SA Sailing and Authorities Strengthen Relationships for the Benefit of All

The South African Sailing President Michael Robinson asks in his May 2023 newsletter: I want to revisit the old chestnut – “What does South African Sailing do for me?”

South African Sailing represents every sailor in South Africa and has, over many years, been changing the face of sailing to make it more inclusive, more accessible, more diverse, more competitive and, most importantly, more fun than ever.

Michael goes on to say:

Maybe, this time, I will reverse the order in which I address the issues, although, in my view, the precedence of order is often in the eyes of the member. We are a diverse community, with diverse interests and diverse orders of importance.

Right at this moment, my attention is focussed on access to water and tenure to the premises from which we operate. In this past week, I had a very successful meeting at just about the highest level of management in the TNPA. The first thing that I need to record, is the cordial nature of the meeting. I was well received, congratulated on the good works undertaken by the sailing fraternity, and treated as a partner in the process of finding a way forward in the interests of both parties. One of the highlights of the meeting was the request that I put together a memorandum of understanding between the TNPA and SA Sailing which would encompass the arrangements currently in place and would regulate the relationship between SA Sailing (and its affiliated clubs in National Ports) on the one hand, and the TNPA on the other, well into the future. One of the items to be covered will be the TNPA undertaking to accommodate sailing clubs in all National Ports with premises being made available at 50% of the commercial rental costing or less. A number of these leases are already in place, and the MOU will ensure that the trend continues.

I am not going to go into the enormous amount of effort that individuals such as Peter Sherlock put into facilitating the new positive relationship with the TNPA, but I do want to stress the value of having a SASCOC and Department of Sport Art and Culture accredited National Sports Federation enter the fray. Especially a National Sports Federation with a highly functional development and transformation process ongoing. What has been achieved with the TNPA will be a template that will be used in ports where the property in under the control of (amongst other departments) the Department of Public Works, or under municipal control.

I need to record (without going into the enormous amount of effort that individuals such as Johan Greyling put in) that every South African Sailing affiliated club situated on a State Dam, has been recorded on the resource management plan of that dam. The South African Sailing credentials, when presented to the Department of Water and Sanitation, facilitated this inclusion. This inclusion on the resource management plans has facilitated the leases of clubs occupying State Land, at rentals within the grasp of the memberships of these clubs. Because of the affiliation to SA Sailing, and the inclusion on the resource management plans, these properties did not go out on open tender.

The first value proposition that I table, is that the favourable positioning of most clubs is secured in part by access to the credentials of South African Sailing. Where the rental is discounted as a result of the association with South African Sailing, an actual monetary value can be calculated. South African Sailing is getting better at dealing with matters relating to access and tenure – there is still work to be done, but with a precedent that embodies a minimum tenure of ten years, and a maximum rental of 50% negotiations on behalf of affiliated clubs becomes easier. We are also establishing uniform criteria for clubs to comply with, in order for them to maximise benefits available from the state or from semi-state institutions.

The second benefit also relates to access to and association with the Authorities in matter other than access and tenure. There is an undercurrent of self-regulation in these matters. I am referring to the agency agreement which SA Sailing has with SAMSA, and the relationship of trust that has been built up over the years. I am referring to the digital passage planning system that has been mooted, and the pre-arrival notification system for international arrivals in which OSASA and South African Sailing have played a role. I am referring to the discussions around SA Sailing qualified safety boat operators being appointed as water use monitors on inland waters. What about the International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft, which makes it possible for you to use your South African Sailing qualifications all around the world. Here we need to include access to Lotto funding. Although Lotto has been dysfunctional for a while, the operation is coming back on line. One of the new guidelines is that Lotto funding applications need to be routed through National Federations. Enough said.

This second value proposition may seem a little unspecific, but the growing reputation of SA Sailing with the authorities makes it possible for us to take up the cudgels whenever needed, and, more often than not a positive outcome is achieved. If you have not been a beneficiary yet, you will need to just take my word for it. South African Sailing is becoming highly regarded by the authorities. The relationship with SAMSA regarding certification below, is only a part of it. Consider the marine notices that have been issued as a result of interaction between the authorities and SA Sailing, and the Memoranda of Understanding that have come about recently that impact positively on the growth of sailing.

The third value proposition relates to relationships in the private sector, the most important of which (and the example that I choose) is the relationship between SA Sailing and Intasure.

All members of SA sailing enjoy the benefits of the relationship between SA Sailing and Intasure. The Intasure benefit starts with free third-party liability cover to the value of R25 million. This cover includes local and international racing and cruising cover. But, that’s not all (as they say in the infomercials), your SA Sailing membership qualifies you for a discount for SA Sailing members on policies through Intasure, which include personal accident cover (racing is automatically included and it covers all on the vessel). The third-party liability cover is easy to monetise, but the full potential benefit would need a comparison between the Intasure offer and others. I must say, however, that there are more than 250 members of SA Sailing that have availed themselves of the Intasure offer, so there must be value to be found. How would I know this? Well, Intasure pays SA Sailing a commission on these policies, the monthly value of which currently exceeds R10 000-00.

