A Letter from the Chairman – December 2020

December 16, 2020

Dear CYOA Members,

Welcome to the December 2020 CYOA Newsletter.  I hope you all will take the time to review it as we discuss the 2020 CYOA season and new developments for the 2021 season.  Most of us will be happy to see 2020 out, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have big plans for the 2021 season.

In review, please read Jim Taylor’s careful analysis of the 2020 events that did take place, how the CRF 2020 rule handled it, and in his second article what is in store for CRF 2021.  We are fortunate to have a very talented and engaged Technical Committee that has put literally thousands of hours into creating, monitoring and managing the CRF certificates.  At the end of this year, our Chairman of the Technical Committee, Simon Davidson, has asked to retire from the position he has held since the creation of the CYOA.  We want to thank Simon for all his hard work and his thoughtful and level leadership of this Committee.  He has truly done a great job.  Thank you Simon, and thank you all members of the TC!

We have selected Jim Taylor to be our new Chairman, and are lucky to have him (and the rest of the TC) choose to remain in place for 2021.  We have begun our search for a new member to keep our committee at 9 people and already have several good nominations.  We expect to choose this new member by February.

There were not as many events in 2020 as were scheduled, due to Covid-19, but we did have enough to actually have a winner of the CYOA Challenge Series in the Spirit of Tradition Division.  Harvey Jones and his crew on Outlier were the only boat that completed enough races (5) to qualify for the trophy, and so it was awarded to him.  Congratulations, Harvey!

With regard to the 2021 CYOA Challenge Series, before we announce the Notice of Series this late winter, we are considering how many races will be required to qualify (about 25% of the total) and we are also considering Divisional areas as a requirement, to encourage as much participation as possible.  The discussion now is to have three divisions, Maine as one, Massachusetts as the second and Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York as the third.  These divisions roughly split the total number of races into thirds.  To qualify for the CYOA Series Trophy, the member boats will have to have completed and scored races in at least two divisions.  With deference to the smaller boats who may not have engines or traveling longer distances is a hardship, we are also considering Divisional winners.  These will be the best score in the division that is your homeport.  This ensures that a boat home ported from Rhode Island can’t come to Maine and win the Maine Division.  Every boat will have to declare its homeport Division.

In other news for 2021, there will be an official announcement of a new event to be added to the Series.  A Classic Regatta will be held in July in Boothbay Harbor.  I won’t spoil it any further, but we are very excited about this new addition.  It's going to be great!

Also, I hope you have been receiving notices from the CYOA asking for you to renew your 2021 Membership.  Many have already and I encourage you all to do this now.  The pricing has remained the same as last year and please, please consider upgrading to CYOA membership if you aren’t a member now.  You must be a CYOA member to qualify for the Divisional trophies and the CYOA Series Trophy.  I’d like to remind you that with the exception of our website support and the people who actually produce the certificates, all the rest of the members of the Executive Committee and the Technical Committee are volunteers.  Fair and fun racing is our primary goal!  Please support us.

We will also be reaching out to a variety of organizations and asking them to support CYOA as Organization Partners.  Their logos will be prominently displayed on our website and we hope you will support them, if you can, as part of this great community.

Thank you all for your time, enjoy the issue and from the Executive Committee, have a safe and joyful Holiday Season, and see you on the water in 2021!

Sincerely,

THE CYOA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Steve White, ERR, Chairman

Bill Lynn, Herreshoff Regatta, Vice Chairman

Timmy Dietrich, Corinthian Classic, Secretary

Diana Brown, Opera House Cup, Nantucket Sailing Week, Treasurer

Ken Colburn, Boothbay Harbor Regatta

Drew Lyman, Camden Classics

Thom Ashton, Castine Classic

Dennis Gunderson, Camden Classic,

Jens Lange, Newport Classic Regatta

Joel Labuzetta, Indian Harbor Regatta

Michael Emmert, Heritage Cup


Thanks to our Diamond and Gold Partners

Interested in becoming a partner of the CYOA? Join as a Partner online or contact us at info@classicyachts.org for details.

SPERRY SAILS

The Classic Yacht Owners Association is an exempt organization as described in Section 501(C) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations and membership fees are charitable contributions and tax-deductible. Employer Identification Number: 81-285925

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