LYME REGIS SAILING CLUB ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MINUTES Saturday 28th October LYME REGIS SAILING CLUB

Transcription

1 56 members attended the meeting. LYME REGIS SAILING CLUB ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MINUTES Saturday 28th October LYME REGIS SAILING CLUB 1. APOLOGIES: Anne Michell, Jeremy White, Ray Ward, Mike and Sue Warne, Chris and Janet Joyner, Tony and Judy Tuck, Jim Bolton, Crispin Read-Wilson, Gordon and Pam Melhuish, John Chase, Norman Patch, Simon Clark, Nick Walton, Val and June Bailey, Malcolm Jeffrey, Dick Davidson, Tony Hinman, Tim Parsons, Sarah Maguire, Barry & Vicky McGibbon. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER 2005 AGM Alan Cottis was not at meeting, name to be changed. Approval Proposed Jeremy Wallace, Seconded Dave Beer, All in favour. 3. MATTERS ARISING FROM THOSE MINUTES: 9. Barry requires assistant 13.4 Colin Walters will speak after Subscriptions item but before Open Forum. 13. Communications. Andy Truscott said this was not well done. Information is not all getting to website. Suggested a simple newsletter every 2 months, by or post as members choice. He thought attendances at events affected. Keith Thompson asked Sally to bring to next General Committee meeting. 4. COMMODORE S REPORT: Keith Thompson Keith said 2006 had been another excellent year for the club both on and off the water. A marvellous dinner dance at Eype s Mouth had rounded off last season, and the ridiculously fun fitting out supper at Uplyme organised by Steve Jones had set the tone for this one. The April supper by Dave Guthrie and his Merry Maids, the popular Greek evening, an amazing Mexican Fiesta for Regatta and excellent social evenings for Scorpion Open and Phantom Nationals had been held. Keith thanked Emma Potter, Fern Cottis, Liz Truscott and members who had worked with them to make events so successful. Keith said the bar continues to prosper, well-managed by Dave Guthrie, Harry and John. It is a focal point in the club. Fantastic food had been served by Ray and Di Carrington, and Keith hoped they will continue with us for next year. Keith thought that if the number of boats on the water is a barometer of success then the needle is firmly jammed in the high pressure zone. Large turnouts were recorded every weekend and Wednesday with a Page 1 of 9

2 possible record of 44 for the RNLI Pennant. Details of club members successes away from home are given in TP s report. At the same weekend, club cruisers were in Hamburg and in the Scillies, the lighter weather early in the season being favourable. Keith and Kaye had done a 5-day tour of Torbay and the Dart in their Medina. Keith said the main project had been refurbishment of the changing rooms. Starting from repairing visible problems of damp, it became clear that more serious consideration had to be given to cure mistakes that had been made when the building was constructed. Keith said that luckily we had skilled members within the club and a technical solution had been found, but the work took 3 months of weekend and evening work, and Keith had felt guilty about expecting people to turn up so frequently. He thanked all those who had done so with enthusiasm, saying that he was not going to name them here but they knew who they were and they had his sincere thanks. But one person did most to ensure that the job had been done correctly and will stand the club in good stead for the future and that was Nic Butler, to whom the club owed a big thank you for his drive and commitment. Keith pointed out that we cannot hold racing without equipment, and thanked Ron Groombridge for looking after PJ and ensured the old girl looked immaculate when she took to the water as well as Chris Joyner for care of the RIBs. Keith said our RIBs get 10 times as much use each year as an average leisure boat. Keith said racing cannot happen without an on-the-water team dedicated to running races as professionally as possible. He commended the OODs who had taken responsibility and said that during our big events the level of skill is impressive. He praised Dave Guthrie for the Scorpion Open, and Rob Wiscombe/Tim Parsons for the Phantoms Nationals. Keith said the list of people who contribute to making the club work is extensive and noted the efforts of Barry McGibbon for the website, Harold Wallace for duty reminders, Sally Holman for her secretarial work and for keeping me I line with social duties, Lesley Broom who as treasurer kept us afloat despite our best efforts, the whole youth team for their encouragement and organisation for the youth section, Mike Higgs and Mike Poupard of the harbour office for their support. Keith thanked them all and all who had helped, especially the fantastic committee, saying that it takes a lot of commitment to take on the task of running the club and making it a fun place to be. Keith thanked them for the support they had given him personally as well, through thick and thin, and mentioned Jeremy White and Jeremy Wallace for their help during last November. Keith said he was looking forward to next year, to a major upgrading of our RIBs with the purchase of a new, slightly larger boat in line with increasing sailing fleet numbers and duties, the continuing integration of youth/adult sailing, and hopefully, better Laser racks in the park. Keith said he knew that members would continue to support their club and its new committee and make sure that the club maintains its reputation along the South coast. He wished members a successful and pleasurable Page 2 of 9

