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

[Daydream believer]

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!

Easier said than done. Normally members, who could not care less about his "problems", will rally round the committee mainly because they are just thankful someone wants the job
Then - if it is like some other clubs- people will be prevented from standing by rules that make it necessary for officers to have served at lower levels first so someone cannot just jump into a job without showing commitment first. All too often someone will take on a job in the euphoria of the meeting then disappear for good
Then he has to find people who are actually committed to doing anything at all - other than complain that is--

I would imagine that all this is extremely unsettling to the membership at large
I think it would be better if he just B.g.d off & started a new life somewhere else & learn by the experience

 

[sarabande]

I think it would be better if he just B.g.d off & started a new life somewhere else & learn by the experience

Now, please explain in simple terms why he would want to do that, and what reasons the committee has for wishing to boot him out.

 

[Daydream believer]

Now, please explain in simple terms why he would want to do that, and what reasons the committee has for wishing to boot him out.

Because as I said---

I would imagine that all this is extremely unsettling to the membership at large

Plus he has bought name of club into disrepute which will affect things like membership etc
I would not want my clubs dirty washing aired on a public forum & i suspect a lot of members would agree with that regardless of the rights & wrongs of the case--
Do you not agree with me on that one?

 

[sarabande]

So there IS dirty washing around. It sounds as if the trigger was the outboard 'gazumping' which is really dreadful behaviour, then when challenged over that, the committee tries to chuck the OP out.

Perhaps OP has tried solving this quietly, but without success. Who can blame him if he wants to expose Mafia-like tactics ? Perhaps if the rotten parts are cut out, then the membership will increase ?

 

[VicS]

I would imagine that all this is extremely unsettling to the membership at large

I'd think the majority of the members don't give a toss. Probably having a ******* good laugh at it all.

We dont know what caused all this agro. It could be anything from something serious like sitting on the commodore's favourite bar stool to some trivial "dirty washing" with his GF However I suspect, like Sarabande, that the question of an engine for the shared yacht is at the centre of it all. NickC wanted to fettle up a small "eggwhisk" and transom bracket. A couple of the others wanted a decent sized engine in the boat's outboard well, with electric starting etc as would befit the officers of a prestigious yacht club.

Unfortunately whoever bought the new engine failed to realise that a modern 4 stroke was considerably larger than the 10hp 2 stroke that would have originally been fitted. The result being the monster we saw in Nicks original photos, embarrassment for those who bought it and amusement for the members as a whole, " Have you seen the engine Shrimpy's fitted to that little boat of his. Its so big he cant turn the tiller and can only go round in a little circle and back onto the mooring.

"

 

[duncan99210]

Although I've never belonged to a sailing club, I have been belonged to a few dive clubs over the years. Most of the members don't care who runs the place, nor do they particularly care how it is run, provided that the diving happens when the weather and tides are right. Folks will turn to and do the work of keeping the boats and kit in shape, provided you ask the nicely.....

Whilst I have some sympathy with the OP, the more he posts on here about his dispute, the more I feel that he's barking up the wrong tree. Quiet influence within the club is the way to deal with things rather than a public confrontation made all the more so by using this forum to plead his cause. I can understand why the committee has moved against him in the way that it has even though it is perhaps a somewhat heavy handed response to the original problems. Were I in the OPs position, I would probably have shrugged my shoulders and moved on. Even if he convinces the club to allow him to remain a member, the atmosphere towards him will not be good and any victory somewhat hollow. Time to move on.

 

[Daydream believer]

+1

 

[NickC]

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!

Legal advice I have received elsewhere suggests that attending meeting, which I have not been invited to, may be counter-productive as others may not have been invited to the meeting as well. Attending it may provide them with the opportunity to have a vote on my expulsion by those few members present but without allowing fair representation of the facts to ALL members.

Might have been a good idea if we had seen the Notice of AGM more than a couple of days in advance, those members I have spoken to already have other plans so can't make it.

The one person I have spoken to who could definitely make it wanted to go along with a a video camera and a few witnesses to ask why they hadn't been invited and then send the results to the RYA in the hope that they might intervene.

 

[Biggles Wader]

No idea about the personalities involved,but I bet there are members of this club who are also members on these forums.I wonder if any have posted and expressed opinions here without declaring other interests?
It does seem to be a general truth that organisations become more involved in their own petty rivalry and quarrels than in promoting their original aims and objectives,hence why I am reluctant to join them.And I dont just mean yacht clubs.

 

[Daydream believer]

No idea about the personalities involved,but I bet there are members of this club who are also members on these forums.I wonder if any have posted and expressed opinions here without declaring other interests?
It does seem to be a general truth that organisations become more involved in their own petty rivalry and quarrels than in promoting their original aims and objectives,hence why I am reluctant to join them.And I dont just mean yacht clubs.

Which just goes to show that putting all this on the forum really does do harm because it reinforces your opinion & that of others that clubs have these spats & are not good things to join. When in reality it is not as common as one might think & it is a pity that this thread has been posted in the first place because it does not achieve a positive result for anyone. I do not care a jot for the OP & his irrelevant problems but i do care that people are able to come together & carry on a successful gathering in the form of a club. The OP has done that no good whatsoever

 

[NickC]

VicS the only link to identify the actual Club in question is your post mentioning the tag line from their website:

It is... at least it claims to be on their website. - Established in ****

If you could kindly remove that message the Club may again remain anonymous.

if only for bringing the club into disrepute to the public at large

Yes I know I made a small mistake when anonymising one of those documents but that was corrected and removed as soon as it was pointed out to me.

