May Scuttlebutt. Newsletter of the Sequim Bay Yacht Club

Transcription

1 May 2014 Scuttlebutt Newsletter of the Sequim Bay Yacht Club Commodore s Corner: As the days are getting longer and warmer, we re all ready for a wonderful summer season of boating activities! I d like to update you on some of the events and actions that have occurred since January. As incoming Commodore, working with the Board of Directors/Bridge, we were tasked with assessing the current status of the Club and suggesting proactive strategies to promote growth and prosperity in the coming years. There is no question that in order to prosper, coming to grips with the Club s *New Normal - economically, demographically and socially - is essential. Over the last few years, membership revenues have decreased, while expenses have increased. We have identified and examined 3 areas needing immediate attention, focusing on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT): INSURANCE Issues: Upon review of our former policy, substantial liability exposure to the Club, its Officers and Bridge/Board members was discovered. Areas of risk include activities in which non-members participate, such 55 1

2 as bar exposure and on-the-water activities. The litigious environment for yacht clubs has changed -*New Normal; precedents are now in place which directly expose the Club to increased liability. Resolution: After many hours of research and receipt of several competitive quotes, the Bridge/Board of Directors awarded the contract to Global Marine Insurance. The new policy increases coverage in vulnerable areas to $2 million and covers non-club members for onthe-water exposure. This new coverage brings us in line with other local yacht clubs. However, premium costs have risen to $7, per year, a 53% increase, at a time when our budget is already stretched. FINANCES Issues: Club expenses have risen substantially, while income has not kept pace with these increases. The major revenue source is Club membership dues and initiation fees - which have been used to cover operating expenses rather than adding to reserves as member equity. The main expense, Port Fees, accounts for nearly all income from member renewals, new memberships and initiation fees. Remaining operating revenues are generated through Club activities. Suggested Resolution: Increase the number of new memberships, as well revenue from events. Increase dues and activity costs - we have no choice! As a last resort, tap into reserves later this year, hopefully on a temporary basis. As mentioned earlier, our first duty was to identify the problem. The next step is to ask for your recommendations and support to bring the club back to a solid financial basis. MEMBERSHIP Issues: Declining membership is not a unique problem to our Club. Other yacht and service clubs all over the country are experiencing the same problem, often due to economic downturn and socioeconomic changes that make up the *New Normal just have a look at the vacant slips in our marina. Suggested Resolution: On the bright side, the overall economy seems to be stabilizing and growing again, opening up new opportunities for membership. Our revitalized sail/racing program will attract new members and community interest. This year we have more than doubled the number of sail/racing events; as a bonus, Club volunteers 55 2

3 will act as Race Committee - all under the direction of Dale Dunning and Alan Clark. In closing, I believe that Sequim Bay Yacht Club will grow and thrive in the future - our cup is half-full not half-empty. Let s all come together and work for a prosperous fun-filled future - this is definitely within our grasp. Please volunteer your time and talents to the various committee positions that still remain open. Let s have a wonderful, great and safe summer! Johan Table of Contents COMMODORE S CORNER: 1 INSURANCE 1 FINANCES 2 MEMBERSHIP 2 VICE COMMODORE S CORNER: 4 RESERVE NOW FOR OPENING DAY, MAY 3 RD, SBYC BUSINESS FOR THE MONTH OF MAY: 5 CALENDARS AT A GLANCE FOR APRIL AND MAY: 5 THE COMBINED CLUB CALENDARS ARE AVAILABLE AT: 5 SEQUIM BAY YACHT & SAILING CLUB- RACING ACTIVITIES: 8 SMALL BOAT RACING COMES TO SEQUIM BAY AND THE SBYC SMALL BOAT MONDAY RACING 9 MEMBERSHIP TEAM REPORT: 11 CLUB SOCIAL ACTIVITIES: 12 SEQUIM BAY YACHT CLUB S FIRST SUMMER LAND CRUISE 12 CRUISING ACTIVITIES: RECIPROCAL PROGRAM: 13 NOSPS ACTIVITIES: 15 NOSPS 2014 VESSEL SAFETY CHECKS 15 EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH THE NORTH OLYMPIC SAIL AND POWER SQUADRON 15 OPEN CHAIR POSITIONS:

