On 28 Aug 2008 09:30:01 -0500, Dave wrote:

On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:18:01 -0400, said:

Unfortunately, Mystic
has changed along with everyone else, and the membership/dockage deal
is not such a deal any longer. It requires a higher level of
membership, and even with the dockage discount, it is just as
expensive as any commercial marina... unless you stay for a week or
so.

Even 30 years ago the membership plus dockage was significantly over dockage
at a commercial marina. However, the ability to stroll the grounds after
everyone has gone for the day was indeed a plus.

Not true, Dave. Up until about 2 years ago, the membership, plus the
dockage discount was "break-even" for a 30 foot boat if you used it
for 2 nights. We did it that way for quite a few years as it helped
the museum, and we also would visit once or twice in the off season
using the free admission that also came with the membership. The new
policy was their response to large yachts abusing the deal by bringing
10, 20, or more people with them to avoid all of them paying
admission. It was a dumb move as all it really did was send a message
to small boats and families that they were no longer welcome. It
really didn't hurt the megayacht crowd at all. They still realize a
big savings on dockage because of the size of their boats. It would
have been MUCH smarter to simply limit the free admission for boat
passengers to 4 per boat. It's the smaller boats that got squeezed
out, not the bog boats that caused the problem in the first place.

The regular dockage price without the membership discount was, and is,
similar to commercial dockage everywhere on the river.

wrote

It's the smaller boats that got squeezed
out, not the bog boats that caused the problem in the first place.


Have you thought about which size boats are more likely to have owners and
guests who can make large donations?

It's just like most other things in society. The big cause the problems and
the small pay for them.

--
Roger Long

"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:52:39 -0400, "Roger Long"
said:

It's just like most other things in society. The big cause the problems
and
the small pay for them.

That depends very much on what you define as the problem. Is the problem
insufficient donations to support the Seaport, or is it the absence of
cheap
dockage?

Is the problem with medical care the high cost of hospital visits, or is
it
the fact that a lot of people don't pay for those visits?


It's definitely the fact that a lot of people don't pay for hospital visits,
because they can't afford to do so. We should definitely blame them. LOL

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:23:51 -0700, "Capt. JG"
said:

That depends very much on what you define as the problem. Is the problem
insufficient donations to support the Seaport, or is it the absence of
cheap
dockage?

Is the problem with medical care the high cost of hospital visits, or is
it
the fact that a lot of people don't pay for those visits?


It's definitely the fact that a lot of people don't pay for hospital
visits,
because they can't afford to do so. We should definitely blame them. LOL

If I hand out free candy on the street, and a lot of people eat it and rot
their teeth, is the problem that I'm handing out free candy, or that too
many people are eating free candy and rotting their teeth?


The problem is that you're not charging enough! LOL

It sounds like you would support tobacco companies. They're doing much the
same thing. Perhaps we should let the market decide.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:38:38 -0700, "Capt. JG"
said:

It's definitely the fact that a lot of people don't pay for hospital
visits,
because they can't afford to do so. We should definitely blame them. LOL

If I hand out free candy on the street, and a lot of people eat it and
rot
their teeth, is the problem that I'm handing out free candy, or that too
many people are eating free candy and rotting their teeth?


The problem is that you're not charging enough! LOL

Perhaps the light is beginning to dawn on you, Jon. Hand out candy for
free,
and somebody still has to pay to produce that candy. And if the candy
maker
hopes not to lose his shirt he has to charge more for the candy he sells
to
people who pay for it. Eventually, the folks who pay for it figure out
that
they can get their candy for free. See if you can figure out what happens
at
that point to the candy maker.


He becomes a tobacco manufacturer of course. LOL

What you're not seeing is that there's nothing wrong with charging for
services. What's wrong is that some people can't afford them. In the case of
candy, should you charge for it, it's not essential to the common good.
(Remember that phrase?) Medical services for all are essential for the
common good. In fact, if we don't supply them at an affordable price, then
the burden on society is great, which is in opposition to the common good.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:06:22 -0700, "Capt. JG"
said:

What you're not seeing is that there's nothing wrong with charging for
services. What's wrong is that some people can't afford them. In the case
of
candy, should you charge for it, it's not essential to the common good.
(Remember that phrase?) Medical services for all are essential for the
common good. In fact, if we don't supply them at an affordable price, then
the burden on society is great, which is in opposition to the common good.

I take back what I said about your beginning to see the light.


You should. I'm already enlightened!

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

On 2008-08-28 19:35:57 -0400, "Capt. JG" said:

"Dave" wrote in message

I take back what I said about your beginning to see the light.

You should. I'm already enlightened!

In your dreams, only.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

On 28 Aug 2008 10:21:01 -0500, Dave wrote:

On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:48:46 -0400, said:

Not true, Dave. Up until about 2 years ago, the membership, plus the
dockage discount was "break-even" for a 30 foot boat if you used it
for 2 nights.

You may be correct. I haven't been in there in 30 years, but my recollection
is that at that time the total ran a bit more than commercial marinas in the
area. Were you going in there 30 years ago?

No, but we've been there almost every year in the past 10 at least
once a season. Last season was the first time we skipped it. We still
went to Mystic/Noank, but did not visit the museum. When they changed
the policy, we dropped our membership and also stopped donating. They
have really lost their way.

On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:48:46 -0400, said:

Not true, Dave. Up until about 2 years ago, the membership, plus the
dockage discount was "break-even" for a 30 foot boat if you used it
for 2 nights.

FYI We went at the beginning of August (on land) after our
granddaughter's wedding. We took the free shuttle from one end to the
other (run by volunteers - an electric boat), and the driver happened
to mention that we were lucky to see the big sailing whaling boat the
Charles W. Morgan because they were going to take her to the yard and
haul her out for maintenance. She won't be back until 2011 or
thereabouts.

Some pictures from our visit - 39 of mine and 18 of my daughters.
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/pb/b9515/4a9c6/
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/pb/b9515/b1f61/