Download the "Elliott 7 - AGM 2 December 2012 - Minutes" here...

Download the "Elliott 7 - Committee Meeting 2 December 2012 Minutes" here...

Download the "Elliott 7 - AGM 2012 - President's Report" here...

 President

Neil Primrose

• Lead the team
• Lead development of strategic directions
• Lead communication with members
• Governance oversight
• In conjunction with the Treasurer, chase up list of owners and keep up-to-date

On the race course Neil has sailed Mirrors, LW Sharpies and a MASRM 720 and has owned his E7, Huntress, since 1997. He has won ACT Championships, and done well at National Championships in both Sharpies and trailables. He is a University Blue in Sailing; won the TYA Travellers Trophy several times, has a Gold in Sailing from the 2003 Masters Games and has been Club Champion in three classes.

Neil has served as Commodore of Canberra Yacht Club, where he established the CYC Sailing School in its present configuration. He served as Senior Vice President of Yachting ACT and has been involved in various roles with the YA Trailable Yacht and Sports Boat Committee since its inception. He was one of the founders of the Elliott 7 Class Association and served as its inaugural President. He has led technical development and constitutional reform for several classes, including the E7s, and is a long-standing supporter of women in sailing.

Neil has been involved in high-level competition and in yachting administration for over fifty years.

He presently runs a consulting practice in governance, planning and leadership that works Australia-wide. Prior to that he had a long career with the Australian Government running major international projects; working in central policy areas; leading micro-economic reform; and working with exporters to open up Australia’s trade in goods and services. He started sailing in Sydney, enjoyed several years in Perth and has lived in Canberra since 1971. His early career as an academic was in maritime history; he wrote his PhD thesis on naval policy; and has worked as a yachting journalist.

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 Secretary

Xanthe Corbett-Jones

• Arrange meetings (electronic and physical)
• Take minutes
• Be the custodian of the master copy of the Association’s records (except Class Members and Boat lists)
• Co-ordinate lifting of the Class profile at events
  • Banners and forestay flags at regattas
  • Arrange merchandising of accessories for the Class

Xanthe grew up sailing in the fickle breezes of Canberra. After a move to Sydney she crewed with friends for many years at the CYCA. Her sailing experiences started with Mirrors, Cherubs, NS14s then moved onto Farr 40s and sports boats including her favourite class, Elliott 7s.

She has competed in many TYA Travellers Trophy, States and National events and has enjoyed the odd jaunt up and down the NSW Coast.

Xanthe has worked in the telecommunications industry for 17 years, and specialises in regulatory compliance, industry engagement and policy management, including lots of meeting minutes! She has recently returned to Canberra where she is looking forward to introducing her young family to delights of sailing at her childhood haunts.

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 Treasurer

Peter Barter

• Money man
• Public Officer, plus Association returns and registration matters
• Hold master copy of the Class Members and Boat lists and keep up to date
• In conjunction with the President, chase up list of owners and keep up-to-date
• Manage ‘National Class” status with Yachting Australia

Peter owns # 64 Escapade. He came to E7s from a background in dinghies and skiffs and loves the adrenaline rush from a planning hull. He sails Escapade twice a week during summer in Canberra; competes in as many away regattas as possible; and says he is especially motivated by the depth of talent in this one-design class where you get to measure yourself against some seriously good sailors.

Peter grew up around Lake Macquarie in NSW and began sailing at the age of 12. His family moved to Sydney when he was 16 and Peter went into manufacturing where he qualified as a toolmaker and production engineer. With a family history in hospitality, he became self-employed at 28, starting with his own restaurant in Wagga, followed by building a couple of motels. Now 35 years and 8 hotels later he manages the Diplomat Hotel in Canberra. His yachting administration experience includes a couple of years as Rear Commodore at Canberra Yacht Club. He has been on the executive of the Australian Elliott 7 Class Association for at least the last 5-years in various positions, presently as Treasurer.

