A shot of adrenalin

All too often I am writing an official statement on behalf of an organisation be it Antigua Sailing Week, the Caribbean Sailing Association or one of my clients for their website or advertising. Because I feel like I am always on official duty I realise that I rarely communicate my own thoughts publicly.

So for once I am going to…….. and hang the consequences, of which there will be none!

Last week I spent 4 days in St Maarten for the annual CSA conference. If you haven’t heard of the CSA it’s the organisation which owns and manages the rating rule which ensures boats of all sizes and types can race fairly by using the handicap rule – or the CSA Rating Rule. From its creation by Trinidadian Al Rapier over 50 years ago it has grown and now has rules for keel boats, multi-hulls, classics and a simplified rule. Antigua Sailing Week uses the rule as do all they big regattas across the Caribbean and it’s kind of special as it’s the only rule designed for our waters here in the sunny Caribbean.

Over the last fifteen years in particular the organisation has grown from a group of measurers getting together annually to talk about the rule and make sure it is still doing its job and relevant into a huge group of regatta organisers, officials, yacht clubs and latterly youth programme coordinators and member national authorities. In short a group of people who when they all get together annual for the conference has a sole aim to raise the game of sailing in the Caribbean.

So as for me I am there with two hats – the CSA as we run the secretariat, no make that three, the board member with responsibility for marketing, and also as the commercial director for Antigua Sailing Week. It is a superb weekend of networking which I have been attending for some years but I have to say each year I come away thinking I could have made more of it- there are so many opportunities to meet your peers and talk about your shared frustrations, challenges or opportunities. I also coming away having learnt so much and received an injection of energy and enthusiasm.

So for anyone who hasn’t been to the conference and really just because I felt in the mood to write it down – here are my personal takeaways which I find I can apply to any organisation I am involved in in some way:

  1. That you can go to a meeting like this as green with lack of knowledge as you like and even if you don’t talk but just listen, or especially, you might be completely bamboozled but you will understand what a fantastic sport you are involved with and how far there is for you to go in it should you want to and how effective it can be in literally shaping the lives of people involved in it. And remember I don’t’ even get on the water very often.
  2. I’ve learnt that in attending a conference of this kind, its as much about what happens inside the room as over the bar at midnight when people are still sharing ideas over a rum and ginger, or three.
  3. I’ve learnt that as challenging and rewarding as it can be when you get a disparate group of people who only meet once a year together on a common cause it can be really challenging to keep the energy flowing year round, but that there are always a few people in the group who will. When you leave the meeting and shape your to do list, you have to remember to stay focussed on what you are or have achieved and not be stressed or disappointed by what you haven’t.
  4. I’ve also realised that you will only achieve 30% of what everyone agrees is vital because life gets in the way.
  5. I’ve learnt that many of the highest achieving people are amazingly open about the decisions they make, why they have made them, what they are trying to achieve and in some cases their intention on how to achieve them without worrying that you are going to steal their ideas. And why? Because it all comes from confidence in THEIR own product. Yes they are going to look at your event or club, but in the end, they have something to deliver for their island with a separate set of objectives with a different set of stakeholders in different circumstances. But by sitting around a table and talking about it you get loads of ideas for how you can approach things differently.
  6. I’ve learnt that you can sometimes get too caught up in how far you have moved things on in your event or organisation and easily get annoyed and frustrated that people don’t understand, just ‘know’ or didn’t happen to read the information about the changes. It reminds you that no matter how fast you are running, you have to take time to make sure that everyone around you knows where you are going or how the heck you got to where you are and why, and by doing so , may actually want to get on board for the ride. Alternatively they may just stop the bus and run like hell in the opposite direction.
  7. I’ve learnt that all too often we stop listening to feedback, or interpret it in the same old way, rather than standing back and listening and re-challenging and I’ve learnt that if you don’t realise that and you don’t stop to listen and rethink and re-strategise, that your event or organsation is going to go down the pan, OR , your steering committee or board are going to start having problems with you. In most of our events it’s not yours, its ours, forget that simple thing and you are on a hiding to nowhere.
  8. I’ve learnt that planning for outcomes is just common sense and even if you never have to pull plans into play, it means as a group, a board or manager, you have gained agreement on potential future actions and allows you to challenge your thought processes and generally brings you together as a group. It makes you stronger.
  9. Whatever you are involved in get more people involved earlier, everyone is so busy its all too easy to delay and then at the last minute when something has to be done, you realise it’s too late so you do it yourself, Your on a hiding to nowhere AKA # 7.
  10. Sometimes it is what it is, and sometimes it really isn’t!
  11. And finally for lots of different reasons giving people recognition for what they do is essential in terms of building goodwill in the organisation, equally recognising when the goodwill they give should be a paid job role or is essential. But more than that – whether it’s for free or paid, contract is still king!

