EDITORIAL—As the employees talk up the new "marina," details from super-advocate Mills Botham, skewed somewhat to make the whole thing seem more utopian, can be found here:
http://hoofersailing.org/?q=tongfamilymarina
We put "marina" in quotes because Hoofer Sailing Club is not a marina. It's a fleet of boats with volunteers maintaining them, teaching each other how to sail, and generally having fun. At least, that was the vision, and we almost achieved it. The reality is that with more and more money being funneled through HSC, it was destined to be corrupt. Jim Rogers got the balls rolling by pushing hard for more paid instruction and a milkable cash cow (the Youth Program) as HOI. Then came the big remodeling in 2013, and now a $5 million "marina." Certain individuals have done a lot to help ruin things over the years. Nate Salowitz and Ras grabbing control of the keelboats in 2001, and then Chris Frye and Justin Cherniak (and others) fighting for paid keelboat instruction circa 2009, among other things.
Maybe instruction would suffer a bit if it were all volunteer--not that it would really matter in a club of enthusiasts eager to help each other learn. Besides, you learn by teaching too, so it is a natural progression from student to instructor. That's in the absence of corrupting cash. As it is, instruction is mediocre despite being mostly paid. Way too many people are treating it as a summer job, and spreading that infective meme.
Speaking of money, the "marina" website linked above emphasizes that "No taxpayer dollars are being used for this project."
So what? It's still a horrific waste of money to spend $4.8 million tearing apart the lakefront and then rebuilding it, when there are so many more pressing needs for funding. Harassment and sensitivity training for Wis. Union managers, for example, and counseling and extended psychiatric treatment for some of them. A few [ex-] Hoofer employees could use professional help too. And $1M wouldn't be too much to put into escrow for lawsuits and other claims, e.g. yachts damaged in Florida. Extra pay to retain highly qualified professors is also a big issue right now at UW-Madison as many are fleeing to other schools.
What else could $4.8M buy? How about this for kicks:
35 brand new Beneteau Oceanis 35' yachts
15 brand new Beneteau 46's, fully loaded(!)
45 brand new Catalina 34's
500 used J/24's
50,000 half-barrels of beer (give or take)
Three dozen brand new oceangoing yachts! Instead, we get some new piers of questionable integrity and a strip of grass where the Techs are now. How sick is that? Don't think for a second that no one is getting a kickback on this deal.
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The youth program is not a cash cow. That is a line paid staff repeat often and want you to believe. The truth is that the club now pays out more for youth instruction than for total adult clubmember instruction. Yet membership fees from all adult clubmembers is almost twice of the total youth fees. The adult members are subsidizing the youth program and then have a hard time finding adult lessons. The real cash cow if there is one is adult clubmembers who don't take classes because they can't find any.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteAre you really reading what you write here? Of ALL people in the Hoofers world you would likely rank number one in need of Harassment and sensitivity training. Be sure that I do not know you personally, but looking back at some of your other posts you seem to have a couple of these problems yourself. More than a couple.
Your words; "Harassment and sensitivity training for Wis. Union managers, for example, and counseling and extended psychiatric treatment for some of them. A few [ex-] Hoofer employees could use professional help too. And $1M wouldn't be too much to put into escrow for lawsuits and other claims"....
You have reached a new, uninteresting low. Even for your drivel.
Anonymous #1: Just looking at the only budget I can find here, in 2013 revenue from annual fees was $140k, Youth Revenue was $77k, Youth wages were 33k, and regular instruction wages were $112k. Thus Youth turned a big profit, which contradicts your claim, and regular instruction wages were more than three times Youth. Something seems off here, but this is according to this approved budget.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct about one thing: general membership is a cash cow too, mainly because deposits are included as revenue since most people never get it back. That adds, another 72k of annual income. I have never taught youth lessons and know the budget has been going up, but has it more than tripled in 5 years? 2018 was unusual due to various things, including the weather.
