Welcome to the Fall 2002 E-mail newsletter. (if you do not wish to receive future issues, click on the unsubscribe link at the end of this newsletter) This is the final newsletter of the 2002 season. We will start again in January 2003. Until then ... Happy Holidays!

(Note - If you cannot read this HTML Newsletter click here to see it on the JYCA web site Available by 11/10/2002)

Here's what's new:

Well another JY15 North Americans has come and gone. This was the twelfth championship since the class was founded in 1989 and 2003 found most of us older and wiser but still quite alive and active as a class. Thirty nine boats were registered for the regatta at the Wadawanuck yacht club in Stonington, Connecticut.

Personally, I found the North Americans to be a very humbling experience. Some of those guys (and gals) are so fast it’s scary. Any delusions I had about knowing how to sail the boat well were left at the dock. I saw the leaders at the starting line and didn’t catch up to them again until the beer line at the Wad club. Oh well, it was a learning opportunity and if it weren’t for all the great friends I’ve made while learning to sail this boat, I guess I would have taken up golf years ago (At least they have a handicap in that sport).

It’s been a successful year for the JY15 class. Thanks to the hard work of several individuals, we have accomplished a number of important things this past year.

Carol Fritz, our class secretary has gotten the class membership information in order. This is very important to class communication through e-mail and mailings and I greatly appreciate her efforts.

John Amendola, our web master has done an excellent job of redesigning and maintaining our web site which is a very important resource for communicating information and provides a discussion forum for members. Next year we will continue to add to content and improve on our site. Send John your suggestions.

Prescott Littlefield, chairman of the technical committee took the lead in assembling the new tuning guide. Members are always interested in hearing what the top sailors are thinking and the new guide’s "consensus" approach was a great way to harvest the combined experience of some of the best. In 2003 we plan to update our class rules and consider some new issues such as an update to the sail design. You can also contact Prescott through the web site with suggestions.

Thanks also to the class council members Mark Kondracky (Northeast), Dave Hoye (Southwest), Dave Woolschlager (Southeast) and Gary Edelman (Midwest) for their counsel and promotional efforts on behalf of the class.

Finally, I think the problems of communication of regatta schedules have been largely addressed through both keeping the web site current and the new e-mail newsletter.  The regatta schedule was very active this past year with 35 different events listed on the class web page. Six district championships were held around the country with a total of 72 boats participating and 38 boats turning out to sail the North Americans.

We are up in membership this year with 225 paying members. Like the stock market, we experienced a bubble during the mid 90’s when 500 or more sailors would send in their dues. I’m convinced that the decrease we’ve experienced in the past few years is not because of a lot fewer people sailing JY15’s. As I traveled to the different regions, sailing enthusiasm and the number of JY’s on the water was always much greater than the number of paying class members. Our class council met during the North Americans to discuss this problem and decided that we needed to improve the benefits of joining the class. With the strong support we have from JY/Hunter Marine, we were able to come up with some really exciting new benefits. Starting immediately, all new memberships for the 2004 sailing season will receive:

• A 5% discount on all equipment purchases from JY sailboats. This means, if you purchase a new set of sails, your discount will cover your class membership for the year!
• All members will receive a nice quality polo shirt with embroidered JY logo.
• JY charters at the North Americans and Mid Winters will be available to members only for a nominal fee. This means you just need to hop on a plane and you can have a boat at the Mid Winters in Clearwater or the NA’s next year in Dallas.
• Members receive e-mail newsletters and this annual post-North Americans newsletter as well as all other class mailings.
• We will re-introduce transom stickers for all you sticker freaks. (It still amazes me just how popular these were.)
• Any fleet with 5 or more registered members will receive a fleet JY flag they can take on the road with them! A list of current membership by fleet is shown below.
• The class association, together with JY/Hunter will also provide various "goodies" for regattas. As I travel around to the districts, I always try to bring a box full of stuff like new lines, JY hats, hiking straps etc. to give away. If you are planning a JY regatta, give me a call and we will work out something to support the event. We are also always happy to provide you with mailing labels and e-mail regatta notices for an event. I am particularly interested in helping to get some things started in the new clubs and reviving some of the old.

As Dave put it, (in his usual under-stated style) "you’d have to be a moron not to join the class with all these benefits". He’s right, I think we actually lose money with each new member. But not to worry, we’ll make it up on volume.

We are fortunate to enjoy the strong support of Dave and his team at JY/Hunter. But your individual support of the class through membership is also important. This makes it possible for us to keep alive the communication which is so vital to a successful class organization. I have really enjoyed serving as your class president for the past year and look forward to your support in 2003 as we continue to build an even better class.

Bob Mueller, JYPrez@snet.net