Nah. This blog will probably outlive you (provided Google does). But we did fail to deter construction of the new "marina" which is now well underway. We took an interest too late, as did many others, even as the promoters worked quietly to make big changes. The technocrats, the hacks, the self-serving administrators planned and schemed and then unleashed their project when they knew it would be too late to stop it.
That's how such people operate--they do preliminary studies, make sure they have the support of key people, line up at least one big donor (to draw others in), and handle doubters with half-truths and misdirection, all with as little publicity as possible. Always the driving motivation is narcissistic--vanity, ego, self-enrichment (along with a bit of idiocy in this case, to waste $5 million re-dressing the Hoofer lakefront).
***Naming recognition opportunities still available*** :)
Do you think it's not narcissism? The new "marina" will have big bronze plaques proudly displaying the names of big donors, just like the old parking lot-cum-Alumni Park is dotted with huge, vain placards. If you can read this page in its entirety without barfing, you should win a roll of Tums. Try it, it's not that long. And how about the "Badger Pride Wall"... Does anyone really call it that?? Pride, the most egregious of the Seven Deadly Sins--sprayed in your face. I'm not religious, but I find the use of pride as a driving motivation disgusting. It's what motivates managers to remodel things that don't need remodeling.
As for Alumni Park's supposed raison d'être--celebrating the "Wisconsin Idea"--that philosophy has become an inside joke, along with its corollary of "sifting and winnowing." In the 21st century, the UW teaches students to grab whatever they can, to abuse those they can abuse, and to lie about it afterward--and to take pride in getting away with it. This isn't just an outgrowth of the creeping xenophobia at the UW; it is a sea change in the basic philosophy that governs the university.
Metaphorically speaking, UW-Madison is an aging, pimped-up East European whore lathered in makeup, carrying pepper spray and various diseases. Administrators prefer this to a less-glamorous-but-honest-persona because the former naturally draws more notice, more funding, more paying students, more gullible faculty, and so on. It works because people tend to believe what they hear, a fundamental flaw in human nature that lets the few prey on the many. Once a person realizes s/he may have been duped, most don't want to dig any further for fear they won't like what they find.
But hey, hopefully by July we'll have some new piers! Apologies to the poor muskrats who called the old piers home.
Saturday, December 1, 2018
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
HSC's fleet of brand new 35 ft yachts
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.
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.
Saturday, October 6, 2018
Sam Kleppe's bad day
Some thoughts on the partial(?) sheriff's report posted by a commenter on our previous post. (Thanx.) There are no huge revelations, and all the gory stuff is blacked out, but a couple of things jump out:
1. Apparently Yu Chen was indeed under sail and not down in the water when the collision occurred. With very few other boats around at the time, he should have stuck out like a cherry on a cream pie. Yeah it's tough to see out of that Rescue boat due to the high bow when planing, the angled windshield, etc, but in the end, a motorboat can only hit a sailboat if the motorboater does something wrong.
2. One disturbing comment that might indicate a defect in motorboat driver training says they look mainly to the right (p. 34) because motorboats coming from that direction have right of way. Yu Chen approached from their left (see page 9).
3. Chris Kleppe declined to have his blood tested after the incident, and while Sam Kleppe and Bill Stebbins submitted to blood tests, their results are redacted in the report. That doesn't look good. If they were clean, then the sheriff sure didn't do them a favor by blacking that out.
One can blame Yu Chen for not looking where he was going, but the report says he was coming from the east, and it was late afternoon, so he was looking straight into the sun--and the sun was not in the motorboat driver's eyes. And of course, sailboats have right-of-way. Were there reflections off the waves to the east..? Probably, but if visibility was so poor, then Harvey should have slowed down.
In a big motorboat on Lake Mendota, you are obligated to be aware of what's around you at all times and how fast any other craft are moving. That's stating the obvious, and yet, it obviously needs to be stated. Even while skippering Spray on windy days, I'm often uncomfortable when other boats are around because if we hit one, we could do serious damage. So, I make sure there is no chance of intercepting any other boats. Of course, a sailboarder could hit us if he wanted to because he's much faster, but the Rescue motorboat typically goes 4-5 times as fast as Spray. Nor do they have a headsail to interfere with visibility.
The report does not disprove the theory that Yu Chen was hotdogging, e.g. swinging by Harvey to wave hello. Maybe Yu was headed north, then swung west to approach them, and meanwhile, they turned their attention to the west, thinking he was well clear of them. Yu misjudged their speed, or his own, and.... However, this scenario seems unlikely because then he would have been well aware of where the motorboat was. In any case, if a motorboat driver is exercising due care, it should be impossible for him to hit a sailor. If one is on a collision course or deliberately trying to intercept the motorboat, the driver must change course or drop speed.
The most startling item in the report may be where Sam says they'd been cruising along for 3-4 minutes when suddenly he saw a windsurfer "three feet off the bow."
Even on Spray, you wouldn't want to find yourself three feet off the bow of an 8,000 lb motorboat doing 25 knots.
1. Apparently Yu Chen was indeed under sail and not down in the water when the collision occurred. With very few other boats around at the time, he should have stuck out like a cherry on a cream pie. Yeah it's tough to see out of that Rescue boat due to the high bow when planing, the angled windshield, etc, but in the end, a motorboat can only hit a sailboat if the motorboater does something wrong.
