Numbers don't lie

But sailing club officers have been known to. One recently posted an analysis of last year's final budget. A few things jumped out:

(1) There was an unusual $83,644 expense to buy 420s.
(2) A major source of income is work-hour "deposits". Fewer than one in 10 club members got their "deposit" refunded.
(3) Most free memberships are, in essence, wages because they go to instructors.

Once the anomalous $83k 420 purchase is excluded and 80 free memberships are included (at $150/ea), you can see how much of the club's budget actually went to pay wages (see pie chart). This reflects a typical year. The vast majority of that cash went to instructors.

Story Time!

The dead of winter, snow, ice, definitely no sailing for awhile.

A good time for recounting your Hoofer stories.

The Hoofer Sailing Club Bylaws state that the commodore shall:

"inform the general membership of the Sailing Club of all decisions of the Board of Captains by posting the minutes of all meetings of the Board of Captains on the Sailing Club bulletin board."

Um, where are those then..? They weren't posted on any bulletin board that we could find. Perhaps the website qualifies these days, but the minutes aren't there either. Oh wait.... the Bylaws don't specify when the minutes have to be posted. Does that mean they can be posted 20 years from now..?! Would that be "keeping the general membership informed?

It's disturbing that the commodore can violate rules as he pleases with no consequences whatsoever. (unless corrupt Union managers are targeting him, but that's another story). Yet, when other club members violate even the tiniest rule, they get cornholed. (that is, unless they happen to be buddies with the commodore).

Meet the Commodore

Meet the new Hoofer Sailing Commodore, Matt Duesrt, a.k.a. Sphinx. In the photo, Sphinx seems to be saying, "Get the f--- away from me!" Does he think he's a movie star..? Indeed, Sphinx does not like to be bothered with questions or problems, and his response is typically, "Leave me alone!".

Sphinx is waay too cool to be concerned with violations of club rules or similar such nonsense. So if you do have any problems (and there are many in Hoofers), contact the Union Director instead. Or better yet, your lawyer.

Winding Down

September has seen the inauguration of a new commodore, Matt Duerst, and things are looking up already--Matt has finally gotten someone to update the website to show current BOC members, something the former commodore never bothered to do in his 12 excruciating months as commodore.

But wait... what's this, a club "photographer"..? Is that a BOC position?! Does the club really need to pay someone to take photos when we've already got photos coming out the wazoo? Everyone and their mother has a digital camera these days. If you want photos, just send a message to club members to bring their cameras with them and share the photos later. No one wants to help pay for a "club photographer" even if photography is really fun. There is of course the question of quantity vs. quality, but unless the new official photographer has a degree in photography, that's not an issue.

And what's this now...an official BOC position for "Lakefront Beautificator"!? Can I have that job?? I'll be out there scrubbing the concrete 24/7. Promise.

We'll keep an eye on these and other new developments, but for now let's all keep our fingers crossed that '08-09 will be a banner year.

The annual ritual

Last Thursday, a handful of long-time club members gathered in a dark room with beer and chips to decide the club's future. What..? You thought I was talking about the typical BOC (Board of Captains) meeting? Actually, that's pretty much the same scenario, but I was talking about the annual commodore election!

At the "election", the funky monkeys and their sock puppets gave speeches, everyone shook hands, mingled, and tried to act serious. Finally they "elected" a new commodore, code name Sphinx, who promised new boats, lower membership fees, more club members, better planning, and so on and so forth. Sound familiar..? Each person got one vote (except people who managed to get ahold of some extra ballots--there's no telling how many votes they got.)

As club members deposited their ballots, several people appeared to put a whole handful in. One claimed he was dropping off ballots for a friend who had to leave. But then, how did the friend have time to vote..?! Oddly, a number of ballots were later found mixed in with the chips. Viva la monkey.