By-laws of the Etchells Fleet 13

ARTICLE I: SAN DIEGO ETCHELLS FLEET 13
The name of this association shall be the United States International Etchells Association, Fleet 13, (hereinafter referred to as “Fleet 13").

ARTICLE II – HIERARCHY OF GOVERNANCE
Fleet 13 shall be governed by these By-laws, the United States International Etchells Class Association (“US-IECA”) and the International Etchells Class Association (“IECA”), which association’s rules, By-Laws and regulations shall be incorporated herein by reference. In the event of a conflict between the By-laws of Fleet 13 and the US-IECA and IECA, Fleet-13 By-laws shall govern except when the Fleet 13 By-laws that address one design, hull, rig, spar and sail measurements and crew limitations and, in those conflicts, the Rules of the IECA shall prevail.

ARTICLE III - PURPOSE
(A) The purpose of the Fleet 13 By-laws shall be: (1) to promote the highest level of competition; (2) to promote fleet growth and development; (3) to foster sailboat racing within the Etchells one-design limitations and guidelines; and, (4) to promote participation and improvement in all aspects of Etchells One Design sailboat racing. No single purpose herein shall be considered pre-dominant or primary over the other purposes listed herein. The interpretation of these By-laws shall be conducted so as to fulfill and promote all of these purposes. The By-laws shall not be interpreted in any manner which attributes undue emphasis or meaning to any term of phrase when such construction or interpretation violates the purposes of these By-laws.
(B) The Etchells is a One-Design sailboat class. It is explicitly recognized by Fleet 13 that the steady growth and continued future growth of the Etchells Class is due to strict adherence to the one design specifications. Any Etchells hull registered in Fleet 13 shall conform in all respects to the guidelines and specifications set forth in the IECA Rules, By-laws and applicable appendices.

ARTICLE IV MEMBERSHIP
There shall be two classes of membership in Fleet 13, voting and non-voting. Voting memberships shall be limited to boat owners/co-owners. Although boats may be owned and registered to multiple owners, only one vote per boat is permitted. Voting members must be paid and in good standing Skipper (or Co-skipper) members of Fleet 13, the US-IECA and the IECA. Each member boat shall have a valid spar and hull measurement certificate. Non-voting members may be any non-boat owner who pays non-voting member dues and shall be
entitled to all privileges, benefits and positions granted to voting members, with the exception of voting.

ARTICLE V - FLEET 13 DUES
Fleet 13, US-IECA and IECA dues shall be collected annually by the Fleet Treasurer. Dues for voting and non-voting members may be changed from time to time based upon a majority vote of the members in good standing at the Fall meeting. With the exception of visiting skippers and boats, any boat whose skipper or skippers are not paid in full by April 1st shall not be scored in any races prior to April 1 of that year, nor in any subsequent races during that year prior to full payment of the dues outstanding.

ARTICLE VI - FLEET MEETINGS
Fleet 13 shall have two meetings per calendar year and, as required by circumstances or conditions, the Fleet Captain may notice a special meeting for any business properly coming before Fleet 13. The Fall meeting shall be conducted between October 1 and December 1 of each calendar year. Fleet officers consisting of Fleet Captain, Fleet Secretary and Fleet Treasurer shall be elected at the Fall meeting. The Spring meeting shall be conducted between April 1 and June 1 of the respective year, unless otherwise scheduled by the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE VII - VOTING
(A) Forty percent of the paid / registered voting members shall constitute a quorum at any Spring or Fall Meeting. A paid, registered voting member may vote by written proxy by notifying the Fleet 13 Secretary in writing no less than 72 hours before the stated commencement of the meeting.
(B) Elections of Fleet Officers and approval of fleet dues shall be approved based upon a majority vote of the voting members present.
(C) Any changes to the Fleet By-laws shall be noticed to the Fleet 13 membership no less than seven days prior to the scheduled meeting. Passage of any changes or amendments to the Fleet 13 By-laws shall require 2/3 of the majority present at the meeting. Roberts Rules of Order and Parliamentary Procedure shall be followed to determine any votes on By-laws changes.
(D) All other matters shall be passed upon a majority note.

