Dear Esse850 sailors. 

We are all getting ready for the 2019 sailing season. Your committee has prepared a few things to make it a nice one. Our focus is PARTICIPATION, regattas with more than 20 boats, especially for our 2 grade 1 regattas in Malcesine and the Swiss Championship, but also for all the other regattas in our program which you can see on agenda.

To encourage participation, we have

• A North Sails jib to win. We will draw the winner during the Swiss Championship among the boats who participated at both grade 1 regattas. A big thank you to our partner North Sails who provides this price.
• Surprises for the boats who participate for the first time at a grade 1 regatta.
• Reviewed the IC Cup grade system. Both grade 1 regattas will count, but it should not be enough to just win the grade 1 regatta to win the cup. Therefore the system is reviewed as follows:
  • Grade 1: both count with a weight of 150 (instead of 200)
  • Grade 2: max 2 count with a weight of 125 (instead of 150)
  • Grade 3: max 3 count with a weight of 100
• Prepared a real and nice cup for the winner of the IC Cup which will be passed on from winner to winner. We shall give the Cup to the Ottocinque team, the 2018 winner, in Malcesine.
• Prepared a proposal for a change in the weight rules to be voted during the next General Assembly during the Swiss Championship. Our proposal is to allow ‘heavy’ 3 people crews to participate: for 3 people crews a max. of 290 kg will be allowed, else the 280 kg limit remains. As a member of the class you are welcome to make other suggestions, but please in writing before the General Assembly and please make sure your suggestion will increase participation and not discourage the big number of light 3 people crews to participate.
• Prepared with North Sails a few training sessions on various lakes. Venues shall be communicated by your regional fleet responsible.

I would like also to welcome in our committee Florian Schuchter who will take over the communication and Clemens Wiedeman as our new Bodensee and region fleet responsible. Jan Bachman is also our new regatta responsible and remains our Zürichsee and region fleet responsible. Nominations will officially take place at the General Assembly. We are looking for more people in the committee, especially a Zürichsee fleet responsible and a lake Geneva fleet responsible. 

Finally let me make here a nice reminder to those of you who didn’t yet pay their 2019 membership fee to pay it quickly. It is much easier for the committee to make the class and the boat attractive if it has access to a bit of money. 

I look forward to seeing you soon and wish you all the best for the 2019 season. 

Alec