I hope you all have had a good break from Folkboat activities and are looking forward to a new season, sailing in the old, wrinkled lady whether it be racing or cruising with friends and families.

We as the board has worked with many things during the winter and I just want to highlight a few.

We got a new and more modern NFIA website, Instagram and email system. Simon Osgood & Co. has done a great job. New look, new features for example marketplace where you can buy and sell boats and equipment, news, calendars, results and event. The aim is to update it regularly so please pitch in with news from your club or fleet.

Check it out and the latest minutes from the board meetings on www. Folkboat.com. If needed, please refresh the link on your national websites.

Thanks to Ilppo Kivivuori from Finland and Yuri Nieuwenhuizen from The Netherlands, NFIA’s Facebook site is up and running. Pitch in with news here too.

Class rules has also been on the agenda. Many old boats are being renovated these years and it is important that they still comply with the class rules AFTER the renovation in order to protect the one design idea. It is proposed that an addendum to the measurement certificate is added stating what material is used for the mast and boom as the boats gains quite a few kilos by changing from a wooden mast to an aluminum. If not weighed with the new spars it may be under weight.

NFIA’s technical committee headed by Lennart Magnusson is looking into this issue and will get back with focus points for both the “renovators” and for the measurers.

Once again, the use of spinnakers during international events i.e., Gold Cup and Sessan Cup has been suggested. Spinnakers are until now only used in Finland, Estonia and UK.

Please discuss this proposal among your national members before the annual general meeting during the Gold Cup in Tallinn.

As the board wishes to bring this proposal to a vote it is important that you show up with a mandate and in case you are not coming, that you send a proxy to the board.

Position of crew during racing has been discussed. The board finds placing a crew member in front under deck unfortunate. It is difficult enough to find crew members so we propose a new rule 13.21 where everyone on board must stay in the cockpit with both feet while racing upwind. You can find the new rule in the minutes from latest board meeting on the website.

As mentioned, this year’s Gold Cup will take place in Tallinn for the first time. Our Estonian friends at Kalev Yacht Club have prepared a great event for us. You can see for yourselves at  GoldCup | Nordic Folkboat 2023 (folkboot.ee) where you find information about the venue and ferries with negotiated discounts etc.

More information on Manage2sail in the coming weeks, but please put it on your websites. We hope to see many boats on the starting line and support the growing interest in Folkboat sailing in Estonia.

The Gold Cup 2024 will take place in Halmstad, Sweden and in 2025 in Kerteminde, Denmark. Dates will follow in due course.

The current NFIA statutes does not leave any vacant positions on the board, but we feel that being the largest fleet among our members, Germany needs to be close to the board. We are therefore happy to announce, that Chairman of the German Folkboat Association, Jürgen Breitenbach, will join the board as an observer.

Last winter, we arranged a MS Teams meeting where many of you chairpersons and other senior national members shared experiences and plans for the coming season. We fully realize that the success of our class starts with the local clubs and national activities driven by enthusiasm and comradeship. NFIA’s objective is to further the interest of folkboating, so let us inspire each other again.

We would therefore like to repeat virtual meeting and invite to a knowledge sharing meeting March 8 at 19.00 CET. Same format as last year. Please share your plans, ideas, what did not work in the past season, what challenges you may have etc. for the benefit of the rest of us. Not least us as board members.

We will send invitations but please mark the date in your calendars.

 

Best regards

Per Buch

Chairman