Meet Andy Barrow, a long-time, dedicated VYC member, through this insightful interview.

Andy, can you share your boating experience and why you love it….

I've owned two boats - a J24 back in the early 80s, and a 33-year-old Beneteau Oceanis 390 named Hey Ya "fixer upper" for the past 10 years. In the years when we didn't have a boat, we frequently chartered bareboats in beautiful areas like Turkey, Croatia, all over the Caribbean, and the English Channel. I crewed on several deliveries, including crossing the Atlantic (starting in Sicily) a few years ago.

For me, sailing is the perfect balance of science and art, with a little magic thrown in. I love to learn, and I can tell you that every single day on the water is another learning experience. There is absolutely nothing that compares to being on a night watch in the middle of a big ocean, alone on deck, staring up at stars so bright that you feel like you can touch them, and watching your phosphorescent wake trail behind. That's where the magic comes in.

How did you discover Nuevo Vallarta and Vallarta Yacht Club?

We came to Nuevo Vallarta in 2007 at the suggestion of a friend who said I could spend a weekend volunteering for the J/24 World Championships that VYC was hosting. I spent a couple of days helping to hoist boats in and out of the water. One evening we were sitting around talking and I commented on how much I liked our friends' townhouse. A few months later I owned a townhouse three doors down. Biggest impulse buy of my life!

We also joined the club in 2007. We had purchased our townhouse that spring, and the club was having a spring membership promotion. I was still working in Angola part-time, and we started spending my "off hitch" time at our Nuevo townhouse instead of our house in California. We were here every other month until the spring of 2008.

We moved a LOT when I was working for Chevron. Since it was pretty easy to fall into the trap of only associating with people from work, we always looked for other organizations and clubs, particularly those that gave an opportunity to volunteer and help the community. Since one of the club's stated missions was to help the community, we felt it was a perfect fit for us. Of course, the focus on boating and sailing didn't hurt! 

Which VYC events hold the most significance for you, and can you share a memorable story or a race you were particularly proud to win?

There are so many! The Chili Cook-off / Taste of Nuevo has always been a big favorite - lots of fun and lots of help for some special charities. In the early days, the Chili Cook-off was as much about style as it was about chili – teams would dress up in a theme and create outlandishly decorated serving stations, with names like "Ugly Betty" and "Pirate Chili". What a hoot! 

Racing, well, for me it's more about the fun than it is about winning. I get that some people really get a kick out of winning races, and as we used to say in the south, "God Bless Them!” When we race Hey Ya, it's more about the playlist and how well we dance on the deck. We've won a few, but I'm not even sure I can find the trophies!

 But.. you know what my favorite yacht club event is? Just your average evening, in the club, with friends dropping in, tables getting pushed together, laughing and telling stories. I call those my "moments of bliss". What can be better than that? 

What roles have you held at the club, and what were the highlights and challenges of serving as Commodore?

I was Secretary, Vice Commodore, and Commodore for two terms. After that I was Afloat Director for 9 or 10 years. I've also held the somewhat unofficial title of "CIO" - putting together most of the IT infrastructure for the club, including web sites, the mailing system (that I assume this newsletter is going out on), event booking systems, calendar systems, and so on. Also, sound systems, video server, and much more. It takes a surprising amount of IT infrastructure to run a yacht club!

Being commodore was interesting. First of all, it's a full-time job. You are at the club a LOT, and pretty much everyone wants to include you in their meetings. Having worked as a meeting facilitator and project manager, I used some of those techniques in the club. I instituted monthly Town Hall meetings with the entire membership, so that everyone heard what was going on, and had a say. Let's just say that training as a facilitator helped a lot in those situations! 

As the late Dan Green used to say, "It's your club". It is! It belongs to the membership! Every member (owner) has a say in what happens at the club, what the club focuses on, and where the club goes in the future. I will say that I don't have a lot of patience for people who say, "Here's what you should do" and think they have solved a problem. Ownership of the club implies some responsibility for actually acting on things.

How has your involvement in the club impacted your life or the lives of others, and can you share a story that shows this?

For the past 16 years, VYC has been a second home to my wife, Liz, and me, and many of the members have become part of our extended family. We have met so many amazing people over the years - you can't help but be in awe of some of them. I guess the biggest influence for me has been the "can do" attitude that we have seen in so many people we have met, particularly the cruisers. Some are here for only one season, others for longer and then they take off. Liz and I have stood on the dock waving tearfully as good friends sail away too many times!  Many of those people are still good friends today, regardless of where their travels have taken them. 

What was your prior career and how did the skills in your career help you be a leader at VYC?

 I'm an electrical engineer, originally specializing in communications systems. Early in my career I spent a lot of time on remote mountaintops setting up systems for communications with oil operations, mostly drilling and production. Getting to work in technology and be up on mountaintops and they PAY you for that? I was in heaven. I worked for Chevron for 31 years, and never had the same job for more than 3 or 4. In the process I ended up being global communication strategy manager, a meeting facilitator, and a project manager. I found myself in Moscow, negotiating resale of fiber optic communications systems to the Russian national telephone company, and in Kazakhstan, mentoring their next IT manager. Last job was "IT Superintendent" at an oil camp in Angola with 120 reports.

I guess I would say that facilitation and project management training were both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes I get a little impatient in poorly run meetings or poorly run projects. I know that people are all doing the best they can, so one of the more recent things I've been working on is ... patience!

How would you describe the unique aspects of VYC and its culture to a potential member?

We are a family, and we look out for each other. We accept each other's uniqueness and skills. VYC is unique in that we have a lot of members who are only in the area during the high season. For them, having that VYC family to support them when they are here and away is invaluable. Being a member presents so much opportunity - boating, volunteering in the community, just having fun with your friends. 

There is something very special about walking into a place where "everyone knows your name". That's the VYC culture.

What are your future goals for VYC, and how would you like to see the club develop over the next 5-10 years?

Our move to a new clubhouse has been an interesting development - one that has energized many members to chip in and help make our new house a home. I see that developing over the next few years into a new center of yachting for Banderas Bay. 

With the new improved road connection to Guadalajara, I think we are going to see increasing national membership, with requisite changes in our culture to be more multi-lingual and more multicultural. The club needs to resist the trap of being a "gringo-only" establishment that only speaks English. 

Is there anything else you'd like to share about yourself or something you think people might find interesting?

Something that I think people don't realize is how much the club has benefitted from the generosity of members. You can stand in one place in the club, and point out things (tables, chairs, speakers, TVs, pictures on the wall, whatever) and trace them back to an individual who contributed it. Then there are those who just contribute funds and tell the club "Use this". THAT, as much as anything else, is the VYC culture of generosity and family. 

I'm proud to call it my family.