Revised April 2,2005

 

ILLINOIS RIVER STAR FLEET BYLAWS

 

Article I - Membership Dues

 

A.     There shall be three classes of membership in the Fleet.  All three classes shall require IVY Club membership.

 

1.       Active Member - An active member must be an owner, part owner, designated fleet representative, or bona fide charterer of a Star, and must be a non-professional sailor.

 

2.       Associate Member - An associate member is a non-owner of a Star, and must be a non-professional sailor.

 

3.       Social Member- A social member does not race within the Fleet, but provides assistance at various racing functions and participates in social activities.

 

B.      Annual dues shall be:

 

1.       Active Member: $100.00

International - $60.00, District - $5.00, Local  $35.00

                                                               

2.       Associate Member: $30.00

       International - $ 25.00, District - $5.00, Local -$0.00

                                                                                      

3.       Social Member: $10.00

       International -$0.00; District-$0.00; Local-$10.00

 

C.      A member in good standing is anyone who qualifies pursuant to Article I, Section A (1), (2), or (3) above, and who has paid their annual dues for the year.

 

 

Article II - Officers

 

A.      There shall be two elected officers of the Fleet:  Fleet Captain and Fleet Secretary-Treasurer.

 

B.       The term of office for each elected officer shall be one year.

 

C.       No elected officer may serve more than two consecutive terms in any one office.  After being out of office for two years, a member may again serve two consecutive terms.

 

D.      Elections shall be held at the annual business/election meeting to be held before November 15 each year.

 

Article III - Committees

 

A.     The Fleet Captain shall appoint chairmen of the following standing committees within one month of being elected to office:

 

1.       Bylaws & Nominating

2.       J. Holt Thomas Memorial Regatta

3.       Protest and Race Committee Coordinator

4.       Race Scheduling  

5.       Race Scoring

6.       Social

7.       Trophy

 

B.      Committee chairman shall serve no longer than two consecutive years.  After being out of the chairmanship for two years, a member may again serve as chairman for two years. 

 

Article IV - Annual Business Meetings and Bylaw Amendments

A.      A business meeting of the Fleet shall be held annually between racing seasons for the purpose of electing officers and considering amendments to these bylaws.  Additional business and/or special meetings may be called by the Fleet Captain.

B.       Notice of such meetings shall be sent by mail or e-mail, or delivered to all members in good standing.  Such notice shall be mailed so that members have at least ten (10) daysÕ notice of each meeting.  Notice is sufficient if mailed to the memberÕs last known address as reflected in the records of the Fleet Secretary-Treasurer.

C.       Amendments to these bylaws shall be considered only at a special meeting called for said purpose, and only if quorum is present.  A quorum shall be a least one-half of Active Members in good standing at the time of the said meeting.  No business shall be carried on, including amendments to bylaws unless a quorum is present.

D.      Amendments to these bylaws shall be adopted only upon an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the active members in good standing present at the meeting in which the amendment is considered.

E.       The proceedings of each business or special meeting shall be reported to the membership by the Fleet Secretary-Treasurer by written minutes either mailed or delivered to all Active and Associate members in good standing within two (2) weeks of said meeting.

Article V - Racing

 

A.     Racing shall be conducted in five series during the year.

 

1.       The Qualifications Series consists of the Sunday and Holiday races held during the first quarter of the season.

 

2.       The Commodore Series consists of the Sunday and Holiday races held during the second quarter of the season.

 

3.       The Gold Cup Series consists of the Sunday and Holiday races held during the third quarter of the season.

 

4.       The Swiss Miss Series consists of the Sunday and Holiday races held during the final quarter of the season.

 

5.   The Fleet Championship consists of all Sunday and Holiday races held during the season.

 

 

B.      The race schedule shall be approved by fleet members at the annual winter / spring meeting.  There shall be two races scheduled per Sunday and Holiday.

 

C.      No races shall be cancelled by the fleet because of weather, although the IVY Race Committee may cancel a race due to weather.

 

D.     Only skippers who are in good standing of the Fleet may participate in the FleetÕs official races.

 

E.      All races shall be conducted under the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association and the United States Sailing Association Racing Rules of  Sailing.  The local sailing instructions are provided in Appendix A to these bylaws.