How is that for a reciprocal relationship with the private sector?

Value proposition number four relates to the valuable self-governing status that South African sailing has managed to achieve in its relationship with SAMSA. Maybe the best way to address this is to quote Jannie Hofmeyer, the doyen of SA Sailing’s Inland and Offshore committee for many years: “I think the huge benefit we provide to the Keelboat community, is that we do their certification instead of SAMSA.  When I taught, my yacht had to have an annual commercial LGSC from SAMSA and I had to get a commercial Certificate of Competence from SAMSA.  Working with SAMSA examiners and safety surveyors who know nothing about sailing is not fun.  I have had great success with that argument – even with the most aggressive folk at our clubs.  It is a big powerful argument and I feel SA Sailing wins every time.  There is of course also a price benefit, but in my opinion that is trivial compared with the benefit of working with examiners and safety officers who understand sailing.

What I think we can do is persuade yacht clubs to encourage their yacht owners to get legal. In some clubs, it is a requirement of tenure. Some clubs do it because Port Control want it.  If all yacht clubs do it, it strengthens the argument that we (SA Sailing) can do a better job of safety through our yacht clubs than SAMSA could ever do.  That is the underlying argument for our authorised agency status – and the argument is powerful because it is entirely and categorically true.”

This community owes Jannie more than we could ever repay for the work that he has done with SAMSA over the years in our interests – he needs to be saluted!

Interesting though, is the fact that Jannie values the self-regulation component more highly than the substantial cost savings. I always thought that the cost saving would be the major part of the of the value proposition, but thinking about it now, and having taken the work of the SA Sailing surveyors for granted for years, I suspect Jannie may well be right. And, we should never underestimate the value of the positive relationship between SA Sailing and SAMSA to the reputation (in the eyes of the authorities) of every sailor in this country.

In fact, the entire process has huge value to members of SA Sailing.

The fifth value proposition should possibly have been first, as it deals with the traditional core business of National Sports Federations – competitive sailing. SA sailing is affiliated to World Sailing, through which conduit access is obtained to almost every component of competitive sailing.

Likewise, SA Sailing is affiliated to SASCOC through which conduit access is obtained to formal National Representation and ultimately to the Olympics. For many years, this was touted as the core value proposition, and because of this, the other value to be found in membership of SA Sailing was obscured.

We ignore the importance of competitive sailing at our peril. Competitive sailing is the nursery of all sailing. It is the point at which we hone our skills and set ourselves up to enjoy sailing as a lifelong sport, recreation, pastime, and passion. It is also where we keep up to date with innovation and development.

Most importantly, it is the point where we provide pathways for our young members to compete at the highest level to which they aspire, be that level local, provincial, national, international, or Olympic.

The sixth value proposition is closely linked to the fifth. It is the promotion and development of the sport of sailing. Closely linked, because our development programmes are based on the World Sailing models, and, are often funded by the Department of Sport Arts and Culture, based on our relationship with SASCOC. The financial value to be found in the promotion of the growth of sailing is in the interests of every member, not only because of the economies of scale that can be reaped, but also because of the demand that is maintained for boats and equipment. To be crass, a growing sailing community will maintain the resale value of your boat.

Development, however, is much more than just that. It relates to enhancing the lives of individuals, including our families, their friends, and our communities. Sorties into the field of disabled sailing, gender equality and transformation are areas where members can find value for themselves and others around them.

The seventh value proposition (no biblical connotation intended) is the one that I hope will strike a chord with all our members. Being a member of South African Sailing effectively makes you an engaged member of an exciting, vibrant community of like-minded people all having an interest in one or more of the aspects of wind driven sport.

This is an exclusive community – not exclusive in terms of race, gender or financial capacity, but limited to people who understand the magic of sailing. A community of people who know the joy that can be found on water with only the wind and your skill as a motive force.

People who understand the connection between truth and beauty that sailing inspires. It is a community that you can be proud to be part of.

So, there it is. All laid out for you to analyse and digest. I have just checked the current costs of membership of South African Sailing, just to make sure that I was not mistaken. All this, for so little money, must be the bargain of the year.

I would appeal to all clubs to please ensure that each and every member of your club gets to see this. I suspect that some members of clubs may not be SA Sailing members – they could be members of other sports federations, or they may just be recalcitrant. Some people do not open the SA Sailing newsletter, for what ever reason, and others may not be digitally connected. I think, however, that this particular President’s Contribution may be the most relevant one I have done this year, and it is very important that our members have a clear understanding of the doors that membership opens for them. Hopefully, too, this will inspire them towards a more active involvement in the affairs and operations of South African Sailing.

Thank you.

Michael
SAS President