I think I can help with this one.
ReplyDeleteVery rough numbers are
youth fees ($100,000) - youth instruction wages ($40,000) = $60,000 'profit'
member fees ($200,000) - member instruction wages ($30,000) = $170,000 'profit'
There appears to be so much profit everywhere! Reach your own conclusions.
The extra instruction wages Edward Teach found includes the head of instruction salary.
The future arrived early.
ReplyDeleteHoofer Youth Program will not last due to the harmful polluted waters. The days are now upon us when parents will not want their children playing in and around the blue green alga at Hoofers. Parents and other adults would expose themselves to criminal action for putting children at risk. Not unlike leaving a child in a hot car with the windows up in the summer time. Parents are the adults and should be taking actions that do no put their children at risk.
Headline: Parent Charged with _____.
Environmental laws that protected waters are rolled back by the cGOP. The conservatives at Hoofers continue to vote for the GOP that dissembles environmental laws and the Wisconsin Idea.
ReplyDeleteVoting against their best self-interests while supporting out-of-state business interests cloaked in a long-lost dogma. Bad relationship they stay-in. Scotty says he wubs you so much while he spends half his time in Texas seducing others. Like a bad Lifetime Channel movie where you wonder why she just cannot see it.
Do you not think that it is a bit simplistic to just look at member payments and instructor/counselor wages? You have maintenance, parts, and other supplies needed to keep a fleet of nearly a hundred hulls floating?
ReplyDeleteI guess is meets your need to criticize what you do not want to see changed, but it is not realistic. If you want change, ANYONE can go to the BOC meetings. ALL of the minutes of the meetings AND the budget are open to the public.
But again, if you told the blog readers this....the few you have remaining would not tune back in. This is my second or third look at this malicious blog...and my last.
You people are clueless. Really you are.
BINGO! You finally understand the point. The people who say that the Youth Program is the most profitable part of the club say so by not including lots and lots of other costs. Read the comments. Edward talks about how much profit Youth makes. That is clueless.
ReplyDeleteThere has to be a lot of insurance purchased to host teen daycare at the waterfront. Certifying that the camp counselors aka youth instructors have CPR training, can do first aid and not to mention all of the hygiene for food and such.
ReplyDeleteThe Hoofer Youth program is not only good for the kids but it also challenges the overall perception of the club as something straight out of Hieronymus Bosch. Yes dear readers the club has a perception problem and the Hoofer Youth mitigates and enlightens. Even if it is a net loss, it counters varied negative perceptions of the club. https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2016/04/bosch-1/lead_720_405.jpg?mod=1533691818
I like beer. How many barrels of beer can a J-24 hold? I like beer. I drank beer in college. I still drink beer. I like beer. Do you like beer? Let's use that money for beer and boats.
ReplyDeleteA 100 barrels of Beer on the J's
ReplyDeleteA 100 barrels of Beer
Moor offshore
Pour a few more
99 Barrels of Beer on the J's.
YOU could be driving Harvey
ReplyDeleteTRAINING & SPECIALTY SERVICES COORDINATOR - POLICE LAKE SAFETY AND RESCUE
http://jobs.hr.wisc.edu/cw/en-us/job/499598/training-specialty-services-coordinator
Madison Vice! Be like Crockett and Tubbs in that cigarette boat launching over every wave with no clear view of what lies ahead.
ReplyDeleteAlcohol interdiction in action. Zoom right up, throw the grapples and board. Suhhhh-weeet! BE like Pirate with a badge.
What's the worst thing that can happen next at Hoofers? Or have we hit bottom already?
ReplyDeleteI hope we have hit bottom. What could be worse than two the deaths over the past few seasons? But there is probably something.