4 Vice Commodore s Corner: Reserve now for Opening Day, May 3 rd, 2014 Join us for the opening day ceremony, blessing of the fleet, boat parade, and A Down Home Barbecue Kentucky Sweet-Talkin BBQ Chicken Ma Besters Best Baked Beans Potato Salad with A Kick Strawberry Spinach Salad Rolls Texas Sheet Cake Ice Tea, Lemonade, Coffee Cost $16 per person Complete the form below to register your boat for the parade and reserve for dinner. Mail form by April 25 to Catherine Bilyard, 660 Happy View Lane, Sequim, WA Names:, Guests:,, Boat in parade:. Total cost included: $ Do you have room on your boat for guests? Yes or No Number 55 4

5 SBYC Business for the month of May: General meetings are held on the second Wednesday of every month except August. Executive Board Meetings are held on the Thursday preceding the monthly General Meeting, at 2:00PM in the SBYC clubroom. The current Board of Directors is listed at: Board of Directors. Executive Board Meeting: Minutes of the monthly board meeting are found at: Secretary s Board Meeting Minutes. General Meeting: Minutes of the general meeting are found at:secretary s General Meeting Minutes. Treasurer s Report: The current treasurer s report is found at:treasurers Report. Calendars at a Glance for April and May: The combined club calendars are available at:

6 55 6

7 55 7

8 Sequim Bay Yacht & Sailing Club- Racing Activities: Small Boat Racing Comes to Sequim Bay and the SBYC May 5 th begins the start of Small Boat Racing for the SBYC. The Small Boat Racing consists of 4 series and concludes September 15 th. All center board boats with a Portsmouth handicap are welcome. Featured will be the Flying Scot which is the new one-design sail boat that the club is embracing. There are already two Flying Scots in the SBYC and members are actively searching for good used boats to help build the fleet. The Flying Scot is a great boat for beginners and advanced sailors as well. It is a stable good performing boat that can be sailed with 2 to 5 people aboard. It s also easily trailered and the club has set up dry moorage space with the John Wayne Resort. The purpose of the small boat racing program is to develop an affordable way for people to get on the water. All ages are encouraged to participate. Participation can range from skippering, crewing, and of course, working on the committee boat. A notice of race and registration information can be found on the SBYC website. We look forward to seeing everyone on the water on Monday nights. Its part of our path to create a vital, fun club. 55 8

9 2014 Small Boat Monday Racing Notice of Race Dates: There are four Monday series: Spring Series: May 5, 12, 19, June 2 Interim Series: June 9, 16, 23, 30, July 7 Summer Series: July 14, 21, 28, August 4, 11 Fall Series: August 18, 25, September 8, 15 Rules: The series will be governed by the rules as defined in the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) , except as modified by Individual Class rules, the Sailing Instructions or the Appendices to the Sailing Instructions. Eligibility: Open for registrants who are SBYCRegular Members, Associate & Junior Members, Sustaining Members, and Limited Members. Members of PIYA Active, Associate, or Affiliate Yacht clubs or Sailing Associations may participate in the Small Boat Monday Racing Series. Non-member registrants may also participate, but will pay a higher entry fee. Eligible participants may enter by completing a registration form with the required fee and either mailing it to: SBYC, PO Box 1261, Sequim, WA 98382, or presenting it in person to the race committee prior to the start of the first race. Registration forms are available on the SBYC website at Cost: Each Series will cost SBYC members and PIYA affiliated yacht clubs $30. Non-member race fees are $45. Classes: Open to Flying Scots, Hadrons, Vanguard 15 s, Lasers, Lidos, and other small centerboard boats with Portsmouth handicap ratings. Sailing Instructions:Sailing Instructions are available online at Schedule: 17:30 First warning signal The race committee intends to conclude racing no later than a time that will permit boats to return to John Wayne Marina before dark. 55 9

