FLEET 30 BY-LAWS
Adopted: 11/30/01
ARTICLE I -- Fleet Name
Fleet No. 30, Milford-LIS, in Milford,
Connecticut, of the International Etchells Class, hereinafter referred to as
“The Fleet”, or “Fleet”, shall consist of owners of certified yachts of the
Etchells Class in the area bordered to the east by the Hammonasset River and
to the west by Bridgeport Harbor on the Connecticut shore.
ARTICLE II -- Rules
1. General. The Fleet shall comply with
and operate under the Constitution, By-Laws, and current rules of the
International Etchells Class Association, and the USA Etchells Class
Association, all herein after referred to as Class Rules. Fleet By-Laws and
Racing announcements shall supplement but not conflict with IECA rules. The
object of The Fleet By-Laws is to establish procedures and principles under
which The Fleet shall be governed. In deciding any question of meaning, the
intended meaning shall govern rather than any technical construction that
might be derivable from the wording.
2. Racing rules. The Fleet shall sail under the racing rules of the United
States Sailing Association, as modified by these By-Laws and by local sailing
instructions where applicable.
ARTICLE III -- Membership
1. Fleet membership shall not be
limited to any geographic area by either an Active or Associate member. Active
membership in The Fleet is limited to owners or part owners of Etchells
yachts. An owner may transfer from another fleet at any time and become a
member upon payment of Fleet dues. Active members have a 30 day grace period
for payment of dues before voting rights are suspended. An Active member
loses his/her Active status when their yacht is sold and another Etchells
yacht is not purchased with 30 days of the sale date of their first yacht.
Active members have the sole responsibility to notify the Fleet Secretary of a
change in yachts.
2. Any interested person may become an Associate member of the Fleet upon
payment of dues that shall not exceed half of the active-membership dues.
3. Any person whom a fleet member enrolls as an Associate member of the
International Etchells Class Association, and whose Fleet dues are paid, shall
be an Associate member of The Fleet. Dues for these Associate members shall
not exceed half the Class Associate member dues and shall be set by the fleet
membership.
ARTICLE IV -- Dues
1. Fleet dues shall be established by
the fleet officers and ratified effective for the following year by the
membership at the fall meeting. Dues are payable on or before the 15th
of April or upon acquisition of a yacht, and are not transferable or
refundable. No yacht will be scored for any fleet series races until dues are
brought current.
ARTICLE V -- Racing Restrictions and
Scoring
Unless otherwise specified in a
pre-series announcement approved at a formal Fleet meeting:
1. Crew. In all Fleet and Connecticut Area YRA races the number of persons on
board must total two, three or four over 12 years of age.
2. Series scoring of Fleet events: to be determined at the beginning of each
race season. A written description will be mailed with the yearly race
schedule to fleet members.
ARTICLE VI -- Officers and Appointed
Officials
1. The following Fleet officers shall
be elected from among the Active members of The Fleet for a term of one year,
renewable, by majority vote at the fall meeting.
a. Fleet Captain: The Fleet Captain has general responsibility for the
business-like conduct of all Fleet affairs. He/she shall set dates and
locations of, and preside at Fleet meetings. He/she is responsible for
rendering decisions on interpretations of Fleet rules and regulations reached
by majority vote of the Fleet Executive Committee (FEC), and for the
enforcement of such decisions.
b. Fleet Race Committee Chairperson. The Fleet Race Committee Chairperson
shall prepare the season's racing schedule for approval by the FEC and
presentation to the members. He/she shall chair the race committee of any race
for which the fleet is responsible, or make provision for a substitute. He/she
shall be responsible for the purchase of the season's trophies.
c. Secretary-Treasurer. The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep minutes of
meetings, prepare, maintain and publish the Fleet roster twice yearly, handle
all fleet correspondence, collect dues, pay bills, and present a financial
report at the fall meeting or whenever requested by another fleet officer.
He/she shall also make a call for agenda items at least 30 days before the
regularly scheduled Fleet meetings; and then publish the agenda for
communication to all Fleet members, both Active and Associate.
The FEC shall consist of:
Fleet Captain, Fleet Race Chairman and Fleet Secretary/Treasurer. The
offices of Secretary and Treasurer may be separated; but in that case one of
the two persons shall be designated an officer by the membership upon
election, for purposes of any vote of the FEC.
2. The following officials shall be appointed from among any the Fleet
members, in good standing, by the Fleet Executive Committee.
a. Fleet Measurer. The Measurer shall measure, stamp and record all sails
accepted for racing in accordance with fleet regulations and Class rules.
He/she shall be the person to safety inspect any fleet boat in accordance with
IECA Rules, USA-IECA Rules and Fleet Rules.
b. Fleet Recorder. The Recorder shall maintain up-to-date records of the
scores of all boats qualifying in all Fleet and MYC series, and shall keep the
membership informed of these scores as frequently as possible during the
racing season.
c. Delegate to the Class. The Delegate shall be an Active member of the Fleet
and IECA, this person shall attend any called annual meeting of the Class as
the fleet's representative, shall vote in accordance with the fleet's
instructions, and shall report back to the next fleet meeting.
d. Crew Chairman. The Crew
Chairman shall be responsible for maintaining available crew list. He/she
will assist with crew recruitment and training for new Fleet crew members.
e. Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall consist of three
active members not currently fleet officers. It shall draw up a slate of
proposed officers for the following year, all of whom have agreed to serve if
elected, and present this slate to be listed on the advance agenda of the fall
meeting.
f. Special and ad hoc committees. The committees shall be appointed and serve
at the pleasure of the Fleet Captain.
