International Etchells Class Association
Chairman’s Letter to the Membership
published 06/25/2021
As we celebrate the mid-year solstice it behooves me to take stock of what your current IGC has achieved in the first six months of its two-year tenure. Unlike any before it, this IGC has been meeting monthly on zoom with a full agenda and some lively debate about all the issues which face our august sailboat class, and there have been many.
Mould 11 Update
Top of mind for many Etchells sailors, not only in Australia but around the world is the status of the M11 controversy at this moment in time. Unfortunately, I am not yet in a position to communicate the definitive outcome of the M11 issue, but I can say that in the past couple of months there has been a bona fide and bilateral (meaning active and collegial cooperation between the IECAA and the IECA) communication and some immense strides achieved towards a solution. I am quite certain that I will be able to communicate more definitively on this important matter within a scant few weeks. We must get this right. The M11 crisis may be the biggest threat to the future of the Class that we have ever faced, and so taking a few more weeks to get it right is certainly worthwhile in my view. More to come imminently.
World Championships Update
As you know the 2020 Worlds in Perth, AUS were delayed due to Covid. As the pandemic continued to create havoc globally for travel and public gatherings, the 2021 date for a Perth Worlds has also had to be set aside. So we will have had no Etchells Worlds for two years (since Corpus Christi in June 2019) and will not have one by the end of this year. After much deliberation and debate, and critically assessing the possibility that Western Australia may not be fully open to world travelers even in the fall of 2022, it was decided to push Perth forward a few years and move to Cowes for the 2022 Worlds. So mark your calendars for a Solent Worlds 18-24 September, 2022. Miami, originally scheduled for (Northern Hemisphere) Spring of 2022, has been pushed back to 12-22 April, 2023. So those events are firm and the dates are established. The Perth Worlds is now scheduled for 18-24 November, 2023. Other venues for the next few years include Melbourne January 2025. Under consideration for 2024 are Shelter Island NY, San Diego, Hong Kong and Auckland. A definitive 5-year plan for the Etchells Worlds will be decided upon in the coming months and communicated to you when plans have been finalized.
ODTC Update
One of the most active committees in the Etchells class management has been the One-Design Technical Committee, Chaired by Scott Kaufman and ably attended by 6 other prominent Etchells sailors. The ODTC has been methodically going through the outstanding issues where there is ambiguity or conflict between drawings and precise wording of class rules, previously made but poorly documented If you require further information or assistance, please email the Fleet on etchellsoffice@gmail.com interpretations and other confusing matters which have confounded members, builders and others for decades. As these issues are resolved and final decisions made regarding interpretations, typically done in consultation with members, builders, the class measurer (Bill Abbott) and approved by the IGC, technical memos are created which encode the results of the work. These then appear on the Class website at www.etchells.org/class/technical/technical-documents and www.etchells.org/class/interpretationslist/interpretations-and-rulings for ready reference by all interested parties. This is an ongoing and continuous process so please peruse your Class site often to see the latest interpretive materials.
Class Audit Update
One of the most important initiatives undertaken by the previous IGC (2019/20 Chaired by Jim Cunningham) was the development of a Class Audit. I have spoken about this before but the vision was for a comprehensive review of all documents, drawings, specifications and rules, as well as scans of all existing moulds and recently manufactured boats from those moulds, all as a gesture to affirm our strict one-design ethos withing this Class, as well as weed out any contradictions and inconsistencies within the complex of documents that define and manage our class. Stuart Childerley, Vice Chair of the IGC has taken on the task of leading a committee to prosecute this Class Audit. While both the last IGC and this current one have had the lion’s share of their time and attention consumed by the M11 issue, everyone involved realizes that the greatest achievement that this IGC can hope for is to define and complete this Audit during the current tenure, scheduled to expire in December 2022. Progress is being made on several fronts. The Audit committee consists of several members of the IGC and the ODTC in addition to a number of dedicated participants from across the globe, from all the jurisdictions where Etchells are raced. The Audit Committee also has been meeting monthly, typically two weeks after the IGC has met. To date, the most significant achievement has been the drafting of a brand-new Constitution for the Class, much like other International Classes have. Heretofore, the Etchells Class has not had a Constitutional document. Currently, the Association Rules cover most of what should and shall be in our new Constitution. Still in early draft form, it is being reviewed as I write this for final edits before being presented to the IGC for further review and commentary. This is exciting. Again, provided we get this right, this document will serve to codify and ensconce our principles of one-design and governance for decades to come, helping us to remain the pre-eminent one-design racing Class on the planet.
As the southern hemisphere heads into winter and fewer events and regattas and the northern heads into summer and a bounty of events, especially as the US, Canada, Bermuda, the UK and the Netherlands start relaxing covid restrictions, we the IGC continue to work on behalf of our Class and you, our members.
Andrew Cumming
Chairman, Elected Governor