ReplyDeleteThe overseers will attribute it to the upheaval, as an excuse to distract from their own ineptitude. Change for the sake of change is pointless, but the old Hoofers is almost gone, transformed from it's peak in the 1980's and 90's into a sterile, rule-o-centric, kiddie park service for professors who think it safe based on colorful flyers. The riff-raff have been purged, surveillance cameras keep staff from pocketing membership fees, the old unsafe piers are being replaced with new unsafe piers, and so on. All pointless but things union managers can list in their defense brief.
Oh, yes I too like beer (hugs empty 25 oz New Glaris...)
Other than 2 deaths, it sounds like overall the Club is now better off than past years.
ReplyDeleteIt's a just a few people being so negative and their defeatist talk is a real drag on what is a great place. Hey, turn that frown upside down and contribute in a positive manner! Life is better that way.
New Piers! Better Facilities! Security Cams keeps us safer and that's a good thing.
Where's the beef? From my view the Club looks like a new juicy tenderloin with all the trimmings. Yum.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth lest yee be an ingrate. Tis a fine thing the Tong Family done;providing a facility for the people of the lake and shore. After a day's toil working the nets and lines, heading home to port and unloading the daily catch where the fishmongers await to weigh and pack in ice food that which finds its way to the dinner tables of the people.
ReplyDeleteUhhh. Well. Right. In the context of this blog and it's parallel world view that never intersects the real, Fishmonger makes sense.
ReplyDeleteNow let's stow the tinned beef and flour in the holds of the Pequod and get that White Whale!
>>What's the worst thing that can happen next at Hoofers?
ReplyDeleteGetting rid of keelboats since members can't do hull repairs anymore. Then getting rid of Techs since the sailing team prefers new members learn to sail in their beat up 420s. Then getting rid of socials since what's the point of paying so much for the Union catering. Then getting rid of volunteer instructors since they are pesky and taking away good jobs. And finally getting rid of all of Hoofers like Penn State did.
It's risky out there! That's why PSU's Outing Club can no longer go outside
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2018/04/18/Penn-state-university-ends-Outing-Club-trips/stories/201804180168
Wow, that is hilarious, but scary too. Sailing is more dangerous than hiking... is the UW going to put an end to sailing because someone might get hurt? Two people have already DIED here over the past three years. The UW should immediately close Outdoor Programs becuase it is dangerous.
ReplyDeleteBut, that would be negligent too because then people won't be prepared for the real world.
Regarding what someone else wrote above: "Security Cams keeps us safer"
Surveillance is for wildlife and prisoners. Neither frequent the lakefront by the union. If you are pro-surveillance you are part of the problem. Former boathouse staff is my guess, trying now to distance yourself from the old practice of pocketing fees whenever possible.
There is no privacy anymore. And you should have no expectation of privacy. This goes hand in hand with keeping you safe. Boating and hiking are unsafe activities. We surrendered all to be safe.
ReplyDeleteSilly goose. Just smile at the Security Cams and walk the line. You're safe now. Trust the Watchmen.
You guys are far past your peak here. Outdoor UW, and ALL of its clubs are better than they've been before. Membership numbers are through the roof, and we are leading more trips in all clubs than ever before. Student engagement is incredibly high. Sorry you peaked in the 80s and 90s, your generation is done. Move on. Get a life. We're having fun at Outdoor UW either way, so save yourself some time.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Lot of good things happening. And the new Tong Family Marina just makes it even greater again.
ReplyDeleteAgree about the 80's. Time for The Lost Boys to get a Die Hard job on Wall Street, grab a bite at The Breakfast Club and take a day off with Ferris Bueller. Otherwise it's Back to the Future for them. ;)
If only we had a large enough DeLorean and flux capacitor that could take The Lost Boys of this blog back to 1985.
ReplyDeleteOr some other machine of the future that wouold just stop them writing the crap on this blog.
ReplyDeleteNOW is the time to quit R E A D I N G. Thus shall your voices be heard.
Yes, everyone quit reading! We need a more informed populace. Get your information only from TV and the internet, but looking only at the pictures.
