I just got the following today from Deb Schaefer, Multihull Council Secretary, about what the Multihull Council did at the US Sailing Annual General Meeting last week. I could not find it yet at the US Sailing site, and these are not the final, complete minutes, but I thought some of you might like to see this preliminary report:
US SAILING
MULTIHULL COUNCIL
FALL AGM MEETING
Marina del Rey, California
October 19, 2002
Report to the Board of Directors:
1.Elections: Nominating Committee Chair, Gordon Isco, presented the MHC with a slate of Officers and Area Representatives. Nominations were also taken from the floor. It was determined that a quorum was present and elections were held. The results were as follows:
Chairman: Art Stevens
Vice Chairman: Dan Mangus
Secretary: Deborah Schaefer
Area A: David White
Area C: Mark Santorelli
Area E: Eric Kennedy
Area F: Douglas Camp
Area J: Roger Brown
2.Budget Review and Discussion: Art Stevens reports that US Sailing has been consistent. There has been no budget for the Multihull Committee or the Council from 1985 to 2002.
3.Golden Anchor Program: Darline Hobock reports that renewals through the Golden Anchor Program have been down, and consequently the number of multihull sailors identified through the US Sailing data base has also been reduced. US Sailing has 44,000 members. There are only 1200 multihull members currently identified. We know this number is not right. It may be that in the effort to integrate multihulls into the yacht club mainstream, we have become a victim of our own success. Yacht clubs have their own Golden Anchor programs and members who sail multihulls are not identified.
To gain the recognition as a multihull sailor, US Sailing members need to check the multihull box on the back of their renewal forms. Multihull member organizations like the NAHCA, can start their old Golden Anchor Programs and get their members recognized that way. Individual members can always renew their membership through the Multihull Council Golden Anchor Program. Meanwhile Darline will investigate adding a link to the MHC website to help identify the multihull constituency.
4.Terms of Reference: The Multihull Council found a copy of the Terms of Reference, which were drafted in October 1996. A committee comprising of John Williams, Gordon Isco and Deborah Schaefer will review these Terms of Reference and will come back to the Council with a recommended draft at the Spring Meeting in Cincinnati, OH.
5.Fast and Fun Report: US Sailing is gaining name recognition through this program.
We introduced sailing to over 1000 participants in a three-week period and this program is reaching people of all ages, from 8 to 84 years old. That’s what sailing is all about.
The next Fast and Fun event will be held November 9 & 10 on Alamitos Bay, in Long Beach California. Art is looking for volunteers to help.
6.US Sailing Youth Multihull Championship: Art Stevens reported that the Multihull Committee has put on two such events in a year, but they are not recognized as US Sailing events. Our children do not get any of the same benefits or sponsorship that other youths get when they compete in US Sailing events. You can’t even find the event listed with the other Youth Championships on the Youth Web Page.
The Multihull Committee prepared a resolution seeking recognition for a Multihull
Youth Championship to be presented to the Youth Championship Committee as
follows:
The US Sailing Multihull Committee recommends that a multihull Youth Championship Class be recognized and invited as an integral component of future US Sailing Youth Championships.
It was presented to the Youth Championship Committee and denied.
The Multihull Committee prepared a second resolution seeking recognition for a US Sailing Multihull Youth Championship and presented it as an Action Item to the Board of Directors and it failed 17 to 13.
Dick Hanneman, Chairman of the US Youth Championship Committee, came to the meeting and vowed to work with Art Stevens and the MHC to make it work within the organizational structure of US Sailing.
7.Alter Cup Report: Jamie Diamond, Alter Cup Committee Chair, reports that a very successful event July 9-13, 2002 was held in Syracuse, New York. The Alter Committee is very grateful to the Hobie Cat Company supplied 10 Hobie Tigers, which is a Formula 18 spinnaker boat. This boat turned out to be a great platform. The competition was very even.
The 2003 event will be held on BIM JAV II Formula 18 boats in Clearwater, Florida. John Williams will liaison with the Key Sailing team and Pensacola Yacht Club to co-ordinate this event.
