January 31, 2001

 

Dear Lido 14 Class Association Member,

 

The 2001 sailing season is awakening in Southern California and the first few events are important ones not to miss - the 2001 SCYA Mid Winter Regatta and W.D. Schock Memorial Regatta.  We encourage all Lido 14 sailors, far and wide, to attend these events.  Here are some essentials for those events plus a few other news items.

 

SCYA MID WINTER REGATTA

The SCYA Mid Winter Regatta is on February 17 & 18.  The Lido 14 venue is Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (www.abyc.org).   Note that the Class Assn. will be holding its next board meeting at ABYC the evening of the 17th.  Also note that SCYA is hosting the Mid Winter dinner at another yacht club and that ABYC will not be serving a dinner meal.  Accordingly, the Governing Board will arranging for its own dinner.  We are studying the possibility of extending this dinner to include all Lido 14 competitors.  Stay tuned for further details.

 

W.D. SCHOCK MEMORIAL REGATTA

The W.D. Schock Memorial Regatta is March 2, 3 & 4 at Newport Harbor Yacht Club (www.nhyc.org).  March 2 is not a racing day - rather it is a day for clinics and practice.  There will be a Lido 14 clinic (exact time TBD but probably 2:00 P.M.) held by John Papadopoulos.  The Saturday dinner is always excellent...probably the best social event of any Lido 14 regatta - bar none.  Don't miss it.

 

To get complete Notice of Race and Entry Forms for these events, go to the master calendar section of the Lido 14 Web page (www.lido14.org) and click on the links for each of these regattas.  Please note that W.D. Schock Memorial Regatta NOR and Entry Form posted on www.nhyc.org are currently stored in Microsoft Word format - you may experience some difficulty (depending on your software) in accessing them.  I have posted unauthorized copies of these documents on the Lido 14 web page to circumvent this issue.  Please click on the W.D. Schock Memorial Regatta line in the master calendar to get to my versions if you can't read the documents on the Newport Harbor YC web site.

 

HOUSING

Anyone wishing a place to stay in Newport Beach during the W.D. Schock Memorial should contact John Papadopoulos to hook you up with local Fleet 1 members with spare accommodations.

 

FREE BOAT/TRAILER STORAGE

For anyone traveling long distance that wishes to compete in both events, I am offering free (guarded!) storage of Lido 14's at my home in Newport Beach.  Space is limited to about 12 boats.  Contact John Papadopoulos at jakp@mindspring.com to reserve your space.

 

CHARTER BOATS

Additionally, I have two premium grade Lido 14's available for charter for these events.  All you need to do is bring yourself, your crew, and your sails.  Please contact me for details.

 

FREE AIR FARE!

Anyone wanting free air fare...should catch a flock of swallows making their way to the Mission in San Juan Capistrano.

 

HARRY WOOD MEMORIAL REGATTA

The Harry Wood Memorial Regatta is being held Sunday March 25th.  The event is sponsored by Balboa YC (www.balboayachtclub.com) and will be sailed in the main turning basin of Newport Harbor.  The Harry Wood is notable for its support of our Grand Master skippers (over 50 years of age) by having a separate division with its own perpetual trophy, etc.  Of course, there are standard A and B divisions too.  The event is run as a quick but intense regatta with a schedule of 5 races on one afternoon so you can keep Saturday open for doing your lawn and laundry.

 

A tasty buffet will be served at BYC prior to the awards giving.  A further announcement will be issued when the Notice of Race becomes available.

 

LIDO 14 WEB PAGE

The web page is becoming the critical meeting point for members and information.  Recent editions include the 1999-2000 Bylaws (look under the "The Association" sidebar).  Of course, the web page contains the master regatta schedule and results.  If you can't find what you're looking for, send me an email (jakp@mindspring.com) and I'll make a serious effort to get it posted.

 

BOW WAVE NEWSLETTER

In the fall of 2000, the Governing Board met and, among other things, agreed upon areas to focus its energies on for the coming year.  One are was the quality and content of our publications.  Hopefully you've had a chance to read the October 2000 and January 2001 editions of the Bow Wave.  We think we did a good job but we would like to hear from you too.  Feel free to comment to anyone on the board of directors, Sharon Young (our Executive Secretary), etc.

 

There will be a concerted effort to publish information that has lasting value and a slightly decreased effort to put regatta results in the newsletter.  Why?  Because the newsletter only publishes 4 times a year, making many regatta reports dated.  More importantly, we can get very quick results posted on the web page for all to view.

 

As was discussed in my editorial in the past Bow Wave, we have a large contingent of Lido 14 sailors that don't have access to the knowledge on how to rig and tune a Lido 14 so that it performs at it's top level.  Accordingly, we'll continue to spend a large amount of space documenting the technical aspects of the Lido 14 to help our newer members and to refresh the memories of those of us that have not addressed these issues in a long time.

 

Of course, we always enjoy well told stories (truthful or fictional!) about sailing Lido 14's.  Pictures too.  So with that in mind, the deadline for materials the next issue of the Bow Wave is March 10th.