Bottom line, when people with a passion and a common cause get together, great ideas are created. Having a cool board to work with year round to transform even a handful of those ideas into a reality is a pleasure (most of the time). So new president Kathy, Peter, Jaime, Pam, Judy, Chris, Jeffrey and Mike I am looking forward to the next year of what can be achieved and really importantly that as board members we keep on reaching out to the members in the same vein. As a region we have challenges, but we also have an enviable product in our yachting industry. We are the current caretakers of it and along with Sailors for the Sea we have a chance of further developing it for future generations to come.

Footnote: If you have never been to the CSA Annual Conference, just do it! It is an incubator for ideas for our regiona and a charge of adrenalin for anyone involved in the sport of business of yacht racing in the Caribbean. Next year we are back in Antigua – so save the date 21st and 22nd! And if you are not in the sport, find a similar conference and get your annual fix of adrenalin, it will be a game changer for you. Check it out the CSA Conference at www.csaconference.org.

Caribbean Sailing Association Annual Conference to Take Place in Antigua

conferencepressrelease

During the last weekend of October, Antigua will play host to some of the most influential people in yacht racing from around the region when the Caribbean Sailing Association’s (‘CSA’) Annual Conference takes place.  Planned over three days from the 24th – 26th October, regatta organisers, race officials, rating rule measurers and other industry stakeholders will converge on host venue, Antigua Yacht Club, for three days of seminars, discussions and networking opportunities.

In the past few years the conference was held in St. Maarten and Puerto Rico.  However, it was decided that Antigua would be the logical location to host the 2014 Conference given not only its central location making it easier for delegates to travel from across the region, but with the new CSA secretariat office being located at Antigua Yacht Club Marina along with the secretariats for Antigua Sailing Week and the Antigua and Barbuda Marine Association, it makes the planning logistically easier.

The team responsible for organising the Conference alongside key CSA board members and also CSA board members themselves is Alison Sly-Adams and Kathy Lammers of Mainstay Caribbean Ltd., the management company responsible for managing the secretariat for all three non-profit organisations.

Kathy Lammers said:  ‘We are delighted to be hosting the Conference in Antigua this year because not only does it give us a chance to showcase Antigua’s yachting industry and the island to business people from around the region, it also makes it more feasible for local yachting industry stakeholders to attend the conference.’  Alison Sly-Adams went on to emphasize the importance of that:  ‘We have attended this conference for the last three years and found it to be a very key part of the planning cycle for yachting marketing in the region.  Each of us as yachting stakeholders is able to share our experiences with our regional peers and it has helped us to create a support group across the Caribbean.  Although many of us are effectively in competition with each other in terms of attracting boats to our events, it is essential that we first work together to attract boats into the Caribbean region.’

During the 2014 Conference there will be a focus on youth and sailing development programmes and Antigua’s National Sailing Academy (‘NSA’) will play host to delegates during the Friday afternoon session of the Conference, showcasing what NSA has achieved and how it is playing its part in developing young Antiguan sailors and associated career opportunities.  The participation of Tim Cross, the International Sailing Federation (‘ISAF’) representative for the region who specializes in youth and sailing development, will help organisations look at how they can create and develop their programmes as well as looking at potential new sources of funding to assist in continued growth.

Sailors for the Sea, an environmental organisation committed to regattas being ‘clean’ and adopting environmentally positive practices, is a Conference sponsor and will be on the ground to work with Conference delegates to determine ways in which they can make their regattas environmentally sustainable.  They will also assist in identifying funding opportunities to help regattas achieve their goals.

The CSA Annual General Meeting and a meeting of CSA rating rule measurers will also form part of the Conference and there will be informal dinners and opportunities for delegates to network with their island counterparts.

For more information about the conference, contact the CSA secretariat at secretariat@caribbean-sailing.com or call (268) 734-6366.  More information about the CSA can be found at www.caribbean-sailing.com.

Notes to Editors

The CSA Annual Conference takes place from 24th – 26th October, 2014.

The Conference will be held at the Events Centre, Antigua Yacht Club.

Media Enquiries

Nadine McDavid marketing@mainstaycaribbean.com

Antigua Sailing Week, Antigua and Barbuda Marine Association and the Caribbean Sailing Association Secretariats Join Forces

Three key non-profit organisations – Antigua Sailing Week (ASW), the Antigua and Barbuda Marine Association (ABMA) and the Caribbean Sailing Association (CSA) – have joined forces to open a year-round office in Antigua to serve the yachting communities of Antigua and the wider Caribbean.