ARTICLE VIII – OFFICERS
The following officers shall be elected, and together shall comprise the Executive Committee of Fleet 13: Fleet Captain, Fleet Secretary and Fleet Treasurer
(A) General Duties of the Fleet Officers include the following: (1) annual communication with the US-IECA and IECA governing bodies, US Sailing, ISAF and SDYC; (2) dissemination of any rules or class changes from the IECA; (3) communication with other Etchells fleets and classes; (4) promotion of the growth and improvement of Fleet 13 skippers and crews; (5) general enforcement of Fleet 13 By-laws, IECA class rules and specifications. Nothing in this Article shall require a Fleet officer to file or perfect a protest against any particular boat, skipper or crew. Each Etchells skipper has the right and obligation to enforce the rules and class limitations and, pursuant to the IECA By-laws and appendices, as from time to time amended, and under the International Racing Rules, each Etchells skipper has the right and the obligation to enforce the applicable rules to the extent allowed by the Notice of Race and the Sailing Instructions of the Event.
(B) The Fleet Captain and the Fleet Treasurer shall be the only Fleet 13 officers who (1) may expend monies, (2) obligate the Fleet financially, and (3) pay legitimate invoices as the invoices become due.
(C) The specific duties of each officer shall be the following:
(i) The Fleet Captain is responsible for the conduct of the fleet: the Fleet Captain shall chair all regular and special meetings; and prepare an annual schedule of events by providing the fleet with information and updates. The fleet shall conduct all of its communications online and through email; emails sent by the Fleet Captain shall have the same weight and significance as any other writing. The Fleet Captain shall interpret and implement an enforcement policy of the class rules and specifications. The Fleet Captain shall be the official representative to SDYC, US-IECA and IECA.
(ii) The Fleet Treasurer shall collect the Fleet 13, US-IECA and IECA dues, paying all such dues to the respective governing bodies before the designated class deadlines. The Treasurer shall pay all legitimate invoices as they come due, and at the Fall Semi-Annual Meeting the Treasurer shall prepare a report to include the annual fiscal status of the Fleet as well as the projected financial report for the subsequent year. The Treasurer shall provide the Fleet Captain a list of voting members paid and in good standing in Fleet 13 as of April 1 each year, and before any regular or special vote.
(iii) The Fleet Secretary shall maintain the membership records of the Fleet, the By-laws, and the minutes of the Spring and Fall meetings. The Secretary shall also provide information reasonably requested by SDYC, US-IECA and the IECA. The secretary shall give notice of all business meetings, keep proper minutes of such meetings, and provide news articles of fleet racing and fleet activities. The secretary shall notify fleet voting and non-voting members by email of pertinent matters before the Fleet.
(iv) The following positions and Committees shall be appointed/formed and administrated by the Fleet Officers:
(a) Sail Measurer: the Fleet Sail Measurer shall measure all new or substantially altered sails and keep proper records of each boat’s sail purchases by updating each boat’s sail card. Nothing in this Article or sub-section shall require the Sail Measurer to keep a separate record of such sails for each boat. Furthermore, the burden of maintaining an accurate and class legal sail card shall always be the responsibility of the Etchells owner or skipper.
(b) Boat Measurer. Boat measurers shall be appointed from time to time by the US-IECA. The Boat measurer shall submit measurement data to the US-IECA for record keeping purposes.
(c) Technical Measurement Committee. This committee shall consist of three members of the Executive Committee, or their designees. This Committee shall review any technical rules or equipment specifications issues and questions which arise, as well as the implementation, placement or use of approved equipment. The Technical Committee shall also serve as an advisory jury on the interpretation and enforcement of Class Rules and Specifications whenever a representative from the IECA is unable to be present or represent the IECA in such interpretative proceedings.
(d) Event Chairperson. The person or persons responsible for organizing a fleet event or function shall report to the Fleet Secretary.
(e) Social Chairperson. The person or persons responsible for social events and functions, including the annual Holiday party shall report to the Fleet Treasurer.
(f) Publicity Chairperson. Such person or persons shall be responsible for periodic publicity and press releases. Such person or persons shall report to the Fleet Captain.
(g) Awards and Trophies Chairperson. Such person or persons shall, in consultation with the Fleet Treasurer, purchase the individual trophies and awards and ensure that proper awards are given for Fleet events.
(h) Fleet Scorer. The person responsible for maintaining the year-long series scores in accordance with the By-laws.
(i) Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee is an ad hoc committee appointed by the Fleet Captain no less than 30 days prior to the Fall Meeting. The Committee shall consist of three voting Fleet members in good standing, one of whom shall have served the previous year as an Executive
Officer or was a prior Fleet Captain. The Nominating Committee shall contact, secure the permission of and promulgate a slate of Executive officers who are willing and capable of serving if elected.

