1. Call to Order and Introductions

The US SAILING Inshore Committee met at the Adams Mark Hotel in Charlotte, NC on Saturday March 24, 2001. Chairman Larry White presided and Secretary Clark Chapin was present. Chairman White called the meeting to order at 1:38 PM. The following members were present:

(*=present)

2. Minutes of the March 2000 Meeting in Chicago. The minutes of the October 2000 meeting were approved as posted on the Inshore web page.

3. Reports of Officers and Staff

3.1. Chair. Larry White reported on several issues, including the upcoming Bylaws amendment.

3.2. Secretary/Web Liaison. Clark Chapin reported that the web site includes the minutes from the October meeting, a complete listing of the committee personnel, and the agenda for this meeting. He solicited ideas for further improvements.

3.3. Inshore Director. Lee Parks had no report. There were no new proposals made to USSF, but two proposals that were deferred last October were being considered further.

3.4. US SAILING Webmaster. Ken Signorello was not present.

4. Reports and Discussion

4.1. Youth Programs. James reported on several topics, including continuing support for Sailing Smart, improved support for some marginal at-risk youth programs, and some training for judges about the differences between judging adult and youth events. Another topic was how junior events should handle the new Appendix N dealing with on-the-water judging of rule 42.
Tom Hubbell asked about coordination between US SAILING and the Sea Scouts. Larry White said that there have been some contacts between the Sea Scouts and School Sailing, but there was little activity between US SAILING as a national entity and the Sea Scouts.

4.2. Sailing Smart. Betsy Altman’s presentation on Sailing Smart was discussed. The program’s successes were noted.

4.3. ISAF Issues. Dick Hannemann introduced the following issues.

4.3.1. Eligibility Code. US SAILING’s Prescription that makes the penalty for rule 20 violations a simple warning has resolved this problem adequately.

4.3.2. Advertising Code. US SAILING’s action in granting an advertising license to anyone whose class or organization has declared itself Category C has reduced most of the problems with this regulation as well.

4.4. Racing Rules Issues. The major rule change for 2001, the new starting system, may cause some additional initial problems, but in the long run, the change to a common world-wide system is an improvement. Ali Meller said that his experience thus far has been very positive. It works better by far than the older system.
The best estimate of rule book availability for all US members is 30-Apr, but the rules, ISAF Appendices, and US Prescriptions are available on the US SAILING website.

4.5. Race Management Issues. Tom Farquhar was not present.

4.6. Industry Relations. Chip Johns was not present. Tom Hubbell asked why large corporations sponsor events for small groups of sailors at large expense rather than provide support for a much larger group of sailors? Fred Hagedorn said that as an advertising venue, these events have some utility, but sailing at the local or larger-based level is essentially a charity. Contributions that are received are often the result of personal relationships.
Dick Hanneman noted the success of the Leukemia Cup and those sponsors and the importance of providing feedback and business to the advertisers.

5. How Can Inshore Assist in Reaching US SAILING Priority Goals in 2001?

The Committee discussed their impact on several of the priority goals, in particular:

Ali Meller noted that the 5-O-5 class uses E-Mail very well to inform people that are in the loop, but there is a need for paper to help bring people "into the loop." Right now, American Sailor is down to a single page and the trend is toward more electronic methods.
In addition, The US SAILING Info-Fax System will probably be phased out within the next year, but a feature of the web site to allow people to direct material to other sailors via fax may be implemented.

6. Inshore Roles and Mission. Larry White solicited ideas for Inshore Roles and Mission, in particular whether there are useful things for the Committee to do or if it should be disbanded.

7. Reinvigorating One-Design Racing.

Ted Beier presented material based upon experiences at his club and its slow decline over the last several years. The material is attached. Strategies chosen were to:
"Put the Fun Back in Racing" by enlisting the top racers, facilitating low key social activities, shortening some races, and have planned activities for windless days;
"Reduce the Time Commitment" by condensing the schedule and moving to more back-to-back races;
"Making Racing Less Threatening" by altering formats and making a greater effort to involve juniors;
"Compensating for Other Demands" to make participation less demanding.

He gave examples of alternative activities to increase fun and participation. He solicited other ideas from this Committee and the ODCC. and promised to report back in October. Keith Graham noted his success with similar tactics in the Seattle Thistle fleet.

8. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 PM. The next meeting of the Committee will be on Saturday October 20, at the Hilton Hotel in St. Petersburg, FL.

Clark Chapin
Secretary