Seniority

I went to the annual meeting of the Portland Yacht Club last night.  Mostly, I was there to help elect the new slate of directors for the next two years, among whom was my daughter.  Aside from that, the big item on the agenda was some changes to the by-laws dealing with ancillary classes of membership.

One of those ancillary classes is 'Senior'.  Senior members have to be over 55, have been members for at least 15 years, and “shall not own, moor, nor have ongoing control of a vessel within the Yacht Club anchorage.” In return, Senior members pay half the regular dues and assessments.  (A savings of $652.50 in 2005.)

This is boredom city, I know, but while listening to the comments and the nitpicking, I was thumbing through my membership directory to see who the members in each of these categories were.    I was surprised to see that the owner of the boat yard next door to the club is a Senior member. He owns, moors and controls not ‘a vessel’ but several vessels within the yacht club anchorage. 

I used to work for this gentleman, and for several years after I left, he was, if not disgruntled, at least not entirely gruntled (apologies to Wodehouse).  Moreover, his son is one of my competitors. For those reasons I don’t plan to make a stink about how he obviously doesn’t qualify for the dues discount he is enjoying. 

I’m sure he would argue that he doesn’t use the club’s waterfront facilities, and that by becoming a ‘Senior’ member he has opened a full membership slot to someone else. And he has done plenty over his long career to help the club and promote boating.

Still, since this is my blog, I’ve got to ask: Is it me, or does this strike anyone else as perhaps just a wee bit, dare I say, cheap?