10 Course: Courses will typically be windward / leeward and may include leeward gates, weather offsets, and gybe marks. A target of at least two and up to four races may be sailed each day with a typical race duration of 20 to 60 minutes. Scoring: Flying Scots and other classes with 4 registered boats will race one design and get their own starts. All other boats will start together and be scored on the Portsmouth Handicap system. A boat's series score will be the total of her race scores, except that a boat's worst score will be excluded if at least five races are completed, and two scores will be excluded if at least eight races are completed. This changes RRS A2. One race will constitute a series. Dry Moorage:Dry moorage is available adjacent to the John Wayne Marina through the John Wayne Waterfront Resort. phone number Annual launch permits can be obtained from the John Wayne Marina Harbormasters office for $35. For further information on dry moorage contact Dale Dunning at:theoasissportsbar@gmail.com Prizes:At the conclusion of the racing season awards will be given for the top three boats in each starting class based on their total series scores. Disclaimer of Liability: Competitors participate in SBYC Small Boat Monday Series entirely at their own risk. See rule RRS 4, Decision to Race. The organizing authority will not accept any liability for material damage or personal injury or death sustained in conjunction with or prior to, during, or after the regatta. Insurance: Each participating boat shall be insured with a valid third-party liability insurance with a minimum cover of $300,000 per incident or the equivalent. Further Information:For further information please contact Dale Dunning at:theoasissportsbar@gmail.com 55 10

11 Membership Team Report: Sequim Bay Yacht Club has received and processed an application for membership from Kenneth and Virginia Johnson. They have relocated to Sequim from Maryland. Their occupational background is in cryptology. They are interested in joining the club as social members. Their hobbies include golf, ancestry and HAM radio. Johan Van Nimwegen and Patty Stone are their sponsors. The membership committee will be inducting Ken and Virginia Johnson at the May 14th meeting. The club has received an application for membership from Randy and Julia Roberts, sponsored by Kelly and Bob Macaulay. They are interested in joining the yacht club to participate in our social events, cruising and racing. They relocated to Sequim from Denver, CO. Occupational background given is retired Air Force. Their hobbies include hiking, skiing, backpacking, travel, food and sailing. They are in the process of purchasing a power vessel. They attended our March business meeting. We presented their application to the Board at the April 3rd, 2014 board meeting.objections to their membership must be presented to the board, in writing, within ten (10) days of publication of this notice. If there are no objections, they will be inducted at the May 14th, 2014 membership meeting. A very Happy Birthday to the following members who have birthdays in May! Jan Jones Ralph Gatien Jan Duisdecker Beth McGuffin Judy Shanks Barbara Brown Sandy Thomas Vince Bingham Bob Sterns Mary Jean Richards 55 11

12 Chuck Kramer Club Social Activities: Sequim Bay Yacht Club s First Summer Land Cruise August 23, 2014 To: Olympic Music Festival (OMF) To Hear: Beethoven the Final Years Performed by Jessica Lee and Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu on violin,alan Iglitzin on viola, Mathew Zalkind on cello,and Julio Elzalde on piano We ll start with an old fashioned Box Social where the women bring decorated picnic lunches to be auctioned off at 11:00 AM (proceeds to SBYC). Picnic lunches will be eaten on reserved outdoor picnic tables at OMF followed by the seating inside the barn for the performance. Reservations due by April 20 th to reserve by May first for this very popular group. Cost $50 per person Tickets include: Bus travel and concert seating in the barn BYOB or purchase wine or beer at venue Mail checks to: Catherine Bilyard 660 Happy View Lane Sequim, WA Please include information below: Name: Number of Tickets: Amount enclosed: Cruising Activities: Our Cruising Season Is Coming Soon Start Planning 55 12