2. One disturbing comment that might indicate a defect in motorboat driver training says they look mainly to the right (p. 34) because motorboats coming from that direction have right of way. Yu Chen approached from their left (see page 9).
3. Chris Kleppe declined to have his blood tested after the incident, and while Sam Kleppe and Bill Stebbins submitted to blood tests, their results are redacted in the report. That doesn't look good. If they were clean, then the sheriff sure didn't do them a favor by blacking that out.
One can blame Yu Chen for not looking where he was going, but the report says he was coming from the east, and it was late afternoon, so he was looking straight into the sun--and the sun was not in the motorboat driver's eyes. And of course, sailboats have right-of-way. Were there reflections off the waves to the east..? Probably, but if visibility was so poor, then Harvey should have slowed down.
In a big motorboat on Lake Mendota, you are obligated to be aware of what's around you at all times and how fast any other craft are moving. That's stating the obvious, and yet, it obviously needs to be stated. Even while skippering Spray on windy days, I'm often uncomfortable when other boats are around because if we hit one, we could do serious damage. So, I make sure there is no chance of intercepting any other boats. Of course, a sailboarder could hit us if he wanted to because he's much faster, but the Rescue motorboat typically goes 4-5 times as fast as Spray. Nor do they have a headsail to interfere with visibility.
The report does not disprove the theory that Yu Chen was hotdogging, e.g. swinging by Harvey to wave hello. Maybe Yu was headed north, then swung west to approach them, and meanwhile, they turned their attention to the west, thinking he was well clear of them. Yu misjudged their speed, or his own, and.... However, this scenario seems unlikely because then he would have been well aware of where the motorboat was. In any case, if a motorboat driver is exercising due care, it should be impossible for him to hit a sailor. If one is on a collision course or deliberately trying to intercept the motorboat, the driver must change course or drop speed.
The most startling item in the report may be where Sam says they'd been cruising along for 3-4 minutes when suddenly he saw a windsurfer "three feet off the bow."
Even on Spray, you wouldn't want to find yourself three feet off the bow of an 8,000 lb motorboat doing 25 knots.
Monday, September 17, 2018
Bad Seeds
Some commenters were correct that the database can be examined by instructors and BOC for all sorts of data, including ratings (see edited database entry at right). Yet, despite the fact that some 100+ individuals can spend their nights looking through the database, downloading it, and shoving it up each other's arses, that data is not available to the public. Why? because some of it is supposedly protected by FERPA as part of students' educational records. Some of it, mind you, not all of it, but data for non-students isn't released either.
Hiding behind FERPA allows Hoofers and the UW to hide malfeasance such as ratings that were not earned, ratings that disappeared (e.g. were removed maliciously), libelous comments by instructors, damning statistics, etc. Greater transparency would benefit the vast majority, maybe even Hoofers itself; only those individuals who got their ratings on the sly and a few others who are up to no good benefit from hiding this data. Are sailing lessons in a public club part of one's educational record? They don't seem like the same thing as grades you receive in class, which definitely are not public record.
For those unfamiliar, the image above is one person's entry from the database, with personal info & details altered so the individual can't be identified. Notice the comments and ratings sections (also changed to protect the guilty). The info isn't always 100% complete but can generally be used to tally ratings.
Having personal info in there, e.g. phone number and address, also allows unscrupulous male instructors & BOC to stalk cute female club members, like a UWPD police captain did a couple of years ago to a terrified woman using a restricted law enforcement database. And he's just the one they caught--other cops undoubtedly do the same thing and get away with it. If police officers are willing to do that, you can bet Hoofer employees are too. Is there even a rule against a male instructor using the database to track down a girl he'd like to jump..?
No wonder certain webmasters and others pushed to have everyone's photo and personal info in a big database. If I were an undergraduate woman, I certainly wouldn't provide my address when I join HSC. That is, if someone managed to talk me into joining in the first place.
Sunday, August 19, 2018
The Hoofer Sailing Club Peter Tong Marina
NOTE: We're starting a new post to continue comments on the "Marina" plan. Be sure to read the previous post and comments too, which are directly related since Dave supports the plan.
Goodbye Hoofer Sailing Club. Hello Peter Tong boat rental operation. What we know as the Hoofer Sailing Club will soon be known as The Tong Family Marina, a Union-run operation.
This idea is the brain-ejaculate of two people: Mark Guthier and Dave Elsmo. It is the natural devolution of a desire to replace the old Hoofer piers, into a broader plan that will give the Union more control over sailing. And who the !@#$ are the Tongs? Peter Tong is an old rich guy who has so much money he doesn't know what to do with it (a grossly overcompensated board member and former president of WARF). Director Guthier picked up his scent and now Mr. Tong has agreed to part with $1 MILLION DOLLARS to get his name on a big bronze plaque somewhere around the sloop pier.
A comment on the previous post has some good links with details on the project, but it is not yet set in stone. The design can still be altered--if enough people complain. NOTE that the webpage linked in the previous paragraph is dated just a few days ago--Aug 14.
