The status of the new Blue Water Sailing club fleet was reviewed. There were 49 certificate issued to this fleet. Six of these were from boats that were in other fleets for the 2009 season. Therefore this is not a problem. The BWSC paid for these certificates. It was not known if this policy will continue. The BWSC fleet now has full fleet status.

The problem of applicants submitting applications directly to PHRF-NE, without going through the local fleet was discussed. The problem has been that if the applicant had not paid, the Valid List would still show it as a valid certificate. In these case the applicant does not get the certificate back, but it still shows on the Valid List. In the future, the Fleet will notify PHRF-NE of such cases and the boat will be removed from the Valid List.

The appeal process was discussed. Several appeals were received that did not follow the published procedure. These were not submitted through thye Fleet handicapp and did not contain relevant race data. The Fleet Handicapper is very important as he can provide useful information about the boat and crew preparation. 

The use of "Unofficial" certificates was discussed. This was brought about by the New Bedford Yacht Club accepting a Viper 640 into the Buzzard's Bay Regatta. Historically, the unofficial designation was brought about by the lack of lifelines, among other things. Now since many races use ORC Cat 5 Equipment Regulations, that do not require life lines, this old definition needs some rework. A new proposal will be brought to the Spring meeting. It will likely apply the "Unofficial" designation to those boats with no cruising accomodations. However, in the end, it is up to the race organizer to determine what boat entries are accepted in a race.