ReplyDeleteNo one is making you come to this site and read the crap on this blog. You make a choice to do so. Like some Fundamentalist of the 1980's complaining about The Simpsons on Fox-TV.
ReplyDeleteTurn the channel if you don't like it. No one is making you come here. No other site in this town offered-up the Gov't reports on Yu Chen. Not a one. Zip. And that alone makes this site worth a read.
Hoofer Übermensch not happy zat people read der blog. They veeping next to their broken cross flags at nacht. Mein Fuehrer? We have burned all the books but vee cannot burn zee blog site!
ReplyDeleteThe Lost Boys of the 1980's are a far cry from The Boys From Brazil that vant zee blog kaput!
Great. Vampires and Nazi Clones. Nice group of people here!
In all seriousness, what was that comment way above about Club Members not being able to do hull repairs? For real?
ReplyDelete"Outdoor UW, and ALL of its clubs are better than they've been before" !!!! Yeah, maybe the ski club since they get to drive away from Union overlords.
ReplyDeleteThis dude doesn't even want to use the word Hoofers anymore, that is how brainwashed the Outdoor UW employees are. Membership through the roof? Gosh, not according to how empty Hoofers seemed this year and looking at boat checkout logs.
Agree Anonymous @ 10:16 PST......
ReplyDeleteBut there is bigger news that is not being covered here.
The DNR is actually going to fill in Lake Mendota with cow shit. Then all of these old sorts of people who live in dreams of the past can wallow in it.
That is it from me also.
Anonymous making silly remarks about cow poop in lake. Scatological humor? Hey Anonymous!
ReplyDeleteDo you sail a Scat-a-marran. Do you spend all your time on the poop deck? Do you need to take a sheet? When was the last time you got your bilge pumped?
Lighten-up folks.
Let us not forget other timeless euphemisms: Pinching and Dropping Anchor
ReplyDeleteNautical related
ReplyDeleteChristening a Boat
Floating a boat
Floating a trout
Launching a corn canoe
Launching a torpedo
Watching a dolphin splash
Trying to figure out what we do to get the sailing club prepped so we can all sail in the spring. Do we still do pier in and pier out with the new marina?
ReplyDeleteFire David Elsmo
ReplyDeleteHull repairs? Holy hell, dude, the UW won't even let club members sew a new goddamn mainsail anymore. It's obviously afraid of another incident like the one at the University of Maryland where a main ripped and killed three students and an instructor.* They trashed Decoy after it grounded though we could have fixed it, but we're not allowed to.
ReplyDelete* Never heard of that incident? That's cuz I made that shit up.
If they are taking care of all the maintenance and sewing all the sails that sounds like a good thing. Creates a few jobs and more time for sailing.
ReplyDeleteWe have a chance to make this Club upscale! We got the new marina. We got the cool outdoor rentals space. Workers doing all the maintenance. Maybe a piano in the lounge with some of those flowers floating in a big brandy snifter atop while some dude tickles the ivories.
ReplyDeleteI am serious. Let's make this an attractive space and create some lovely ambiance. It's about moving forward and not living in the past. The past wasn't so great. Unless you think choking down an undercooked brat with stale beer fartz is your idea of a good time. Didn't mean to diss, but doesn't that get old after a while?
Opportunities for Club Revenue.
ReplyDeletePrivate sailing events on the keels. Some appetizers and soft beverages served while a seasoned Hoofer Skipper takes the group on a sunset sail around the lake. Following, drop the group at the ADA accessible pier where they adjourn to the Club Lounge for drinks and dinner.
After a meal, they adjourn to the Terrace or any number of events that may be going on. This would be upscale and create lasting memories for the folks.
Sounds nice to me.
Will the lakefront along Hoofers be closed to only UW personnel and Hoofer Club members? At night and during parts of the day there are some sketchy looking folks who sit around the awning and make people uncomfortable. Also, are they going to allow fishing from the piers or at least enforce not fishing there? Will there be a provision where we can call UWPD and have them moved along?
