As Commodore, I have been in the privileged position of interacting with the many, many members who have given their best to our Club.  We all should give our gratitude for the contribution that has been freely given by members whether it is through our sailing programs and sailing events, Club maintenance programs, social programs, and through our various committees.  I extend my thanks to you all.

 

The New Year makes us not only reflect on the year past, but also to the year to come.  We have much to accomplish and I ask you to keep an eye open for opportunities for you to either continue to be engaged or to jump on board to new learning experiences at your individual comfort level.  2012 was a year with some challenges for our club, and I suspect that new experiences will continue to test us in 2013.  Together, and with the concerted effort of our members, we can overcome any obstacle.

 

We look forward to continuing to grow our Club in a way that values our traditions but with a clear view on the future.  We must continue to consult and value the extensive member survey that has given us clear direction and I ask you to "talk up" our Club as the place to be on the lake as this is the most effective means of attracting new members.  

 

As members, I would encourage you to continue to support the Board as your elected officials, to inform the Board of issues of concern, to challenge or seek confirmation rumours that don't seem quite right, to continue on a path where we pay special attention to how we treat each other, to support our employees so that they may have the guidance and the tools to do the best job possible, and to help seek ways through which our Club can continually improve in its service to members.  The Board will need your help and vigilance to achieve these goals.

 

From Paula and I, we wish you the very best in the New Year and fair winds to all.   

 

See you at the Levee!

 

Respectfully submitted,  

 

Rick Humphrey, Commodore  

commodore@abyc.on.ca

 

 

Pasquale & Mary Leone

Yves Tremblay & Justin Tai

Gerald & Colleen Hamers

Jean-Philippe & Katherine Avon

Bill Hutchison & Kelly Hodgins

Ian Karleff & Alicia McLean

Allan Velenosi

Jeffrey & Susan Street

David Duckworth & Marilyn Thwaites-Duckworth  

Scott & Maggy Parsons

Jeremy Green

Barry & Lynda Webster

Simon & Margaret Cooper

John Riedl & Victoria Littler

Greg Clarke

Mihajlo Mirkovic & Jasna Gojkovic

Shane O'Dowd Rutherford & Stephanie Pridmore

Christopher & Rebekah Gould

Brain Chapman & Donna Parisella

John Beaton & Kate Wheeler

Axel Noriega & Elise Felton

Roderick McBirnie

Victor & Mary Lu Taylor

Bart A.J. Smit & Pascal Desrosiers

Marjolyn Van der Hart & John Waite

Joseph & Rose Siragusa

Bhavna Kaushal & Martin Gibb

Steve & Lynn Moss

 

As is our tradition, the year 2012 began with our annual New Year's Levee on January 1.  The Levee is one of the biggest events of the year.  In keeping with previous years, Commodore Rick Humphrey and his wife Paula greeted everyone who attended.  Additionally, Commodore Humphrey toasted the Queen and the year 2012. 

A new feature of the Levee was the presentation of awards to members for their contributions to ABYC.

Al Clinker Memorial Award to Tom Warrilow - For the Unsung Hero    

Awarded annually to the individual (not necessarily a Senior Member) who was always cheerfully helping out for the benefit of ABYC and fellow members. 

 

Rolly McKillop Trophy to Brian Somerville

For volunteer services rendered to the club.  Awarded by the Vice-Commodore, Marine Services

 

Otto Van Dam Shorewall Trophy to Bernie Caron
For volunteer services rendered to the club.  Awarded by the Vice-Commodore, Marine Services

Hartley Trophy to Finley & Sophie McEwen

To the family that contributes the most to club activities. 

 

Leo Cotey Trophy to Krista Slack

Presented to the woman who has contributed most to ABYC during the year.

Cradle Crew Award to Dan Marcil 

Awarded for meritorious service by a member of the cradle crew at launch and haulout. 
Named by the Vice-Commodore, Marine Services.  

__________________________________________ 

 

ABYC Honourary Member, Derek Hatfield and his wife Patianne Verburgh visited us in the second week of January as part of the ABYC Lecture Series.  Derek spoke for about an hour and held his audience spellbound with his stories and videos about his competing in three Single Handed Around the World races.

 

A new Trial Senior Membership with a more flexible fee structure was introduced at the January General Meeting.  When we look at the list of new Senior Members ABYC added this year, this was an obvious overwhelming success.

