Come on down and spend some time with your friends,
enjoy some good food and celebrate the season!

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Santa's arrival at ABYC was amazing, complete with snow and a police escort.  I would like to thank everyone who made this event a huge success.

Santa's elves, Star and Tinsel, Rudolf, Linda, our musical team Martin and Julius , Terry, Lyn, Willie. (The Irish team), Chef Paul and his amazing crew for a wonderful lunch.Photographs of the Children's Christmas Party taken by David Studholme can be seen at the following link:

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Manager Message
 

 

The last work party for the first section of seawall repair is this Saturday.  As we all know, a good portion of the work should have happened last week but the deep snow prevented us digging tieback trenches.  

 

The predictions for this week look good and we will dig 10 tieback trenches this Friday ready for installation Saturday.  We need about 4 or 5 people on hand Friday to cut and clear concrete debris uncovered in the digging process.  Email Roger Marsh or Sue Hamilton if you can contribute some time on Friday. (penro@sympatico.ca).

 

We have received outstanding support from the membership for participation for the past few weeks but -  

To accomplish this last installation before the Christmas/New Years break we will need even more helpers for this Saturday to make up for last week's weather delay.  

 

Here is a list of work teams that will be active December 20 and will continue till further notice.  Watch this space for notice of other work team starts as work progresses.

 

Trench Excavation Team

Anchor Construction Team

Waler Construction Team 

Anchor, Tieback Installation Team

Concrete Mixing Team

Metal Cutting Team

Jig Makers

Worksite Co-ordinators

Roger Marsh

 

Photographs by S2S Editors of our children receiving their gifts from Santa can be seen by clicking on the following link:

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Don has been doing boat deliveries with Captain Dave Mathews for several years and recently completed a delivery to Panama as the Skipper when Dave had to step aside for health reasons.  Don will talk about his and Dave's adventures together delivering boats on the high seas for Owners who want their boats safely delivered to their final destinations.

 

Many of us know Don for his racing accomplishments over the years and then as Manager of Queen City Yacht Club from 2006-2014.

 

Don has more than 30 years of sailing experience, most of it focused on getting from A to B as quickly as possible.  For most of the 90's he was heavily involved with the Canadian J24 Class.  Don competed in numerous National and North American Championships.  In 1996, Don crewed for Dartmouth's Sean McDermott to win the Nationals hosted by RNSYS.

                 

Don also has offshore racing experience including the 2000 King's Cup Regatta in Thailand and the 2005 Hong Kong to San Fernando, Philippines Race on Sam Chan's famous TP52, FreeFire.  Sam and crew were first-to-finish, first in class and first overall in the 568nm San Fernando Race. 

         

Don's cruising sailing has been limited to the occasional deliveries and transits including bringing the replica of Jacques Cartier's "Matthew" up the St. Lawrence Seaway with a group from Shellbacks. 

 

Don's experience as a racer and cruiser make him a good choice as crew or skipper on long deliveries. Come out and hear Don talk about his adventures delivering on the High Seas.

 

Jim Allen and Petra Fischer

Toonie Thursday- Co-Chairs

 

3 pair of Boat Show tickets will be raffled off at 1 for $2.00 or 3 for $5. 

   

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You've all seen the hard working crew of Irish Rose busily moving mooring tires or doing other nasty jobs that need doing.  These guys are the first in the water in the spring and last out in the fall.  So what happens in late fall when they find the Irish Rose iced in?  Not much - they just force their way through the ice until they get to clear water.  This happened to them last Saturday morning and here is a short (1.5 minutes) video of them making their way through the ice.  (You could try this with your fiberglass boat but it isn't recommended!)

IRISH ROSE Iced In

 

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Should AG be able to seize alleged drunken sailor's boat?

Monday, 01 September 2014 08:00 | Written By Yamri Taddese |

 

If the Ministry of the Attorney General gets its way in a unique civil forfeiture case, an alleged drunken sailor could see his boat taken away by the government.

It would be an unusual reading of the Civil Remedies Act, legislation that often targets property obtained through the proceeds or used as an instrument of crime.  But in Ontario (Attorney General) v. Kittiwake Sailboat (Registration #50E83594), "it is not alleged that the boat was acquired with the proceeds of crime, or that it is used [as] a criminal enterprise," according to Superior Court Justice David Corbett's endorsement in the matter last month.

The attorney general is still seeking to seize Valetin Chygyrynskyy's sailboat on the basis that he operated the boat while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  Chygyrynskyy, an unrepresented litigant, denies he was the person operating the sailboat while impaired.

In a recent ruling, Corbett said he'd feel uncomfortable to make findings in the case without hearing opposite views from counsel.  He asked to have an amicus curiae assist the court as "Mr. Chygyrynskyy, who cannot afford counsel, who has no legal training, and who does not speak English, cannot help the court with the legal issues."

"Assuming without deciding that the facts are as alleged by the [attorney general of] Ontario, there is a significant legal question as to whether the Civil Remedies Act can and does extend to forfeiture of property in these circumstances," he wrote "These are important issues that could have significant implications for a great many people.".

The Crown is proceeding with the case despite the judge's concern that the matter may not be appropriate for what he called a decision of first impression given that Chygyrynskyy is representing himself and his sailboat isn't a high-powered one.

"The potential impact of this case on forfeiture practices generally, and thus on the general public, is a matter of concern, however.  The [attorney general of] Ontario is [in] no sense neutral on these questions," the judge said. "Before deciding them, I wish to hear any contrary legal arguments. Therefore, I have concluded that it is appropriate to appoint amicus curiae to assist the court.".

Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP associate. Joshua Krane says the court is "clearly concerned" about a fair outcome in this case.

"The decision to appoint an amicus in Mr. Chygyrynskyy's case shows that the courts are clearly concerned about the scope of Ontario's civil forfeiture laws and their impact on the rights of individuals who have not been subject to a criminal process," says Krane.

In the past, the government has turned to civil forfeiture laws in motor vehicle impairment cases, according to Krane, who suggests authorities are using the act to "supplement or circumvent criminal laws."

"The intention behind the act was to address criminal enterprises, not to supplement criminal laws regarding the use of motor vehicles or other vehicles," he says.

"If Parliament wanted to make a forfeiture of a vehicle a punishment for driving under the influence or boating under the influence, they would have included that as a penalty in the Criminal Code," he adds.

"So what the outcome is, it's the government using a statute of general application to supplement or circumvent criminal laws."

That's problematic, Krane continues, because the criminal law includes protections, such as the right to a fair trial, that aren't present in the civil forfeiture context.

Ottawa lawyer Roxie Graystone, whose work is around civil remedies, says the Civil Remedies Act is "forward-looking" legislation and notes the Crown must prove the property is likely to be used in unlawful activity as well as the likelihood of serious injury to the public.

In this case, the Crown may be seeking an expanded meaning of an "instrument of crime," says Graystone, who notes he's not familiar with other cases that have dealt with this issue in Ontario.

Although Ontario doesn't keep records, British Columbia's database of forfeiture applications shows almost all outcomes are favourable to the Crown's position, says Krane.  Often, the respondents don't see an incentive in putting up a defence as the cost of doing so is greater than the value of the property in question, he notes.

"It is problematic," he adds.

"These laws allow for tremendous discretion by the prosecutor to bring a proceeding, and once a proceeding is brought, the outcome typically favours the Crown."

The Ministry of the Attorney General wouldn't comment on the case in question but noted the Civil Remedies Act serves a different purpose from criminal forfeiture legislation.

 

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