This is one incredibly interesting and damning about US Sailing from our Fab Forums…
There a lot coming out of the Cayard thread. I thought it might be more direct to have a thread actually named something that someone at US Sailing might look at, (someone there has to look at this site on occasion maybe while they are at home?). The Cayard thing is an exploded bomb and I’m sure shock waves are going to be going on for a while. So, what next…?
US Sailing has had its share of challenges and the sport does and has as well. However, there are localized success stories that are really cool and should be shared so people can see it’s not all gloom and doom.
I haven’t been a fan of US Sailing for years. I could never see what the organization did for folks like me, (weekend warrior) beyond RC, Judge and Instructor certification courses. I’ve been an “off and on” member going back to the mid-80’s all the way up to 2023 when I recently joined again.
The reason I joined was I received an email from Chris Snow in early January telling me I had been nominated for the John H. Gardiner One Design Leadership and Service Award for my work as the ILCA-NA District 12 Secretary. He told me the award would be presented at the US Sailing convention in FL. I was shocked and honored and thought, “what a great reason to experience one of these events”, (I’ve never been to one before). I also thought it would be poor form to accept a US Sailing award without being a member, so I joined.
We packed up the family for a weekend in St. Pete. For the most part I enjoyed the event. I thought it was well organized and well attended. I saw a ton of folks I know and have met through the years. Went to a Dave Perry rules round table discussion over coffee and really enjoyed that. Dave Perry is wonderful to listen to when explaining rules and very conversational.
I had planned to attend other events, but the resort had a lot of cool things to do so I spent most of my time having fun with my family on the beach, (zip line, huge water slide, the US Sailing boat demo day….).
The award ceremony I went to for my award was focused on OD Sailing and folks who have had a positive impact. We were told to be on time, (10:30) and keep our acceptance speech to 2 minutes. At 10:30 we were standing outside of a locked door and continued to stand there for 30 more minutes. The reason….?