 

 

Article VI - Race Standings

 

A.          A StarÕs score for a race is equal to the position finished (place), unless she was DNF or DSQ.

 

 

B.          A Star which starts a race but does not finish (DNF) shall be assigned shall be assigned a score equal to the number of yachts that started the race.

 

C.          A star which is disqualified (DSQ) shall be assigned a score equal to one more than the number of yachts that started the race.

 

D.          To arrive at series scores other than the Fleet Championship, a StarÕs race scores are averaged for the races in which she received a score during the series.  Stars which did not sail in the series do not have a series score. The smallest series score places first, the next larger places second, etc.

 

E.           To arrive at a Fleet Championship (season) score, a StarÕs race scores are averaged for the races in which she received a score during the season, ignoring thrown-out races.  Boats which did not qualify for the Fleet Championship do not have a season score. The smallest season score places first, the next larger places second, etc.

 

F.           In a series (or season), ties shall be broken by the result of the races sailed against each other by determining which Star beat the other the most number of times.  If a tie still remains, the winner of the last race between the two Stars shall win.

 

G.          Any non-cancelled race that is missed while sailing in a sanctioned regatta shall count for throw-out purposes, and count for qualification purposes.

 

H.          At least one half of the races in the season must have been raced to qualify in the Fleet Championship.

 

I.             Throw-outs are allowed in the Fleet Championship.  For every (7) races sailed, one race can be thrown out.

 

Article VII - Trophies

 

A.     Traveling trophies shall be awarded to the first three places for skippers.

 

B.      Individual trophies shall be awarded to the skipper and crew to all who qualified in the Fleet Championship.

 

 

APPENDIX A

 

ILLINOIS RIVER STAR FLEET SAILING INSTRUCTIONS

 

1.       All races shall be sailed under the International Sailing FederationÕs Racing Rules of Sailing as adopted by the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association and as supplemented or amended by US SailingÕs Prescriptions and these Sailing Instructions.

 

2.       The specific course of each race shall be made known by the Race Committee to all Stars in the vicinity of the starting line between the harbor gun and the first warning signal.  The Race Committee shall have full authority to determine the type of course and length subject to the restrictions in these sailing instructions.

 

3.       All stars intending to start a race should check in with the Race Committee in the vicinity of the starting line between the harbor gun and the first warning signal by hailing with the skipperÕs name and the sail number.

 

4.       The following signals shall be exhibited by the Race Committee and shall each be accompanied by a gun or other sound signal.

 

Signal         Flag and Sound                      Minutes Before Starting Signal

  

Warning        Class flag; 1 sound                                5

Preparatory    P, I, Z, Z with I, or black flag; 1 sound          4

One-minute     Preparatory flag removed; 1 long sound             1

Starting       Class flag removed; 1 sound                        0

 

5.       In the absence of sufficient racing conditions, the Race Committee may postpone the start of a race for up to but no longer than, one hour.

 

6.       After a race has started the race Committee may cancel the race at any time if, in their judgment, conditions exist or are imminent that may jeopardize the safety of the Stars and crews.  This decision shall be communicated by the appropriate signal.

 

7.       No race shall be started when the average wind speed exceeds 25 knots.

 

8.       When wind conditions are such that the completion of the race is unduly delayed, the Race Committee shall proceed as follows:

 

A.     In the event the lead boat in a race does not complete one triangle or the first two legs of a windward / leeward race course in 60 minutes or less, the race shall be canceled and declared null and void.

 

B.      In the event the lead boat in a race does not finish the complete course as signaled in 120 minutes or less, the race shall be declared null and void.

 

C.      No race shall be started after 11:30.

 

9.       At least three stars in the fleet must be in the vicinity of the starting line ten minutes before the starting time (five minutes before the warning flag) or the race shall be canceled.

 

10.    A yacht wishing to file a protest shall follow the requirements of the United States Sailing Association Racing Rules of Sailing and the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association.

 

11.    A protest shall be heard by a protest committee.  Protest Committee members can be from the IORF or other qualified individuals.  Protest Committee members shall be selected as needed by an Officer of the Fleet or another Star Fleet sailor not involved in the protest.

 

12.    Barges and large vessels in the channel have right of way at all times.