That webpage claims that "The Project will transform the lakefront with improvements in safety, accessibility and sustainability and will benefit thousands of Hoofer Sailing Club members each year." Do we have thousands of members now..? Nope. That's another distortion. Nor will it improve safety or anything else, but it will transform the lakefront. By "restoring" the lakefront, what they actually mean is "get rid of all those ugly boats."
Do you think for one second that, after putting $3+ million into "Hoofers" the Union will still let students run it?
To add insult to injury, that webpage also says, "Badgers' memories of the lakefront are some of their most cherished at the Union." That's absolutely true, yet Mr. Guthier wants to crap on those memories by remodeling the entire lakefront! If you want to build us new piers Mr. Guthier, fine, but why take a dump on everything that Hoofers is and was?
Tong and his family want to make this donation for exactly two reasons:
(1) They have so much money they don't know what to do with it and/or need a big tax write-off, and
(2) They want the Tong family name on a bronze plaque.
MR. TONG: WE DON'T WANT YOUR MONEY OR YOUR RIDICULOUS "MARINA", YOU SLEAZY CROOK.
If you really are a former Hoofer sailor yourself, then you know why.
At least, we don't want it for the marina as currently planned, if that includes getting rid of the Techs, scows, keelboats, or Lakelab.
Goodbye Hoofer Sailing Club. Hello Peter Tong boat rental operation. What we know as the Hoofer Sailing Club will soon be known as The Tong Family Marina, a Union-run operation.
This idea is the brain-ejaculate of two people: Mark Guthier and Dave Elsmo. It is the natural devolution of a desire to replace the old Hoofer piers, into a broader plan that will give the Union more control over sailing. And who the !@#$ are the Tongs? Peter Tong is an old rich guy who has so much money he doesn't know what to do with it (a grossly overcompensated board member and former president of WARF). Director Guthier picked up his scent and now Mr. Tong has agreed to part with $1 MILLION DOLLARS to get his name on a big bronze plaque somewhere around the sloop pier.
A comment on the previous post has some good links with details on the project, but it is not yet set in stone. The design can still be altered--if enough people complain. NOTE that the webpage linked in the previous paragraph is dated just a few days ago--Aug 14.
That webpage claims that "The Project will transform the lakefront with improvements in safety, accessibility and sustainability and will benefit thousands of Hoofer Sailing Club members each year." Do we have thousands of members now..? Nope. That's another distortion. Nor will it improve safety or anything else, but it will transform the lakefront. By "restoring" the lakefront, what they actually mean is "get rid of all those ugly boats."
Do you think for one second that, after putting $3+ million into "Hoofers" the Union will still let students run it?
To add insult to injury, that webpage also says, "Badgers' memories of the lakefront are some of their most cherished at the Union." That's absolutely true, yet Mr. Guthier wants to crap on those memories by remodeling the entire lakefront! If you want to build us new piers Mr. Guthier, fine, but why take a dump on everything that Hoofers is and was?
Tong and his family want to make this donation for exactly two reasons:
(1) They have so much money they don't know what to do with it and/or need a big tax write-off, and
(2) They want the Tong family name on a bronze plaque.
MR. TONG: WE DON'T WANT YOUR MONEY OR YOUR RIDICULOUS "MARINA", YOU SLEAZY CROOK.
If you really are a former Hoofer sailor yourself, then you know why.
At least, we don't want it for the marina as currently planned, if that includes getting rid of the Techs, scows, keelboats, or Lakelab.
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
David Elsmo Must Go!
NOTE: Guest editorial posted under a pseudonym to preserve the author's anonymity (retaliation is rife in Hoofers, as some are all too aware). Its opinions don't necessarily reflect the position of this blog. It has a few minor edits/corrections.
In my lengthy tenure as a sailor, a club member and a board member, I have seen abuse of power like nowhere else. When I first met David Elsmo, he had just been appointed as “Head Instructor” and the problems with nepotism and power grabbing began immediately.
Selective enforcement of rules, selective rehiring of instructors, and shenanigans at our instructor outings were rampant. From the get go, he appears nice. But if you don’t fall into line with him, you are culled out.
He took to coaching the Sailing team, and was a heck of a coach. Then he gave himself more authority as Head of instruction, a new and paid position. None of us batted an eye. He continued his power grab, year after year grabbing more power and granting himself more authority; this got lost between boards. Under Commodore Nick Grundl is where the club realized we had a problem. Dave took liberties such as appointing his own “Fleet Instruction Supervisors” to take instruction oversight away from Fleet Captains and board members.
Nick had to repeatedly redefine Dave's job description, and censure him; check the meeting minutes. [Editor's note: see 2013-05-01 BOC minutes.] He had nothing but contempt for club members, club traditions, and club history. Around the union remodeling, he cozied himself with club “Advisors” and began a fundamental redesign of the club without permission of the board. He appointed himself “Sailing Program Manager”, threw out dozens of prominent members, then promoted himself “Sailing Program Director.” Without board approval.
Then he got the Commodore election moved, again without board permission, so more sailing team members could be in town for the vote, while he was their coach. Now he has the authority to fire any board member for any reason, even the commodore.
Many of us have been threatened, robbed, or had false citations issued to us. David is a tyrant. He needs to go. Many dozens of club members and donors are now in exile, or won't come back till he is gone.
