Are you sure about this? I thought you just had to be a member of US Sailing. I'm interested since I'm taking the class in a couple of weeks.

The application requires the signature / recommendation of a "flag officer" of your home club.

In my case, it was CRAM. You need to belong to an organization that is a member of US SAILING. Scuttlebutt YC or Sailing Anarchy YC would probably work, although getting the signature on the form might be problematic.

Hurry up and join the Scuttlebutt Yacht Club, no entry fee and they will email you a card you can print out, good for entry to yacht clubs world wide! http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Ok thanks. Maybe NAMSA will do. I'll check.

I'm not kidding. This was back when US Sail was known as USYRU. No recommendation was required to attend. It was advertised in Latitude 38 and held at the St. Francis YC. I paid the fee, took the class and, at the end of the class when I told them I belonged to a Hobie fleet, it was sayonara sucker.

I imagine it was fixed but who knows.

A while ago John Williams asked everyone here to join US Sail. I sent him the full story and asked him to look into it. The short response from US Sail was if you want the certification, take the class again.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

NAMSA is not a "yacht club" whereas Scuttlebutt is, with a real membership card. Click on the link, go to the left side, click on "membership" and print yourself a card. It's free. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

That doesn't make sense. Scuttlebutt is a "virtual" yacht club, isn't it? Getting a card from them would be like getting a mail-order license to be a minister. (We have a friend who did that. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />)

Mary, the whole thing was started for people like us, who do not "Belong" to a regular YC but race all over the place instead. Yes, it's a free virtual YC but if you print out the card, laminate it, put on your white pants and blue blazer, and don't forget the ascott and white cap, you should be able to bluff your way into any real YC. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

What is the problem with online credentials ??????????????

Signed,
The Right Reverend Stephen, BA, MA, MD, PHD

Hah!

Even Sailing Anarchy has yacht club status.

Speaking of Sailing Anarchy,

There's a story there today about how all skippers will be required to be members of US Sailing if Jim Capron's ideas come to fruition.


http://www.ussailing.org/News/2008/capron_interview.asp

Um, yeah, that's what Matt said...



Matt posted this literally while in the room in which Jim was presenting his side as to why US SAILING was pushing the Prescription.

Personally, I think we should all belong to US SAILING (for a variety of reasons, and the rule isn't one of them). For those of you who think multihulls aren't important to US SAILING, all I can say is that I heard several people, who weren't multihull sailors, pointing out to Jim that we have large numbers and need to be taken seriously (paraphrasing here).

I do think (and let Jim and the Rules Committee know) that the verbiage of the draft prescription is a disaster in terms of enforcement. Not so much for our boats, but bigger ones. Dick Rose seemed impressed with my suggestion, as it makes his life easier (I suggested they use the verbiage of the IHCA class rule regarding membership requirements).

In reponse to the questions about "paper" YCs, again, as Matt said, they are completely acceptable. The problem is, if you want a certification (RC, etc.), there is a paper form which requires a physical signature of a flag officer who recommends you. That might be tough to get from a paper club, and an officer who doesn't know you from a hole in the wall.

Mike

USSailing should try to get people to WANT to be a member, not use tactics to FORCE people to become members.

BINGO!!!!!

That is EXACTLY the point that was being made to Jim by lots of people in the room (the phrase "carrot and stick" came up a LOT of times).

Not sure that he gets it, though, time will tell...

Mike

Exactly, even moreso because they charge you $60 for the priveledge...

The first question to be answered is, What are they doing for me and my $60?

Junior programs? I'm not a junior and most are run by clubs, and they charge you.

Olympics? I'm not going.

Hold clinics? Are they free? No, you have to pay.

A free rule book. I can get it online at Amazon for $10.

I went to the US Sailling Center in Marting Co. Fl., told them I was a US Sailing member, I would like to borrow a Hobie 16. They looked at me like I was from Mars. There was NO WAY they were going to let me out on one of their boats, member or not, so what's the point? The funny part? I'll bet some of my dues money went to a "grant" to help build that club. They are really good at turing people away.

I went to a RYA club in Hove, England. Walked in the front door, didn't know a soul and not a memeber. I told them I would like to rent a boat right now. They said, "Sure, it's $20" (pounds actually, more in dollars). They said, "Here's a wetsuit, there's the locker room, and there is a class going on now if you want to jump in." I had a great 4 hours sailing and then they bought me beer at their bar when we finished.

Do you see a difference in attitude here? Any wonder why the Brits do so well at sailing? They encourage new people to join in, no big checks to write, no club membership required, while US Sailing discourages it unless you first join a Club...for hundreds -or thousands- of dollars.

Now they want to make it mandatory, yeah, that'll work.

What do the membership dues fund?

Hey, how much does it cost teams to race in the actual Alter Cup? (not the qualifiers)
I know the individuals racing have to pay for insurance which is pricey (although not having insurance would certainly be pricier). They have to pay for their own accomodations (unless a local is nice enough to house them). So what does USSailing actually provide other than their name- and the requirement that you must be a member to sail in it?

Through my sailing club I am also a member of our MNA. If I want to, I can get the budget and the accounts for our MNA. I can get them either by contacting the MNA administration directly or through our club or our regional authority.

Personally I dont think you should expect to recieve much directly from a MNA. I would expect representation and assistance if we ran into trouble with access to areas, political trouble (like your DHS) and at most access to good insurance. I would expect the same opportunities as other classes, if we made the same comittment. It is expensive to have representation..

I think having a discussion over the value of joining US Sailing will not be very productive unless you know where the money are going. Perhaps you can get access to their budget and post a small summary of where the money are being used. A good topic for "Catamaran sailor" perhaps?

To me it sounds like much of the trouble you have in the US is becouse the catamarans sailors usually are not members of sailing clubs. If you have "flag officers" and the like, I can understand why as it sounds very much like "stiff upper lip" clubs. But staying unorganized sounds like a loosing proposition over time, with beaches closing and more and more laws becoming troublesome. Representation and organization have great value when you need it.

If multihull sailors accounted for 20% of US Sailings members, it would be very hard for them to not listen to multihull sailors. John Williams would be wielding some real power in that case.

Heaven forbid I encourage creating another internet organizational entity, but whats stopping multihullers from doing the same thing that Sailing Anarchy or Scuttlefutts has done?

A nationwide, online "yacht" club?

why should i join? i know nothing about it.

Perhaps that is my own fault, but i think it is a good "sample" of the problem. I LOVE cat sailing, sail 100 days a year, read all that i can about it. Surf the web looking for data but dont know why i should join. I have been to their site a few times to read some rules, but thats it.

What do I get out of it?


p.s. that was slightly sarcastic.