 

2000-2001 CLASS HANDBOOK & ROSTER

When I took office in the Summer of 2000, I was almost immediately faced with the challenge of finding a replacement for our Bow Wave and Roster/Handbook editor, who had chosen to resign.  I found an alternative strategy for editing and publishing the Bow Wave that utilized an independent marketing/graphics specialist however it became all too apparent that the job really called for someone that understood the Lido 14, its members, etc.  To make sure we hit our Bow Wave publication deadlines, I assumed the task of editing the Bow Wave.  Certainly I continue to explore ways to redistribute this work but until we find an alternative that works to everyone's satisfaction, I'll continue with the task.

 

The downside is that time I had budgeted for working on the Handbook & Roster was eaten up, thus delaying it's publication.  More importantly, it was found that the Handbook contained numerous omissions and errors that I, in good conscious, couldn't ignore.  For example, there were over a dozen errors or omissions in the winners of class perpetual trophies.  I also discovered that Approved Changes ratified by the Governing Board between 1995 and 1999 were never published in the handbook.  Examples include the approval to put the vang cleat on top of the centerboard trunk and the approval to install a single block to make a multiple purchase downhaul.  To be fair to all, I have chosen to delay the publication of the Handbook until I can be reasonably assured that it is correct.

 

In the mean time, I'll be issuing a temporary roster (names, addresses, etc. only) to tide everyone over.  If you have specific comments, complaints, or suggestions on this matter, please don't hesitate to pass them on up to me or the board.

 

A CALL FOR CLASS PERPETUAL TROPHIES

Over the years several of our Perpetual trophies (the ones for the Class Championships) have wandered away.  Just recently we recovered the Governing Board Trophy (winner of the 3rd race in the Sr. Championships) and the Fleet 7 Trophy (winner of the 4th Jr. Championship Race).  We're rehabilitating those trophies, bringing the plaques up to date, and polishing them up to a bristol shine.  I believe we are still missing the President's Trophy (Winner of the 2nd Sr. Championship Regatta Race) and several of the Jr. Class Championship trophies.  If you have any idea where these are, we would love to hear from you so we can search them out and get them back in service.

 

APPROVED CHANGES

It is very common to find Lido 14's on the race course that have undergone changes that have NOT been approved by the Association and/or haven't been measured and/or noted on the owner's Certificate of Measurement.  I would like to remind our long term members that compliance to the exact wording of the Class Bylaws and Approved Changes is absolutely necessary in order to keep the sport of racing Lido 14's fair and within the boundaries set by the Association.  You serve as role models for the rest of the class...if you are making changes outside the Assn. procedures, others will follow your lead without knowing the pitfalls.

 

If you are new to the Assn. and are confused by the situation, you can depend upon our more senior members to lend a helping hand and to teach the Lido 14 one-design ethic but be sure to personally verify the legality of the work done to your boat.  If you can't find a ruling in the Bylaws (see the current edition on the web page as mentioned above) or the Approved Changes section, you can't do it.  It's that simple.

 

If you find a ruling that seems to apply to your situation but you are not sure, ask your measurer for an interpretation.  Realize that there are two rules (Approved Change #8 and Approved Change #58) that provide sufficient leeway for you to find substitute parts to use however these rules are very specific about not permitting any changes that decrease safety, increase functionality, or increase speed of the boat.

 

6000 SERIES BOUYANCY

The Association is increasingly concerned about personal modifications being made to the 6000 Series Lido 14 that have the potential of voiding the buoyancy of the boat.  The 6000 Series is constructed so that virtually the entire surface of the boat (inside and out) acts to form an airspace used to float the boat when it is capsized. The good news is that it's easier to right a capsized 6000 because of the greatly increased buoyancy.

 

W.D. Schock Corp. incorporated extra fiberglass and/or backing materials in critical load bearing areas to reduce or eliminate the chances of opening up airways to the interior of the boat.  Mounting additional items (compasses, cleats, whisker pole mounting clips, etc.) or moving factory items to new locations without the advice of W.D. Schock Corp. or other experts not only puts you and your crew at an increased risk but probably puts you and your boat in conflict with the Assn. rules too.

 

If you are contemplating modifications to a 6000 Series Lido 14 that even has the slightest chance of opening up an airway to the sealed off portions of the boat, the Association wants to discourage that modification.  Safety always comes first.

 

If you have any technical questions about what is and isn't allowed by the Class Assn. Bylaws, the Board is here to help you get a quick and accurate answer.  Please keep in touch so we can serve you better.

 

SUMMARY

Get in your boat and go sailing.  Travel to away events to see the world and meet people.  Know the rules, race hard, race fair, be honest to yourself, take your penalties promptly, and have fun.  It's a sport.

 

+John Papadopoulos

President - Lido 14 Class Assn.

jakp@mindspring.com

(949) 863-1458 (home: 8:30 A.M. to 9:30 P.M)

(949) 466-0888 (cell phone: anytime)

 

P.S.  A copy of this bulletin is available on the Lido 14 web site.