Attempt by our Committee to change the Club rules without notifying the members

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To my mind this sort of battle at a club is just depressing. I was on a club committee when such a battle developed which ended up costing both the club and the member a lot of money in legal fees before the member resolved the problem by being arrested for striking a committee member. Whilst I am not suggesting this will end in violence I would suggest both sides work with an independant mediator before things deteriorate even further. There is almost certainly a solution hidden in the depths of a clearly deeply felt argument
 
I am so glad that I am not a member of any club!

I do help out at the local yacht club when they have major events like the Rolex but part of the reason is the opportunity to meet international sailing legends on racing machines about which I can only dream. Apart from that I prefer my single-handed, go-as-I-please, sailing.

To each his own, as they used to say.
 
VicS said:
Bury the hatchet or walk
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Unfortunately it was my attempt to bury the hatchet which was the trigger for this latest episode.

My ownership in that shared boat was sold to the third partner, including all rights to the mooring and along with the whole historic conspiracy to defraud argument over the missing mooring chain. All passed to the new owner of my share.

'The Engineers' were seemingly so incensed that I had sold my share, if you remember they tried to prevent me selling it, they then decided to raise the proposal to have me expelled from the Club.
 
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JumbleDuck said:
I've had an enlightening and thoroughly defamatory email from one of the other people involved in this saga. It has only increased my sympathy for the OP.
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If anyone else receives, or has already received, any personal messages from a forum member who calls themselves "nicks partner" could you kindly let me know through private message.

Many thanks,
 
Sinbad1951 said:
What a terribly sad read. Why would any of us want to put ourselves through all this nonsense. Although it is difficult to be objective when the mob mentality applies and the bullying follows but you have to distance yourself from it and decide what you want from your sailing. For most of us its a boat that we enjoy and company we enjoy. Fortunately having a boat tends to bring the other together naturally.
Move on, these people and those who follow them and comply with their egotistical wishes are worth nothing more than a brief afterthought as you sail to new horizons.
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Exactly. Why would you want to continue membership of a club that seems to have taken against you. Where is the satisfaction in that?
Whatever the rights and wrongs, it's not a pleasant atmosphere.

Just walk.
 
Lakesailor said:
Exactly. Why would you want to continue membership of a club that seems to have taken against you. Where is the satisfaction in that?
Whatever the rights and wrongs, it's not a pleasant atmosphere.

Just walk.
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It depends whether the whole club has taken against him or just a couple of the committee. A club I know managed to get a particularly unpleasant chap as chairman. If everyone he was offensive to had walked the club would have been empty, but in due course his term of office came to an end, someone pleasant took over and life went on.
 
Its been my experience that clubs dont "take against" an individual without significantprovocation. There might always be one or two nasties in a club but most members just like the public as a whole are fair and reasonable and try hard to avoid conflict.

I should add that at my club there are at least three versions of the rules with no one knowing which was correct. So we had to vote in a complete new set.
 
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JumbleDuck said:
It depends whether the whole club has taken against him or just a couple of the committee. A club I know managed to get a particularly unpleasant chap as chairman. If everyone he was offensive to had walked the club would have been empty, but in due course his term of office came to an end, someone pleasant took over and life went on.
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As long as fair representation of facts, by myself, is allowed in advance of a vote by the ordinary members, as should be the case, all would be returned to normality. It is only likely to be the Committee and a few of those following the pied-piper who would vote for my expulsion.
 
Semi-secret AGM

News has reached me that our Committee have now arranged a semi-secret AGM - I have most definitely not received any Notice of AGM. A number of others do not appear to have received any either. For confirmation I have just quickly spoken to three other members, none of whom have received any Notice of AGM nor is there any date on the Club website. An AGM for the Committee, family, friends and malleable members only?

Other developments suggest there may be an attempt at this meeting to try and push through some sort of Rules changes. We have now had sight of the published Agenda for this meeting, as required by Club rules, and it makes no mention of any proposed rule changes. So constitutionally that shouldn't be allowed but doesn’t mean it won’t happen.
 
NickC said:
News has reached me that our Committee have now arranged a semi-secret AGM - I have most definitely not received any Notice of AGM. A number of others do not appear to have received any either. For confirmation I have just quickly spoken to three other members, none of whom have received any Notice of AGM nor is there any date on the Club website. An AGM for the Committee, family, friends and malleable members only?

Other developments suggest there may be an attempt at this meeting to try and push through some sort of Rules changes. We have now had sight of the published Agenda for this meeting, as required by Club rules, and it makes no mention of any proposed rule changes. So constitutionally that shouldn't be allowed but doesn’t mean it won’t happen.
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Presumably you mean an Emergency or Extraordinary General Meeting ? But it cannot be a "general" meeting of any flavour without all the membership being informed. I think only items on the Agenda can be discussed at an extraordinary general meeting and I believe only one agenda item would be allowed.


I note though that the AGM is normally held in March
 
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It sounds as if a clique want it to be their club and feel they can run it however they like. This is opening a massive can of worms as any member will be able to legally dispute the result of a "closed" open meeting. My advice is to contact the RYA immediately, do not worry you are not an individual member. The RYA should be able to advise and possibly bring pressure on the club.
 
If, as seems likely the AGM, is imminent there is a simple solution to this saga


All NickC has to do is to get all his mates and supporters to attend the meeting Propose votes of no confidence in the existing committee members. Vote themselves in as the new committee.. Job done!
 
If I represented the RYA i would just state a few guidlines for running a club( they may have a booklet) & keep well clear of the matter.

Remember this is one persons issue which he has chosen to keep whineing to the public at large - which I personally think is the wrong way to deal with this.

This is not a seahorse campaign- if it was he should be tagged as a warning to others!!:encouragement:

He has even gone to the effort of sending personal messages to total outsiders
I can see why the committee might want him out - if only for bringing the club into disrepute to the public at large
 
The OP is more sinned against than sinning. Fairly clear that the committee has the management skills of a bull rhinocerus on heat.
 
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