Mary, you never cease to impress me.

Bloviate - to speak or write verbosely and windily

I had to look that one up. We could "bloviate" about NAMSA, or, per your feeling kind of insulted, we could bloviate about Rick. It might be more entertaining. Got any dirt you want to share?

Nope, nothing to share -- I'm washing laundry right now.

Ok Mary Define the scope of the problem!

Have you surveyed the NAHCA regions and reported on how these Divisions have resolved the NAHCA mandate for their members. Its time for schedules to be created... decisions must have been made. For example, You published a letter in Catsailor that the Texas Division has told NAHCA … No Thanks for that kool aid! How many other Fleets or entire Divisions? How Big a problem is this turning out to be? MAYBE its only a problem in a handful of areas in the US. Perhaps the issue will be solved If some NAHCA Fleets/Divisions DO host Hobie only races… But their member clubs ALSO create open regattas to serve their other members? If a region is mostly Hobie and HAS no other racers…again not much of a problem… This is something that needs reporting on by you!

If NAHCA’s mandate does have a negative impact and sailors don’t have local races to attend… THEN we have an issue and can look for solutions.

If NAHCA's mandate does not generate any problems... can NAMSA go away?

I plan to take a deep breath and respond to the rest of your letter a bit later.

Take Care
Mark

When I started the magazine 10 years ago, I did it because I thought there was again a need again for a NAMSA Newsletter as a communication link for all the multihull sailors. I just called it “Catamaran Sailor” instead of “NAMSA Newsletter.” So, in spirit, NAMSA has been alive through my magazine for 10 years

YES…. your magazine pulls together news and letters and reporting from clubs around North America and serves the mission… "communication link for multihull sailors"! This was missing AND needed. The need for NAMSA divisions is the issue that I raise.




Actually, I take the time to make these arguments because there IS something to loose. (I personally choose not to support NAMSA but love the Magazine). What we have to loose is energy, focus and standing in the larger scheme of sailing organizations in the US. The last thing you need is a group of cat sailors who’s fundamental organizing principle is HEY WE ARE NOT NAHCA setting out to duplicate a bunch of "NAMSA" regional sailing authorities for half the catamaran racers in the US… While the other half of cat sailors are REorganizing in the "NAHCA" RSA to recreate the good old days … MEANWHILE, the adult sailing world has solved this issue 50 years ago (BACK in the good ol days) and organized all the sailing clubs into RSA as members of the US Sailing Association. I just don’t understand it. These organizations work for Opti's up to 70 footers! What is so unique about us... other then we don't play well together?.... Why don’t the people who want to form a NEW RSA…. Take over as US Sailing Area reps. Why don’t they join their Regional Sailing Authority and use those resources to do something.

Take Care
Mark

Geez, Mark, nobody knows the scope of the problem yet, and I'm not going to call 150-some-odd Hobie fleets to ask what they plan to do in 2005.

As far as losing "energy, focus and standing in the larger scheme of sailing organizations in the US," I don't even know what that means.

You raise an interesting point about RSA's. The Regional Sailing Associations under US Sailing consist of groups of affiliated yacht clubs within a given area. Most beach-cat sailors, of course, do not belong to yacht clubs. It never occurred to me that a beach-cat fleet could join an RSA. If it is possible to join, that is a good idea. Although, I don't know what it costs. I will ask the commodore of CABB if he has ever asked whether our fleet can join BBYRA (Biscayne Bay Yacht Racing Association).

Hi Mary



Ok... Good. so we don't have a problem yet! NAMSA can slow down and let things settle out.

I agree... I don't know how big a problem will emerge for 2005.
I have a guess though... I predict that it won't turn out to be that big of a deal... I believe that clubs want sailors to participate and I think most will choose to give away the prefix Hobie as in Hobie XXX regatta and become the XXX regatta and keep the non Hobie sailors participating.

Why don't you contact the Hobie Division chair people or NAHCA and ask them for an update? It should not be a secret.