His sailing experience began with VJ Dinghies, 16ft. Skiffs and a 5-metre Hydra catamaran. He has sailed yachts of various sizes and has extensive experience as a delivery captain, including on such well known yachts as Wotsnext and Local Hero. He bought his first Escapade in 2003 and has competed in most of the major regattas, including the Bay to Bay and Marley Point Races. He holds the RYA Coastal Skipper Certificate, has a TL3 Rescue Boat License and a NSW Power Boat License.

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 Measurer

Michael Green (Greenie)

• Resolve technical issues
• Recommend technical refreshment
• Gain Class CBH and SMS rating for both rigs
• Manage measurement of boats for championships
• Mentor on sail technology and use
• Vet Notices of Race and Sailing Instructions for “away” regattas

He is currently employed within the marine industry as the General Manager for McConaghyOne a division of McConaghy Boats, one of the world's leading manufacturers of high-tech boats. “Greenie” also spent some fourteen years working with his father, the late great, “Peter” Green in the family Marine Retail and Wholesale business.

On the race course Mike progressed through Manly Junior’s, Cherub’s and 16’ skiffs winning several State and National titles. He made the transition to “Offshore” yachts in 1977. Since then he has represented Australia some 6 times in such yachting icons as the Admiral’s & Kenwood Cups. In that time he has also competed in thirty three Sydney to Hobart Yacht Races – winning line honours in the gale torn 1993 race and two on Overall Handicap, the latest as “Sailing Master” on Bob Steel’s TP52 Quest in 2008.

“Greenie” has owned his E7, Evergreen, since 2006. He joined the class because “My boat-on-boat skills where not being honed in offshore racing due to the speed diversity. I chose the Elliott 7 because it is a strict one design class; a split between a dinghy and a yacht. It doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, you get great racing in a boat whose performance punches way above its weight and I can park it outside my house”.

Mike is a passionate advocate of the Elliott 7, and he welcomes discussion with any prospective participants to the class.

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 Director,
Media and Event Liaison

Jim Walsh (Walshie)

• Advise on and supervise the contracted publicist
• Arrange with Clubs to host the program of “away” regattas for coming next season
• Liaise with Clubs sailing E7s to promote the class
• Co-ordinate arrangements for accommodation, coaching and boat parking at “away” events

Jim showed exceptional unco-ordination skills as a child and at the age of 14 an opportunity to see ducks from a sailing boat rather than a cricket field started a life long obsession with sailing.

This lead to a career which included a few years of studying engineering 3D modelling and design for the Jetcats and wave piercing catamarans for Incat, through to CAD software sales and eventually as a specialist in CAD and Poster printing solutions.

Starting in 30 foot yachts at RPAYC Jim first represented Australia as a young wide eyed bowman on Gretel 2 at the 12m World Championships in Italy in 1984. He then stepped into the bow of a 12 foot skiff, a class all aspects of which he would be part of for over 25 years including boat designing, class management and representing Australia multiple times in the Interdominions. There were obligatory forays into 18 footers for a few years which included a memorable 3 month tour in the south of France. A bit of Ocean racing south, north and east from Sydney was also there as an alternative to university lectures.

As family pressures grew it was time to get a family cruising boat and the Elliott fitted this purpose extremely well. Easy to rig and light enough to be easily sailed by kids it still has a good turn of speed for those more enjoyable days. The Grand prix circuit also fits with the busy lifestyle with an average of one regatta a month in a wide variety of locations.

The class is built around a great boat racing in great locations but more importantly a great group of people from all walks of life who enjoy good close racing and a very social scene off the water.

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 Director, Website

Mark Ward

• Establish, update and manage the website
• Manage “Members only” section of the website
• Manage link with Yachting Australia website
• Provide the mechanism for merchandising accessories for the Class on the website
• Include, expand and update technical information on the website

Mark sails with John Kearney on Aqueous Humour #72 at the SYC on the Gold Coast.

Mark has been sailing since the mid 80's, starting with windsurfers and Moths on Lake Macquarie. He did the Sydney-Hobart in 1987 on a 29 foot SS Defiance, (which was the smallest boast in the fleet that year), then on Anaconda II in 1989, (which was the largest boat in the fleet that year) and has done delivery voyages between Adelaide and the East Coast.

