Everything you say may be true, but it doesn't change the fact that if
USSailing was torn down and reconstructed today, the most likely
outcome (though certainly not the only possibility) is something very
similar to what we have now.

But a few facts: since USSailing has been around since 1897, what
international rules are you claiming that goes back to the 18th
century? And the last Olympic selection that I followed was 1992 -
that seemed to be on the water (to the chagrin of a friend who had the
flu at a critical regatta); how has that changed?

And I hardly think you can blame any organization for the "decline" of
sailing. You can probably show a more causal relationship with the
the Internet, or cell phones, or sunspots.