Jeff, one of the side benefits of the US Sailing requirement for race officials to work at any club, for any boat, in any area of the country; is that we get to see all levels of yacht clubs. I think people like us, who grow up on beach cats, have this vision that New York and St. Francis are the norm for "yacht" clubs.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Most clubs are quite modest, and some are not too far ahead of our Hobie fleets (which often stage regattas out of the back of SUVs and tents; a utility trailer or RV would be a huge luxury).

The interaction between yacht clubs and US Sailing is also not very different than our fleet relationships with US Sailing. They verify membership, use the rules and occasionally host events such as seminars and championships. They tend to make better use of training materials, but that's simply a matter of the fact that they have the facilities to run more youth programs.

Hope this helps.

Mike