13 Our joint cruise season with North Olympic Sail & Power Squadron and the Port Angeles Yacht Club starts in April with our Shakedown cruise to the San Juan s. Copies of the cruise schedule and the sign-up sheets are in a binder on the SBYC bar. Please take a look and plan to join us whether you have a sailboat or powerboat. Our itineraries are set up to accommodate all types of vessels. Or, you can also sign up on our SBYC Website as well. Click the following link: Here you will find the cruise schedule. Click on the Registration Page and fill out the questionnaire with your name, boat name, size, etc. Then see the list of cruises that includes a box to check if you plan on joining in on a particular cruise. Click SUBMIT and you are done. We are flexible in terms of dates, destinations and if you d like to break off from the group to stay out longer, etc. A meeting of participants will be held prior to each cruise to formulate starting times and other details, such as sightseeing ideas, restaurants and review tide tables and weather forecasts. Jim Jones, SBYC Cruise Director 2014 Reciprocal Program: Our program this year has 65 participating clubs... a list is on the SBYC web. A program Yachtdestinations: Is being used to renew or solicit reciprocal privileges throughout the boating community. Most of our renewals come via this program. Bob Stearns has used the program to embed our club s destinations into the web site. This allows members to access and print particular club reciprocal information very quickly. If you plan to visit a certain club and use the reciprocal program I encourage you to check the details, as club programs are not all the same. 1) Make your slip available when you are cruising. This is critical to having a viable program at minimum cost. Temporary transit assignment forms are available from the harbormaster, our clubroom or on our web under boating-cruising. If you forget to fill out the form, call Harbormaster Ron ( ). Should you need to return early please provide Ron with a 24 hour notification

14 If you are not familiar with our reciprocal program the following steps may be of assistance; Check our list of 65 to see if the marina you plan to visit has a club with reciprocal privileges with SBYC. Check the Burge handbook (available at West Marine) to get contact information or as suggested above go to the SBYCwebsite and check the specific club for details. In general, clubs provide space on a first come basis and generally the marina harbormaster can assist if you are unable to contact the club. Most clubs request that you fly your club burgee, some may ask for proof of membership (your SBYC membership card). Also a few request that you pay and submit a receipt for reimbursement. Last year we changed the program to use only vacated member slips and as a result no charges were assessed the club as compared to a cost of the program of $ in Last year (2013) 10 clubs used SBYC vacated slips for 15 nights as compared to 2012 when 14 clubs used SBYC for 18 nights. A big thank you for members making their slip available while cruising. It is a great help to keeping club expenses down while still providing a valuable membership privilege. If you have questions on the program please contact me at citnalta@olypen.com.harvey Smith, Reciprocal Chair 55 14

15 NOSPS Activities: NOSPS 2014 Vessel Safety Checks Educational Opportunities through The North Olympic Sail and Power Squadron NOSPS is offering a series of free seminars on boating related subjects. Reference materials are available for purchase for some topics, if desired. All seminars will be held in the Sequim Library and are open to the public. For further information about these seminars or other courses, contact: Guy Bear, (360) ,guy.bear@yahoo.com or Pam Kauffman, (360) , pjk99@wavecable.com

16 Open Chair Positions: We have the following open chair positions for 2014: Happy Hour Chair: Publicizes Happy Hour themes and dates, restocks the Happy Hour hamper and assures the Clubroom is cleaned-up and secured after each Happy Hour event. Major income producer for the benefit of the SBYC. Club Photographer: Ensures new members, Board& Bridge Officers, Club Social and other events are Photographed for the inclusion in the Scuttlebutt and on the website. Publicity chair: Responsible for publicizing SBYC events in local papers, boating magazines, and other media that are of interest to the community, and/or boaters. If you want to support SBYC in a way that will have high positive impact, this is the position for you. Local newspapers and magazines are looking for stories and notices of events. You could see your stories in the local newspaper, to the great benefit of SBYC. Webmaster:Bob Stearns is leaving this post effective July 1, and is looking to train the new Webmaster during the first half of the year. This is a critical position, as the website supports club events (e.g., committees, signups) and is our primary information repository (e.g., By-Laws, policies). Reach for Hospice:Reach for Hospice is the major way we support the community we live in. In 2013 we raised over $ 21,000 for Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County, bringing our total donations to more than $ 270,000 since 1992! VHOCC now depends on our annual contribution to maintain their level of service to the community. If you are looking to make a positive difference in the lives of local families in need, this position will provide you with that opportunity. Work on this would begin during the summer and be done by early October. Each of these positions is critical to club operations and the future of the club. Please give serious thought to donating your talent and time to one of these club positions

17 55 17