3 5. SAILING SECRETARY S (RACING) REPORT: Tim Parsons This report was sent by TP and read to the meeting. Firstly I would like to give my apologies for not being with you this afternoon. Once again we have seen a busy year in the sailing club with many events and visiting sailors coming and going. We have enjoyed ever increasing numbers of boats on the water on both Wednesdays and Sundays, with the quality of the courses and standard of sailing continually improving throughout the fleet. In addition to this we have had a number of successes away from the club. The season started with the OOD training which was a successful evening. However, it needed to be been better attended by newly identified OODs if we as a club intend to improve the standard of racing that we offer. This in turn will help us achieve a higher number of OODs capable of running events, easing the pressure. The Tylers ran the regatta in August, with imaginative courses and impeccable race management. Again we had a healthy but manageable number of competitors and were joined by the Beer Luggers. This was a fantastic spectacle for both the sailors and the public. This year the club has held a Merlin and Scorpion open meeting, Laser South West Travellers and the Phantom Nationals, all of which were run very well indeed, and I would like to thank everyone who was involved in whatever capacity, they are all important to the success of the event. Lyme was represented well in all of them, with various successes. On their travels Lyme sailors had a fantastic season starting with Chris Turner and Simon Maguire wining the Scorpion Nationals in Paignton, with Sarah and myself managing 12 th and a final race win. At the Merlin Nationals Mike and Jane Calvert achieved 9 th place overall. The club s Albacore contingent ensured a healthy social life during the otherwise quiet Albacore Nationals in Torquay. Jerry Rook and James Wallace ended up 5 th overall with the rest of the club busy competing against each other! At home with the Phantoms Simon Heusen sailed consistently well in all conditions to finish top Lyme boat in 5 th place. This goes to show the quality of competition in the club. This was shown with our most recent success at the Top Club event held at Chew Valley, Lyme sent two teams who finished first and third out of 11 teams. Looking forward to next year we have now agreed to run a four day Musto Skiff Nationals in early September again we will need your support. In addition to this we will be running a similar open meeting programme as well as continuing to improve training and racing available within the club. I am looking forward to the year ahead with even more successes for the club on and off the water. 6. SAILING SECRETARY S (CRUISING) REPORT: Steve Jones Steve said there had been an early start to the season, and he Medinas had enjoyed racing. All cruises on programme had taken place except for one. The Jaffes had visited the Baltic and Hamburg, Stuart Case still taking Medina around Baltic, Ron Groombridge had done Bristol then through canals to London and back along south coast. Steve hoped next season would be as good for sailing. Page 3 of 9

