A brief recap of the season to date:
1. Ex-commodore Chris Frye and his ex-commodore buddies get wasted to celebrate the start of a new season.
2. HSC instructor Andy Evenson (and buddies) take the rescue motorboat (with refreshments) on a joyride to Lake Monona.
3. A botched lesson by HSC instructor Ken Jewell lands some of his students in the hospital.
4. Club leaders use "fair and impartial means" to decide who gets the best boats for Rhythm & Booms; Chris Frye "wins" Soma and celebrates by getting bladdered up again.
5. There are fireworks and much alcohol.
6. Chris Frye skippers Soma, a six-tonne keelboat, even though he's so intoxicated he can barely talk.
7. J-Captain Randy Mullis "teaches" a J29 lesson where his students repeatedly make incompetent landing attempts.
8. Mullis then harasses other long-time club members about their keelboat qualifications.
9. Club "leaders" Evenson, Frye, Jewell, and Mullis are congratulated for being so cool.
10. It's Commodore's Cup... Let's party!!!!
NOTE: all of the above are State of Wis. employees, and collectively, they typify the alcoholism, incompetence, and abuse that permeate Hoofers.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Instructor evaluations
New this year: evaluations of selected Hoofer sailing instructors!
We kick off our new feature with a random pick: former commodore Chris Frye.
NOTE: Chris' evaluation has been moved to the new Instructor Evaluations section--use the menubar link to the right!
We kick off our new feature with a random pick: former commodore Chris Frye. NOTE: Chris' evaluation has been moved to the new Instructor Evaluations section--use the menubar link to the right!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Join Hoofers; Don't get killed
This past week, HSC sailing instructor Ken Jewel got the "Funky Monkey" award for sending two of his students to the hospital. Har har. That's pretty funny, er, funky. "That which does not kill us only makes us stronger" wrote a fellow instructor. Um, yeah... it's not gonna kill you; it's the 500 or so general club members who need to worry. Meanwhile, the instructors are all smiles (see photo) as they go recklessly about their business, get paid for it, plus get free memberships, weekly private parties, obnoxious posters proclaiming that "we're better than you" and so on. They are definitely better at causing injuries, I'll give 'em that.
Word has it that Ken is a great party boy, though, so his job isn't at risk. You can read more here.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
"We don't harass women in Hoofers"
In a recent study, 84% of men whose actions matched the legal definition of rape said that what they did was definitely not rape[1]. Similar results have been obtained in other studies for other sex-related crimes.Many people—men and women alike—consider "sexual harassment" to be a bunch of bull (no pun intended). It's so easy to make up a story, file a complaint, even get somebody, normally a male, charged with sexual harassment or sexual assault, even if they didn't do anything wrong. Well guess what?
The question is: does becoming commodore make it more or less likely that an individual will become sexually aggressive..?
But hey, two out of eight still means that three out of four commodores are not engaging in sexual harassment of female club members. Them's pretty good odds, eh? So c'mon, girls! Join up!
Predators and Prey.
*Predators and Prey is an ongoing series focusing on Hoofer Sailing Instructors and other club "leaders". If you would like to be featured, please contact us, or just screw up![1] Koss, M. P. 1998. Hidden rape: incident, prevalance, and descriptive characteristics of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of college students.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Hoofers run by crooks
ABSTRACT: Hoofer leaders are misrepresenting the deposit everyone (except them) must pay to join the club. Their intent is to make the price of membership seem lower than it really is. During the season, they deliberately avoid creating enough work hour projects, and as a result, only about 10% of paying club members can ever get their "deposit" back. The defrauded money goes directly into the pockets of those same Hoofer leaders. It is a criminal scheme that should lead to felony charges against several HSC employees.
Last year in 2009 and, we believe, again this year, HSC leaders, i.e. the Board of Captains (BOC) plus some members of the paid instruction corps, have deliberately misrepresented the $65 "deposit" each person must pay to join the club.
Club leaders advertise membership at a certain price, and they state explicitly that the price includes a $65 "deposit" that will be refunded after you do eight work hours. This makes the cost of membership appear to be significantly lower--assuming you can actually get that deposit back. This is where the fraud comes in. Hoofer leaders actively plan how to avoid having to refund that money.
There are approx. 800 general club members in a given year (varies from year to year), which means a total of around 6400 work hours. Yet, the work hour postings are a lot of menial junk, typically 1-2 hour projects, maybe 10-20 of them listed at any given time. The projects include things like "Assist with Friday social 3 hrs" or "Enter data into computer 1-2 hrs". You can see by simple inspection that there are nowhere near enough work hours for 800 people to do eight hours of work each in the course of a season. And, no surprise, only a handful of general club members ever get their "deposit" back. In 2009, it was about 10%.