ReplyDeleteThis is supposed to be a Hoofer space! So many times bicyclists ride right through rigging along the shore. They give a nasty look and a huff and off they go. We had one person who totally b*tched at a woman sailor for being in his way! He acted drunk and belligerent and we all felt unsafe. We just don't need the hassle. And from a public safety risk management standpoint, why would non-Hoofers or non-UW Staff be allowed in the area? Allowing them just drives up the insurance so someone needs to clear their head and get on this.
"why would non-Hoofers or non-UW Staff be allowed in the area?"
ReplyDeleteSo you're suggesting that students who aren't Hoofers should have to walk around on their way from Langdon to the lake shore dorms?? or to class at social sciences? Or maybe they just feel like walking along the lake, or are thinking about joining Hoofers, or want to watch the sailboats. How about joggers, should they have to run around the entire Union? Is that what you are saying? Lots of people run along the lake out to picnic point. Omg. Your comment is so xenophobic. I seriously doubt they will close a public lakefront to everyone but you. Now, if there are bums under the canopy, that's another matter. As for the bicyclist getting upset at someone rigging up, he was a jerk, but that should hardly make you feel "unsafe" unless you were raised in a bubble. Omg.
Some of those "sketchy looking folks" are probably ex-commodores. Good luck getting rid of them.
It is about safety. They should have a bypass trail like the current driveway to steer joggers, bicyclists and walkers around the Hoofer area. None of our current training addresses how to look around and be ready for the road bike blazing through.
ReplyDeleteFew years back some older dude was riding through the Tech area and tried to go around a boat on the cart. He clipped the low wall, flew onto the shore rocks and wound-up with a sick looking compound fracture. The kind where both bones are sticking out through the skin with the guy in shock. That is just one of the safety issues that need to be addressed. Why is that so hard to comprehend?
Does the Club's insurance cover non-Hoofers being impaled on masts or slipping on the docks? It's about liability and not having people get hurt. Finally, the UW Union is restricted to UW Staff and MU members. How many of those sketchies meet that criteria? Very few. So, enforce and make sure there is a trail bypass for everyone's safety.
Hey, could we limit the sailing team to only use 420's unless they purchase a membership?
ReplyDeleteYeah. And everyone should do a lot of things that you want. Problem is that you all just want to sit back, fire shells, and bitch. Not actually show up and work. Or put forth a single idea that would make things better. Do you?
ReplyDeleteFinally, to ass-wipe (you know who you are). Who is your new stalking target for this coming year? Being thirty years older than the last, it is no surprise that you ran her out of town. To get away from you.
Does it even BOTHER you to ruin other peoples lives? Do you REALLY think, you greasy hair, pimple faced dick, that anyone would think you are attractive? Or do you get off on scaring people that are half your age. Get a charge out of intimidating young women, do you?
And if you do....do you know what that makes you? By the by, no threatening for crapping on your character. I have the court papers....so do you.
Obviously there are people just posting stuff to be funny in an outrageous un-PC way. It is funny if you realize that the posts were meant to be absurd in the first place and take them for what they are. A joke.
ReplyDeleteHave some fun and lighten up.
Dear Douche
ReplyDeleteShe didn't run from anything but her own responsibilities. If this is who I think you are talking about. She stole alot of money along the way, and tried to make an accusation to get away from even that. Thankfully a judge agreed.
This might not be the same case you are talking about tho, since I wont use names, and Hoofers does actually have this kind of problem semi-often. Pictures, banking records, News paper articles and dozens of witness stand at the ready.
-ass wipe out.
-not ass wipe if wrong case.
Ok, comments are hereby officially closed. I'm not sure about those last few comments but I guess they were not deleted because they don't use any names. You can bash our latest rambling post now if you like.
ReplyDelete