Mary:

Your analogy of the AARP position was exactly the same thing I was thinking of as I read Jamie's letter. I did the same thing with AARP that you and Rick did because my principles were more important than discounts at a low-budget hotel. I've met Jamie before at regattas and you couldn't find a more sincere, caring, and dedicated person to our sport; I understand his positioning.

However, I've elected to renew my membership (ahead of time) with no questions asked and join NAMSA. Having been in marketing in a former life (when I worked)I realize that sometimes seamless decision making is the best because a lot of people don't have the time to actually get around to do what they want to do; they can't even stop from their busy schedules to review something. As an example: At our beach club we would charge yearly for a beach storage/maintenance/use permit, then ask our members to join our local Fleet. It was a nuisance explaining to all of our members what we were doing and why (we also had people that just didn't join because they were cheap, but they wanted all the benefits of the memberships such as the parties and the regattas), so we just included the membership in with the beach fees. It's worked perfectly for us. If someone doesn't like our club, they can elect to either become a non-participant (about 30%), or they can leave (and buy a $1 million lakefront property).

If NAMSA starts getting vindictive about one-design or doesn't seem to do anything but complain, then I'll bow out, but right now numbers can mean a lot in the general promotion of our sport. How about offering a NAMSA decal for our trucks/trailers?


Wyatt on cold Lake Erie.