Winter finally made an appearance at ABYC on January 21.  The bay froze over and a small amount of snow covered everything.  Two days later, all traces of ice and snow were gone.  It was that kind of year.

Celtic Night held on January 20th was a big hit again this year with 80 in attendance for a special menu of Scottish dishes.  The crowd later grew to approximately 120 for dancing to the tunes of the Poor Angus band.

ABYC's annual Cruising Awards Night was held on January 27. 

Recipients of the various awards included:


With the exceptional weather that we experienced last year, work continued on the new docks throughout the winter.  The lack of ice in the bay allowed workers to move work rafts as well as dock sections.  Working conditions, although chilly, were much better than expected.  Although much of the winter work was concentrated on the new docks project, much ongoing maintenance to the rest of our property was also performed.

ABYC members & Guests celebrated Valentine's Day with great food by Chef Paul and good music by Carmen Corcoz.  A second evening of great dining and music was held when Meredith Cutting performed for us.  He entertained us with various genre of music including Country, Folk, Celtic and even a few Elvis tunes.

- from Senior Vice Commodore Pat Flynn
____________________________________________________________
 

A strong seiche occurred in our bay the first week of March.  One of the new dock sections that was being worked on had been brought ashore near the railway car.  The water level rose to such a height that the dock was able to float away.  Fortunately the "run-away" dock ended its journey near the end of Red Dock and was eventually retrieved and brought back home.

ABYC members and friends of Diane Reid (OGOC) attended a fundraising evening including an auction.  Party dresses were worn and items were bid on.  In the words of Diane "It was a fantastic night!".

A definite sign of spring at ABYC is when members gather with picks and shovels and dig the stones and gravel away from the rails of our railway so that the car can move up and down.

Social events during the month included a very attentive audience of 85 people who turned out for the ABYC Lecture Series featuring Danno Heimann speaking on his travels through the South Pacific.  The following weekend, another successful Spring Fling was held with an Arabian Nights theme.

- from Axel Noriega, VC-Finance
______________________________________________________________________

I want to wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a very prosperous 2013!  

As we conclude 2012, I congratulate everyone for the fantastic job that we all do in maintaining and running our club.  I especially thank the wonderful staff of ABYC for making our stay at the club so much more comfortable. 

2012 was a challenging year in many respects, but we came together and resolved them.  2013 will be as challenging (if not more), as we will be facing many infrastructure issues that cannot be deferred any longer, as well as external factors that will need the support from all members.  I have no doubt that our membership will come together, strengthening our resolve and commitment towards our awesome Yacht Club -  our home away from home for all to enjoy!

Have a wonderful and safe holiday season!

See you all in 2013!
 

It was an early spring and and an early launch for several boat owners this year.  Having your boat in the rail yard has many advantages and the potential for an early launch is one of them.

On April 8, once again a small group of volunteers "showed the ABYC flag" by having a float in the annual Beaches Easter Parade.  The parade crew included:  Paul McDonald, Bill Russell, John Chittley, Pat McCracken, Barbara Jones and Molly Asseltine.  It should be noted that many other members were involved "behind the scenes".

ABYC reached a significant milestone when the last of the anchors for our new docks was set by Roy Little and his crew.  This represented the end of a lot of hard work by crews working both on the water setting the anchors as well as those on shore who poured the concrete throughout last summer & fall and other crews who assembled the anchors and launched them using the railway car.

On April 12, the ABYC Lecture Series featured Cameron Dueck speaking of his travels through the North-West Passage.

ABYC's new website was launched in April.  The new site offers lots of information and is more pleasant to use.

On April 14, Sue Hamilton, Work Party Coordinator managed to entice 130 members to come and work all day to prepare our property for the spring and summer season.  Much work was done.

A large crowd attended the spring General Meeting on April 16.  Many topics were discussed and a small increase to the minimum billing was approved.  Pins were presented to Roger Marsh & Penny McDonald (10 years), Tony Sellers (25 years), Alfie Nonnewitz (50 years) and Hugh Wyers (50 years).  (Absent were:  Clive Barker, Mario Mauro, Steven Roberts and Ronald Parch).  Also, our newest Life Member, David Gilbert was approved by the membership. 

On April 19, several of our members put on "Racing 101" to improve our members' overall sailing skills.  Paul McDonald talked about PHRF and how to get a certificate.  Petra Fischer talked about making sure you have the right insurance coverage.  Tristan Story and Brian Chapman discussed how to coax old sails into better shape.  John Chittley described how easy it is to find great crew through the crew bank, and Wendy Loat spoke about tactics for training and keeping crew.

