Commodore's Report Autumn 2011
Commodore’s Report
Despite the rather poor boating weather that has been inflicted on us all since my last report in the Ark, the Club’s passage through the summer season has been exceptionally good. Your Committee, helpers and staff have teamed up into a formidable crew to re-vitalise the Club. We have hosted more regattas and sailing events than for several years; regularly filled the bar with hungry and thirsty members more often than I can ever remember and now have a marina that is the envy of every Club on the Island. All this has even brought an occasional smile to the treasurer when counting the Club’s pennies. In fact you all should take heart that the CCYC is now attracting the attention around the Solent that it deserves.
You may remember that Ellen MacArthur arrived on an RNLI lifeboat to officially open our Marina in June to the splendid accompaniment of the Cowes Marching Band. Janet Dore approached the RNLI to see if they could provide a vessel to transport Ellen from Trinity landing to the Club expecting an inshore RIB, but managed to get a full size, immaculately commissioned lifeboat. What a spectacle for our guests from The Crown Estate who bankrolled the marina to see a lifeboat moored against their apron pontoon surrounded by numerous Club Members’ boats dressed all over. Naturally, Tom Blow insisted that all dressing flags were in Naval ‘Trafalgar’ order.
Our Rear Commodore Sailing, Andrew Millband, has mustered – or maybe press-ganged – many new members into his regatta and race crew. His sterling efforts have reintroduced several new recurring sailing events to the Club; Etchells, Dragons, Contessas to name but a few. Next year’s fixture list looks very full indeed.
Not to be luffed by R.C. Sailing, our Rear Commodore House, Jaik Tari together with Sarah Ross and Carole Webb mustered a victualling crew second to none. They started to supply suppers for our own Tuesday evening sailors only to find other crews were visiting the Club as well, due to the excellent quality and value for money offered. This has been so successful that the victualling crew have now created the winter Wednesday supper club to run through until next year’s Tuesday evening sailing. They have also volunteered and provided excellent meals for sailing events to help swell the Club’s coffers.
All this activity has put extra strain on the Bosun and his site team who have responded enthusiastically, replacing apron planking and rearranging marina moorings to accommodate the sailing activities.
The highlights of this year’s windy Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week were the very successful Jazz evening arranged by Willie Sanderson; the race crew’s excellent work on the Black Group line; and our secretary, Jo Brown’s, continuous highly profitable after-sailing BBQ. This significantly boosted the after-sailing bar activity, admirably handled by the bar staff.
Sadly, several members have made their last passage since my last report. Among these was the redoubtable Roddie Cunnington. Roddie bequeathed a substantial sum to the Club, which has funded the replacement tubes on the Club’s blue rib. The rib has now been named ‘Roddie’s Rib’ in his memory.
Despite all this activity we still have a long way to go to maximise the Club’s assets for the benefit of all its members, be they social or sailing. During the winter months we plan to maximise the wasted space around the Club to capitalise on its revenue potential; in particular the ‘graveyard’ and marquee areas.
We all have the opportunity to create a club with the most comprehensive facilities in Cowes. To achieve this we need to work together to expand our membership so that we have a strong base from which we can improve all aspects of the Club. There is only so much that your Committee can do to provide both sailing and social events for members and visiting yachtsmen. Without patronage these efforts are both wasted and disheartening for the organisers. So please support these events whenever you can; particularly the new ones like the Wednesday Supper Club and the Monday book evenings.
I am very sure that your Social Committee would be only too pleased to work with any bright idea that any member has that will improve the well-being of the CCYC and provide enjoyment for all.
Tony Bedingfield