And now club members are dying... and ratings are still being handed out as favors, to unqualified members. This is dangerous! Also, there are disturbing rumors about Dave's hiring practices that suggest an even deeper problem. DAVE MUST GO!!!
-Serk
In my lengthy tenure as a sailor, a club member and a board member, I have seen abuse of power like nowhere else. When I first met David Elsmo, he had just been appointed as “Head Instructor” and the problems with nepotism and power grabbing began immediately.
Selective enforcement of rules, selective rehiring of instructors, and shenanigans at our instructor outings were rampant. From the get go, he appears nice. But if you don’t fall into line with him, you are culled out.
He took to coaching the Sailing team, and was a heck of a coach. Then he gave himself more authority as Head of instruction, a new and paid position. None of us batted an eye. He continued his power grab, year after year grabbing more power and granting himself more authority; this got lost between boards. Under Commodore Nick Grundl is where the club realized we had a problem. Dave took liberties such as appointing his own “Fleet Instruction Supervisors” to take instruction oversight away from Fleet Captains and board members.
Nick had to repeatedly redefine Dave's job description, and censure him; check the meeting minutes. [Editor's note: see 2013-05-01 BOC minutes.] He had nothing but contempt for club members, club traditions, and club history. Around the union remodeling, he cozied himself with club “Advisors” and began a fundamental redesign of the club without permission of the board. He appointed himself “Sailing Program Manager”, threw out dozens of prominent members, then promoted himself “Sailing Program Director.” Without board approval.
Then he got the Commodore election moved, again without board permission, so more sailing team members could be in town for the vote, while he was their coach. Now he has the authority to fire any board member for any reason, even the commodore.
Many of us have been threatened, robbed, or had false citations issued to us. David is a tyrant. He needs to go. Many dozens of club members and donors are now in exile, or won't come back till he is gone.
And now club members are dying... and ratings are still being handed out as favors, to unqualified members. This is dangerous! Also, there are disturbing rumors about Dave's hiring practices that suggest an even deeper problem. DAVE MUST GO!!!
-Serk
Monday, July 23, 2018
Kiddieland
The photo at right shows Decoy during Commodore's Cup 2013. Note the elegant group on board--responsible, well-dressed men and women enjoying an evening cruise prior to the Commodore's Ball. Some appear to have a beer or cocktail in hand, yet there's no rowdiness, no stupor, no people stumbling overboard, no drownings, no disaster. And not one of them is wearing a lifejacket. That's because lifejackets are for babies. They simply are not necessary on Lake Mendota most of the time (not unless your skipper is incompetent). Alas, they are required by the Union's new rules. Why?
Now look at the other four photos, taken in 2018. Like some kind of adult day care-on-the-water for retards, every single person is wearing a lifejacket. This is despite clear skies and light wind. The crews are all awfully white too, but I digress.
Note also that no one has a drink in hand--despite an activity that would clearly be enhanced by a good buzz. This is because a single beer can cause you to become stupid and wander into traffic or fall off a boat. At least, that's what Dave Elsmo and Union management seem to think. Or are they trying to cover their asses for the drowning that occurred on their watch?
Drinking beer doesn't lead to drownings. What puts people at risk is HSC's favoritism-based practice (dating to Jim Rogers) of awarding J, O'Day, and keelboat ratings to popular individuals who aren't qualified for them. People like Michaela Rabas, for instance. Now, Dave Elsmo and Union management are trying to throw the blame by punishing us.
Think about what management is saying by disallowing any alcohol on the keelboats and by forcing everyone to wear a lifejacket at all times:
We're signing people off to skipper big boats they're not qualified to sail (much less teach on), so you'd better stay sober and wear your lifejacket if you want to live.
It is gross negligence of UW-Madison administrators to say that.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Three sheets to the wind!
The 40th annual Drunkfest, a.k.a. Commodore's Cup, is coming up July 16-21. We'll have:
• Fine food such as hot dogs and Kool-Aid.
• The Sardine Race - abuse what's left of our Techs.
• Treasure Hunt - who can find the scow pier first!
• The NO Talent Show - self explanatory.
• Greased watermelon - try to grab your teammates by their greased bodies. No teeth, fingernails, or cavity searches please.
• Human Battleship - try to hit the boobs with the balloons.
• Poodle Jousting - bring your pet along and tie him to the forestay!
• And did we mention Kool-Aid and lemonade?!
Come party with recovering alcoholics, older singles, and Hoofer leaders. What we're wondering is: will people be required to wear their lifejackets in the sardine race..? That would cut down on the number of bodies you can cram into a Tech.
So sign up for C-Cup in the office! Team assignments will be random, with the cutest girls put on teams with the most desperate guys, e.g. club officers and keelboat instructors. (Do you believe that? You should.)
Note: NO ALCOHOL is allowed on any boats, but feel free to get jackhammered on shore before boarding.
Commodore's Cup is open to MOST PEOPLE†.
LGBT INDIVIDUALS AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS WELCOME!
†Except people we don't like, who will be harassed and prevented from participating (and we'll keep your registration fee too).
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Transmorfing HSC
Worse, the club is still paying people to teach sailing, as if teaching sailing were a job.