That this is a deliberate plan by club leaders is evidenced by meeting minutes which show them actively discussing the "deposits" as a major source of annual income. Eight hundred people provide a total of $52,000 in "deposits"—no small sum. At a February 7, 2009 budget meeting, the BOC discussed this fact, and some BOC members pointed out that "advertising more work hours" would negatively impact income (i.e. their spending money). That money goes directly to pay instructors and to provide free memberships for all those BOC members and their buddies, as well as to provide "refreshments" for the weekly instructor parties (which are not open to general club members) and for other "staff"-only events. In other words, those defrauded deposits GO DIRECTLY INTO THEIR POCKETS. Looked at differently, every deposit that has to be refunded is money straight out of their pockets. That's called motive to commit a crime.
The fact that it is a deliberate plan, i.e. that the "deposits" are never really intended to be refunded, makes it criminal. The scheme appears to be a violation of Wis. Stat. § 100.18 (misrepresentation) and Wis. Stat. § 943.20 (theft). Moreover, when you have a bunch of people sitting in a room figuring out how to defraud some other people (in this case, as many general club members as possible), then it is felony conspiracy. The distinction between Hoofer "leaders" and general club members is important because the 100 or so "leaders" DON'T HAVE TO PAY A DEPOSIT OR A MEMBERSHIP FEE, yet they're the ones deciding how to spend all that money paid by general club members. For theft of property worth over $10,000 and conspiracy to commit that theft, the penalty is up to 10 years in prison. As noted above, the security deposits of 800 club members amount to some $52,000. If you prefer, the fraud can be viewed as some 700 counts of misdemeanor theft.
There is no doubt that club leaders know what they're doing is wrong. This is evidenced by complaints against people who take unofficial minutes at BOC meetings. If you're up to no good, you sure don't want anyone taking notes! Hoofers' ongoing efforts to classify their meetings as private, i.e. not subject to Wis. Open Meeting law, are presumably related. When the "official" minutes for the Feb-7-09 budget meeting finally appeared months later on the club's website, they contained gaps where malfeasance such as the "deposit" fraud had been discussed—further evidence that the participants knew it was wrong.
It is worth noting that Hoofer Coordinator Jim Rogers, a full-time UW employee, was present at the 7-Feb-2009 budget meeting where the massive deposit fraud was discussed, and he did not object. Coincidentally, 90% (the amount not refunded) of $52,000 is $46,000, which just happens to be Rogers' current annual salary.
To summarize, Hoofer Sailing Club's practice is to:
(1) Advertize that a substantial portion of the membership price is a "deposit" that will be refunded;
(2) Discuss in secret meetings how to avoid actually having to refund that money.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when at first we join the HSC.....
Last year in 2009 and, we believe, again this year, HSC leaders, i.e. the Board of Captains (BOC) plus some members of the paid instruction corps, have deliberately misrepresented the $65 "deposit" each person must pay to join the club.
Club leaders advertise membership at a certain price, and they state explicitly that the price includes a $65 "deposit" that will be refunded after you do eight work hours. This makes the cost of membership appear to be significantly lower--assuming you can actually get that deposit back. This is where the fraud comes in. Hoofer leaders actively plan how to avoid having to refund that money.
There are approx. 800 general club members in a given year (varies from year to year), which means a total of around 6400 work hours. Yet, the work hour postings are a lot of menial junk, typically 1-2 hour projects, maybe 10-20 of them listed at any given time. The projects include things like "Assist with Friday social 3 hrs" or "Enter data into computer 1-2 hrs". You can see by simple inspection that there are nowhere near enough work hours for 800 people to do eight hours of work each in the course of a season. And, no surprise, only a handful of general club members ever get their "deposit" back. In 2009, it was about 10%.
That this is a deliberate plan by club leaders is evidenced by meeting minutes which show them actively discussing the "deposits" as a major source of annual income. Eight hundred people provide a total of $52,000 in "deposits"—no small sum. At a February 7, 2009 budget meeting, the BOC discussed this fact, and some BOC members pointed out that "advertising more work hours" would negatively impact income (i.e. their spending money). That money goes directly to pay instructors and to provide free memberships for all those BOC members and their buddies, as well as to provide "refreshments" for the weekly instructor parties (which are not open to general club members) and for other "staff"-only events. In other words, those defrauded deposits GO DIRECTLY INTO THEIR POCKETS. Looked at differently, every deposit that has to be refunded is money straight out of their pockets. That's called motive to commit a crime.
