2004 ISAF Annual Conference
Copenhagen, 5-15 November 2004

Introduction
Regulation 26
Technical committee structure
FD Rule changes
Minimum and Maximum dimensions for FD mast tips
Rule 42 and sculling
Trapeze
Life Jackets
ISAF measurement Manual and In-House measurement
Laser tracker measurement
Coaches
Regatta formats and equipment
Olympic Equipment
New President and Council

Introduction

The post Olympic ISAF Conference is always one at which the main interest is the selection of the Olympic classes for the next four year cycle, but this time there was also the election of a new President of ISAF, so the behind the scenes politicking was even more intense than usual.

The results are on the ISAF website, www.sailing.org , which now has a new modern look, and so I will only comment on those matters of interest to the class.

In order for a topic to be discussed at the conference a submission has to be made by an MNA or class. These are circulated before the meeting and also posted on the ISAF website.

The conference was preceded by a measurement symposium, which was however only announced some weeks earlier and thus made it difficult to organize attending it. I unfortunately had already booked my flights and so did not attend it, and only arrived on the afternoon of the International Classes Committee meeting. What with other meetings and jet lag I did not attend it. However, Steve Parry did represent the class at the ICC.

Regulation 26
One main point of interest to the class is the proposed new regulation 26, which is now drafted so as to conform to the ISAF policy of having more control. Regulation 26 governs the requirements and obligations of a class in order to maintain International status and be allowed to hold World Championships. The regulation naturally prescribes many mandatory conditions on the class but almost no commitments on the part of ISAF in return! For the FD we need to maintain fleets of 20 boats actively racing in at least 6 countries and on 3 continents. The class will now have the obligation to collect initial registration fees (of 0.4% of the cost of an FD) on behalf of ISAF and submit them every quarter, as well of course as the the annual class fee.

Another section of regulation 26 deals with requests for interpretation of class rules. These will be limited to International measurers, the class, builders and MNAs, and interpretations will in principle be made by an ISAF committee, but more likely initial interpretations will be by Simon. For rule interpretation at an event the new 2005-2008 ERS now has a section H.2.1 “If an equipment inspector (new name for the event measurer!) is in any doubt as to the application of, or compliance with, the class rules, the question should be referred to the certification authority in the country where the event takes place, which if in doubt shall consult the authority responsible for interpreting the class rules”. Fortunately for the FD class it is the certification authority, and not the MNA, so we will go directly to ISAF for interpretations, as it is the authority responsible for interpreting the class rules.

Technical committee structure
Up till now the class submitted its rule changes to the Centre Board Boat Committee, a group of dinghy sailors with experience of class rules, who made suggestions for improvements and ensured that the proposed rules were in conformance with ISAF requirements etc. The measurement committee also scanned these rule changes to see if they were technically sound. Once approved at this level these proposals (called submissions) then went to the Sailing Committee for its approval and on to the Council who generally rubber-stamped the rule change submissions. This procedure took a lot of time and most committees did not read all the class rule changes in detail, so this served no useful purpose. Furthermore there was considerable overlap between the Keelboat and the Centre Board boat committees.

New committees now replace the previous six, namely the Equipment committee, which will be responsible for policy, the Class Rules sub committee, responsible for overseeing class rules, and the Equipment Control sub committee, which is responsible for the ERS, SRC and measurement issues.

The ISAF procedure for rule changes has also been changed. After approval by the class, rule changes can now be submitted at any time. First the ISAF staff will check them for consistency with ERS etc. and then they will go to the "Class Rules sub-committee" via e-mail. That is, they will not have to wait until the November meeting. In principle this procedure will take 6 weeks, but do not hold your breath as ISAF was overloaded before, has lost one technical officer, and will have to hire and train hopefully three new ones before this all works. ISAF have a protocol for decision-making via e-mail, and I suggest that the class approve a similar protocol for decision-making. One thing that this new approach leaves open is the date at which any rule change takes effect. At present this has been 1 March, it could now be at any time, but this would make life difficult for competitors and regatta organizers. I suggest that the class remain with 1 March, with perhaps also 1 December, as dates when new rules take effect. This will ensure that everyone has been informed of the changes before they come into effect.

FD Rule changes
The Bojsen-Mollers picked me up at the airport and we discussed the carbon mast specifications and performance on the way to the conference. Alberto and Steve then joined us and the final decision on the proposed FD mast rule was discussed. The carbon Selden mast that the Bojsen-Mollers were testing was 9.5 kg while the Superspar was 9.3 kg. However, these masts had aluminium spreaders, stainless fittings and rigging, and are first generation. The use of carbon spreaders and fittings as well as PBO rigging will probably reduce the weight of masts by 0.5 kg and so it was decided to choose a minimum carbon mast weight of 8.5 kg. This was sufficiently less than the present 10.0 kg minimum mast weight that it was felt that the transition rule should be adopted.

Thus until 2008, or sooner if the class decides, the mast weight, including mast correctors, will remain at 10.0 kg. It is recommended that the correctors on masts weighing less than this, be carried just below the gooseneck. However, it will be allowed to carry the mast weight corrector on the boom or above the deck at the partners. In this case the corrector must be removable so it can be presented for weighing with the mast. The fore and aft and transverse dimensions of the mast tip, i.e. between bands #3 and #4, are shown in the diagram. These dimensions, which include the sail track, extended as required, are based on the data from existing aluminium masts, and therefore will apply to all masts, not just carbon masts.