Commodores, Blazers, Whites etc

Bassplayer

Bassplayer

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In 2012, is there a point to Commodores of clubs (if there ever was), and dressing up in blazers etc?
The RCC did a strange cruising up and down the Medway past us at a bit more than 6kts today, all dressed in their blazers etc. Nearly spilled the varnish with the wash... And I thought, what is the point? Don't have a problem with dressing well, but for a cruise on a small boat (sub 25 metre,say)? Not a lifejacket to be seen, of course!

Soooo, what is this thing with Commodores, Rear (?) Commodores, etc? Isn't a bit passe? A bit them and us? Even the smallest sailing clubs have one of these too.

So, Fred, step up to the bar and explain please. Or anyone else!
 
Well the last time I visited the Squadron a couple of years back, women still weren't allowed to use the front entrance and had to enter the club via a small door round the back. Now, I don't know if that is still the case but I imagine its still a few years before we see commitee members wearing cutoff jeans and hawaiian shirts :)
 
Bassplayer said:
"Women not allowed to use the front entrance"? Is that some sort of euphamism?
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Errr no it means that women, i.e. my wife and our host, who was a female member, were not "allowed" to use the front door. One would hope this archaic rule has since changed. I'm sure there will be a member of the RYS on here who will confirm this.

Nice Swordsman by the way. Another Fairey owner here :)
 
Bassplayer said:
In 2012, is there a point to Commodores of clubs (if there ever was), and dressing up in blazers etc?
The RCC did a strange cruising up and down the Medway past us at a bit more than 6kts today, all dressed in their blazers etc. Nearly spilled the varnish with the wash... And I thought, what is the point? Don't have a problem with dressing well, but for a cruise on a small boat (sub 25 metre,say)? Not a lifejacket to be seen, of course!

Soooo, what is this thing with Commodores, Rear (?) Commodores, etc? Isn't a bit passe? A bit them and us? Even the smallest sailing clubs have one of these too.

So, Fred, step up to the bar and explain please. Or anyone else!
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I don't think I understand the question.

Without committee members to run them, most clubs as we know them would cease to to exist.

Clubs begin with an informal committee (of people who think "it would be a good idea if we got together to <insert chosen activity>"). Then they become more formal, when they start having bank accounts and such like, and take more steps up the formality scale when they start owning property/becoming limited companies/registered charities etc. The structure of a large club can be quite complicated.
It doesn't run itself.

I suppose you could use words like Chairman/Vice Chairman/Deputy Chairman etc., or Managing Director/ Property Director/Sailing Director -- but why? What's wrong with Commodore/Vice Com/Rear Com?

Similarly the "blazers" bit. When I was Flag Officer of a large club, I never wore a blazer and tie to "working" events, such as committee meetings, or to go and drive the safety boat for the kids' section, or to wag flags for the racing people. It would have been a bit silly, really. But I did wear blazer and tie to formal events such as prize givings, AGMs etc. Again, why not? I wear a suit to weddings and funerals -- what's the difference?

PS. I don't think the size of club makes much differnce: I was Flag Officer(sailing) at a large club and Flag Officer (house) of a tiny one. I didn't wear my blazer to clean the bar pipes or unblock the showers at the tiny one, either ... but I did put on a jacket for the annual dinner-dance!
 
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Strake said:
From that quite comprehensive answer/point of view, it appears you did understand the question.
Did you mean "I don't like the tone of that question" ;)
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I'm afraid I'm not that subtle: I answered the question at face value.

I really can't see why anyone would object to a club calling its chairman the "commodore" or to him wearing a jacket to an organised event, so I guessed there was more to it than met the eye ... but I really can't see what.
 
Bassplayer said:
In 2012, is there a point to Commodores of clubs (if there ever was), and dressing up in blazers etc?
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Fair question, I think. You may be aware that there is a forum taking place in the Hamble this week of the commodores of about thirty of the world's leading yacht clubs. And for the (posh) opening dinner they did all dress up and really looked quite impressive. Dressing up for formal occasions can add glamour to the occasion.
On the other hand, most of yachting /sailing involves physical exertion and ofter getting cold and wet, so blazers and white trousers are a bit silly, whereas technical gear is much more sensible.
Yacht clubs do seem to get in a twist about this distinction, especially when older members from a more formal era have bed-blocked the rules committee.
 
innesker said:
Fair question, I think. You may be aware that there is a forum taking place in the Hamble this week of the commodores of about thirty of the world's leading yacht clubs. And for the (posh) opening dinner they did all dress up and really looked quite impressive. Dressing up for formal occasions can add glamour to the occasion.
On the other hand, most of yachting /sailing involves physical exertion and ofter getting cold and wet, so blazers and white trousers are a bit silly, whereas technical gear is much more sensible.
Yacht clubs do seem to get in a twist about this distinction, especially when older members from a more formal era have bed-blocked the rules committee.
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The point I am trying to make is that why commodores etc? A chairman / secretary etc is enough for any club.
The RCC went past today en masse ALL wearing blazers etc. Not the women, they were all wearing fancy dresses. On a small boat? Oh, perlease....