ARTICLE VII -- Meetings
There shall be two business meetings of
The Fleet per calendar year, a spring meeting to be held at least 60 days
before the opening of the racing season and a fall meeting to be held within
60 days after the last regularly scheduled Fleet race. A meeting can be held
only if a quorum is present or properly represented by proxy. A quorum shall
consist of 51% of the Active members of the fleet. An agenda must be
published by the Fleet Secretary at least 14 days before the scheduled
meeting.
a. The spring meeting shall
approve the racing schedule for the coming season; discuss and adopt plans for special and
social events, awards, and prizes; act on any proposal presented in
conformance with the provisions of Article IX; and conduct any other business
that can properly come before the meeting.
b. The fall meeting shall
hear reports of officers and delegates; ratify the Fleet dues schedule; elect
officers for the ensuing year; act on any proposal presented in conformance
with the provisions of Article IX; and conduct any other business that can
properly come before the meeting.
c. Any other Fleet meetings
shall be informal but must have at least 51% of the Active members present and
Active members must be given at least a 24 hour notice. No changes in rules
shall be made at informal meetings. However, if an emergency situation arises,
the Executive Committee or one-third of the active members may request a
special business meeting. Proper notification of the rule involved, proposals,
and meeting date must be given to all members in ample time.
ARTICLE VIII -- Amendments
A proposal for an addition to or an
amendment of either the Fleet or the Class rules may be initiated by any
Active member in good standing. Such a proposal must be submitted to the Fleet
Captain not later than 30 days prior to the date of the next fleet meeting.
The Fleet Secretary shall post all such proposals to all the members not later
than 15 days prior to the date of said meeting.
ARTICLE IX -- Eligibility and Voting
1. Voting at meetings is limited to one
vote per paid-up active member, and in case of syndicated ownership, one vote
per boat. In the event an Active member owns multiply registered Etchells
yachts, that member shall cast one vote per registered hull.
2. Proxies must be in writing and in the hands of the Fleet officers before
the meeting, and should pertain to the specific questions on the advance
agenda unless a blanket proxy is given to a voting member in attendance.
3. Enactment at a fleet meeting of an amendment or addition to the fleet
By-Laws requires a three-fourths vote of all eligible members, as defined in
Sec. 1 of this Article, present or properly represented by proxy at the
meeting. All other votes require for passage a majority of those present or
properly represented by proxy at the meeting.
ARTICLE X -- Communication
Electronic mail (e-mail) shall be the acceptable medium for all written
communication requirements for the Fleet not requiring a signature. These
shall include, but not limited, to proposal for amendments, notices of
meetings, agendas, NOR, and general fleet information. The Fleet
Secretary/Treasurer shall forward all general fleet correspondence to the
Fleet web master for posting. Matters requiring a signature, such as proxies,
must be in paper format and signed.
LOCAL FLEET RULES
Adopted on 11/30/01
Amended on
05/21/06
Any issue not covered by rules
below will be settled by the prescriptions of US Sailing. If there is no
relevant prescription, the Fleet 30 Bridge will be the sole arbiter.
Membership
Boats are eligible for scoring if
the owner is an Active Member of Fleet 30 and the International Etchells
Class Association, (IECA).
Boat Hull & Sail
Certificates
A current and valid copy of
the Hull Certificate and Sail Card will be sent to the Fleet Secretary with
the payment of Fleet dues.
Dues
For 2006 will be $60.00 per
Active member, $15.00 per Associate member.
Insurance
Each owner must carry
insurance on their boat with a copy of the policy provided to the Fleet
Secretary.
Safety Equipment
In addition to the equipment
required by the IECA Rules, each boat must carry the following equipment
during all fleet races: hand-held VHF marine radio, one throwable CG approved
device, first-aid kit and audible device (whistle or
air-horn).
Fleet 30's World Championship Qualification
Series
For 2006
- The Fleet 30 World Championship Qualification
Series will consist of the races of the Spring 2006 Fleet racing series.
The Skippers and their registered boats must start in at least 40% of the
completed races. Skippers will be
scored on their best results. Each entering skipper must helm all races scored
(except each co-skipper must helm at least 1/3 of a boat's qualifier races.).
Participation credits for IECA sanctioned regattas will be permitted. Skipper
(or co-skipper) must be Active by the first series race he/she helms.
Qualification for All Other Fleet Series -
A boat must participate in more than 40% of the races
in the Fleet 30 Spring, Summer and Fall Series Schedule for her score to be
considered for the overall Season Championship. A boat can qualify for any
one of the three individual season series by participating in more than 40%
of the individual series races.
Scoring
- Results will be scored using the Low
Point scoring system of Appendix A of the Racing Rules of Sailing, modified
such that only eligible member yachts will be scored. A boat will be allowed
to discard one-fifth of her starts. Discards are based on highest individual
race scores. Scores will be tabulated by the Race Chairman and posted
to the website shortly after each regatta. Results are taken from the
official postings of the Regatta organizers and adjusted to reflect the
finishing sequence of only Fleet 30 eligible boats. First, second and
third place trophies will be awarded for the Season Championship and for the
three individual season series. If the fleet budget allows, the bridge may
award additional trophies at its discretion.
Participation credits - One credit for MYC RC duty if one Fleet 30 -
MYC series race is scored on duty day, two credits if 2 or more series races
are scored. One credit per event for sailing in an Etchells Sanctioned Event..
Sail-overs - When there is only one starter and the RC does not abandon
the race, the starter may retire early without penalty.
Crew Races - Helmsperson must be bona-fide crew (not co-skipper). Rules
about crew touching helm to be applied in reverse.
Amended 5/21/06
