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.

Incomprehensible

Eleven months into Chris Frye's one year term as commodore, no BOC minutes have yet been posted to the website by "secretary" Chas. None at all, for the past 11 months!! That's some 25 BOC meetings! Aren't minutes supposed to be posted, like, every couple of weeks..? What is Chas getting a free membership for?? (And is Chas even the secretary..? There's no way of knowing since the BOC informacion isn't current either.)

Of course, club members don't care what happens behind the scenes anyway because (a) they have no control over what happens, and (b) there are no club members! Hence, no BOC minutes.

Misinformation--or no information at all--is a standard tactic for fighting wars and for controlling other people. In that light, I guess the lack of posted minutes is perfectly comprehensible.

Trying to hide

Now that C-Cup has been fully milked, maybe the commodore has time to update the website to show this year's BOC. Eleven months into his term as commodore, the website still lists last year's BOC.

The UW-Milwaukee Sailing Club not only lists email addresses for its club officers but also their phone numbers so that club members can actually contact someone when necessary. Apparently in Hoofers, you're expected to come wander the lakefront, hoping to cross paths with the club officer you seek--not that most general club members even know what they look like. Are Hoofer leaders afraid of all the complaints they'd get if it were easier to contact them..?

Commodore's Cup to honor Beavis

Commodore's Cup officially begins tomorrow and is open to anyone, especially cool people. Sign up at the boathouse, or save your money and show up anyway.

Update--July 17: Commodore's Cup is underway and the commodore himself has been spotted on several occasions!

At least, we think he's still the commodore. But according to club rules, he cannot be because he's not a UW-Madison student, although he may have registered last fall. Unfortunately, the club's constitution is a bit vague on this. It says:

Section 1. The Commodore and Vice-Commodore shall be Sailing Club members and UW-Madison students.

Perhaps registering in the Fall is sufficient, although for all other known purposes, an individual is not considered a student during the following summer unless s/he was registered for the spring semester too. And of course, being commodore during the summer is what it's all about. This may be one for the legal gurus.