Based on notice from the United States Sailing Association (USSA), the governing body of the sport of sailing in the USA, we are now an official class!
What does this mean? A little now and possibly much more later. Our annual dues as a class are $75/year. USSA will list us as one of their official One Design classes, with website, phone numbers, contact person (Bob Procter, for now), etc., to anyone who asks. With this legitimacy, we can now approach The Sailing Index and many other similar directories and legitimately ask for inclusion of a link to us and to provide in their lists the type of info about our boats that they do for other classes. This should make us much more visible to the 6.7, 6.9, & 22 owners who haven't contacted us as well as potential owners who may not be aware of the special qualities of these boats. As a result, our group should grow through this coming year.
Through our membership, I think/hope/expect we will be listed in Sailing World's 1999 "Sailor's Sourcebook" with the above information, specifications, and a thumbnail side profile of our boats (thanks to Jeff and to USSA and to Sailing World). USSA doesn't force-feed all these possible resources; those resources have to come to USSA and ask for the current list, but we will now be on it. If you come across any list on which we should be included but aren't there, please e-mail them and ask that they include us.
What else will we get with USSA membership? Well, they give us help, when we ask, for ideas on organizational structure, class building, etc. Since we are the first class formed out of internet contact rather than local fleets, there are no classes with prior experience they can provide us with examples on but they help as much as they can. They can help us organize regattas, but it is a little early for that now. USSA can provide us with information on becoming a not-for-profit corporation so that we can receive donations and offer the benefactor a tax advantage. We plan to explore this because it could mean that people who need to sell their boats but don't have a buyer available could donate it to the class and the class could sell it. In some cases that could give the donor a tax break equal to the normal selling price plus give the class a source of income from selling the boat later. That's win-win. If the class holds regattas, USSA can provide us with sources for low-cost insurance to insulate against damage suits in case of injury. For now, the biggest advantage will be the gradually increasing visibility.
This also means many things apart from USSA. In forming a class association, we open many new areas for responsibility, creativity, and opportunity as well as areas in which we will all benefit when we work together:
Up to now, our 6.7 & 6.9 website has been completely paid for and maintained by Jeff Roy. His website has given us a quality site that's brought us, as owners of these boats, together, made others aware of their great qualities, and given us a way of sharing. We're all grateful for what he has given us because, without it, we would never have developed to this point. But as paid members, we can relieve Jeff of those costs and take the responsibility for maintaining this site for ourselves and future members. There are many other opportunities and advantages of the CA. Some of these are:
There are many other areas and opportunities that we cannot even see at this time. Become involved, make good things happen, be a part of it. You'll be glad you did.
Congratulations S2 6.7 & 6.9 Owners ! You've now got CLASS !