Would have posted this sooner but wanted to include visual aids. At right is a graph showing the sharp drop in sailing lessons during 2010's "Instructor weekend off," which took place last weekend (Aug 20-22). This is an annual "HSC" "event" which is only open to instructors (and their friends, lovers, sex partners, would-be sex partners, toy providers, etc). General club members are not invited or allowed to come along even though (or because?) they make up 90% of the club. The stated purpose of Instructor Weekend Off is to "get away" from all those annoying general club members, i.e. the ones who pay to take lessons. Former Head of Instruction Jim Rogers put it this way: "The club may disintegrate without us, but we'll only be gone for a few days."
The private event helps to facilitate "bonding" among sailing instructors--who are better, harder-working people than all those annoying general club members--and to let the instruction staff have a big party weekend at general club members' expense. It's a reward for doing all that "work" teaching lessons (as if teaching sailing is actual work), organizing Commodore's Cup, and so on. Except, instructors are already getting paid by the hour and the commodore gets paid a stipend.
The sad fact is, when you join the Hoofer sailing "club" as a paying member, club leaders are mainly after your money which will help make life more fun for them. There are many other instructor-and-BOC-only events during the season, including weekly instructor-only parties every Tuesday night (not open to general club members... sorry.) Yet, those sailing instructors weren't "hired" because they were qualified; they got hired because their party buddies were on the hiring committee.
The problem with a few club members (e.g. instructors and BOC) having fun at everyobody else's expense is that it is anathema to a true, egalitarian club. Exclusiveness is malignancy in a social organization like Hoofers.
This is offtopic, but did you see the recent email from Justin Cherniak? Here's an excerpt:
ReplyDelete"Fix motor mount - when Paul Dittman managed to crash Estrella into the back of Off Call and knock off the motor, he broke off the little pin that lets you tilt the motor up. I don't know what, if anything can be done to fix it."
Why don't you post the rest of that email someplace? Looks very juicy. There should be a rule that all club members get copied on administrative emails, but of course, thats not going to happen.
ReplyDeleteRules? How would that change anything? Hoofers, with blessing of the Union, does not abide rules, or laws for that matter.
ReplyDeleteSorry, the j24 thing is about all that's in that email other than some administrative junk.
ReplyDeleteAnybody else heard, is there anything to this lakefront rumour that Jim Rogers has been reassigned at the Union away from Hoofers?
ReplyDelete