4 7. YOUTH SECTION REPORT: Nic Butler Nic reported a fantastic season with 13 sessions of training. Section training sessions full, all available boats used. Beginners all achieved Level 1. Great response from parents. Tim and Rachel Wadsworth brought their RIB each week. Colin Walters and Janna Whittington worked with Beginners, Tony, Martin, Richard and Alex assisted with Intermediates, Jon Truscott took Laser group.. A weekend held by Tim Parsons and Allan Tyler dedicated to youth racing training led to more youth members sailing in club races and Nic wants this to increase. A last evening was extended to club members with their double-handers joining in and taking youth members as crews which has led to them meeting a wider range of members and being introduced to the club atmosphere thus increasing confidence to participate. 8. WEBSITE AND RESULTS: Report by Barry McGibbon This report was sent by BMcG and read to the meeting. Over 50 thousand hits show that the website is being used extensively by members as they have come to rely on it as one of the club s channels of communication. But we need to be careful on relying on it for a number of reasons: 1. not all members can access the web therefore we need to offer other channels 2. not all information is passed to me so there may be gaps on the site that leads to uncertainty on accuracy and completeness 3. not all information can be published in a timely manner as other events and activities may occupy my time Other communication channels needs to be addressed by the committee; gaps can be closed by ing new or updated web content to me; and once again, a deputy is needed to ensure timeliness and encouragement of contingency arrangements. The current website comes out of my own ideas so it would be valuable to find out what members want; so me if you have suggestions or topics that you would like to see included. Results Sailwave has been generally successful again this year for all our series and cup races, Merlins, Scorpions, Regatta, Lasers, and the Phantom Nationals with nearly 80 boats. Some of the problems we have encountered are: 1. new boats or changes to current boats not reflected in the master list; an administration issue. 2. changes of helm or different boat type in a series is at odds with Sailwave s philosophy of one boat, one helm. In a series it s the helm that wins, so if you sail someone else s boat consider allowing the usual helm your glory. For the different boat type e.g. multi-rig Lasers, we plan to enter these into the master list as sail number plus discriminator e.g , RAD for those helms affected. Page 4 of 9

5 3. current Results Team needs more practice and expansion in due course; to be tackled again next year. Owing to some unreliability this year the Results Computer needs a minor overall and reconfiguring early next year. My thanks to all those who helped with the Results and provided website content in the past year thank you all. 9. REPORT ON CLUB FINANCES AND ADOPTION OF THE ACCOUNTS UP TO 31 AUGUST 2007: Lesley Broom gave the following report: To start my report I d like to say a thank you to Keith and to the Committee for what has been a low spending year, to Roger for auditing the accounts and to Dave Guthrie for his management of the bar accounts. As you can see from the figures before you the total income shows a healthy increase from that of last year. Subscription and Facility income increased by the proposal of last year for 4,000 which was needed to meet the increase in Council Tax bills. Total membership this year was 362 a loss over last year of 61 members or 14.5% A massive contributory factor to the increase in total income, was the profit made by the bar and the Albacore event of last September of nearly 5,000. You can see that this year our expenses have dropped. Admin costs show a reduction, nothing much to report there, Property costs were slightly up and Sailing costs were reduced. The net surplus figure does not reflect a typical year s income. The increase in council tax is, of course, spread over 2 financial year s, only 5/12ths being included in this financial year, the remaining 7/12 th or around 2,400 has been carried over into the new year. Until we have a further year we cannot see the implications of the increase in Council tax payments upon the accounts. The Albacore event generated some 5,000 extra income in areas of the bar, social and catering, and event surplus. Taken together, the net income less this 7,000 gives a more normal profit of around 5,000. This year has been one of growth, the only truly major expense has been the refurbishment of the changing rooms and the overhaul of the electrics. KT asked for questions. Harold Wallace said the surplus this year is from the Albacore event and asked that members remember that. Keith said this had been used for major expenditure and to update safety equipment. Acceptance of Accounts Proposed by Harold Wallace, Seconded by Ed Cruwys- Finnigan. All in favour. 10. PROPOSED RULE CHANGE: 10.1.(b) to read: Family/Partnership Member: Shall include students, OAPs, adult partners or combinations thereof, or one adult and one junior member over 10 years of age. Page 5 of 9

