HSC Auction a Success?

June 8 UPDATE: Count the people on board Soma or Spray (at right, during Hoofer Extravaganza) and win a free boat ride! Count the people on the pier, and the new commodore will give you a kiss!

This year's sailing club/Hoofer auction had a yummy buffet. And there were free booklets describing all the live auction items. But where were all the people? Most items in the silent auction only had one bid (the starting bid), and it was even tougher getting rid of all the one-on-one lessons and cruises during the live auction. Let's hope this was a moneymaker and not the alternative.

The problem seems to be, the auction started three hours before sunset at 5:30pm so many people were still out sailing, and most others were out on the Terrace listening to Jazz. Maybe a later start for the auction next time would result in better attendance, more bidding, and more cash.

As for what you might have "missed":

- $30, An old, old Tech sail (sorry, already got mine out of the dumpster)
- $30, Day or night sail with ChrisF on any boat. Has Chris really given himself ratings on every Hoofer boat? And what if I want my night sail on an E-scow?
- $40, A sunset cruise with JustinC. All alone on the boat. With Justin. At night.
- $50, An "adult beverage" cruise with DougM. Woo hoo! No more of those non-alcoholic baby beverages.
- $60, Wine and cheese cruise with JJ (does JJ actually sail?)
....AND the coup d'etat:
-$150, Rhythm & Booms sail for you and 9 of your friends--plus the skipper and "a few other club members". Good golly, how many people is that..? Enough to fall through the deck?

Next time, the club should sell something worth buying (cheap), like the J29, or maybe Toyboat. That's what you have to do to make any real money.

HSC—generally safe for kids!

Thinking of enrolling your son or daughter in HSC's Youth Program this summer..? Here are some facts to help you make that decision.

First, sexual harassment charges against club leaders have been dismissed. Also, the Outdoor Programs Coordinator was removed last year, so he isn’t around (much) anymore. In addition, we try to harass anyone we don't like into avoiding the lakefront altogether—just incase they're a sexual predator, an east-coaster, or some other undesirable type. (Note however that the sexual harassment charges mentioned above were against Hoofer leaders who are all still around, so we can't really harass them into leaving.... in fact, they're the ones who do most of the harassing.)

Also, you'll be happy to know that recreational drugs* aren’t allowed at Hoofers! The only real dangers are lacerations, concussions, and drowning.

So sign your kid up now! We guarantee your child won’t die while learning to sail at Hoofers! HSC—now a proud member of ASA.

NOTE: We don't consider alcohol a drug, so we can't guarantee your child won't smell the sweet nectar of beer, tequila, Malibu^(R), whiskey, wine, wine coolers, Russian vodka, secret HSC mixers, and other refreshments that have been sloshed all over the lakefront by drunken Hoofer leaders and instructors. This is Wisconsin after all.

What concrete pier?

Lift-in 2012 at Limnology is officially a success! With only a few minor glitches, and lots of standing around. Thanks to Pete, Dan, Fred, Barry, Paul, Mark, and all the others who helped make it work. Getting the large crane was a good move and obviously necessary to hoist the boats over the tree.

To Union Director Guthier, our favorite criminal and savant: How did you know we didn't need the concrete pier to get the boats into the water?

More photos soon.

Ready or not

Day sailing for 2012 begins today! The club's official website declares "the itch to sail is upon us."

Current wind: NW 18 g28
Current air temp: 40 deg F
Current water temp: dangerous

Have fun!

Other important dates: Lift-in currently is scheduled for May 5.

Fumigation station

Look what've been popping up around town. At first we thought it was a joke, but evidently not. If it were, the ad (in the interest of full disclosure) would surely say things like:

1. Develop skills like fiberglassing, engine repair, and tolerance to dangerous particulates and toxic chemicals.
2. Constant learning opportunities-- because our shop staff are constantly quitting.
3. Hard working, team orientated individuals a must because at Hoofers, it's all about I, and we need someone to do our work for us.
4. Experience with machinery, fibreglassing, finger amputation, and emergency room visits a plus but NOT NECESSARY!

I like how they emphasize "hard working individuals a must." Yeh, most managers are looking for lazy slobs. And that photo..! It almost seems as if they don't want any applicants, or they would have shown what maintenance staff actually do most of the time: sit in the cage playing videogames.

Ah, if only I didn't already have a job....

Milking the member

Today's Badger Herald has an article that should be of interest to all Hoofers. Wisconsin leads the nation in private job loss. At the same time, unemployment in Wis. is supposedly decreasing. Say what? How can that be?

Apparently, many people have quit looking for jobs (so they no longer count as "unemployed") and others are fleeing the state. Thus, apparent improvement in Wisconsin's unemployment figures! And since Gov. Walker hasn't laid off a single state employee, the huge and increasing number of state employees is helping to offset massive job loss in Wis. industry.

And that brings us to Hoofer Sailing Club (a state organization), where more and more people are paid rather than contributing their time for free as members of a genuine club would do.

UW-Madison economics professor Steven Deller is quoted as saying, "We just don't know what's going on." Wow. A UW professor said that? I guess UW's pay really can't compete. But he should ask one of HSC's hundred or so paid employees, like paid keelboat "instructors" Chris Frye or Justin Cherniak. They know what's going on.