...
But, I think we can (and should) have an umbrella organization that can allow us to work together more formally, and complementing the efforts of the classes without crossing boundaries of how the classes do their jobs.
This would also give a new purpose for Area reps, now that the qualifiers are gone. They would serve as the regional leaders to set up meetings, coordinate communications, etc. Maybe we could even come up with US Sailing area multihull championships/festivals (a title and concept to enhance existing regattas, not necessarily new events).
EDIT: Yes, this could be done as NAMSA. But, there are a lot of good reasons to do this under US Sailing. We have a recognized body, with an approved regulation, with the purpose of providing a "forum" for sailors and manufacturers to work together. It's already there, waiting for us to transform how we organize ourselves...
It's April 2 (this is not a prank)...
Mike
If, and this is a big one, if you can get the right people from the classes together with a unified objective of "what can we do to grow the sport" I think something like this could have some benefit. The schedule is one thing but it's not everything. I'm slow to comment on this post because I'm not 100% sure whether my own cynicism is derived from past experience or something more grounded in reality. However, I feel like the classes aren't at the point yet where they are genuinely interested in the betterment of our sport over their own unique interests. It's going to take a bit more panic to get to that point.
For example, a growing group of A-cat sailors in our area are separating further from our events and supporting them less and less...if it weren't for one sailor in that group tugging (shoving) them in that direction we (EMSA) would probably never see them again. They like to race on their own, are going to lengths to attend exclusive regattas at the expense of our area events, and are scheduling their own exclusive regattas. I'm not going to sit here and say they're doing anything "wrong" but they're not helping our local sport and I think they're doing themselves a disservice by being less visible (for example, we had a newbie come to our last event interested in learning more about a-cats but there was only one of them in attendance). In other words, if you forget where you came from, there will be nobody new to replace you. We repeat this again and again.
In this regard, we're up against human nature and I'm torn between finding fault with that group's exclusivity or admiring their ability to do what they want to do. Dave McGrumpypants showed it a little earlier in this thread and I know exactly where he's coming from. I don't have as much time to sail as I wish I did and when do, I want to do it as often as possible in the manner that I enjoy the most (which is on an F18 with my best friend in big breeze, flat water, and equal competition all around me). Meanwhile, also like the Dave I know, I feel a need to help on the community side of things and I find a personal balance between helping our sport and satisfying my own wishes.
I guess my point is, the USMHC is the place for all of the classes to join and start working together. Nobody else has anything close on a national level to that forum. I think the point should be a joint task force to find ways to help grow our sport... maybe the schedule is a place to get started on this and it might lead to other more beneficial ideas. Cynical me isn't sure that the classes are ready to REALLY make any kind of sacrifice of their own desires toward this goal (or what those sacrifices might be) but I don't necessarily know that it's the case.
