WELCOMING PROPER STANDARDS ON BOARD

Peter Valentino shares his advice on the importance of club standards, while also emphasising that Paralympic sailors should be taken on board by clubs.

Few of you know that I renounced my membership to the club I was a member of for the past four decades, and currently, my status is such that I’m not a member of any local club. I’m not going to use this piece to say why I left; but I’m going to try to outline the positive side of being a club member, what a club ought to offer, how it ought to offer it and how enlightened a club ought to be.

My piece below isn’t just fantasy; nor is it fuelled solely by desire, but it comes from the experience I built from the various events I attended during my almost two decades of service as an International Judge. Together with the events, I focussed on wearing the cap of Coach or Team Leader; be them National, International, Continental or World Championships.

For starters, we must understand that the club is the core of the sport, as well as that of the community that encircles the sport; for a reason or another. Children start off being taken to a club and this for decades on, ought to be their second home. Just like their first home, this is where they receive tuition, discipline and encouragement throughout the levels. This is what keeps the sport healthy, both numerically and result wise.

Every club that fails to support the sport fails to support the sailors, and the picture is indeed much more significant. Every club of stature and prominence usually has three divisions; each of which having a subdivision.

In the Anglo-Saxon world, as such we still partake to, the organisation is usually set with the Commodore being the Chairman and the person who oversees all operations. The Vice-Commodore is usually in charge of the club’s administration, and then we have three Rear Commodores being Racing, Cruising and House. Added to these are the seats of the Honorary Treasurer, the Honorary Secretary and a few elected members. They are usually tasked with helping with the duties of the Rear Commodores.

I’ll start with Rear Commodore Racing, the job of whom is to ensure that a calendar is full of events, one after another. It ought to be the department that works just like a factory. Racing has a vast menu with inshore racing, coastal racing and offshore racing.

While all types of racing require that all boats are correctly measured and correctly certified; one of the tasks Rear Commodore Racing has is to ensure that the actual racing is fair. By this, I mean that all documentation ought to be issued in a word-perfect form, well in advance of every race, that the boat owners and sailors are called and invited to race, and the club owns the right equipment. And if it’s an inshore around the buoys race, that the start line is well laid and that the marks of the course are placed where they should be; and re-laid during the race if the wind direction changes by anything over five degrees; by the rules.

I started the above off by emphasising the need for people and equipment. Giving the sailors a good start line is very important; as is the rest of the course. Every club ought to have the right tools together with the right people; of course, guided by a race officer who takes pride in his role. It’s not just a matter of changing marks but of doing it at the right time and using the correct signals. A simple example is that when the direction of the leg needs to be changed, Int. Code Flag C shall be displayed, and repeated sound signals sounded. A new compass bearing to the next mark should be displayed or at least a green triangle to signify a change to starboard or a red rectangle to denote a change to port moreover if the course length has been changed due to an increase or decrease in wind speed then the Int. Code Flag C ought to be accompanied by a + or a – symbol.

Marks ought to be babysat since a mark that goes loose, or that drags can ruin an entire race or worst still a championship. Indeed, even in our day and age, we still find race officers who think they can defend the integrity of a race when a mark goes off course! Dream on. My message to you is that when you do that you’ll quickly lose the respect of the sailors and coaches alike.

Every little bit counts, and it’s all down to preparation. Investing in a boat and racing sails and then being greeted with third-class race management is simply not fair. It’s unfair on the club, on the sport, on the owners, on the sailors and one aspect we always forget – the sponsor.

Years back sponsorship was considered as a charity and in later years’ solidarity. Today, sponsors want to be attached to a sport because it mirrors their organisation. Whatever it is, jewellery, timepieces, or watches; any brand simply doesn’t want to find out that races are poorly organised; and again, not because they’re not receiving their money’s worth but because they expect that the club runs its event with due diligence. ›

Montenegro Yacht Club

Of course, racing includes Youth Development; it’s all about attracting young sailors, coaching them well, ensuring they remain club members and ascertaining that they regularly attend training courses and events overseas. By events, I don’t mean low-level events that we’ll shine at and return as oblivious as we left, but events were getting into the top 20% is tough. Events where at least half the fleet is of the same level and where 20% to 30% of the fleet are much better. Events not that act as a ‘tit for tat’ whereby we support an event at a foreign club in the knowledge that the club will eventually send their third-grade sailors to our events.

House – this is what keeps the social aspect alive; and it’s generally chaotic and disjointed because we still do not understand how profitable, not just money-wise; this department can be. The club I was a member at got this aspect totally and utterly wrong; and in fact, I understand that the person running it nearly got voted out at the last AGM, rather than got voted in. House comes with respect for the building; it just must look pristine and not like a 1975 bathroom. The staff – walking in to be either ignored or roughly asked ‘What do you want?’… please note the inarticulate manner; is simply not right. Requesting a reservation to a table, four times in a row and getting something different is just as bad as getting the food you didn’t order.

Now I go by the thought that even a wildflower has a name; it’s not just a flower. I find it hard that Club bar staff don’t even address the member by their name, but as I stated earlier. Writing about the rest is useless before clubs get the first two points right!

Of course, House pivots around hospitality. Events are what give the clubs prominence, and nowadays with social media, any message can travel miles at the speed of light. I’ll give one example. At a sponsored event, I’d expect to see the sponsor at the club, wining, dining and hosting every single day if they don’t then there’s something very wrong. It’s either that the club isn’t performing to the height of expectations and the sponsor is disappointed or even embarrassed to host at the club,

Porto Cervo

or that the sponsor doesn’t care, but this is typically unusual since sponsors usually top the sponsorship by spending more on entertaining their guests. If they’re not doing it at the club, then beware – it’s not a good sign.