6 KT said it was desirable to encourage adult participation in Youth training and that membership joining fee should fall within lower band. Harold Wallace said if a parent and youth member joined it would cost them 40 less on joining fee. He asked if youth members always had participating parent. KT said No. Dave Beer felt we should keep an eye on the situation as a couple who are members at present with youth might decide not worth renewing. KT agreed we need to run it for a year and assess. Rob Wiscombe wondered if we should drop joining fee for new members. KT said it was a % drop only and seems to reflect pressures on facilities such as dinghy parking and car parking. It was suggested that a year s trial be given, and at next AGM clear facts and figures be discussed. Rule change as above Proposed by Emma Potter, Seconded by Dave Guthrie, Majority in favour, one vote against. 11. ELECTION OF OFFICERS: POST NAME Proposed by: Seconded by: Commodore Keith Thompson Jeremy Wallace John Wiscombe Vice Commodore Dave Guthrie Keith Thompson Jeremy Wallace Rear Commodore Tony Fastnedge Bruce Truscott Dave Guthrie Rear Commodore Bruce Truscott Emma Potter Alan Watson Flag Captain Dan Burke Dave Beer Lesley Broom Sailing Sec (racing) Tim Parsons Sarah Maguire Emma Potter Sailing Sec (cruising) Steve Jones Margaret Wiscombe Keith Thompson Fern Cottis Bruce Truscott Dan Burke General Committee Chris Douglas Dave Guthrie Rob Wiscombe Nic Butler Ed Cruwys-Finnigan Rob Wiscombe Chris Joyner John Wiscombe Margaret Wiscombe Gill Bailey Jeremy Wallace Keith Thompson Ed Cruwys-Finnigan Steve Jones Rob de Groot Proposed that the above be elected, Harold Wallace. Seconded, Dave Beer. All in favour. 12. SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR 2006/2007: Lesley Broom Lesley Broom made the following statement to members: The committee propose that Subscriptions should keep pace with inflation and be increased by 3%. I m hopeful that the bar will retain its previous level of around the 5,000 mark All other income is dependent, in the main, on the events we run throughout the year and any profit made on Club social functions. Our expenses will always continue to rise except for the insurance bill which this year remains much as last year, but increases in the utility bills are, to a certain extent Page 6 of 9

7 down to our own usage, but also to the suppliers. This year we shall see the rolling effect of the increases in our Council Tax bills. Last year we budgeted for a net surplus of 3668 and came in with a profit of 8650 over this figure which was largely due to the Bar surplus, the Albacore Nationals and the partial accounting of the Council Tax bills for Each year we aim to keep within the set budget, and this year, thanks to Keith and his committee for showing restraint on the spending, and the success of the Albacore meeting, we have succeeded. I m hopeful we can add some of the profit to the deposit account for future spending. I therefore recommended this budget to the membership. Proposal to raise subscriptions as recommended, Alan Cottis, Seconded by Chris Douglas. All in favour. CASC scheme. A report from the Sub Com was given by Colin Walters. They had met with WDDC to appeal for discretionary relief but that was rejected. Discussions held with RYA and CCPR who drafted the CASC rules. Colin said there was a big question over where we would stand if we joined. We would be required to provide boats for hire or opportunities to sail in existing private boats which is not practical, many things involved. KT said a letter of appeal against WDDC decision would be sent, and in any case WDDC get ¾ of any discretionary relief they grant from central government. WDDC will consider only if no alternative way for a club to avoid non-discretionary rates. We can pursue why we can t be a charity, or join CASC as they suggest. If we join, on deregulation, we would face a 250,000 capital gains tax bill. We can expand on why it is not practical to provide boats for hire. Harold Wallace asked if we are stressing that we run Youth training. CW said that was part of the appeal made. Allan Tyler asked for the response from the RYA. CW said the head of their legal department, Edmund Wheeland, told him a lot clubs have accepted and few have made similar queries. He put us in touch with CCPR and Deputy PM for discretionary awards details. Dave Beer asked if there was any way we could protect the club s assets and yet still get relief. A mother/daughter club arrangement had been mentioned last year. CW said this would not solve the problem. David Brown spoke about business rate relief and wondered if WDDC appreciated access problems and no storage room for hire boats. CW said the storage point had been included in appeal. LB said business rate relief applied only to traders not clubs, but she would write to enquire. Jenny Finch was against the club becoming a charity. CW agreed that ordinary sports clubs can t become a charity. DB asked what Colin recommended. Colin said we could possibly pursue the appeal. KT thanked Colin and his sub com. 13. OPEN FORUM 1. Stan Williams had noticed fewer boats stored on Boat and Trailer park this year and wondered, in view of shortage of storage for dinghies, who decides on numbers. KT explained the quota arrangement and said extra spaces cost 194 from WDDC. Page 7 of 9