Moving to Wagga as a trade instructor in the RAAF, he started his involvement in the National TS16 Association. He sailed TS16s there, in Adelaide and on the Gold Coast.

When he moved to the Gold Coast in 1993 Mark teamed up with John Kearney and went on to compete in numerous SA, NSW, Qld and National Championships in the TS16s. He then sailed with John on Blazer 23's, an Elliot 7, a Ross 780 and then finally back to the Elliot 7.

In Wagga Mark became the club handicapper. When he moved to Queensland and joined the Qld TS16 Association, he lifted its effectiveness with firm leadership and direction. He persuaded the Southport YC to host the first TS16 National Titles in Qld for about 10 years and ended up doing a lot of the admin for this event, including the sailing instruction.

Mark is Managing Director of "YourWebSolution", an IT company which specialises in web-based database administration and business solutions that help small businesses improve their productivity. He specialises in building websites and he assists with general IT as well.

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 Director,
Women’s Development

Oriella Drovandi

• Be a role model for women sailing in the class
• Mentor and encourage women sailors
• Help skippers and crews to understand what women want in a sailing environment; and
• Develop the E7s as the “class of choice” for women in sailing.

Oriella started sailing with the CYCA in Sydney when a flatmate called out in the hallway "come sailing, we are short this week". Little did she know it would be the first of many weekends on the water!

Over the years Oriella has sailed predominantly E7s and Farr 1020s. A great mix of one design class racing and handicapped blue water series, with a few trips up and down the Eastern seaboard. Oriella loves competitive racing and is always ready for the next challenge.

But it was neither the speed of the smaller boats, nor the swell of the ocean that kept her coming back for more. It was the crews. On every boat she has sailed with varied and brilliant crews who were a lot of fun. On some boats she was the only woman and others she was part of a more even mix. Either way, everyone always had something to give and was very supportive. That’s why Oriella is passionate about bringing more and more women into sailing – to enjoy the experiences she’s had and to be a part of the many amazing sailing teams in the E7 Class.

After a professional career in corporate marketing Oriella now looks after her 2 "little people" (who she hopes to get into sailing to enjoy the experiences she’s been privileged to have) and juggles the ever changing lifestyle of a defence family.

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 Director, Northern Development

Andrew Barney

• Encourage development of E7 ownership and racing in northern NSW and Queensland
• Within the policy of the Association, liaison with the licensed builder

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 Director, Southern Development

Tim Roberts

• Encourage development of E7 ownership and racing in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.

Tim started sailing on Pittwater in Sydney when he was 14, firstly on a Spiral and then on a Hobie 16. His love of sailing took him to work at Club Med in Malaysia as a sailing and windsurfing instructor. As well as instructing, this was a time for surfing Hobie Cats in big winds on big swells. When he came back to Sydney, he moved on to a Hobie 18 with the Pittwater Catamaran Club, which he enjoyed for two years and then became ‘caretaker’ of the HMG 32, which he raced socially on Friday nights with the Palm Beach Yacht Club.

Following a long break from sailing, except from some chartering, and a move to Melbourne, Tim purchased Va Va Voom E7 #15 in 2010, sailing firstly with the Mornington Yacht Club and now with the Royal Brighton Yacht Club where there is a goodly fleet of sports boats. Tim’s immediate ambition is to improve his skills at racing sailing. He competed in the Airlie Beach Race Week this year and says it was the most fun he’d ever had on the water. He is constantly impressed with what a great boat the Elliot 7 is, combining not only your sailing ability, but also your ability in crew management.

Professionally, Tim is a building designer specializing in home renovations. As an ex-builder, Tim project manages all his work in a way similar to racing a boat. Tim’s trades are his crew and he spends his time planning and predicting his next step of the building process.

As Director, Southern Development, Tim aims to rejuvenate the Class in Victoria, starting with the building of a fleet of E7s at Royal Brighton Yacht Club. He emphasises that, if someone new wants advice or simply to come for a ride he is happy to host them!

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 Director, Western Development

Greg Hill

• Encourage development of E7 ownership and racing in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

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