With respect to energy, focus, standing etc.
Standing: Remember, the sailors that run CBYRA, and do the vast majority of work at US Sailing are volunteers as well. So, When you approach them for assistance and announce... I represent, NAHCA, or NAMSA, they don't know what that means, they don't care and they wonder... Sheesh.. why don't they just join up and play ball like EVERY OTHER CLASS OR CLUB!

Energy, Well lets count. 10 or so US Sailing region people + 10 NAHCA people + 10 NAMSA people amounts to 30 people doing the SAME THING.... (AND MOST of this work never actually puts a regatta on the water) I am reminded of the joke... how many cat sailors does it take to screw in a light bulb???

Focus: Hmm... How in the world can you build a consensus around a common focus with 3 separate groups attempting to speak for cat sailors ?

Take Care
Mark

Mark, I just noticed the title of your post, suggesting NAMSA could cause multihulls to lose "Respect."

In my humble opinion, respect is something the multihulls have not had in the mainstream sailing community precisely because of the fact that we are not organized. The monohull mainstream sees us as a bunch of maverick nomad tribes wandering from beach to beach. They lump all the beach cats together. They do not recognize us as having distinct classes the way they do with the monohull classes. Everything with two hulls is just categorized as "Multihull." You don't see US Sailing referring to "Monohulls" as though everything with one hull is all one thing.

We are treated like a minority group. When Sailing World does a survey to find out how many racing boats there are of different types, beach cats should probably be included in the "dinghy" category, but they are not.

In the ideal world (as it was for us back in the 1960's), multihulls would have their fleets within yacht clubs and do their fleet racing at the yacht clubs and maybe even be able to race at other clubs within their RSA, and be affiliated with other fleets of their kind at other yacht clubs around the country, and fleets would be able to host major events at their own yacht clubs, complete with restaurant, snack bar, and swimming pool.

But that is not the way it is today, and I don't see it happening in the foreseeable future (except for maybe A-Class fleets and Tornado fleets).

So most of us continue to be nomads, outside the mainstream of sailing.

To gain respect and recognition and stature and influence with US Sailing, we need to get organized under a body like NAMSA, and we need to do it in the same type of format as all the other bodies that are members of US Sailing.

NAMSA is not about providing another layer of bureaucracy. It is about uniting all the multihulls so we can become a part of mainstream sailing and earn respect within US Sailing.

It is about NAMSA being able to help the Multihull Council, because if NAMSA has a lot of members, those members can be polled on what multihull sailors want and need. They can be surveyed to find out the current demographics of multihull sailors, ages, kids, etc., and what kinds of events they like, what kinds of boats they are gravitating to (formula classes, smaller, single-hander beach cats or bigger cruiser-racer multihulls, etc.). All this information will be very helpful to the Multihull Council in representing us within US Sailing.

It is a cliche, but it is usually true: united we stand, divided we fall.

P.S. I should add that these are all just my personal opinions about what NAMSA should be about, since I am not involved with the organization of NAMSA and have never been privy to anything the officers and committee people are doing (except what they put in my magazine on the NAMSA News page).

The reason I am not involved in NAMSA is because if I don't like what they are doing, I want Catamaran Sailor Magazine to be free to criticize them and I don't want any suggestion of conflict of interest.

Sorry, Mark, for some reason I did not see your post until after I had posted mine. But that's okay, because I think you have actually made my case for the need for NAMSA.

HI Mary

I don't see how I make your case.



OK... WHO ELSE in sailing has an organization like NAMSA or for that matter NAHCA (a collection of classes)?

Yacht Clubs and individuals join US Sailing. That is the membership.... Not NAHCA or NAMSA,

The solution is to address local needs, scheduling coordination, PR, etc etc by having your local Cat club join the RSA just like the huge yacht club down the street. When you play by the rules that everyone else is using you are in the game... When you want to parnter with other sailors to make something happen locally... you might join their organization in order to get to know each other. When you form your own organization and start a different game ... don't expect anyone to pay any attention to you !...