ARTICLE IX - MEASUREMENT CERTIFICATES
(A) Each boat shall possess a valid Hull Measurement Certificate issued by the builder and National Authority US-IECA.  Such certificates shall be valid until there is a change in ownership, or major alteration or repair, or revocation by US-IECA or IECA. The Executive Committee shall maintain a copy of the measurement certificate of each boat which is registered in the Fleet.
(B) Upon a major alteration or repair, the boat measurer shall verify that the boat in question complies with the measurement rules as promulgated and interpreted by the IECA Class Rules and appendices thereto.
(C) Fleet members are encouraged to review the current IECA Class rules and advise the Fleet Captain and National Measurement Authority in writing prior to making any alterations to any boat.

ARTICLE X – SAILS AND SAIL MEASUREMENT CERTIFICATES
All sails used in any Fleet 13 race shall be stamped and recorded on a Sail Measurement Certificate corresponding to a boat belonging to the Skipper (or Co-Skipper) and comply with all IECA rules regarding Sail Acquisition, Registration and Use including the prohibitions on using borrowed or unregistered sails.

ARTICLE XI - RACING RULES AND SCORING
(A) All Fleet 13 races are governed by the Rules as defined in The Racing Rules of Sailing and these By-laws, except as modified by these By-laws, the applicable Notices of Race and Sailing Instructions.
(B) Fleet 13, in conjunction with San Diego Yacht Club conducts races throughout the year which are scored as individual weekend series with the results promulgated by the SDYC Race Committee. The Fleet 13 race schedule identifies the specific races from those series which compromise the Spring, Summer and Fall Series, the Fleet 13 Annual Championship, the World Championship Qualification Series (WQS) and the Faulconer Trophy series. To be scored in these series, a boat and all helmsmen must be members of Fleet 13. The Midwinter’s West and ORCA Series shall allow 1 race to be discarded as a throw-out provided 5 races or more are sailed. The Spring, Summer and Fall Series shall allow 20% (rounded down to the nearest whole number) of the races conducted to be discarded as throw-outs provided 5 races or more are sailed. The Annual Championship and WQS shall allow 25% (0.5 and above shall be
rounded up to the nearest whole number) of the races conducted to be discarded as throw-outs. The Faulconer Trophy series shall have no throw-outs.
(C) The Low Point scoring system as described in Appendix A of the Racing Rules of Sailing shall be used for all series sailed under these by-laws. For the Fleet 13 Annual Championship, the Faulconer Trophy and the WQS, Appendix A4.2 first sentence is modified by these By-laws to read; “A boat that did not finish a race, retired after finishing or was disqualified shall be scored points for the finishing place one more than the number of valid entries starting that race. (A valid entry shall be a Fleet 13 skipper sailing a registered Fleet 13 boat. See Article V) A boat that fails to start a race shall be scored points for the finishing place two more than the number of valid entries starting that race.”
(D) From time to time for special events or series other than the Spring, Summer, Fall and WQ series, the Fleet may adopt a modified penalty rule for a specific series to evaluate its use and the impact of such penalties on Fleet membership, participation and enthusiasm. If such a modification is made, the modification shall be included in the agenda of a Spring or Fall Semi-Annual Meeting, Notice of the modification shall be provided and the Fleet 13 members who are paid and in good standing shall vote on the proposal. A simple majority will allow for the modification to be implemented by Fleet 13 and the Fleet scorer. The modification will be promulgated by an amendment to the Notice of Race and, if necessary, Sailing Instructions for the applicable series.

ARTICLE XII - ELIGIBILITY
All helmsmen must be Skipper (or Co-Skipper) members of Fleet 13 and IECA to be eligible to enter and compete in a Fleet 13 series. Sanctioned events may also require crews to be members in the IECA. Non-members of Fleet 13 may helm a boat as a Guest Skipper in up to ten (10) Fleet 13 races, in addition to any IECA sanctioned events, however the boat will not be included in the scoring of those races for any Fleet 13 series. Any Guest Skipper intending to helm more than ten (10) Fleet 13 races shall be required to join Fleet 13 (See ARTICLE V).
This Article constitutes written notification of the rejection of any and all entries submitted for Fleet 13 events (including sanctioned events) which fail to comply with this Article.

