- Roger Marsh & Penny McDonald (Day Dream II)

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The Saturday trip to Oakville Yacht Squadron for most was a drone, an engine drone for 20 miles with little or no wind unless you were one of the early risers who caught about an hour of wind before the rest of us left or the few who came late in the day.  More than 24 boats made the trip and the pulled pork spread with baked beans and corn and lots of fixings was most delicious.  Many thanks to our gracious hosts Ralph and Carolyn Weckesser of Latis and Don and Debbie from Jolly Roger who provided the corn in spite of not being able to come by boat.  The sunny Sunday found most of us enjoying the local shops and restaurants close by or exploring the area by bike or dinghy.  The evening meal found most of us back at the Oakville YS sharing a potpourri of individual meals with the addition of a few leftovers.  The return sail with heavy overcast skies was first a motor, then a motor sail, then a sail motor then a pleasant sail followed by a 60 degree wind shift, brilliant sun and boat speeds of 6 to 8 knots the rest of the way.  The small amount of the air show we saw was not half as good as the previous evening's spectacular model seaplane acrobatics provided by the skipper of a visiting boat at the Oakville Club across the river.  Enjoy the pics.

 

- Stan Gap, Free at Last

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Two weekends ago our club venture to the National Yacht Club.  The early arrivals had to circle and wait for a slip, but the wait was worth it.  The weather was gorgeous, the company stellar and the food fabulous.  The appetizers brought by the various cruisers were great.  For the main course we had a watermelon gazpacho, pork tenderloin, caprese salad and corn on the cob picked fresh that morning.  Nancy and Harvey outdid themselves and as always Claude was there to assist.   

 

After dinner we enjoed each others company and took in the view of the city.

 

 

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Thanks to Cheryl, ABYC's fantastic bar tender who drew the winning ticket! 

The winner of our $5,000 travel certificate is Brian Neysmith.

Thanks so much to everyone who purchased a ticket!  In total we sold 159 of the 200 tickets.  Off to France tomorrow to get the boat ready for the start on October 13th!!

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Friday September 6 is the cut-off date for notifying the office that you intend to haul out with us this year.  After that date, boats otherwise accepted into the club fleet will not be hauled this year.  Deletions from the haul list can be made later than September 6, but not additions.

 

Any member who usually stores off-site or anyone deciding to store off-site this year, should inform the club office and me of that fact.  This is important because the club database is used to plan the yard layout and it is essential that we account for and know the status of all boats.

 

August 30th is the cut-off for boats whose owners wish to haul and store with mast-up.  There has been a good response to this proposal.  I am currently reviewing the list with respect to logistics.  Please note that while every effort will be made to accommodate all requests, the additional time required to haul each boat, the need for special lifting gear, and the need for the entire process to fit into our haulout operation means that it may not be possible to accommodate all boats that request mast-up storage.  Priority will be given to boats whose characteristics fit into the overall process:  ties will be resolved on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Please note that all decisions are mine alone, and will be final.

 

With respect to process, the current plan is to haul the hydraulic trailer boats and mast-up boats on Friday October 18, however this is not yet final.

 

With respect to hydraulic trailers, we have signed a contract with Drew Marine under which the trailers will be modified to a tab system, which should be easier on the crews who work with the trailer boats (hopefully, no more need to move heavy steel bars).  This should result in a faster and less strenuous process.  Drew Marine has two trailers and we may use both of them at haulout.

 

The following dates should be noted: 

 

 

 

For what it's worth; committee experience (Membership Committee a plus), patience (forbearance), a thickish skin and (really) no axes to grind are all good qualifications for this job.

 

You also have to be prepared to work with ALL the existing committees, ALL the staff, ALL the membership.

 

Where does the time go?  #1 (which consumes the most time and is the least productive) can be likened to the cost of doing business - all the issues that arise between employees, supervisors, managers, members and guests at ABYC and at other locations.  We've averaged about 1 serious issue every 6 months over the past 5 years.  The SRVC is expected to solve them one way or another in my view causing the least cost and disruption to the club while pinning the blame where it is due.

 

#2 (which is the second least productive at least in the short term and often requires doing nothing - just like Senate reform).  There are lots of good ideas and changes suggested and argued back and forth.  Some even make it to the town hall stage or are proposed at meetings.  Very few make it to the change bylaw stage.  Partly because the existing bylaws were hashed out over a long period of time, partly because we can 'test' ideas with trial programmes like the graduated boat fee structure.  As SRVC you can suggest change, moderate discussion, refer to the bylaw committee and bring forward recommended motions.

 

#3 (and now we're getting productive) is communications.  You get to write or re-write all sorts of membership letters, fee letters, welcome letters, discipline letters, broker letters, job descriptions and assessments, even the Employee Handbook.  You have the good offices of S2S to talk about; Job Jar, Safety, Code of Conduct, membership programs, running for the board  .....  don't forget committee meetings, monthly board meetings and reports, general meeting reports and presentations, all the information is there for the membership.

 

#4 (and really the meat of the job) is membership.  This one you can't mess up because there's a very experienced and productive and hard working team in place. The SRVC is the helmsman here - you guide the boat but it would be unwise to remove the crew.  This crew has done a great job over my tenure and has met the challenges set for them last year and this.

 

I don't think the ABYC elections process contemplated a slate that would 'twin' the posts of Commodore and SRVC and risk leaving the Board without a Senior Vice Commodore.

 

I was actually asked by a senior member who 'my' SRVC candidate was.  So, I thought I'd try and describe the task as I found it and see if there is an 'independent' amongst us who can manage the inevitable distractions posed by this job, stay realistic enough to recognize that they are dealing with a volunteer organization with somewhat limited resources and, above all, stay focused on the activities that grow ABYC and the sport of sailing.      

 

 

 

WANTED  -  SRVC Candidate

Must be able to sort wheat from chaff

 

 

 

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Last week we posted a photograph of 4 of the ABYC Championship Fleet sailors.  Unfortunately we included the names of the young sailors in the wrong order.  Here are the correct names:

Photo - Alison Wardman