National issues that require input to US Sailing or work sanctioned by US Sailing can be led by your US Sailing rep and any teams they put together from club members in the area.

I don't believe you have made your case for additional representation and organizations like NAMSA.

Take Care
Mark

Below are the by-laws of US Sailing about voting and non-voting members. Especially note 1.(a)(v) below relating specifically to multihulls.

You ask: "OK... WHO ELSE in sailing has an organization like NAMSA or for that matter NAHCA (a collection of classes)?" You added: "Yacht Clubs and individuals join US Sailing. That is the membership.... Not NAHCA or NAMSA."

As you can see from the following, ONLY regional and national organizations (like NAHCA and NAMSA)and class associations and offshore and cruising associations have a vote within US Sailing. And there are many such associations.

Yacht clubs and individuals are NOT voting members.

NAMSA is doing precisely what is provided for in US Sailing's rules so that we CAN start working within the US Sailing system and provide another vote on behalf of things that will benefit multihull sailors.

What fleets do to survive and thrive at the local level is entirely up to them -- different things work in different areas. But I do notice in 1.(a)(i) below that RSA's are to be made up of yacht clubs, and it does not make any provision for fleets to join.
----------------------------
(From the US Sailing By-laws)
ARTICLE THREE—MEMBERSHIP
1. Membership in this Association shall consist of:
(a) Voting members represented by delegates hereinafter described and composed of:
(i) Sailing associations (sometimes titled yacht racing unions, yachting associations, yacht racing associations or sailing associations) made up of yacht clubs, which by their application for and election to membership in
the Association accept the responsibility to carry out, in their respective areas, the purposes for which the Association was organized;
(ii) Sailor-Athlete Advisory Council delegates who are Sailor-Athletes (as defined in Article 15 of these Bylaws).
(iii) Class associations composed of one-design classes organized through fleet and/or districts as one-design, restricted, open or rated classes;
(iv) Offshore cruising/racing associations organized through clubs, fleets or classes for the conduct of racing locally, regionally or nationally on a level, handicap or rated basis.
(v) Multihull sailing associations organized through associations, clubs, fleets or classes for the conduct of racing locally, regionally or nationally.
(vi) Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA).
(vii) United States Windsurfing Association.
(viii) Community Sailing organizations.

(b) Nonvoting members composed of:
(i) Affiliated associations which conduct college, school, Sea Explorer, Sea Scouts, armed forces and similar sailing programs;
(ii) Yacht clubs which are members of a member sailing association;
(iii) Fleets or stations which belong to a member class association or offshore cruising/racing association;
(iv) Individuals or families who are interested in sail racing;
(v) Other sailing organizations, including yacht clubs, which are not members of a member sailing association and fleets or stations which are not members of a member class association or member offshore cruising/racing association;
(vi) Corporations wishing to support the work of the ssociation.

(c) Such other categories as may be established by the Board of Directors.

The difference I see between NAMSA and US Sailing Multihull Council is that NAMSA is in total control of their organization. NAMSA sets the fees and disperses the money as it see's fit. We pay $40 dollars a year to US Sailing and as far as I can tell $0 is spent in the Multihull sailing council. Everything that we do through US Sailing is self supported by the particular activity. Take Alter Cup: We have the Hoyt-Jolley fund which supports the Alter Cup and enables us to get boats and put on the event. The competitors also pay quite a bit to enter the Alter Cup to cover regatta costs. If you want a Judge from US Sailing you have to cover his costs and any reimbersement. If you want to become a Judge you need to pay for the courses.

So my point is that if we run NAMSA separately but in concert with US Sailing we can help fund youth events and Alter Cups and qualifiers. NAMSA could provide things like scales to National events or support national events by helping to supply (and pay for US Sailing judges).

Right now because NAMSA is in it's infancy it's a little early to expect much out of the organization yet. But I can see it building and working with US Sailing.

One of the reasons I drew the Regions up just like US Sailing is that I thought it would help us to support the US Sailing Council easier.

Just my thoughts,
Mike Hill
Tiger #1520