A formal "do" as above I suppose is OK for such dressing up. Most of us like to scrub up once in a while.
It is the exclusive nature of it that I suppose gets me. Them and us.
Or am I being a bit daft?
 
Bassplayer said:
It is the exclusive nature of it that I suppose gets me. Them and us. Or am I being a bit daft?
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Hmm, I know what you mean - it's this and the inverted snob in me that frightens me away from boat clubs. Perhaps my school days affected me so much as to still be frightened of getting cornered by a couple of blazer-clad officials asking me if I still wet the bed.

But to answer your question, I think you're being a bit daft.
 
At a guess (and without checking) I would guess that what you saw today was the Mayor´s Cruise, an annual do like a maritime beating the bounds, which finishes with laying a wreath over a sunken ship which is a war grave (not the Richard Montgomery)
 
Bassplayer said:
The point I am trying to make is that why commodores etc? A chairman / secretary etc is enough for any club.
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But that's all they are! Commodore is just the word that sailing/boating/yacht clubs traditionally use for their Chairmen! Exactly how you get to be a Commodore varies from club to club, but in most cases it involves an awful lot of time working on various minor committees to do the nitty gritty that gets things done. Then one day someone asks if you'll be standing for election as Rear Com.
Bassplayer said:
It is the exclusive nature of it that I suppose gets me. Them and us.
Or am I being a bit daft?
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Hardly exclusive! Most clubs' committees are desperate to find people to share the load -- whether they have a hundred members on a muddy river or a couple of thousand on the Solent.

I was Flag Officer House at one club when I was in my twenties. It was a motor boat club, and I owned a sailing dinghy and only joined because I was doing up an old wreck in the boatyard next door and wanted somewhere nice to get a pie and a pint. To take part in their events, I borrowed my (then) girlfriend's Dad's Microplus! The other one, 20 years later, was a much bigger club, and I got sucked into the committee structure by offering to help a kid put the mast up on his Optimist. A few years later I found myself running the kids section , and a couple of years later I was Flag Officer sailing. I owned a 23 footer.
 
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Bassplayer said:
(snip)
It is the exclusive nature of it that I suppose gets me. Them and us.
Or am I being a bit daft?
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You're being daft.

Well, actually it's more like reverse snobbery! There's no exclusivity, anyone is free to join a yacht club (or not if you wish). If you join a yacht club then it makes sense to support it by doing work to help it function if you can. Chances are then that you may be invited to join the committee as good men can be hard to find when there is work to be done.

Keep working & manage without alienating the rest of the committee & you may be elected to Vice-commodore & later commodore. Nothing exclusive about that, altho a handful of clubs may have strict membership requirements, most clubs are just for people interested in boating.

Dressing up for any occasion gives one a "lift" - something a bit special & worth a bit of effort. I'm sure you could brush up well yourself if you tried. :D
I am told that I do.
 
Righty Ho.

The event which spilt yer tea on Sunday was the RCC ex Commodes sail past.This basically involved getting anything that would actually move to leave the moorings and after 10 mins or so of chaos,depart upriver in the forlorn hope that on our return back down past the club,a line of boats will go past in some sort of order to say thank you to the committee asembled on the pontoon for the work they have put in over many years to keep the club going.
Although the posh boats and the blazers may have caught the eye,among the flottila lurked craft of lesser heritage,including "Rusty" the club dredger/workboat well past its sink by date and only held together by a new coat of scrounged paint.The gentlemen crew who were tastefully attired by the House of Millets or alternatively the latest in a la mode boiler suit.The club flag on the back really could have done with a wash:)
The sailpast then descends into an unseemly race to get back onto the moorings and up into the clubhouse for large amounts of liquid refreshment and a roast,followed by various discussions about other peoples navigational skills(or lack thereof ) and a chance to explain to all and sundry about what you got up to this year.
My club tie,as usual remained hidden in my jacket pocket,it still has the cellophane wrapper around it.
It will probably remain in its wrapper until I am coerced to to something official or my trousers are falling down.:)
 
DAKA said:
Agreed.

Its hard work, lot of hours and a lot of hassle usually unpaid and does mean some boating weekends away are missed .

IMHO the sail past is in part to recognise the committee / heads contribution , dressing up is just part of making them feel special for the day, they deserve it.

I recommend anyone close to a club to go along and try it, the forum is great for advice but the local club really have the local knowledge which you can benefit from, while at the bar...............perfect :)
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It has to be said that probably most clubs are ok, but you might come across a club where the committee are so far up their own arses they can't see daylight.
 
I think getting dressed up in blazers is a great idea. It lets Johnny Foreigner know just what being British is all about. When cruising recently with the Colonials and a vast array of European stragglers I took great pride in dressing up for formal night to show them how it should be done. Ditto using a knife and fork, forming an orderly queue and complaining at every opportunity.

I do think we should organise a gathering where cream trousers or strange coloured cords are mandatory. I would suggest a blazer but not sure I have one. That said the charity shops will be awash with them, so yes, blazers as well.

And all women shall be required to use the back door.

Henry :)
 
epervier said:
Steve I'm sure you do, especially around December time,

it's the red suit, very becoming:D
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Indeed;

483049_10151069610837263_1310035416_n.jpg


Tho I think I should have turned around for you. :p :rolleyes:
 
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