Dismissing it by saying ‘Oh maybe the sponsor is trustful we’re doing a good job’ is simply an excuse that is as bad as a qualified apology. Again, I can talk about the twinning of clubs, the way a Commodore ought to treat a visiting Commodore, the way we ought to host but again, let’s focus on the basics first before it becomes too complicated. When I shared my thoughts, they thought I fell from a planet afar.

Cruising – years ago when the number of boats in the marinas were numerically few, this division was indeed healthy. I hear from one club, the excuse that nowadays nobody is interested but then I gladly know of an association, not even a club, that organises trips and cruises; so maybe and eventually this will pick up with other clubs too. It’s a diplomatic exercise; it’s all about reaching out to marinas and people and of not being shy to meet up. A recent edition of the French magazine Voiles et Voiliers included a wellwritten piece about the beauty of our local waters as a cruising ground; I think that all our clubs ought to do more in this respect. Think about inviting RIB owners and reaching otherwise unreachable spots on our Western coast, why not include the Jet Ski community?

Sarasota Yacht Club

And now to the position and seat of Rear Commodore – decades ago the person who occupied this seat was on a mission. Not that of running around the club with a name tag; but that of managing the office not just in efficiency but in quality of service to the membership, to the sponsors and maybe most importantly to ensure that whatever the office produces is eloquent and articulate. Seeing to it that all emails and letters are addressed promptly and ensuring that the membership is kept well informed are just two of the tasks. Believe it or not, the office ambience, the way it looks and the level of finesse doesn’t solely depend on the secretariat; but on the Vice-Commodore.

So, Vice-Commodores the above is your task. Effectively, nowadays the position of Honorary Secretary is akin to that of being a best man at a wedding; I mean, the ones who just give a fiveminute one-time jovial speech.

The Honorary Treasurer – the lower grade ones just say ‘no’ to everything because they don’t

Monaco Yacht Club

understand how much a club needs to invest. The better ones ask the Rear Commodores what projects they envisage and what costs are attributed to these; so, that in turn they then can be given a budget. The Hon. Treasurer ought to be polished enough to meet potential or returning sponsors; not just to be kind to them but to discuss the financial package, the sponsorship and the real deal in total. The man or woman in the treasurer’s chair needs to be savvy enough to present projections and to guide the committee as to where and how the club ought to invest. In this fast-changing world, we’d call it economic intelligence, rather than Hon. Treasurer. The latter makes it appear as if he goes around the club holding a piggybank under his arms – I can assure you that it’s far from that; if it’s well done.

The Commodore – usually a very respected person, someone who carries the weight and who operates with gravitas, but who likewise has direct contact with the members and sponsors alike. Hand on heart I can so easily vouch that every Commodore of local clubs I know end up almost abandoning their profession in life in favour of the role, that believes me is thankless and unrewarding. Apart from this, he’s the driver who at times, needs to double-check on the navigator.

It’s not a position of envy, especially since rather than opting for paid service providers our clubs still bank on voluntary work and our committees large enough to form a government’s cabinet. The Commodore is the person who ought to come up with new ideas and ideally be surrounded by the right people. I once had the privilege of spending a day aboard a boat with the owner of a multinational company and his board of directors. I tried to reach the current MD of this group, but various attempts to reach him were futile. I would have loved to mention the magnate I’m referring to by name because it would be so complimentary, but I feel that I shouldn’t proceed without the permission from his local representative.

Anyhow, the owner of the company lost his father at a very young age. His late father had a partner in business, and the company back then only produced one object. I out

… for starters, we must understand that the club is the core of the sport, as well as that of the community that encircles the sport, for a reason or another

rightly asked this entrepreneur what he did to become so successful, and he said ‘You have to be innovative. I decided to introduce a new product within six months and a third within a year; now we introduce a new product every month, or indeed more often’. Running a club is very much the same; the Commodore must have the vision and the clout to do what is right. If I were Commodore for a day, the first thing I’ll do is introduce a section for sailors with a disability. I’ve been to several Paralympic events including the Paralympic Games in London 2012; and every time I left the event with more knowledge and so much respect for the sailors.

In the days before my patience ran out, I used to attend local dinghy events where certain parents would be concerned because their baby 10-year-old got some sea spray on his or her face. Well, Paralympic sailors are amputees, people who were born or who became disabled in some way or another and who face the conditions with determination and who confront the day; just like they do in life, immaterial of what it throws at them. Something is wrong on the Government’s side too. As in my mind, it ought to be conditional that every club that applies and receives any form of help from the Government ought to cater for Paralympic sailors just as we cater for any other.

I’m surprised that in 2020 this is still not a prerequisite. Out of respect, I won’t disclose which body I suggested Paralympic sailing to. Also, because I know that they are surrounded by a board of individuals who certainly are not up to it; but catering for sailors with a disability is the least we can do for our clubs, our sport and our community in general. Let’s see which club will be the first to bite at this.

I look forward to seeing at least two clubs that are ready to up their standards, to change the status quo, to invest in a way that the club can mirror senior clubs abroad; but I’ll leave the rest to the current self-crowned experts. So, looks, hospitality, event building, change in the yearly calendar, inclusion and Paralympic sailing. Clubs – you’ve got a challenge. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll find membership attractive – somewhere.