Mind numbing

Okay, check this out:

http://forum.hoofersailing.org/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=60&p=88#p88

It is without question the most mind-numbing Hoofer thread of all time. Much of it is accurate although Johann is distorting everything, and what he can't distort, he just blows off. What's really amazing though is that the thread hasn't been deleted yet by club leaders (but keep checking).

More soon--after I've had a chance to digest the entire thread (which continues to grow)....

Trickle down behaviour

A philosophical question: If one commits a crime but isn't convicted in court, is s/he still a "criminal"..? Yes, according to every dictionary I could find. For example, thefreedictionary.com defines criminal as:

One that has committed or been legally convicted of a crime.

Similarly, merriam-webster.com defines criminal simply as one who is "guilty of crime." No resource says anything about a requirement that one be convicted (i.e. in court). Consider: If someone rapes a girl but is never convicted—perhaps her testimony is poor, or perhaps the perp can afford a good lawyer—is he then not a "criminal"..? How about someone who breaks into a car and steals the stereo but is never caught, much less convicted. Is he a criminal..? Of course he is! He's simply one who got away with his crime. Happens all the time. Unfortunately, the inverse is also possible, and even more disturbing—people often are wrongly convicted of crimes they didn't commit. [ref1; ref2] The law, despite reading like an anal-retentive version of a tax form, is incredibly capricious. It is so because its enforcement is dominated by people with agendas.

This brings us to the current situation: the committee charged with hiring the new HOI includes one or more people applying for that position, e.g. Kristin Paul. If those individuals proceed any further, they'll be violating Wis. statutes. Of course, they are operating in an environment where corruption and sleaze is the rule. Outgoing HOI Brian Borkovec apparently violated the statute (conflict of interest) when he voted on his own salary earlier this year. His boss, Hoofer Advoosigator Jim Rogers, has committed battery, perjury, and other substantial crimes. And his boss, Union Director Mark Guthier, has also committed felonies including obstruction and perjury.

In such an environment, how can the subordinates be expected to behave any better..? That would be like asking your crew to wear their lifejackets when you're not wearing yours!

Pathetic

Today it was 80 degrees out with scattered clouds and a south wind at 15 knots. In other words, perfect for sailing. Yet incredibly, all of the large keelboats (cruising and racing fleets) sat at their pins all afternoon. The J29 (technically part of the J fleet) was sailed for awhile, then put away at 2:30. The J24's sat at their pins too. Nor did the red flag go up until just before 5:00 (and then only for a little while). Thus, on one of the best sailing days of the year, dozens of club members were deprived of sailing all afternoon on any of the large keelboats!

Or were they..?

Apparently, there's hardly anyone who even wants to sail the keelboats if they can all just sit at their moorings on a day like this. So let's not hear any more crap about there not being enough keelboat lessons. And how can Chris Frye be teaching lessons..? He can barely tie a bowline.

In the stink

Dear Leader was out of town but he is back! And so much has happened in the past week.

A new commodore was "elected"—apparently. Witnesses report that some people received several ballots, so was it really an election..? Please define "election". Whatever, nobody ever said the old adage "one person, one vote" applies in Hoofers. In fact, the exact same thing happened last year (and the year before that, and...)

Meanwhile, club leaders continue to remove posts from the official club "forum". What the heck kind of forum is that..? If you want to be shocked and amused at the same time, check out their rules. Read them twice if you don't throw up the first time. It's enough to discourage anyone with a brain from posting there. The rules against purposeless inflammatory posts and meaningless threads are especially pathetic. Who do you think decides whether something is meaningless or inflammatory..? Why, the people who are being criticized, of course!

Club leaders went so far as to ban some individuals from posting any more at all, simply because they criticized the current BOC. That is what's known as c-e-n-s-o-r-s-h-i-p. One post had pointed out that despite the club rule that a general membership meeting must be held at least quarterly, there hasn't been one in years. For that, the person got banned.

At least no more boats have sunk. although I haven't actually taken a count lately....