HSC instructors shouldn't be paid because there's no need for it, and hiring should be based primarily on prior evaluations, which would help to weed out the cronyism and nepotism that infects HSC. To facilitate this, all students should be required to fill out evaluations after every lesson. All first-year instructors would be probationary and evaluated as the season goes along because they won't have any prior evaluations. Unfortunately, this will never happen because the "club" as envisioned by Jim Rogers and now Dave Elsmo is a jobs program for buddies of current employees, with no accountability.
The same article goes on to quote new instructor Ed LeBlanc as saying, "The worst thing you can do is take a swim." Was Ed raised in a bubble, or is he trying to insult swimmers? On hot days, we used to capsize our Techs just to go swimming! Harvey didn't like that, of course, nor lowering the main to do it, but in a light wind you can go swimming off a Tech and just hold on to the painter. The larger boats including the sloops and keelboats are excellent swimming platforms. The water is much cleaner out in the middle of the lake than by shore.
An article in last summer's issue of On Wisconsin noted that the sailing team manages to squeak by on just $65,000/year. Sixty five thousand dollars?! So that a few undergraduates can travel around the country racing dinghies for fun? This includes an annual spring break "training trip" to Florida. We've noticed before how big their budget is. It should be slashed immediately.
One wonders where the increasing instruction costs combined with decreasing membership and all those large, frivolous budget items will lead. If nothing else, they create an incentive to rip off customers*.
We didn't actually go and dig out the latest budget due to lingering hangovers, but I think the club could save another $50,000 by firing Dave Elsmo.
Next time, we'll look at Hoofers' ASA instructors and why the ASA program sucks.
*Customer: a paying "club" member.
Friday, June 8, 2018
Mermaids
JUNE 12 UPDATE: We toned down the text which seemed to offend someone, or so they claimed, someone who evidently took this post too seriously, and we removed the image (but it's saved incase the FB post disappears). As for paid private lessons, they are indeed allowed, as one commenter has noted and contrary to what others are claiming. The rate is actually $35/hr, not $25 as someone suggested in a comment (see the Ground School manual link in one of the comments--Thanks). Of course not all of that goes to the instructor. The club skims most of it for "overhead" and the instructor gets his/her regular wage. As usual, a certain commenter(s) is the one with an apparent axe to grind, and our info was correct. And of course we are aware that at least two students are required for a regular lesson to take place, but that has no bearing on private/one-on-one lessons.
Hilarious public Facebook post here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10108181353483917
Check out the Facebook link which includes inappropriate comments that were removed and comments with typos that suggest giddy excitement. Welcome to Hooters, er, Hoofers.
Although the club isn't advertized this way, people looking for a good time can join and skip the sailing. Better yet, save $250 and just come to the Friday socials. Or heck, just go out to the nearest bar. On the other hand, someone who really wants to learn to sail probably isn't going to do any better with private lessons because it's best to try out different instructors, although a beginner might not know that.
For the record, private lessons are allowed, but only for paid instructors. If you are an unpaid (volunteer) instructor, for some reason paid private lessons are not in your future.
As for general club members, giving a paid private lesson (or any lesson) could get you suspended from the club and/or charged with unlawfully captaining a boat. Why would anyone expect to get paid for teaching a lesson anyway? Because the objective of some people is not to contribute in a club environment but rather to enrich themselves (at your expense). This may be a 'club' by name, but underneath, it is a jobs program for unqualified friends of the commodore.
A graph of skyrocketing instructor pay over time is here.
Hilarious public Facebook post here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10108181353483917
Check out the Facebook link which includes inappropriate comments that were removed and comments with typos that suggest giddy excitement. Welcome to Hooters, er, Hoofers.
Although the club isn't advertized this way, people looking for a good time can join and skip the sailing. Better yet, save $250 and just come to the Friday socials. Or heck, just go out to the nearest bar. On the other hand, someone who really wants to learn to sail probably isn't going to do any better with private lessons because it's best to try out different instructors, although a beginner might not know that.
For the record, private lessons are allowed, but only for paid instructors. If you are an unpaid (volunteer) instructor, for some reason paid private lessons are not in your future.
As for general club members, giving a paid private lesson (or any lesson) could get you suspended from the club and/or charged with unlawfully captaining a boat. Why would anyone expect to get paid for teaching a lesson anyway? Because the objective of some people is not to contribute in a club environment but rather to enrich themselves (at your expense). This may be a 'club' by name, but underneath, it is a jobs program for unqualified friends of the commodore.
A graph of skyrocketing instructor pay over time is here.
Saturday, June 2, 2018
NO CHARGES!
Breaking news on the Yu Chen tragedy is here:
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/courts/no-charges-in-the-death-of-a-windsurfer-struck-by/article_0038f30a-d342-5485-942c-e74ea463aced.html"
Basically, the DA concluded that the boat's design was at fault. Short people driving a big powerboat are going to have difficulty seeing what's in front of them, so if they run something over, it's not their fault because short people can't be blamed for being short.
We're paraphrasing, but this is just typical for state employees. Unless you have a signed statement from them essentially admitting that they did something wrong, it is almost impossible to convict. It's always somebody else's fault.
The DA concluded: "the position of the seats on the boat could have obstructed their vision." According to the driver, he "had to shift and keep his head up to see his surroundings because of the design and arrangement of the boat." Sounds like he couldn't see over the bow and had to crane his neck and really pay attention to where the boat was going. That is asking a lot.
