should get a hold of a copy!

Anug Richardson (back from hospital!) reports: "The Euro GP in Liverpool is going ahead as planned and last minute entries are pouring in. We have entries from the USA, Sweden, South Africa and Italy and may end up with as many as 30 entries. Bill Hagerup (US Class secretary) is coming. He and I are taking the Monday off to look at narrow gauge steam trains." Their Notice of Race has details.

The Burton Model Boat Club in the UK has a good looking website. Check it out at www.burtonmodelboatclub.org.uk. Under the "Footy Racing Reports" tab they've got a nice-looking page on their various Footy races. They just held their May Footy open, with another scheduled for June 28th at Branston. Send me your link if you have a nice club website!

Due in large part to Angus Richardson's serious illness, the Liverpool Symposium scheduled for July 5-7 has been canceled. Russell Potts and other volunteers attempted to carry on, but decided there were just not enough committed attendees. As of this time Footy Euro GP is still scheduled.

The International Footy Symposium is scheduled for July 5-7th in Liverpool. For registration and accommodation information, see their Event Outline and Order Form. A Provisional Programme has been released.
In conjunction with the symposium, the Birkenhead MYC will be holding the "Euro GP" on July 5-6. Their Notice of Race contains all the details.

Bill Hagerup has donated his plans for the "Cobra" hull to the Footy website. You can download it from the Plans page. Thanks Bill!

The 2nd Annual New Zealand Postal Classic will be held from April 1-30, 2008 with all entries being posted by email to Brett McCormack. Details here. This race is open to all sailors around the world.

Angus Richardson writes: This concerns a very exciting event in Liverpool in July. This will bring together top Footy sailors and designers from throughout the world for three days of racing and discussion of design and construction - we already have one total commitment (air fare paid) from the USA and undertakings of firm commitments from North America and elsewhere within the next few days. The discussion part will be run under the Chairmanship of the very eminent model yachting historian Russell Potts. Speakers will range from the internationally famous to clever kitchen-table modelers. Some pretty famous names are already committed for the sailing part too. We hope to make this a uniquely valuable long week end of sailing, socialisation and learning. If all goes well, the proceedings of the Symposium will be published by Curved Air Press.

In order to make all this work, we intend block-booking accommodation with a bar. We therefore need to know urgently how many people are likely to attend - hence the slightly skeletal nature of this document. If you want to come, other than just to race, it is essential that you make an honest commitment of intent as soon as possible. You may rest assured that we will do everything we can to keep costs down.

If you have any questions, please do let me know as soon as possible.

Angus

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