Commodore Joe Doggett has two goals
March 11, 2009
 |
| Commodore Joe Doggett of Marco Bay Yacht Club wanted a boat with twin outboards, so he finally got a Seaswirl Striper 26 with twin Yamaha 150s. He also notes, "I've got three GPSs, radar, fish finder, hand-held VHF, and an EPIRB." He is safety conscious. |
By Carl Kelly
They really wanted to come to Marco.
"In '93, I had a meeting at the Marriott," he explained. "I brought the kids and Sharon, made a little vacation out of it. And we liked it so much that we always came back.
"When I had a medical meeting, I'd make sure it was in the southern tier of the states. We'd take an extra day and we'd go looking. But we always came back to Marco Island."
They bought property in 1998, built their house in 2001, and shortly after they arrived on that Dec. 3rd, they bought a boat.
He was a little apprehensive.
"I knew it was so different," he said. "To think about going out into the ocean is so different than when you're on a hundred-acre lake in Missouri, where you can see the other shore. Then, you hear all the horror stories about shoaling."
He wanted a boat with twin outboards, so he finally got a Seaswirl Striper 26 with twin Yamaha 150s and a small cabin.
He also noted, "I've got three GPSs, radar, fish finder, hand-held VHF, and an EPIRB."
He is safety conscious.
Installed
Joe and Sharon Doggett soon joined Marco Bay Yacht Club and became very active.
On Jan. 24, Joe Doggett was installed as the MBYC Commodore for 2009.
"MBYC is the oldest boater organization on Marco Island, organized in 1968," he noted.
MBYC's annual activities include various cruises, beach parties, meetings and fellowships.
The club's member booklet notes their objective is "to encourage safe boating, the sport of yachting, and to promote the skills of seamanship and navigation."
For the coming year, Doggett has two basic goals. The first is a safety concern.
Safety
"This is a boating club," he said. "We should be thinking more safety.
"When you join the club, we require that the boat be inspected. But we never require further inspections after that. So, one of the things I want to do this year is to make sure we get a better number of members who get their boats inspected on a routine yearly basis."
During 2009, all club members will be contacted individually to encourage regular safety inspection of their boats and to begin keeping records of inspections.
"I'd like to see us get up to 60 or 70 percent this year, then work up toward 100 percent."
Then, he said, "You're always looking for new members. Every club needs members. My goal is to increase by 25 couples this year."
But simply adding numbers is not the point.
"I want to see us maintain an active membership," he said. "I'd like to see our membership increase, but I'd like to see those members be very active members."
Sponsors
The process he has in mind will utilize sponsors to help the new members enter into the club's life and activities.
"The best thing we've done to integrate members, newer with older, is our Final Fridays at the Old Marco Lodge on Goodland. It's very casual. There's no program. So, you can have a soda or a drink and just have fun talking."