I've been on the UW rescue boat and visibility is fine. Of course, as you go faster, the bow tends to rise out of the water, affecting visibility in front. On a big power boat, the bow will generally point the highest just prior to planing, at around 15-18 mph.
More analysis after obtaining the sheriff's report.
Updated June 4
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/courts/no-charges-in-the-death-of-a-windsurfer-struck-by/article_0038f30a-d342-5485-942c-e74ea463aced.html"
Basically, the DA concluded that the boat's design was at fault. Short people driving a big powerboat are going to have difficulty seeing what's in front of them, so if they run something over, it's not their fault because short people can't be blamed for being short.
We're paraphrasing, but this is just typical for state employees. Unless you have a signed statement from them essentially admitting that they did something wrong, it is almost impossible to convict. It's always somebody else's fault.
The DA concluded: "the position of the seats on the boat could have obstructed their vision." According to the driver, he "had to shift and keep his head up to see his surroundings because of the design and arrangement of the boat." Sounds like he couldn't see over the bow and had to crane his neck and really pay attention to where the boat was going. That is asking a lot.
I've been on the UW rescue boat and visibility is fine. Of course, as you go faster, the bow tends to rise out of the water, affecting visibility in front. On a big power boat, the bow will generally point the highest just prior to planing, at around 15-18 mph.
More analysis after obtaining the sheriff's report.
Updated June 4
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
A long year later
It takes a year for the Earth to orbit the sun, a 580 million mile trip at 65,000 mph. That's 365 days, or 2,100 work hours for a single person. In four years of college, you only spend 1,900 hrs in class! Thus one person should be able to get a heck of a lot done in a year.
May 31 marks one full year since the Yu Chen tragedy. We hate to dwell on this incident, but at the same time, the death of a Hoofer Sailing instructor on the water--and especially the manner in which it occurred--overshadows other news. Let's also not forget the drowning off the O'Day in 2015. If you want the latest on socials, squirt guns, ice cream, etc, visit the club's official website (where you won't find anything on Yu Chen--shame).
A year later, the DA is still sitting on his hands with a thumb up his you-know-what instead of making a decision on whether to bring charges against the motorboat driver(s). Consider: if it wasn't their fault--if Chen did some stupid maneuver and landed himself smack in front of the motorboat--the report surely would have been released by now because it would clear the UW Rescue staff of wrongdoing. Thus it seems likely at this point that there will be charges.
If I were the family's attorney, I'd be getting mighty worried about crucial investigative records mysteriously disappearing. How do you even know what records existed a year ago..? The UW has produced its own report on the tragedy--which they too are refusing to release. Why? Did they have access to the sheriff's data while creating their report? One has to wonder if the UW is putting pressure on the DA not to bring charges because a criminal conviction would make for a much stronger civil suit, which they know is coming. By delaying a decision, the authorities are making it into an ever-bigger story.
Meanwhile, someone had a great idea to paint an old Tech sail and sail it around the lakefront on Thurs May 31 and/or Friday June 1 (it could be done on other days too). This would help to draw attention to the situation, especially if somebody calls the local news ahead of time. Hopefully someone is following through on organizing that because our specialty here is criticizing, not organizing.
May 31 marks one full year since the Yu Chen tragedy. We hate to dwell on this incident, but at the same time, the death of a Hoofer Sailing instructor on the water--and especially the manner in which it occurred--overshadows other news. Let's also not forget the drowning off the O'Day in 2015. If you want the latest on socials, squirt guns, ice cream, etc, visit the club's official website (where you won't find anything on Yu Chen--shame).
A year later, the DA is still sitting on his hands with a thumb up his you-know-what instead of making a decision on whether to bring charges against the motorboat driver(s). Consider: if it wasn't their fault--if Chen did some stupid maneuver and landed himself smack in front of the motorboat--the report surely would have been released by now because it would clear the UW Rescue staff of wrongdoing. Thus it seems likely at this point that there will be charges.
If I were the family's attorney, I'd be getting mighty worried about crucial investigative records mysteriously disappearing. How do you even know what records existed a year ago..? The UW has produced its own report on the tragedy--which they too are refusing to release. Why? Did they have access to the sheriff's data while creating their report? One has to wonder if the UW is putting pressure on the DA not to bring charges because a criminal conviction would make for a much stronger civil suit, which they know is coming. By delaying a decision, the authorities are making it into an ever-bigger story.
Meanwhile, someone had a great idea to paint an old Tech sail and sail it around the lakefront on Thurs May 31 and/or Friday June 1 (it could be done on other days too). This would help to draw attention to the situation, especially if somebody calls the local news ahead of time. Hopefully someone is following through on organizing that because our specialty here is criticizing, not organizing.
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Suck-starting Harvey
The motorboat, that is. We'd like to see them get it in gear and finish up their "investigation" into the tragedy that occurred last May. The UW and DA might think this issue is going to go away, but it's more likely to snowball when the New York Times and/or Chicago Tribune pick it up.