The office is now open upstairs at Antigua Yacht Club Marina to provide each of the organisations with a fully manned shop front five days a week and to provide services to the three organisations and their members as well as providing members of the public with information about yachting in Antigua and the Caribbean generally.

All three organisations will utilize the expertise of the team at Mainstay Caribbean Ltd., a new business owned by Kathy Lammers and Alison Sly-Adams, both of whom have been involved in all three non-profit organisations for some time. Kathy Lammers says, “People involved in organisations of this type – not just in Antigua but in the wider Caribbean – know that one of the biggest challenges is attempting to put strategies into place when due to the nature of the organisations, there are no funds to employ people to do just that. Instead, such organisations rely on volunteer board members to help achieve their goals, who are often too busy with other commitments to ensure the desired results.”

Being on the boards of the various non-profit companies, the duo realized that there could be an opportunity for each of the three organisations to grow if there were people in place to provide consistency in delivering secretariat and management services at the right level, rather than relying on board members to find spare time. Mainstay Caribbean Ltd. was created to do just that, utilising shared resources across the companies.

The Caribbean Sailing Association owns and manages the CSA Rating Rule which is the handicap rule used in the majority of keel boat racing in the Caribbean. The CSA also promotes the development of youth and dinghy sailing and promotes the Caribbean region as the premier yacht racing destination in the world. Of the new partnership Peter Holmberg, President of the Caribbean Sailing Association says, “We have been discussing this for some time and it is the next logical step. Having a dedicated Secretariat will help all our volunteer committees and our measurers better achieve their goals and, ultimately, give better service to all our members.”

As marketing has risen to the top in terms of a priority for the Antigua and Barbuda Marine Association, Franklyn Braithwaite, President of the ABMA echoes Holmberg’s comments, “We know Antigua is one of the world’s leading yachting destinations, but that does not mean we can stop talking about it and telling the world what we are doing and why Antigua should remain at the top of their itineraries. Working with the other organisations will allow us to take advantage of consistent year round marketing, particularly more cost effective online marketing which we have been unable to deliver to date.” Braithwaite says he and his board look forward to the ABMA finally starting to realize its potential in terms of delivering value to its members.

Both presidents, however, make no bones about the continued need for board members, association members and volunteers to continue to support and do what they do for the yachting industry as it is that level of collaboration which makes every event and organisation both different and successful.

For Antigua Sailing Week the collaboration comes just in time for ASW 2014. Commercial Director of ASW, Alison Sly-Adams says, “As soon as ASW ends we are already in the planning cycle for the following year, collating feedback from this year’s event, implementing plans for ASW 2015 and hitting the road marketing and talking to sponsors immediately. Having the office in place will ensure we can finally start to leverage some of the opportunities that come our way”.

A big thank you to AUA College of Medicine, Digicel, Nonsuch Bay Resort, and the Antigua Yacht Club Marina and Resort all of whom significantly assisted in providing fixtures, fittings and infrastructure for the office in order to enable it to open and be fully functional.

Mainstay Caribbean Ltd.’s office is open Monday to Friday 8.30 am – 4.30 pm. Tel + 1(268) 734-6366 info@mainstaycaribbean.com.

For more information on each organisation you can check out their websites:
Caribbean Sailing Association www.caribbean-sailing.com
Antigua and Barbuda Marine Association www.abma.ag
Antigua Sailing Week www.sailingweek.com
Mainstay Caribbean Ltd www.mainstaycaribbean.com

Gill Merchandise now in store for Antigua Sailing Week

Gill Gear 310 x 200The Antigua Sailing Week Official Regatta Gear from technical sponsor Gill is now on sale in our office upstairs at Antigua Yacht Club Marina.  Open from Monday to Friday 8.30-4.30 pm.

Check out the range which includes technical race gear with UV sun protection as well as 100% cotton and technical polos.

Merchandise will also be on sale in the Gill tent in the Antigua Yacht Club parking lot from throughout Antigua Sailing Week.

 

MCL Office Opens

officeopeningWe finally opened the new Mainstay Caribbean Ltd. office on Monday 3rd March, 2014.

The office is locate upstairs at Antigua Yacht Club Marina and is therefore ideally located for ease of access for all visiting yachtsmen and the Marine Trades Association members in Antigua and Barbuda.

New employees Nadine McDavid and Ari James have joined the business and will be the frontline team for all of our clients including Antigua Sailing Week, the Antigua & Barbuda Marine Association and the Caribbean Sailing Association.