Lessons Learned

How I went from wanting to help a sailing center to wanting to see it fail.

(MDI Community Sailing Center)

Good advice: Let it fail. If someone does not listen to good advice what else can you do? My desire to sail overrode that good advice.

I enjoy sailing but now I am finished with trying to help the sailing center. It took five years to get to that point. Two things accelerated the process. 1. Taking the US Sailing Small Boating course for instructors. ( I did not realise how brutal the director is until I took the course) 2. Working at the sailing center with instructions to improve the place. Why did it take me so long to learn let it fail?

The sailing course was excellent! The course started with Steve helping everyone to learn everyone's name. He set a safe environment for teaching and learning. The instructors manual states that for a student to learn they need to feel safe, they need to have fun, and then they can learn. Why can not the staff, volunteers, and members have the same environment?

After the course, I went from a student back to being a member. I found I went from a warm jacuzzi into the cold harbor in my emotions. What happened? The director has his criticism sandwich reversed. Instead of showing what is good that a person does he jumps right on what he is not happy about. At one point I reminded him about the sandwich. He remembers it but does not practice it. And it only is getting worse.

He said he would get many sailing lessons for me. I got one. She was a great student.

The following winter, an out going director started a project with me to build a shelf for sails. In the process, she was able to remove many excessive materials from her shop. Her attitude and ability to design and build was amazing. After 4 years of membership, it was good to get permission to build something to reduce the clutter at the sailing center. Somehow I got permission to continue to organize the place. Big mistake.

In the process of building the shelf, I was offered a job to work the evenings and weekends at the center after the summer session started. I was told several times that the job has no job description.

In the process of cleaning up from a bad decision for an online registration program, I tried for four days to make suggestions for what I can do for a custom registration program as a free gift to the sailing cneter. The only job specification I could get was “I don't care about that.” After four days of rejection, it was made clear that any idea that I have to improve the center would be rejected so don't even think of making a suggestion. (He is now on his fourth software company for online registration.)

In the process of organizing the front desk, I put labels on the hanging folders. He criticised me for a long time about the fact the labels were not needed on the hanging folders. The next day his wife came in with a label maker and puts labels on the rest of the folders. Huh?

When I worked the first weekend, a fellow came by with a 15.5' skiff that he gave to the center. I was chewed out royally for the next four days for accepting a gift and for not following procedures. Remember I was told several times that this job has no job description, so how am I to know the procedures? After that weekend I did not look forward to coming in on Mondays. And working the weekend would only get wilder.

Once he asked me a question if there was anything he should know about? After I answered his question, he became very upset because I told him something he already knew. The next time I was asked a question, I did not reply. He asked me why I did not answer him. I replied with the answer that he already knows everything.

For instance he knows more about a persons sailing ability because he knows his boss over those who have crewed with that person and for that person. He knows more about the 15.5' Whisp because his wife worked for the man who gave one to the sailing center over the one who built one, rows one, and sails one. Huh?

Some people have to be the authority on everything nor do they ever make a mistake.

More details of issues with the executive director

Fast forward to my last weekend on the job. An email had been received from the director to see if two people qualify for boat usage membership. I went out on a Bullseye with a potential member to see if she could qualify for a sailing membership. Out of no where came the director with a super angry look on his face. I checked with the potential member about the email from the boss for qualification. He did send the email. With the second candidate it happened again. When I was on shore the director was no where to be found. After I got back from the second round I found a message from the director that I was giving sailing lessons on MDI time and was double dipping!

Later that day, the director called me at the house, I told him I was not happy about his accusing me of giving private sailing lessons when he asked me to see if these candidates qualify for boat usage. Then he said I did not put my name and number on the board. I pointed out that I did put my name and number on the board. The director never put his name and number on the board until that conversation. Next he told me that nobody knows who Bill is. I told him that he has treated me poorly all summer and I wanted to talk with the board of directors about the way he has been treating me. Then he proceeded to tell me what a great director he is. To be in the right, he proceeded to accuse me that I did not follow procedures. Hey, I was working a job with no job description and I am suppose to know all the procedures?

On my last day which I assumed was Monday since I was not told when my last day would be, I tried to talk with him about the previous conversation about giving sailing lessons on MDI time. His response was that he does not talk about personal problems and he walked away from me. I continued to solder the wires together for the air pump, bailed out all the boats, and left for good. With that response it is fair to assume that he treats people how he feels like at the time with no consideration for the other person's feelings.

Later I found out from a reliable source that when the director is in a bad mood, nobody can do anything right, and when he is in a good mood nothing ever happened. Also I found two other people who were quick to state that they can not do anything to please him. And there is a third that will say even if you do exactly what he tells you to do he still will not be pleased. Another long time instructor went to NEH.

With that I went from  wanting to help to letting it fail attitude.

It is disappointing to know that the sailing center would rather have people who can put up with the director than those who can refurbish boats, repair equipment, give sailing lessons, do websites, repair computers, set up networks, take pictures, etc. I know of 3 people who can contribute much to the center if they were just shown a little bit of respect and appreciation. Instead the director would rather pay a member's boss $55 to $70 an hour for the member to do the work. No, I do not understand this logic.

Please find out for yourself. He will be happy to tell you what a great director he is. Also ask him what kind of employees and members he is looking for when he has no problem in asking an employee to test a potential member for their sailing ability and then showing up during the testing with a very unhappy look on his face.

Is this a proper way to run a sailing center? What has been your experience?

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