Bilge Pump: February 2008

Busy Schedule
We are already into a busy year. In February we have the Sweetheart's Dinner chaired by Stephanie and Bob Marcelynas, a grounds work party at the main-station, racing at the Heavy Weather Race at Bremerton and the always quirky Queen City Players’ skit and we can look forward to the St. Patrick's Day cruise in March. There are opportunities to have fun and be involved at every turn in this club because our members step up and participate. Why don’t you join in the fun too?

New QCYC Website
Kyle Bixby has developed an all new QCYC website. At the March 12 General Membership meeting, Kyle Bixby will demonstrate the new website. From what he has told me, the new site will be a quantum leap forward in content, presentation and navigation. I hope you will come find out what it’s all about.

Speaking of the QCYC website, it is the best and most current source of information about our club, its events and moorage information among other things. The most current edition of the Bilge Pump is available online as well as the PDF file you can download and print, it is exactly like the one you receive through the mail. The one online is usually available two weeks before it shows up in the mail. There were a couple of minor errors in the January calendar in the printed edition caused apparently by a glitch in the way the printer pulls the calendar from our website. Kyle is on that though.

Technology
Chairman Craig Ranta has equipped our outstation with a wireless microphone system. He and his committee (John Rogers, Dick Geving and Steve Farber) are fast closing in on replacing the mainstation’s notorious security computer with one that will be more flexible and less problem-prone as well as getting our Treasurer a more modern system.

AAC
The AAC has reconvened for the year and the committee held its first meeting January 14. Bob Hutnik is the Chairman and has a good committee. As you know if you have followed this publication over the past months, the AAC is a committee appointed by the Board of Trustees, to advise the Board and Bridge regarding proposals which would make permanent changes to the club facilities. The Bridge then proposes projects to the Board as part of the budget process. Projects and changes underway or under consideration include a new main entryway with a nautical theme and a board/meetings room on the third deck at the mainstation.

Congratulations and Thanks
Belatedly, congratulations to Kent and Carol Soffel who were honored by the Argosy Christmas Ships cruise with an award for the best decorated boat (Windy I) of the season. If you didn’t see their boat you really missed something. Thanks to Scott and Tracy McPhee for chairing Martini Madness. You took on a tough event and we know how much time you volunteered to your club. I know that all of the other members who are truly club-focused appreciate all that you and your volunteers did on this event.

Voting by Mail
In a past column, I asked members for comments on whether the club should consider amending the bylaws to permit voting by mail. I did receive some feedback. One member wrote:

“I’ve concluded that in earlier times more of the Club’s membership, could (for various reasons) be counted on to actively participate in Club matters and voting might have been representative.”

That certainly resonates but raises questions as well. Once upon a time everyone stayed pretty much in their own community and their recreation time was spent with their close friends and families. The perception some members share is that in days past, the yacht club was more of a focus for our members and that recreation revolved around club activities around our boats. Today it seems our members are less connected locally and that they have myriad choices for recreation. Some “snowbird” to sunny climes in the winter while others live and work at such distance from the club such that attendance at club meetings becomes impossible.

Should only members who can attend the meetings make the decision for all? Conversely, should the voice of members who are not here, actively involved and attending meetings control the course of the club?

Finally
Thank you to all of the members of this club who have shown your support by showing up at events and volunteering your time. You truly understand the meaning of the term ‘club’ and you are a positive force in our midst. For members who have not been involved of late, try making it to a meeting or an event and reconnect with your club.

Bill McGillin
Commodore

February is when I start to see the first signs of spring and that always prompts me to start making a list of projects that I want to accomplish before the upcoming boating season arrives. This applies to our own boat, which these days never seems to gets much attention, as well as projects around the Main-station and Outstation. Currently, the most important project happening is the docks inspection program, in which the winter time phase is nearing completion. With our docks being nearly fifty years old, it is critical to plot a course that ensures that the structural integrity remains sound. Most of our docks can only be inspected during low water periods (October to March) and as you can easily imagine, this is probably the worst time of year for anyone to be floating around under a dock, cold and wet, looking for those deficiencies. My hat goes off to Art Mauldin and Richard Frisch for heading up this project, and for all those members who have given up their weekends to do the actual inspection work. Thanks you!

Two things to note about the Outstation at Winslow; With Peter Anderson’s tutelage, the new galley equipment was installed in late January, and mark your calendars for the April 6th Outstation work party. Not only is it a fun time, it always amazes me how much our members accomplish in one day. While you have your calendars out, mark April 26th, which is the date of this year’s “Pride of Queen City”. Your continued support of this event is appreciated. I would like to conclude this article with thanking Commodore McGillin for his leadership and the help he as given me this year. There is a lot to manage in the Vice Commodore year, and his support has been invaluable. Also, I would like to thank Rear Commodore Ed Jennerich for all he has accomplished. It is wonderful to be part of such a great team.

Dale Roberts
Vice Commodore

With the Holidays behind us (and hopefully the worst of the weather), it’s time to start thinking about getting the Club and our boats ready for Spring. It’s hard to believe there’s only 3 months until Opening Day!

GROUNDS:

There will be a Winter Grounds Clean-up on February 9th. We’ll be working on gardening projects as well as initial construction of the dumpster enclosures. Additional information can be found elsewhere in this issue or you can contact Linda Roehl, Grounds Chair, at ljroehl58@hotmail.com for further information. This is a great opportunity to contribute to the Club and make new friends at the same time. I’d particularly like to encourage our newer members to come and join in the camaraderie. QCYC has a long history of member volunteerism—let’s keep the tradition alive. With enough volunteers, we should be able to finish around noon and -- we’ll provide lunch. What a deal!

SECURITY:

We’re in the final stages of upgrading our computer hardware for the security system and it should be installed by the time you read this. Thanks to Dick Geving and Craig Ranta for their work on this project. On a more troubling note, we’ve also had some recent incidents of property vandalism at the Club. The Bridge is looking at additional ways to enhance our security and we’re asking members to be increasingly vigilant around the club and report any suspicious behavior to the Rear Commodore. View the Policy On Proximity Cards

MEMBERSHIP:

Mark LaFountaine, Membership Chair, has started the year off in grand style but he needs our help. We still need approximately 35 more members to be at our full compliment. So let’s each of us make a commitment to go out and ask our boating friends and acquaintances to become fellow members of QCYC. We can do it—all we need to do is ask! Let’s not keep QCYC a secret. Remember—the #1 reason people don’t join organizations is because nobody asks them to join.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet with the Jr. Boating Committee chaired by Tim Rutledge and we’re exploring ways to form a stronger linkage between the Jr. Boating program and Club membership. You can help Tim, his committee, and the Club by getting the word out about this excellent program (see the Jr. Boating page on our website). Obviously, the Jr. Boating participants are too young to join but we may be able to use this as a means of attracting their parents to become members.

Fair winds,

Ed Jennerich
Rear Commodore