Bashing heads

We have just obtained the pre-official minutes from the July 1st BOC meeting (as of the time of this post, these are still not available yet on the club's site). Incase you missed it, the meeting was even nastier than usual, as the minutes show. The two main agenda items were to (1) bash former J-fleet Captain Paul Grinstead, and (2) bash Vice Commodore Bridget Maniaci.

The best of the Paul bashing (by Commodore Matt Duerst and General Incompetent Chris Frye):

• Paul received the agenda and failed to show up [for previous meeting]...
• I specifically stated that announcements should be posted to the forums for the Club to see instead of unofficial mailing lists or other methods. [Could Matt mean this blog..?!]
• Administered the [Rhythym & Booms] lottery, with himself in it, and won the J29.
• I was extremely disappointed with his attitude and childish behavior.
• all 3 keelboat fleets are approximately $1100 over [budget]. Editor's note: Is that a lot..? The club's budget is, like, $300,000.
• and from Chris: I was J-Fleet Captain for many years and don’t remember any
incidents. Editor's note: Um, no incidents..?! Has Chris forgotten about how the J24 mast snapped off at lift-in because he didn't secure the stays? Or how the J22 sank because he forgot to seal it..? Or a host of lesser incidents that occurred while he was J fleet captain??

This was perhaps Paul's best response to the bashing:

"I was not at the last BOC meeting because I was taking a much-needed break from Hoofers... the political bickering and disrespect at the BOC meetings are counterproductive to [looking after myself]."

Political bickering and disrespect at a BOC meeting..?! C'mon! You just weren't drunk enough.


And here's what C. Johann Sung wrote—on official Hoofer stationery no less—about Maniaci:

• INTERFERED with Pirate’s Day 2008
• FOLLOWED POORLY at Commodore’s Cup 2008
• LED POORLY at MU Bash 2008
• UNILATERALLY Pushed for Statue of Liberty 2009
• INTERFERED with Hoofer Council Election 2009
• INTERFERED with Friday Night Socials 2009
• INTERFERED with Pirate’s Day 2009
• INTERFERED with Rhythm and Booms 2009
• INTERFERED with Commodore’s Cup 2009

Wow. Amazing that one human being could interfere so much in half a season.


Hear ye, hear ye! The finding of this blog is that:

• Bridget is exonerated because she uses better grammar than C. Johann Sung.
• Paul is not reinstated as J fleet captain because he doesn't really want that dirty job anymore anyway.

The full nasties, er, minutes are available here and here. Thanks to our operatives.

Run, Borko, Run

Hoofer Sailing's head of instruction (HOI) has announced his departure, effective before the end of this season. We commend him on his decision not to linger. The HOI position should be a revolving position to let as many individuals as possible get experience at this important job. It also ought to be an unpaid position, but that's another post.

Nevertheless, Brian's move is surprising considering that Hoofer Coordinator/Advisor Jim Rogers promoted Brian earlier this year to Assistant Hoofer Advisor. We wonder: Did JimR promote Brian in the hope of influencing him to stay longer..? After all, three years must seem like mere seconds to the Hoofer Coordinator who was HOI for fifteen years. Yet, Brian has chosen to flee to the business school. Perhaps he is going to reunite with former Hoofer Advisor Steve Schroeder to discuss ways to fix all that is wrong with Hoofers.

But what a run Borko has had! Sailing instructor. Commodore. Head of Instruction. Assistant Hoofer Advisor. Yet, one wonders if he ever actually made it into the most elite clique in HSC, which is by secret invitation only. Not even as commodore is a person necessarily invited into that club! Of course, some don't want to join. Among other things, it requires an unpublicized nighttime cruise with certain long-time male Hoofer leaders who all get naked and jump into the water together. Or maybe that's why Brian wanted out—he was invited into that club, known to some as the pole jumpers....

Unofficial minutes of Monday's unannounced meeting to form an unofficial "committee" to look for Borko's replacement are here.