8 2. Harry Greenhough said he intended that the bar maintain its profit margin as this year, and that 3 price increases had been absorbed. Beers were 50p a pint cheaper than local pubs. With profit margin down to 29%, Harry could not guarantee to hold prices if he is faced with further increases. Keith thanked Harry for giving such clear information. 3. Harold Wallace asked about spending on a new RIB. Keith said there had been initial discussions about buying a new Humber RIB, the same size and power as the Sea School Rib, now 30 years old. As a strong, seaworthy option, this seems the best package, and it will last. A club RIB gets heavy usage, with mark laying which is giving us much better courses. The club may decide to keep the present Ribcraft RIB. Mike Pitt said spending on a RIB should be put to the membership and asked if it had been discussed in committee as he was worried that things should be done properly. Keith said the committee was entrusted by the club to deal with matters which came up and that discussion about a RIB was at an early stage. The meeting held was for research and a proposal would be brought to the next committee meeting. KT said CASC had been heavily debated by the club at an EGM. Jeremy Wallace said that as Commodore, his committee had agreed to replace the engine on the club Rib at the end of its life, 5 years. He felt a small RIB was not suitable for carrying injured sailors and that any discussion was at an early stage and would be dealt with by an elected general committee which he thought appropriate. Andy Truscott asked what sum was involved. Keith replied that there seemed to be 3 basic options and listed them: a. Keep present RIB and replace engine, had been well used and done 600 hours, estimate 4,500. b. Buy new RIB and engine, a known quantity, plus safety gear, About 11,000. c. Trade in present RIB, cost to club about 7,000. Keith said these details had not yet been discussed. Andy Truscott asked if retaining or exchanging was favoured and also about storage. KT said that would come to committee for consideration. Looking at the numbers we now have on the water, and the basic RYA recommendation of one safety boat to ten, it is clear there is more demand for RIBs. We are currently borrowing from LRSS who also need back-up or two RIBs at all times. We have the necessity to look at this and the resources. Nic Butler said the Youth section, which has the full backing of the membership, has to consider the RYA recommendation of one to six for teaching single-handers. Colin Walters spoke in favour of a new RIB, all OODs are responsible for safety and need proper facilities. Using LRSS RIB and LRSC RIB, cancellation of race comes up if one not in working order. Margaret Wiscombe commented that the situation is self-policing in that the less confident don t sail in difficult conditions and usually one RIB and PJ can be used. 4. Ian Wallace asked why we are running an event for the Musto Skiffs when usually events serve the interests of the membership. KT said this was a Page 8 of 9

9 new venture, several members had expressed their interest, running it would enable club to draw from a wider pool of people, it was a fresh, young class and something different. 5. Mike Pitt said that with racing, PJ was at sea anchored. He wondered about the feasibility of a kind of platform for running races from so that PJ could be mobile. KT said it was not possible to use PJ in a rescue role as soft-sided boats were required and we must follow guidelines on that. Dave Beer said the nature of boats has changed from the time when we used PJ as the main safety cover. Jeremy Wallace supported the need for soft-sided safety boats. 6. Allan Tyler asked about charging for dinghy parking. He said the present charge was based on width not length. He is penalised as has a long boat. Keith said the committee are looking at an overhaul of the way the dinghy/car park is run and that changes will be made which will be fairer. He thought these would be acceptable to Allan. Jeremy Wallace thanked the officers and committee on behalf of the members. The meeting closed at Minutes taken by S Holman, written reports submitted by L Broom, T Parsons, Keith Thompson, Barry McGibbon Page 9 of 9