 

Another large group of people made the decision to join ABYC in the past year.  The clubhouse was jammed with new & old members for New Members' Night held on the evening of Friday, April 20.  All new members were presented with an ABYC burgee.

___________________________________________________________________

I hope all of your planning for the Holiday Season has gone well.  The Planning Committee is planning to take a break from planning!   

 

On behalf of the committee I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and fair winds in the New Year.

 

See you at the January General Meeting for a planning update.

 

Good planning, nice weather and a willing work force resulted in a very efficient launch.  All boats made it to their dock without incident.  As is usually the case, there was a great rush to put up masts in the following couple of weeks.  Many of our racers were anxious to be ready to participate in the first race of the year (George Coyles Tune-up Race) was held on Sunday, May 13. 
Victoria Day Weekend featured the annual fireworks display provided by the City of Toronto.  To many of our members' delight, the festivities also included a Royal visit to our bay to view the fireworks.

As part of ABYC's annual regatta, the Training Ship Playfair docked at ABYC.  The visit included taking a group of young sailors out for a few hours of sailing.  All were thrilled.

Our annual regatta benefited from some fantastic weather and as a result, 89 boats participated.  ABYC boats fared extremely well with many of our boats finishing in the top three including Fortitude winning all of her races.  Other ABYC boats that fared well included Crime Scene (Steve Trevitt and crew) in IRC 2 and Calum Semple and the crew of Sona finishing third in that division.  John Gibson and the Winston Churchill gang were third in the C&C99 division and the Flynn family in third aboard Starwatch.  Finally, in the T-Bird fleet, David Holmes raced Rattle Ya Dags to victory with his crew, Wendy Loat onLooney Tunes was second and Drew Robertson's (Full On) and crew in third place.

The annual "New Boat Owners' Party", organized by Elaine Johnston was held on June 24.  In addition to owning a beautiful new boat, prizes were awarded as follows;

     Best Food:  Annemarie & Helmut Ott on their Feisty Lady
     Best Dressed  Boat: Curlew, decorated by Colleen & Gerald, with Emma and Kate Hamers
     Best Dressed Hostess/Host:  Hazel Wood & Dan Gregory on Satori
     Best Hostess/Host:  Anne Gray & Brian Somerville

There was a cruise to EYC on the weekend of June 16 where hosts Mary & Chris Pappas had a Toga Party theme.  At the end of the month, a large group of cruisers (40 boats & 110 people) celebrated Canada Day weekend with a "Cruisin' to the Caribbean" themed cruise to PCYC.  Travel to PCYC was in high winds however the return trip was very relaxed.

About 100 club members, friends, and family enjoyed the first annual ABYC Summerfest party on Saturday, July 7 in Bay Belle Park.  After the race, festivities on the point got under way with numerous games and activities for kids and adults.  A terrific BBQ presented by Chef Paul followed the games.  The fun continued into the evening with another excellent show by ABYC's own Weathered Legs who played well into the night.

____________________________________________________________________

I hope everyone has had a happy holiday.  In 2012 the club house interior received a fresh coat of paint, new blinds and clean carpets.  The website was updated and a new corporate image was put forward.  Our volunteer members continue to work together to keep our club house clean and our image inviting. 

 

 

 

 

 

The end of July and beginning of August were uneventful while many of our members cruised to various ports of call throughout Lake Ontario.  In turn, ABYC hosted many visiting sailors from around Lake Ontario.  On the weekend of August 4, with a visiting cruise from Oakville Yacht Squadron plus many other cruisers who came on their own, all visitor docks and most members' docks were filled.

After the very hot weather that we had enjoyed all summer, the August 11 weekend was surprisingly cool with heavy wind, large waves & lots of rain. 

ABYC played host to the sailing segment of the Ontario Summer Games August 17 - 19.  Close action for these young sailors was the norm throughout the 3 days of sailing.


Club evening racing can be challenging due to light winds, however, this sometimes produces interesting finishes.  The evening race of August 23rd. was one of those situations when approximately a dozen boats drifted to the finish line as one large group.

While summer was quickly moving along, the ABYC Junior Race Team was just as busy.  In thirty-seven days, the team attended eight regattas, in six different cities, three provinces/states and two countries.