Meanwhile, as summer approaches, it's time to reiterate a few basic guidelines. Hoofer and Union management expect club members to behave in a respectful and non-discriminatory manner toward others at all times (especially when interacting with staff). If you're not sure what we're talking about, just pretend you took some Valium and Prozac, maybe with some oxycodone and/or a shot of tequila thrown in. Note: we are not pharmacists and do not necessarily recommend that mix.
Customers (paying club members) can be disciplined or even kicked out of the club if accused of violating the rules. Note that you don't actually have to violate any of them--you just have to be accused of violating them. So, here are a few guidelines you won't find in the Ground School Manual:
1. Male instructors: please don't offer other men sexual favors in the office (Badger ears are everywhere, ya know). This goes even if the action is intended to take place elsewhere.
2. Female instructors: if you wear a bikini on the job, don't complain when people stare, especially the mature men sitting under the canopy.
3. Hoofer "leaders" only: Do not send defamatory emails about anyone.
4. Club officers & instructors: Slandering people behind their backs is also illegal and could come back to haunt you.
5. Club officers and employees: Do not make false police reports about people you don't like. Although that can be more effective than other forms of abuse, e.g. removing a person's ratings without telling them or making them take lessons ad infinitum, and UW police never question what comes out of the mouth of a fellow UW employee, it is technically criminal.
6. Avoid trying to rip off customers anymore.
Hmm... those rules all seem to apply to sailing club "leaders," not to general "club members". Come to think of it, general club members generally behave themselves.
So let's get fired up for lift-in this Saturday (May 5) and for match-racing some new T-10s!
Meanwhile, as summer approaches, it's time to reiterate a few basic guidelines. Hoofer and Union management expect club members to behave in a respectful and non-discriminatory manner toward others at all times (especially when interacting with staff). If you're not sure what we're talking about, just pretend you took some Valium and Prozac, maybe with some oxycodone and/or a shot of tequila thrown in. Note: we are not pharmacists and do not necessarily recommend that mix.
Customers (paying club members) can be disciplined or even kicked out of the club if accused of violating the rules. Note that you don't actually have to violate any of them--you just have to be accused of violating them. So, here are a few guidelines you won't find in the Ground School Manual:
1. Male instructors: please don't offer other men sexual favors in the office (Badger ears are everywhere, ya know). This goes even if the action is intended to take place elsewhere.
2. Female instructors: if you wear a bikini on the job, don't complain when people stare, especially the mature men sitting under the canopy.
3. Hoofer "leaders" only: Do not send defamatory emails about anyone.
4. Club officers & instructors: Slandering people behind their backs is also illegal and could come back to haunt you.
5. Club officers and employees: Do not make false police reports about people you don't like. Although that can be more effective than other forms of abuse, e.g. removing a person's ratings without telling them or making them take lessons ad infinitum, and UW police never question what comes out of the mouth of a fellow UW employee, it is technically criminal.
6. Avoid trying to rip off customers anymore.
Hmm... those rules all seem to apply to sailing club "leaders," not to general "club members". Come to think of it, general club members generally behave themselves.
So let's get fired up for lift-in this Saturday (May 5) and for match-racing some new T-10s!
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Dirty rotten crooks
We are approaching the 11 month mark since the Yu Chen tragedy last spring, and in May it will be one year. Yet, the sheriff's report and other records are still being withheld. We're unsure whether to belabor this story or just let it go. The unlawful withholding of public records is such a problem in Wisconsin that we decided to collect the contacts for the major area newspapers below. Anyone who cares might think about contacting at least one of these and suggesting an (updated) story:
Isthmus:
Judy Davidoff (replaced Bill Lueders): 251-5627
Submit tip or story idea: edit@isthmus.com
The Progressive Magazine (Madison)
Capital Times:
Main number: 252-6400
Submit news tip: citydesk@madison.com
Wis. State Journal contacts. The Wis. State Journal and Cap Times have covered the incident, although not lately, and the Milw. Journal-Sentinel had one brief note on it right after it occurred.
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Opinion/Editorials: 414-224-2143; jsedit@journalsentinel.com
News: 414-224-2318; jsmetro@journalsentinel.com
Chicago Tribune:
News tips & ideas: online form
The public records problem in Wisconsin is getting worse, not better. Without unfettered access to public records, there is little to keep public employees from indulging their natural tendencies and becoming crooks.
Isthmus:
Judy Davidoff (replaced Bill Lueders): 251-5627
Submit tip or story idea: edit@isthmus.com
The Progressive Magazine (Madison)
Capital Times:
Main number: 252-6400
Submit news tip: citydesk@madison.com
Wis. State Journal contacts. The Wis. State Journal and Cap Times have covered the incident, although not lately, and the Milw. Journal-Sentinel had one brief note on it right after it occurred.
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Opinion/Editorials: 414-224-2143; jsedit@journalsentinel.com
News: 414-224-2318; jsmetro@journalsentinel.com
Chicago Tribune:
News tips & ideas: online form
The public records problem in Wisconsin is getting worse, not better. Without unfettered access to public records, there is little to keep public employees from indulging their natural tendencies and becoming crooks.
Friday, March 23, 2018
Show me your hands!
Those words were uttered by a white cop at a black man, Stephon Clark, as he lay on the ground motionless in his grandmother's back yard in Sacramento, CA on Sunday evening. He was motionless because two cops had just shot him 20 times.
