John Atkins sets the starting line. Photo: Catherine Firmbach

This is the announcement of a combined ballot for members of IDNIYRA and IDNIYRA EU, although North American and European results will be available separately.

North American IDNIYRA members were sent a test email this morning (4 October) to check email addresses. If you did not receive the test email, please check your spam folder. If you didn’t receive the test email, please contact secretary.idniyra@gmail.com.

At their Spring 2020 meeting, the IDNIYRA EU National Secretaries supported sending six measures to a ballot of the members. [See September 2020 Runner Tracks.] Three of the six were voted upon in November 2020. Further work was required on the other proposed changes to the Official Specifications, and two of them have been reviewed by the Technical Committee and submitted for the fall 2021 ballot. The third proposal was submitted by Chad Atkins US4487. [See December 2020 Runner Tracks.]

The three proposals to change the Specifications are: 

1. Changing G.14 Sail Window size.
Current:
G14. A window in the sail is required. The window may be any shape and placed in several sections.
English Metric
Area (sq. in. and sq. cm.)
Max Min Max Min
1000 100 6452 645
Change to:
G14. A window in the sail is required. The window may be any shape and placed in several sections.
English Metric
Area (sq. in. and sq. cm.)
Max Min Max Min
1250 100 8064.5 645
Reasoning:
“A 25% increase in maximum window size would give the opportunity to greatly reduce blind-spots between the mast and in front of the sail window without sacrificing the running window. With increased forward visibility when the rig is bent out and the sail is set low on the mast, our sport would be significantly safer.”

2. Adding I. Fittings Steering-Post Head Break-Away Requirement
Current:
None
Add:
I. Fittings: The steering post head shall incorporate a safety feature to release the tiller forward upon impact to the skipper’s body.
Reasoning:
“One of the most dangerous situations in case of an accident is when the skipper falls on the tiller. Even with helmets it can poke or puncture many parts of the head or upper body during a crash or a sudden stop. Unfortunately, there have been accidents in the last few seasons in which the lack of this feature proved to cause several horrific injuries that could have been easily avoided. The forward-open steering post-head is a widely used solution in the DN class but currently only on a voluntary basis. A “safety slot” or other mandatory solution that would allow the tiller to fall out on a harder strike or impact has proven to save skippers from these kinds of injuries and would make our sport significantly safer.”

3. Changing A30 National Letter and Sail Number
Current:
A30. National letter and sail number shall be affixed to each side of the fuselage below the mast stepping point. Color shall contrast with the fuselage and each letter and number shall be a minimum of 5.5 inches (140 mm) high and 0.7874 inches (20 mm) wide
Change to:
A30. National letter and sail number is optional and may be affixed to each side of the fuselage below the mast stepping point. If a national sail letter and sail number are affixed to the fuselage, the color shall contrast with the fuselage and the recommended size of each letter and number is 5.5 inches (140 mm) high and 0.79 inches (20 mm) wide. National letters and sail numbers affixed to the fuselage should match those on the sails, except for boats loaned or chartered for a regatta.
Reasoning:
“Scorers and Race Committee personnel do not use these hull identification graphics very often for lap management, scoring or collision assessment as originally intended. Also as we saw at the 2019 G C Rule A30 currently makes lending equipment to sailors more difficult with possible SI amendments needed from the OA. The proposed number sizing is ‘recommended’ so that variances in size of optional numbers would not be subject to protest.”

Members of IDNIYRA and IDNIYRA EU who were in good standing as of 1 September 2021 are eligible to vote and can expect to receive an electronic ballot invitation at their email address on file with IDNIYRA or IDNIYRA EU. The ballot will be open from 1200 Central time, 7 October 2021 to 1200 Central time, 21 October 2021. To pass, a proposal must receive at least 2/3rds yes votes. Any measures passed will come into effect on 31 May 2022.

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