The fact that it is a deliberate plan, i.e. that the "deposits" are never really intended to be refunded, makes it criminal. The scheme appears to be a violation of Wis. Stat. § 100.18 (misrepresentation) and Wis. Stat. § 943.20 (theft). Moreover, when you have a bunch of people sitting in a room figuring out how to defraud some other people (in this case, as many general club members as possible), then it is felony conspiracy. The distinction between Hoofer "leaders" and general club members is important because the 100 or so "leaders" DON'T HAVE TO PAY A DEPOSIT OR A MEMBERSHIP FEE, yet they're the ones deciding how to spend all that money paid by general club members. For theft of property worth over $10,000 and conspiracy to commit that theft, the penalty is up to 10 years in prison. As noted above, the security deposits of 800 club members amount to some $52,000. If you prefer, the fraud can be viewed as some 700 counts of misdemeanor theft.
There is no doubt that club leaders know what they're doing is wrong. This is evidenced by complaints against people who take unofficial minutes at BOC meetings. If you're up to no good, you sure don't want anyone taking notes! Hoofers' ongoing efforts to classify their meetings as private, i.e. not subject to Wis. Open Meeting law, are presumably related. When the "official" minutes for the Feb-7-09 budget meeting finally appeared months later on the club's website, they contained gaps where malfeasance such as the "deposit" fraud had been discussed—further evidence that the participants knew it was wrong.
It is worth noting that Hoofer Coordinator Jim Rogers, a full-time UW employee, was present at the 7-Feb-2009 budget meeting where the massive deposit fraud was discussed, and he did not object. Coincidentally, 90% (the amount not refunded) of $52,000 is $46,000, which just happens to be Rogers' current annual salary.
To summarize, Hoofer Sailing Club's practice is to:
(1) Advertize that a substantial portion of the membership price is a "deposit" that will be refunded;
(2) Discuss in secret meetings how to avoid actually having to refund that money.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when at first we join the HSC.....
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Fighting for cash
Like a dozen squealing piglets fighting over six* nipples, Hoofer leaders are spending their offseason arguing over what else they can get paid for. Paid keelboat instruction is the latest rage. What's wrong with giving people money to teach on the club's largest boats..? Everything.
For one, there has never been a shortage of qualified volunteer instructors on those boats. This contrasts with the lower fleets, e.g. Techs and Badger Sloops. The ratings flowchart naturally requires more ratings on those beginner boats, which is logical and necessary, but it creates a huge demand for Tech lessons--and the responsibility to provide enough of them. Plus, the smaller boats leak, they're tippy, and so on. Thus paid instruction is necessary for Techs and Slops in particular (and probably sailboards). Everything else should be 100% volunteer because Hoofers is a club, at least according to its constitution. It is not a paid service organization where employees work for members, although it's coming to resemble that more and more.
The more money that flows within the "club", the higher the membership cost and the more incentive there is to shut people out. It's hard enough to get rated on the keelboats without having the added disincentive (from the paid instructors' point of view) of you the student potentially taking their paying job away.
Simply put, the large keelboats are the pinnacle of sailing in Hoofers. Paying anyone to teach on them is like paying someone to have sex. It just isn't necessary. In fact, it's decadent and degenerate. And yet, some people who've been teaching on the keelboats for years are salivating at the thought. They should be ashamed because skippering those boats is reward enough.
If you want a job, go find a bloody job.
*Most sows actually have 12 teats, but they nurse lying on their side, so only six are accessible at any one time.
For one, there has never been a shortage of qualified volunteer instructors on those boats. This contrasts with the lower fleets, e.g. Techs and Badger Sloops. The ratings flowchart naturally requires more ratings on those beginner boats, which is logical and necessary, but it creates a huge demand for Tech lessons--and the responsibility to provide enough of them. Plus, the smaller boats leak, they're tippy, and so on. Thus paid instruction is necessary for Techs and Slops in particular (and probably sailboards). Everything else should be 100% volunteer because Hoofers is a club, at least according to its constitution. It is not a paid service organization where employees work for members, although it's coming to resemble that more and more.
The more money that flows within the "club", the higher the membership cost and the more incentive there is to shut people out. It's hard enough to get rated on the keelboats without having the added disincentive (from the paid instructors' point of view) of you the student potentially taking their paying job away.
Simply put, the large keelboats are the pinnacle of sailing in Hoofers. Paying anyone to teach on them is like paying someone to have sex. It just isn't necessary. In fact, it's decadent and degenerate. And yet, some people who've been teaching on the keelboats for years are salivating at the thought. They should be ashamed because skippering those boats is reward enough.
If you want a job, go find a bloody job.
*Most sows actually have 12 teats, but they nurse lying on their side, so only six are accessible at any one time.
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