ARTICLE XIII - CHARTERS
A person who races as the skipper of record or helmsman for any boat, who is not an owner of that boat, may do so by chartering the boat for one or more series, provided that such charter agreement conforms to the By-laws of Fleet 13, the US-IECA and the IECA. The Executive Committee and Fleet scorer shall be notified in writing prior to the commencement of a charter. A bona fide charterer shall pay the same Fleet dues as any Fleet 13 boat owner.

ARTICLE XIV - PERMANENT AND INDIVIDUAL TROPHIES
(A) Permanent trophies donated to Fleet for specific events or championships shall remain the property of the Fleet, although the recipient of such trophies may maintain possession until the trophy is next awarded.

1. The permanent trophies include the Faulconer Trophy for the best combined score for all races started and not abandoned by the Fleet Race Committee. No throw-outs are allowed when computing the overall score for the Faulconer Trophy.
2. The Fleet 13 Championship Trophy shall be awarded each year to the boat having the lowest combined score after throw-outs of twenty-five (25%) percent for the races designated as comprising the Championship.
3. The Orca Bowl shall be a one regatta event and shall formally represent the Etchells Fleet 13 championship regatta.
4. The Tom Seitz trophy shall be awarded to that person who, in the consensus of the active / voting members of Fleet 13, has performed and contributed in the highest and most productive manner as compared to any crew member on any other Etchells in Fleet 13. No boat owner shall be eligible for the Tom Seitz trophy.
5. The Exocet Trophy shall be awarded to the Etchells Skipper who, through his or her own actions, or the actions of his or her crew, causes sufficient damage, embarrassment or dishonor that reason requires such skipper to be recognized and awarded with the Exocet Trophy. Nominations shall be accepted shall be accepted from the fleet membership. This trophy shall be prominently displayed at the skipper’s residence and shall be subject to inspection by any Fleet 13 member that requests a viewing.  
6. Nothing in these criteria requires the same or similar trophies to be awarded to each place, except that reasonable efforts should be made to award the same type of trophy to places 1 through 3 in each category.  
7. The Fleet individual trophies and social events shall be budgeted and planned in such a manner that Fleet 13 can have as a goal a minimum of $5,000.00 in its account at the close of the respective calendar year.

(B) The Fleet officers in their sole discretion may award individual trophies to the skippers and crews of Fleet 13 boats for the Fleet Championship overall and Corinthian, and for the Faulconer Trophy. To be eligible for Corinthian awards, no member of the crew shall be identified as an ISAF Category 3 sailor. The trophies awarded shall be consistent with the budgetary constraints of Fleet 13 and, therefore, the number of individual trophies will vary with Fleet membership and fund-raising. The Fleet Officers shall consider, but not be limited by, the following criteria:

XV - SPECIAL FLEET MEMBERSHIP

A special category of membership shall be available for boats which are not privately owned, (e.g., owned by colleges, schools and universities, charitable foundations, etc.) The provisions of Article IV, Article XII and Article XIII shall not apply to this Special Membership provided that such Special Membership is approved by the Executive Committee. Special Memberships shall carry no voting rights. The Executive Committee shall in its reasonable discretion set the dues of any Special Membership.

XVI - SPONSORSHIP
The Fleet, acting through its fleet officers or their designees, may in its discretion solicit, secure and enter into written contracts for sponsorship of regattas or series. The sponsorship contracts may be based upon any benefits or arrangements that the current fleet officers in their sole discretion believe are in the interests of Fleet 13. However, no sponsorship agreements may be made or completed unless and until such agreements are approved in writing by at least one fleet officer, and no such sponsorship agreements shall conflict with the By-laws, regulations or policies of San Diego Yacht Club, the United States Etchells Class Association and the International Etchells Class Association.

XVII - LIABILITY OF FLEET OFFICERS
Except and unless a fleet officer engages in intentional misconduct, fraud, mis-appropriation or wrong-doing, the fleet officers shall be indemnified and held harmless for any liabilities incurred by the Fleet when such officers are acting within the course, scope and capacity of their roles as fleet officers, to the extent allowed by California Corporations Code sections 18605, 18610, 18615 and 18620.

XVIII – OBLIGATION TO USE DUE CARE AND SEAWORTHINESS OF VESSEL
Each boat owner and member of Fleet 13 is required to use due caution and care to assure that his or her boat is maintained in a seaworthy condition and that it is
operated properly and safely to preserve life or limb. Nothing in this Article or these By-laws is intended or shall be construed as altering general maritime and admiralty law or as affecting the rights, liabilities and privileges of a boat owner to redress, compensation or indemnification.

Adopted as amended by Fleet 13 on January 1, 2011.