Captain JP asked a great question today: Are bad posts good?
His point is that the most popular post on his blog recently was about his Worst Ever Race. Apparently people love to read about others’ misfortunes. I’ve had a similar experience. No — I never tried racing a triple-reefed Topper in a Force 2 wind. What I mean is that on this blog too, the most widely read recent post was the one where I was whining about the Uncrustables in a regatta lunch. Folk apparently love a good negative story, especially if it bashes some poor, overworked, volunteer regatta-organizer.
I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised. Check out your major newspaper or TV news program. It’s the bad news that makes the headlines. And the talk shows are full of politicians rubbishing the performance of your country’s selfless, dedicated, masterly government leaders.
I’ve done a lot of whining about regatta organizers and race committees lately. I do feel guilty about writing so much negative stuff. My only excuses are that I do also write about my own screw-ups in various capacities, and one can only hope that talking about other people’s mistakes will make us all better sailors, race committee staff, sailing club leaders, sailing instructors, or purveyors of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for hungry sailors. No. Scrub that last one.
So to change to a more positive tone, let’s give credit to a race committee that knows how to do things right. Check out the account of how Malletts Bay Boat Club managed to record the finishes of the 2007 US Laser Nationals accurately and post them so quickly to the web. It’s a story of attention to detail, superb organization and planning, practice, well-designed processes, delegation, intelligent use of technology, and commitment to excellence.
Congratulations to Malletts Bay. Other RCs please note. It can be done.
Original post by Tillerman and software by Elliott Back
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