What do you want for your class association?

[Ru88ell]

You may know already that I've sold Zephyr, so no longer have an interest in the Cape Cutter 19. It, therefore, makes no sense for me to run the website and the forum. The 'class association', and I use the term loosely, is in danger of grinding to a halt at some stage next year unless someone, or some people, step forward to run it.

What's needed is someone to administer the forum, which isn't very onerous; it just means adding the odd new member when they e-mail a join request. The website is very easy to manage; it's no more difficult that adding a post to the forum.

More important is the need for a handful of people to step forward to agree the direction of the association. It should never have been just one person, it needs a small group which talks from time to time online.

I've committed to carry on until the end of February, but by then the membership will need to have found people to take over. There has been talk that there is so little interest in association events that it should be wound up. Is that what you would want. Please tell.

[Greybeard]

I've not been an owner very long - in fact I've yet to wet Falcon's bottom! - but I've found the forum invaluable so far and would be very sad to see it come to an end.
I suppose arranging 'official' get-togethers of more than a couple or so boats is always going to be difficult with so few CCs around anyway. Inevitably, there'll be some folk with considerable distance to travel to meets. Perhaps as numbers increase (albeit slowly) that situation could improve - so long as the owners are scattered far and wide
Hopefully the situation can be resolved before it gets desperate. In the meantime, I would express my gratitude to Russell for what's been done so far.

Regards. Steve

[Ru88ell]

I would express my gratitude to Russell for what's been done so far.

Simon Head set it all up. I've only been looking after it for a while.

[ColinMcD]

Well I'm not even an owner yet, but I will endorse what Steve says: this forum has been fantastic as a source not only of inspiration, but of a wonderfully in-depth knowledge base on everything to do with owning and sailing a CC19 ! Thank you guys for all your (unwitting?) contributions to my own enthusiasm for the class. I hope that someone can be persuaded to take on the burden when Russell lays lays it down.

The big thing right now for my wife and myself is a trip to Rochdale this coming Friday to talk with Bob Brown and look at two boats he's got in for refurbishing .... Who knows, maybe - hopefully - to agree a purchase.

I'll post the outcome when I get home after the weekend.

Colin McDougall

[Ru88ell]

... take on the burden when Russell lays lays it down.

Thanks Colin, but it's not actually much of a burden, just something that a CC19 owner should be doing in preference to someone with a Cornish Yawl.

[Ru88ell]

Comments do seem to ape what Simon said before I took over. The CA is never going to be more than a resource for people buying CC19's and learning a few tweaks. Once people have their boat set up they disappear, and the the next generation come through.

It needs people who have benefitted to step forward and become the next custodians of the information.

Is there anyone out there who actually wants to organise an event, or even anyone prepared to travel to one?

[bellalistair]

We don't disappear entirely once our CCs are set up. I'm always looking at other peoples ideas, I just don't comment very often. If I ever have time then some of them and some variations of my own might get implemented and then written up on the forum. Just finding time even for much sailing has got rather silly this last two years, other projects. Hopefully Tystie (and me) will not have seized up entirely!

Alistair

[Greybeard]

Simon Head set it all up. I've only been looking after it for a while.

My apologies, and grateful thanks to Simon too.

I for one would love to travel to events, but it would of course depend on timing/distance/work and all those other little things that regularly get in the way of sailing (and cycling). I've been to several Drascombe Association Rallies (and an OGA event) over the many years we've owned Missee Lee and would hope to try to do the same with Falcon.
My own area is pretty poor for sailing grounds - there are few venues for getting afloat easily off the North East coast unless you're prepared to beach launch! The Humber Estuary is hardly the most picturesque of areas and it can be very challenging with shifting sands, commercial shipping and strong tides. For the last 6 years I've skippered a 1920s 60ft long, square rigged Humber Keel sailing barge for a preservation society so know the river pretty well. A mantle of command that I've now handed to someone else.
On a personal note, we've found that a major stumbling block for us over the years has been our restriction to the school holidays. Otherwise, that tends to mean that unless we could get there after work on Friday evening and be home again on the Sunday evening it all gets very fraught. Until SWMBO hangs up her bag of chalk, that'll persist for at least another couple of years or so.

Steve

[SimonW]

Well I'm not even an owner yet, but I will endorse what Steve says: this forum has been fantastic as a source not only of inspiration, but of a wonderfully in-depth knowledge base on everything to do with owning and sailing a CC19 ! Thank you guys for all your (unwitting?) contributions to my own enthusiasm for the class. I hope that someone can be persuaded to take on the burden when Russell lays lays it down.

The big thing right now for my wife and myself is a trip to Rochdale this coming Friday to talk with Bob Brown and look at two boats he's got in for refurbishing .... Who knows, maybe - hopefully - to agree a purchase.

I'll post the outcome when I get home after the weekend.

Colin McDougall

Colin, you should see my finished boat there which I am coming to collect next week!

[ColinMcD]

Hello Simon - that will be a bonus as I've been following Drift's progress on your blog. The photos you've included have had a lot of scrutiny as my "near contact" time with real CC19s has amounted so far to less than five minutes.

Congratulations on your new boat.

Regrads -
COLIN