The ‘A’ Cat year traditionally starts with the AUS Nationals and is held right after New Year. It’s usually a hotly contended affair with a sprinkling of superstars in attendance.  In a weather disrupted series on Lake Macquarie, which claimed several casualties, Stevie Brewin ruled the waves with 4 bullets on his foiling Exploder A15 and his own boomless sail.  He was only beaten into second place in 3 races, by Adam Beattie (final position 2^nd), Nathan Outtridge (11^th) and Darren Bundock (3^rd) respectively.   48 entered.

Important information about the 2017 Worlds in Sopot.  The IACA President, Charles Bueche, announced the following;

Dear presidents, dear members,

Without a new version of the Championships Rules, the Worlds in Sopot, Poland in 2017 would have had to run under the original rules limiting the fleet to 100.

Thanks you for entering your opinion in the IACA poll. We have now analysed the results, anonymized and formatted your comments for general consumption. First of all, here are some general observations from the results. Don't be upset if percentages do not add up to 100%. It's rounded, filtered and simplified to extract facts.

Full map of clubs who have members sailing A Class Cats - Here 

If we missed your club, please let us know at editor@a-cat.org

Hosted at the Bordeau Sailing club, the Armistice Grand prix is an event in France not to be missed.  Jean Darnaude sent this report.

Dear Members and Dear Sailors,

Thanks you for having entered your opinion on the IACA poll. We are now well-informed about your opinion and will work accordingly.

We will keep the poll online for another 10 days before publicising the final results. Meanwhile, a preliminary and anonymised result page is attached.

The IACA committee thank you for your time !

Charles

Following the NSW State Championships the previous weekend, 13 A Cats descended onto the waters of Lake Macquarie for the 2016 Zhik Singlehanded Regatta.

The mix included Moths, OK Dinghies, Optimists, Lasers, and even one International canoe.  Strong Westerly winds gusting up to 40 knots kept us entertained on the beach on the Saturday, as we watched the while water, and the occasional mini water spout cut up the lake.

Dear Presidents, Dear Members.

During the WGM of Medemblik, we have elected Philippe Muyzers as treasurer.  A long-standing issue was the IACA fortune being located in a Dutch bank within an account not completely in control of the IACA, and the Dutch bank regulations making it hard to find a good solution. I proposed to move the account to a Swiss bank, namely Raiffeisen, the proposal has been accepted by the WGM. The account is now opened and fully operating, its currency is Euros. 

Dear members

On 19 October 2016, Piet Saarberg, IACA secretary, sent me this email (slightly edited):

'…I think it is wise for me to withdraw as secretary. Almost everything is dealt with direct through the internet which makes the post with not much left to do. I propose to do this at the 1st of January 2017.

I did both jobs (secretary and treasurer) long enough and started the Treasuring when there were no funds left at IACA. The present status is a lot better. So it is now up to Phillipe to guard the Treasure.'