 

Rennie 

The first notice of haulout was issued by the Crane Chair on September 5th.  This year was to prove challenging due to the very low water level.

Evening racing ended on Sept 6.  Pictured above are the various crews busy preparing their boats for the upcoming race that evening.

ABYC Manager Rennie Stobbs announced that starting on Sept 7, 2012 anyone who wishes to bring their own wine to dinner may do so as long as it is a sealed bottle bought from the LCBO.   The staff have to open and serve the wine, as they would normally.  There is a corkage charge for each bottle.

The VC Marine's Breakfast was well attended by about 45 people on Saturday, September 22.  A small book documenting the building of the new docks was given to all in attendance.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the event.

On September 15th, 23 people attended the cruise to Whitby Yacht Club on the weekend of September 15th.  The hosts; Tina & Danno Heimann, had an Olympic games theme. 

Many "Olympians" participated in various events including Gum Shakers, Bolt Stackers, Beer Cup Toss and The Beer Case Puzzle. 



The Vertigone/Whiplash Challenge Race was held on September 15th with Fast Lane Fever  (Jordan Chittley) winning Division 1 and Quickstep IV (Alfie Nonnewitz) finishing first in Division 2.

The General Meeting held on September 24th was well attended again with the highlight of the evening being the election of new Board Members.  The posts of Rear Commodore, Vice Commodore Marine and Vice Commodore Finance were filled.

Paul Brennan was acclaimed to the position of Rear Commodore and Bob Hedley was acclaimed to the position of VC Marine for a second term.  Axel Noriega was acclaimed to the position of Vice Commodore, Finance.
and capable service on the Board.




                                             Photos:  Donna Miller (Ronald Miller Photography)

Top:  Sr. Vice Commodore Patrick Flynn, Commodore Rick Humphrey, Rear Commodore Paul Brennan
Middle:  Bob Hedley, VC-Marine, Past Commodore Carolyn Weckesser, Axel Noriega, VC-Finance
Bottom:  Cindy Sampson, VC-Member Services and Phil Giddings, VC-Planning

Even though haulout was a week later than normal, boat owners began the process of decommissioning their boats by unstepping their masts in early October.  A small forest of masts would come down in the next few weeks.

_________________________________________________________
 

Work Party Coordinator Sue Hamilton reported that approximately 85 - 90 people attended the all-day work party on October 3rd.  Our members displayed many different talents including gardening, trophy polishing, window cleaning, dock repairs etc.  A great deal of work was done to prepare ABYC for the coming winter.

On November 9th, more than 80 people enjoyed a great meal and Big Band sounds from the Swing Machine. 

Presentation Night for Racing Awards:

ABYC's best racers gathered to celebrate a successful racing season on November 17.  Winners of the 3 major racing trophies were:

The month of December is traditionally a quiet month on ABYC's social calendar although work parties do go on for a few weekends. 

The tree raising & clubhouse decorating volunteers are always there when needed.

The Tree Trimming party is a favourite among our members and this year was no exception.  Again, a large crowd was treated to lots of good food, much caroling and the company of good friends.

We always get a visit from Santa and this year a very large group of children were on hand to see Santa arrive in the harbour accompanied by the Marine Unit of the Toronto Police Service.  There were lots of kids, lots of fun magic, lots of presents and lots of noise.

Editors' Note: 
This is the end of our look back at the year 2012.  We hope you enjoyed looking back with us.  Every year we try to end our review on a positive, forward looking note and this year we could not improve on the words of Past Commodore Carolyn Weckesser, so Carolyn gets the last word.

 

"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." - Jon Kabat-Zinn

 

ABYC endures because ABYC, driven through its members, is not afraid to evolve.  Rather than turn a blind eye to what is happening outside our gates in the recreational sailing market, and internally amongst our membership, in 2012 we steadfastly moved our club forward.  2012 was our 80th year, and also a year of looking to the future and launching new projects, introducing new initiatives and policies.  These changes were made based on a foundation of trust and respect amongst members and understanding that everyone is passionate about our Club and its future.  At the same time, we reaffirmed our values statement and vision, which will place us in good stead as we move deeper into the 21st century.

 

I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to my fellow members for your contributions to our Club.  Each in your own way has contributed to our continued enjoyment and experience as members of the ABYC community in this past year.

 

From our house to yours,

 

May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons bring the best to you and yours.

 

Carolyn Weckesser

pastcomm@abyc.on.ca