By Jim Gignac

The 2009 Season is finally upon us. It was a long cold winter, but rest assured, the planning of LMSRF/Area III began in earnest last fall. The committee wrapped up planning in a timely fashion, having completed the meetings by February.

Although we will be racing under a new set of rules this year, there were not many changes required for Notice of Race or Sailing Instructions. We did make some changes to Protest Procedures this year. This was a direct result of recommendations from the LMSRF Appeals Board. Pay careful attention to General Sailing Instruction 19.

The next change of note is to the webpage. We are in the midst of a couple years process to update how we use the web, both for Area III and LMSRF. This is partially due to Doug McKirahan talking a step back from supporting Office Automation (the behind the scenes workhouse program that made most of our races possible.) Doug provided many hours of support and insight far beyond any reasonable compensation, for which we all thank him graciously.

The first modification you will notice is an updated on-line registration form. This should make signing up for LMSRF, Area III, Races and Series a little less complicated. Another transformation is the development of a new scoring program. We are migrating to a web-based platform that is being developed specifically for Area III. The new program will improve the administration and scoring of races, plus provide quicker results on the web. I must give thanks to Don Draper and Cheryl Hillis for an arduous effort creating the new scoring program and LMSRF membership database.

You probably noticed a couple of surveys that came from both LMSRF and Area III. LMSRF’s was oriented on how to improve racing and participation, while Area III’s focused on the experience of PHRF or ORR racers. Both surveys had a great number of responses, and the results were communicated to all. We definitely learned some new ideas, plus heard some themes brought up several times over recent years. To keep the information thread moving, we are prepared an On-The-Water guide for each club’s race committee to review. This also includes more specific feedback being generated from ongoing dialogue with the racing fleets. There will also be regular feedback given to Eurich on how to better prepare the clubs for each race.

An additional result of the survey was the creating of PHRF Class representatives, being:

• Section 4, Deirdre Martin, 6949 Fantome, wndchsr@comcast.net
• Section 3, Don Draper, 41625 Sorcerer, dondraper1@yahoo.com
• Section 2, Christian Jensen, 39530 Hiwassee, christian.jensen@comcast.net
• Section 1, Howard Topping, 52555 Goblin, htopping@rtc.com

This is the first time PHRF Class Reps were selected within Area III. This will definitely aid our desire to keep increasing the level of communication and feedback available. If you ever wondered how to communicate to the Area III Committee, there is also a new webpage developed specifically for that purpose. Check out http:// www.drapers.us/Area3_Steering.cgi. Using the tab features, you can contact specific sub committees, committee chairs, or the entire Area III Steering Committee.

Finally as a last thought, closely read the new rules. The changes in Part II are fairly significant. Also, pay close attention to this year’s schedule, as there are major changes as well. Area’s III schedule still includes the traditional Tri-State, while Jackson Park is again offering various fleets a St. Joe to Chicago option for the return trip. Feedback of Tri-State to Bi-State seems almost split down the middle, especially given Michigan City’s step up in performance last year. Chicago Yacht Club is only running one race under the Area III schedule. Similar to Jackson Park’s St. Joe to Chicago event, contact Chicago Yacht Club directly regarding Notice of Race and Registration for this year’s Sheldon Clark Regatta.

With all of this being said, another note of gratitude to all involved with planning, preparing executing and especially participating in this year’s season. We wish fair winds and fairer competition to all!!!! May all have a safe and enjoyable year on the water…

Jim Gignac
Area III Fleet Captain