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Dear reader
From the Wheelhouse - June 2021

Winter has certainly crept up quickly and we have experienced some wet and wild weather and pretty cold days. It hasn’t stopped the meetings as much as some of our sailing. With the Marina Awards being held on the Tuesday evening of management, our meeting was moved to the Thursday evening of the week. With just a quorum, the meeting finished just before 2100 - this was a good effort considering the amount of business involved.

Governance
Nothing to report. The committee are still working hard on the Rules and Policies of the club.

Strategic plan
I was hopeful that the plan would have been accepted last meeting, but there will be the need to fine tune the action side. This is the part that guides the management on how to achieve the set targets.
With a bit of luck, next meeting!

Finance
As we approach the end of the financial year, the office is busy sorting out membership subscriptions, pen and hard stand fees.

The Treasurer decided to have a few days off just South of Exmouth so he gave us his report over the phone which was brief and to the point. One of the details was a proposal to install solar panels on the clubs’ roof - they could see a return of $34k savings against the current electricity costs. If we were to purchase a “small system” this would enable grants of $140k. Finance has been asked to put forward a recommendation.

Looking at the P&L, this all seems to be going to budget. However, there is some concerns with the Academy costs, so we have asked the Finance Manager and chair of T&D to investigate with the coach.

It is pleasing to report we have the required capital for the purchase of the St Ayles Skiffs and enough to complete the project. I would like to extend a big thank you to all the members that have donated. We will still be looking for more support, as there will be extra costs to improve the oars and the feet blocks which will make the rowing easier with balanced oars.

Regatta
I shouldn’t talk too soon but as the threat of Covid seems to be under some sort of control now, we are seeing requests for Nationals’ events being posted. This is very pleasing to see.

Training and development
We are starting to see some of the results from the effort being put in with the successful running of the S80 crew courses. I’ve also noticed the BW8’s being used; all we need to do now is to encourage the new crew into our fleets.

Security
There has been a lot of discussion and a few setbacks in our program but hopefully at the next meeting we will start seeing some progress.

Works
This is always a busy portfolio. We had suspended the wave attenuator as the successful tenderer now believes the additional works are beyond their capability with the removal and replacement of the decking to access the head stocks which need corrosion treatment. So, its nearly back to the drawing board - we have now engaged an engineer to inspect jetties 1&2 and compile a report. Once we have that we will be able to return to the marketplace. I know this is long winded, but I think necessary in the light of the levels of corrosion that has been discovered.

The contractor had purchased the timber for the attenuator. The club will inspect and check the quality, and we will purchase the material that will then be used in the project as this is extremely hard to source.

The quarter deck kitchen has been pushed out to a start date of 21st June. We are still in the planning and feasibility study stage of the air conditioning for the kitchen. Hopefully, all this will be finalised and fit in with the renovations timetable.

Pens and Moorings
Don’t forget it’s power cord tagging season. All cords will need to all be tagged by the end of June. There is no fee charged for this service.

There is still a lot of movement with allocations and reallocations. Unfortunately, there is always boats sitting on the wait list and empty pens, but unless the boats and pens match, this will always be the case.

Functions and Marketing
Over the past few months, we have seen a good attendance at club functions which is very pleasing so thank you all for the support. Keep your eye on Coffee Pointers as there are a lot more events coming up.

Thank you for your continual support and I will see you around the club.

Cheers,
John Midolo
Commodore, SoPYC