Here is what Jamie explained about why he does not want to be a member of NAMSA at this time, posted on the Old Forum:
They’re simply not someone I have chosen to represent me. I have no objections to anything NAMSA is doing. But they are not somebody who I have selected to speak for me. Now, because of Catamaran Sailor and NAMSA forming an alliance, I feel like I am being told that I can only continue to get the magazine I love, if I join this group.
Maybe it’s easier to understand if we pretend we’re talking about a different publication and different groups.
What if you subscribed to the New York Times and they started giving away memberships to the Greenpeace Party as a benefit of subscribing? (It could just as easily be the Libertarians, Republicans, Democrats, Socialists, Communists, Sierra Club, ACLU, etc.) Oh, and by the way, it's not optional.
Now all of those groups are good groups with good interests at heart. All of those groups believe what they are doing is right. All of those groups are made up of good people. But maybe they just don’t represent you or your individual way of looking at the world (or your sport). Would you join them all just because they were free? And in this case they’re not even really free. The New York Times is subsidizing the group of THEIR choice out of your subscription fees. And the group of THEIR choice can now claim you as a member, say they represent you, say they represent more people than they “really” do, lobby on your behalf, etc..
So I’d rather pass on personal membership in NAMSA for now. I can’t say that will always be the choice I make, but I prefer it always BE MY CHOICE TO MAKE…
I understand Jamie's viewpoint perfectly, and I thought about that a lot.
When Rick reached age 55, I think it was, he sort of automatically became a member of AARP. We thought it was just a way of getting motel discounts. But when we found out it was actually a political organization and that they were lobbying the government on behalf of the membership, with views and opinions we did not share, and without asking for input from the members, we immediately unjoined.
I made it very clear to the board of NAMSA that in offering my magazine as a perq of membership, I would in no way be relinquishing any of my control of the magazine. I made it clear that the magazine would not change in any way, and that I will criticize what NAMSA is doing if I don't agree with their policies.
What I am doing is basically the same thing "Sailing World" did in providing free subscriptions to the magazine for members of US Sailing and including "American Sailor," the newsletter of US Sailing within the magazine.
As I said in my preceding answer to Jamie on this forum, any subscriber who does not want to be a member of NAMSA for any reason can just say so when they renew their subscription.
Right now NAMSA needs funding to get started, so I thought this would be the best way to get a lot of members quickly, at the very low cost of $5 a member. And next year, when I send out subscription renewal notices, I will have a box to check, yes or no, whether you want to continue to be a member of NAMSA. "Yes" and NAMSA will get the $5; "No" and I will get the $5.
Meanwhile, I hope NAMSA will not establish policies without polling the membership; and the more members it has, the more credible the input. This is a way to get a lot of members fast -- and, therefore, a lot of input.
I just want to give NAMSA a chance to get off the ground, and this was the best way I could figure out to do that. Racing sailors already have to belong to so many organizations, and it gets expensive. This is a way to make it very inexpensive to be a voting member of NAMSA and also get the magazine. And it is a way for NAMSA to have a newsletter (included within the magazine) at no cost to NAMSA.
It certainly does not benefit me financially in any way -- in fact, it is the opposite. I'm just trying to help.
Many other countries in the world have a national multihull organization, in addition to their national sailing authority. The United States has not had a multihull organization like that. I think it is badly needed because US Sailing lumps us all together as though we are one entity. So that entity needs a unified voice.
I DO have a question as to whether NAMSA should continue to be "North American" or whether it should be only for the United States. When dealing with US Sailing, it seems to me that it complicates things if the organization includes Canada and Mexico. That is something that I think should be put to a vote of the membership. But since I am not involved in the inner workings of NAMSA, that is just something that I hope all the new members of NAMSA will express their opinions about.
