DC: Happy New Year, Tom. 2013 is in the books, how many boats do you think you finished last year?
TD: Just did some quick math- about 4,000.
DC: And an equal number of polite “Thank You’s” as they crossed, right?
TD: Actually, no matter what the level of event- the first few boats are happy as hell and always say ‘Thank You’. Then the next level are a bit less happy and tend to be quieter. Then, the folks towards the back always say ‘Thanks’. After the last race of a series, when the pressure is off (and if we haven’t screwed up too badly during the week), almost everyone goes out of their way to say ‘Thanks!’.
DC: You’ve been around the world working a ton of events, what’s the best pure race track/body of water factoring breeze, depth, current, lack of commercial traffic, aesthetics and room to work?
TD: I’m sure there are a bunch of places on the planet that fit here – but from my experience it’s Biscayne Bay, Miami. Reliable breeze, flat water, no commercial traffic to speak of, negligible current, 10′ of water everywhere. It’s like running races in a petri dish. Pure fun. Limassol, Cyprus is second for me- you can almost drop the marks before the seabreeze arrives- it seems that reliable.
DC: “In my best McLaughlin Group voice” The correct answer is Buzzards Bay but hey, this is a fun one to debate at the bar. Speaking of that, what’s “Sailing’s Best Yacht Club Bar?
TD: Not that I spend much time in yacht club bars, mind you – but it’s hard to beat sitting on the dock with an ice cold beer at Edgartown Yacht Club in July, or sitting by the pool with an ice cold beer at Coral Reef Yacht Club in January, or just hanging out with an ice cold beer at Sarasota Sailing Squadron in November, or catching the last of the afternoon sun with an ice cold beer in the Saloon at Goldminer’s in Alta in March- oops, wrong sport- and yes, Mom, I see a pattern here.
DC: Note to self, bribes to Duggan take form of ice cold beer. Best Race Officer lunches? How about the worst?
TD: Honestly, I don’t have a real opinion on that one. I usually only eat a couple of bites at a time while races are going on, so I don’t really notice. But I do remember warmed-by-the-sun rabbit legs in a cardboard box in China, and a Volvo In-Port Race in Baltimore on a beautiful startboat with a built in grill on the afterdeck where the boat owner surprised us by grilling prime rib sandwiches during the race. Although I most certainly appreciated the thought, I passed on the rabbit legs in China- but I found a number of excuses to wander to the afterdeck in Baltimore…
DC: Tell us which fleets do you think have their &^&% together in terms of leadership, organization, and the right combination of fun and great competition?
TD: I don’t usually get too involved in class politics (you know, like making sausage, I don’t need to see it) but I guess I most enjoy working with fleets who work hard to maintain a high level of sportsmanship and make sure there is a place in their fleet for amateur sailors- while attracting competitors of the highest caliber possible. I know, easy to say, not easy to do- and many classes do well at this- but the Etchells class comes top to my mind. Also, you haven’t really lived till you’ve been a participant in a ‘Butt Darts’ competition at a Sunfish Worlds.
DC: Etchells are a great fleet for sure. I’m going to have to ask my friend Lee Parks about the Sunfish shenanigans. What draws you to spending your time in service to competitive sailors, beyond the drink tickets of course?
TD: Short answer- because it turns out to be challenging, fun, and rewarding. I know, silly, huh? Who knew?
DC: Your mantra has always been “It’s all about the sailors.” That’s music to sailors ears of course and the right mindset. But given that, what do you tell clubs struggling to recruit, train and hold the attention of volunteer race officers or is the answer hiring a professional PRO who can be a pied piper and lead and teach the volunteers?
TD: Ha! You know this is my favorite topic. I have given talks on this subject to both sailing and business groups. And I always start the same way, “I’m not going to tell you anything here that you don’t deep down inside already know.”
When people volunteer their time, to either be part of a racing crew, or part of a race management team- they must feel rewarded. Otherwise why would they volunteer? In most cases in sailing, we cannot reward with money – so we need other currency. It always impresses me to see the kind of people we have working on the water for free- doctors, engineers, lawyers, business leaders, etc. These people can buy their own drinks- they don’t give up a day’s (or several days’) income or vacation time for a couple of drink tickets. So what’s the currency they are willing to trade their time for?
I think it is appreciation, hard work that results in accomplishment, and challenge – and the fun that comes from all of that.
The hard work (and it is just hard work, not magic) is creating an environment that fosters individual and team successes among your volunteers. This is done through leadership. And I mean leading, not ordering people around. Recently I saw two drawings that contrasted leadership styles. One drawing was of a group of ancient workers with a rope, pulling a block of stone up a ramp- the boss standing on the block, yelling instructions. The other was of the same group- the boss holding the rope, pulling and collaborating with his men. Who would you be more willing to contribute more effort for, to be more willing to learn new skills for, to ‘up your game’ for? Like I said previously, nothing here you don’t already know.
Why don’t more people lead this way? I don’t know- maybe because quite often the rewards aren’t as obvious- or as immediate. It takes more time, effort and patience to develop volunteers who can work on their own than it does to just tell them what to do. More work for the group leader, yes- but team members need to feel ownership in order to extend their best efforts. Remember, in the entire history of the world, no one has ever washed a rented car.
Every organization has members who fit the leadership profile. They don’t necessarily need to be the best race managers- they just need to be allowed to work to develop them.
I do enjoy being the ‘Pied Piper’ PRO brought in to a club to help manage a high level event that a club might not be ready to handle on its own. But a large part of the ‘Pied Piper’ gig is teaching. Clubs often ask me, “Can you bring some people in with you because we are not quite sure we have enough experience to support you.” My response is always, “Not unless I absolutely have to. How will your people learn if we don’t let them try?” It’s the Catch 22 that we’ve got to overcome when developing volunteers. They have to stretch to truly learn. We have to have the nerve to let them stretch. Sometimes a club will be offered an event that is a bit of a reach for its volunteers. That’s the perfect situation to bring in an accomplished PRO to help. But clubs who do this should make sure that the race officer they bring in is truly willing to put the effort into leaving something valuable behind- not just a plaque to hang on the wall.
DC: Pretty timely advice for a lot of clubs, maybe most clubs, looking to develop a new generation of confident, knowledgeable and user-friendly PROs. Thanks for your time, Tom.
TD: Thanks Dan.
