With all the talk over recent times concerning dissatisfaction with the existing “global” arrangement between the established yachting authorities/administrations, and the multihill sailers, isn’t it about time that a general survey was conducted of the multi sailers as to their desire and level of financial commitment as well as “time” that they are prepared to devote towards the establishment of their own (indepentent of the existing YA’s) multihull administration?
As I see it the only way to gauge the potential for success of any such venture is to have such a “poll”.
If you feel strongly enough to participate, any suggestions from you as to how such a poll should be worded/conducted would be welcome.

Float a plan/structure for such an organization and a proposed fee structure for membership and let people vote if they would join or not.

Include organizational structure (paid vs. volunteer positions), member benefits, and programs the organization provides as part of its membership fees.

It dont look like the movers and shakers are present on this forum.

The intense heat ISAF have recieved from multihullers, performance sailors and others who care for the sport seems to be resulting in at least something: http://sailing.org/23530.php

I dont know if it is good or bad..

Before one goes to far down the road of a soup to nuts independent multihull organizaton. ... you have to ask what's lost and what exactly do you need to fix at an international, national and local level for multihulls

Internationally, ISAF sanctions a world championship... I guess the last one was in F18's. (US Sailors remember that debacle well with Olli and Kelly but that is a local problem)

So, do we see a need to pull out of the ISAF championship area and create a new one? A related question applies for the youth mulithull championships.

My opinion... these are events for corinthian sailors... No need to reinvent the wheel here by trying to pull sailors into a new multihull organization.

ISAF also allows a class to brand a championship as a worlds after some conditions are met. If we pulled classes out of the ISAF sanction process and conducted them under our own authority... Will the sailors who particpated suffer the ISAF ban for competing in a non sanctioned worlds?

Again.. most of the ISAF classes are for Corinthian sailors and while pro's are welcome. The classes are chartered to conduct competitions for their corinthian members. So... again. why change anything here?

Since ISAF dropped the ball for the Olympics.... that is an obvious place to start. IMO, the Olympic circuit attracted the elite sailor to the pinacle of the sport. Most of these guys had to be proffesional or at least, semi professional to pay the bills. Those guys are the ones being screwed over by ISAF BS. We corininthian sailors are loosing as well with the loss of the elite level but really it effects our very best sailors.

IMO, The fix is to build an elite and proffesional competition that replaces and exceeds the olympics. We should leave ISAF and all of the restrictions, and BS behind and build a premier racing experience for the best in the world.

For me, the charter of an International Multihull Organization would make this kind of elite competition happen. That's it...don't try to control the whole world. The rank and file corinthian sailors would continue under ISAF and your MNA. We would welcome those sailors who dropped into our nationals and world competition to show us how well it can be done at our class championships.

ISAF will just have to burn after they discover that the most exciting and visually compelling sailing sport was completely independent from their touch and control

who knows... if we do this right, find the money, backers, PR people... what does the IOC say to ISAF following

the America's Cup on big multi's.
an Ishares circuit with 20 boats in major cites world wide.
An Ocean Race with international talent on big multis.

Hmm... a chance they just might order some changes.

Personally, I don't see the need to burn our ships behind us when setting up a new international performance sailing organisation (multi's, moths and true skiffs for men and women). We can still play with ISAF were attractive to us and not play with ISAF where it is not.

In time when can grow the class and take on more responsibilities as we go, possibly ending with our own direct bit to the International olympic committee to have a multihull and moth, just like the kayakers did outside of the rowing federation.

We have to be slick about this, just as ISAF is ^#(%%#@ us over like a bunch of naives we should return the favour and outmanouvre them while still making us of all the benefits they can offer us.

Point 2 : I guess I used to be a "mover" but I'm out of this one unless we can get some high rolling friends to pull the car. I've done the "pulling the car singlehandedly" before.

Wouter

Exactly. The goal is to improve multihull racing by means of a stronger international multihull organization. Keep what ISAF is doing well untouched and improve other areas. If ISAF follows the dark side, we will already have the organizaton as an option. If ISAF returns to the light, we will have a stronger organization within it.

As I see it, it is not necessary to change any of the ways that cats/multihulls are connected/associated with any of the Yachting Authorities (I use the term lightly), But to advantage all multihulls internationally, if a new association was formed that encompassed all multihull classes as a “block”, world wide, and with enough members, it would be empowered to “speak” on behalf of all it’s members WITH ONE VOICE, then it may/would have much more clout than the relatively few members that sit on the relative committees of the individual YA’s internationally, all of whom are in the minority of representation on each committee particularly when it comes to a vote on those committees, most notably in relation to mono hull interests. As a consequence mono hull interests will always override those of the multihull classes. As it stands now, it is, and has been a case of “dilute the numbers, divide on conquer” by the mono classes when it comes to any “power” that multihull representation has.
In the case of multihulls conducting international events and calling those event “World titles”, without the “permission” of the ISAF, just what is the ISAF going to do about it? Threaten to take away from any sailers competing in any event not condoned by the ISAF any chance of them competing in the Olympics? Well to me the ISAF themselves eliminated any concerns about THAT threat when they dropped the only multihull from the Olympics. What else are they going to threaten us with? – If you sail in a non sanctioned “world title” they won’t let you go to the Olympics sailing a “lead mine to China”? Big deal, that worries the hell out of me – not.
Any new International multihull association basically doesn’t have to DO anything except be THE representative of the largest number of multihull sailers in the world, and as such it’s main purpose would be to effectively apply pressure on the YA’s that has not previously been able to be brought to bear due to the “fragmentation” of the multihull community. To give this type of association real “bite” only requires that multihull sailers be members of that body. Numbers are everything when it comes to politics, and make no mistake this is political.