Notice the shot-counter at 1:10 in the above video, like in a videogame, which might be funny if this weren't footage of an actual murder. After unloading their magazines, the cops then engage in buddy talk for several minutes, unconcerned about the dying man on the ground.
"You alright? You hit?"
"Yeah, I'm good."
"You alright, dude?"
"Yeah, I'm alright. I don't think I'm hit or anything."
Of course the cops weren't hit--Clark only had a cell phone, and a white one at that. Maybe if your IQ is just 75, a white iPhone can look like a gun. For five minutes, the cops continue to hide just around the corner of the house from where they shot Clark, playing out the videogame scenario.
"I got him at gunpoint, dude. You do a tactical reload okay?" as if the dead Clark were going to pop up and attack like video game creatures do. One of the cops makes it clear (over the radio) that no one important has been injured: "I want everybody to know--we are fine, no officers are hit." Why is that even relevant to the situation?
Other cops arrive, and all four continue to stand there, shouting periodically at the bullet-riddled Clark. "Hey can you hear us?" and "Let's see your hands!" If there was any chance of saving his life, it evaporated in those five minutes.
The four heavily armed, sissy cops then call for a body bunker--a riot shield--before approaching the dead Clark.
Maybe police are rightfully cautious. Maybe there are people out there gunning for them, and who could blame anyone after all the recent murders by police? But this incident, like hundreds of other recent killings by police, highlights a serious and growing problem in this country: the lives of cops (and state employees in general) are valued more highly than the lives of everyone else. In 2017, cops in Amerika shot and killed 987 people, but only 46 cops were killed.
What does all this have to do with Hoofers? To some of us, the parade of cops who are getting away with murder is eerily similar to the lack of charges in the death by motorboat of Yu Chen almost a year ago now. At least in Sacramento, authorities released the video after a few days; the Dane County Sheriff and DA are still refusing to release the video of Yu Chen's death 10 months later.
Kinda makes ya wonder what it shows.
Notice the shot-counter at 1:10 in the above video, like in a videogame, which might be funny if this weren't footage of an actual murder. After unloading their magazines, the cops then engage in buddy talk for several minutes, unconcerned about the dying man on the ground.
"You alright? You hit?"
"Yeah, I'm good."
"You alright, dude?"
"Yeah, I'm alright. I don't think I'm hit or anything."
Of course the cops weren't hit--Clark only had a cell phone, and a white one at that. Maybe if your IQ is just 75, a white iPhone can look like a gun. For five minutes, the cops continue to hide just around the corner of the house from where they shot Clark, playing out the videogame scenario.
"I got him at gunpoint, dude. You do a tactical reload okay?" as if the dead Clark were going to pop up and attack like video game creatures do. One of the cops makes it clear (over the radio) that no one important has been injured: "I want everybody to know--we are fine, no officers are hit." Why is that even relevant to the situation?
Other cops arrive, and all four continue to stand there, shouting periodically at the bullet-riddled Clark. "Hey can you hear us?" and "Let's see your hands!" If there was any chance of saving his life, it evaporated in those five minutes.
The four heavily armed, sissy cops then call for a body bunker--a riot shield--before approaching the dead Clark.
Maybe police are rightfully cautious. Maybe there are people out there gunning for them, and who could blame anyone after all the recent murders by police? But this incident, like hundreds of other recent killings by police, highlights a serious and growing problem in this country: the lives of cops (and state employees in general) are valued more highly than the lives of everyone else. In 2017, cops in Amerika shot and killed 987 people, but only 46 cops were killed.
What does all this have to do with Hoofers? To some of us, the parade of cops who are getting away with murder is eerily similar to the lack of charges in the death by motorboat of Yu Chen almost a year ago now. At least in Sacramento, authorities released the video after a few days; the Dane County Sheriff and DA are still refusing to release the video of Yu Chen's death 10 months later.
Kinda makes ya wonder what it shows.
Thursday, January 25, 2018
CIRCLE JERK
What, you didn't know about the Hoofer webcam? That's because it was disabled soon thereafter by the HSC webmaster (guess who) because he and others didn't like that some plum smuggler had figured out how to capture time lapse video from it, and because such captures were being used to publicize screw-ups by Hoofer "staff".
Had they not removed that camera, there might now be video of the Yu Chen incident as the camera pointed straight at that part of the lake. (there may be video anyway, but the sheriff and DA are still withholding everything 8 months later.)
This is the Information Age, and knowledge is power. That's why those in authority do everything they legally can (and often illegally) to obtain information and then to keep it exclusively for themselves>. The Union's 100+ surveillance cameras are just one example. The public is not allowed to see any of that video, ever. Yet, Union staff, crooked cops, and other voyeurs can lock themselves in a room and study it whenever they like. If you're not breaking the law, who cares, right?
Who cares if they're getting off on girls in bikinis or you with your shirt off on the Terrace. Is the Union safer or better in any way since they installed all those cameras? Nope. The only deaths at Hoofer Sailing have both occurred after the installation of blanket surveillance--and after the removal of the one useful and publicly available camera at Hoofers.
Have you seen The Post yet? It's a great movie about crooked government officials trying to suppress public information, starring Meryl Streep & Tom Hanks.
NOTE: Thanks to those who posted the link with a bit of new info on the investigation.
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