Perhaps you could also help me out by letting me know why you consider I have brought the club into disrepute, as opposed to "The Engineers" (as they became know on that outboard engine thread) who seem to have done a very good job of doing that without any help from me.

 

[Daydream believer]

Daydream believer the only link to identify the actual Club in question is your post mentioning the tag line from their website:

Where did you see that please & I will edit it

 

[VicS]

Legal advice I have received elsewhere suggests that attending meeting, which I have not been invited to, may be counter-productive as others may not have been invited to the meeting as well. Attending it may provide them with the opportunity to have a vote on my expulsion by those few members present but without allowing fair representation of the facts to ALL members.

Might have been a good idea if we had seen the Notice of AGM more than a couple of days in advance, those members I have spoken to already have other plans so can't make it.

The one person I have spoken to who could definitely make it wanted to go along with a a video camera and a few witnesses to ask why they hadn't been invited and then send the results to the RYA in the hope that they might intervene.

Surely if this is a general meeting it is open to all members, not just invited members. The date time and place should have been made known via the regular news letter, notice on the club notice board, the website or by letter or email to all members. Presumably too the venue for the meeting has to be booked in advance. Usually CYC for an AGM isn't it?

However I am a member of only one club committee and I note in the rules ( contrary to what I and others may have said earlier in this thread) that power of expulsion of a member rests with the committee for "actions adjudged by the committee to have shown gross or reckless disregard for the aims of the association and interests of its members or be likely to bring disrepute upon the Association"


I am finding it difficult to understand why you don't , as put a few posts up the page, move on!

The club seems to consist of a muddy dinghy park, a stretch of foreshore, a concrete ramp, a starter's box and somewhat fewer than 100 members very few of whom see to be willing to help your cause. I am not even sure that its much of bargain for £41.

 

[NickC]

Where did you see that please & I will edit it

Sorry, it is message #73 by VicS. Looks like my copy/paste went wrong.

 

[Daydream believer]

Sorry, it is message #73 by VicS. Looks like my copy/paste went wrong.

There you go--- blaming someone else
try post 51 for a clue-- that was your post wasn't it ???
Better edit it a bit quick

I am sure I read it earlier on, around post 40, but I may well be mistaken so give that one a miss

Actually i was intending to visit that club for a bit of Phantom sailing. My friends in the Phantoms seem to like the club & I have been meaning to go for some time so perhaps we can say HI !! or not, as the case may be

 

[Biggles Wader]

Which just goes to show that putting all this on the forum really does do harm because it reinforces your opinion & that of others that clubs have these spats & are not good things to join. When in reality it is not as common as one might think & it is a pity that this thread has been posted in the first place because it does not achieve a positive result for anyone. I do not care a jot for the OP & his irrelevant problems but i do care that people are able to come together & carry on a successful gathering in the form of a club. The OP has done that no good whatsoever

You seem very prickly on this.Are you connected to the OPs club,"his irrelevant problems" or any of this sorry saga?

 

[NickC]

The date time and place should have been made known via the regular news letter, notice on the club notice board, the website

You can see from the Club website that the date is still shown as TBA.

However I am a member of only one club committee and I note in the rules ( contrary to what I and others may have said earlier in this thread) that power of expulsion of a member rests with the committee for "actions adjudged by the committee to have shown gross or reckless disregard for the aims of the association and interests of its members or be likely to bring disrepute upon the Association"

Our rules state:

3.3 - The Club Committee may refuse membership, or remove it, only for good cause such as conduct or character likely to bring the Club or sport into disrepute. Appeal against refusal or removal may be made to members.

15.1 Where there is any conflict between any of the Key Rules (Rules 2, 3, 12 & 14) for CASC Status and any other rule or rules the Key Rules will take priority. Interpretation of all Rules must be consistent with the statutory requirements for CASCs (which means Community Amateur Sports Clubs as provided for by the Finance Act 2002).

So the members should be given a vote on this.

I am finding it difficult to understand why you don't , as put a few posts up the page, move on!

Last year they tried to kick out another long-term member, a very good friend of mine. He kept away from the Club for most of the year and was only down there about three times during the whole year. The year before that it was our club "clown" who was threatened with being expelled for his largely harmless high jinx. Next year it will no doubt be someone else. Unless someone has the balls to put a stop to these people.

 

[VicS]

Sorry, it is message #73 by VicS. Looks like my copy/paste went wrong.

Its not there any more but it is in another post.

Anyway how can a club be identified from the date it was formed, 1965, or any other.

I used to belong to a club that dates from 1901 and another which was formed in 1975 ....... any body going to identify either of them ...One now has yacht club status

 

[sailorman]

You can see from the Club website that the date is still shown as TBA.



Our rules state:


So the members should be given a vote on this.


Last year they tried to kick out another long-term member, a very good friend of mine. He kept away from the Club for most of the year and was only down there about three times during the whole year. The year before that it was our club "clown" who was threatened with being expelled for his largely harmless high jinx. Next year it will no doubt be someone else. Unless someone has the balls to put a stop to these people.

All RYA affiliated clubs have to conform to RYA approved club constitutional wording

 

[pandos]

Situations like these cannot be resolved internally. To do so someone must back down and be seen to do so. This does not happen too often without the other-side at some future date appearing to rub salt in a wound and thus reigniting the issues. It seems this is what happened with the Out-Board issue, the OP surrendered and gave in to what sounds like bullying, but now is, i believe correctly, unwilling to let go on another issue ( his right to speech). the other-side emboldened by the earlier success are not going to back down either.

I would advise that he walk away, or force conciliation which would include reopening the motor issue. How he would force conciliation on the issue would probably be through the RYA or perhaps a respected officer of a neighbouring club.