Bilge Pump: March 2009

The publication of this Bilge Pump will roughly coincide with the mid point of my year as Commodore and I thought it would be a good time to report on the current state of affairs in our club. To start with, it should be noted that your officers and board of trustees are working in concert and many of the objectives set by the Bridge are being achieved. Having Ed Jennerich as my Vice Commodore and George Austin as my Rear Commodore has been a huge factor in accomplishing these goals. A large portion of this responsibility falls onto the Vice Commodore’s shoulders, as he oversees the functions of the club that see most of these improvements. What is really overwhelming is how effectively our committee system functions to reach those goals. The efforts of these committees and their chairmen are extraordinary and I can’t express how much the bridge depends on them for making our club operate like a well oiled machine.

The club has hosted some very successful social events recently, and the “Boys of 1938” Friday Night Social, headed up by P/C Lynn Montgomery was one of these. This was also the kick-off event for the First of Season IPBA race. Scott and Tracy McPhee hosted Martini Madness, and as usual, they did a wonderful job. Brian and Carolyn Barton, putting on their first major event, made Sweetheart Dinner an event you didn’t want to miss. Your junior officers hosted the Officer’s Cruise-in for the Grand 14 at the Winslow Outstation, and in doing so, did a wacky job in roasting your Commodore.

Upcoming events to make plans for include the Skiers and Boarders Friday Night Social on March 13th, headed up by Steve and Susan Hanson. Our Fleet Captain has an exciting Saint Patrick’s train trip to Portland scheduled for March 14th and 15th. Our predicted log racers will be testing their navigational skills at the Novice and Old Timers Race which is being held March 20th through the 22nd. Seattle Yacht Club’s Opening Day Trio will be making their presentation at the March 25th general meeting. And March 7th will see Breakfast with the Bridge 2, a breakfast meeting hosted by your Bridge Officers. This is a chance for your to express your ideas in a relaxed open forum type setting, all while enjoying a complimentary breakfast cooked by our caterer, Willie. The Bridge will also give an update on items discussed at the last Breakfast with the Bridge meeting.

Finally, I want do announce the formation of the “Classes of Membership Special Committee” which has the charge of looking at possibly updating the types of memberships the club offers. It’s a tough task, but one that I thought its time was due. The committee, which consists of seven people from different aspects of our club, has been meeting and making great strides. This committee is grassroots in nature and no bridge, board or Planning and Finance Committee members were included. They will complete their work by March 7th and will present their conclusions at the Breakfast with the Bridge meeting. I look forward to their presentation and I hope you are there as well.

Dale Roberts
Commodore 

The Club has had a busy social calendar since the beginning of the New Year and that’s a wonderful thing. Enjoying time with friends on and off the water is what makes are Club so special. But all play and no work makes us dull. So, as you might imagine, we have lots of projects underway:

HOUSE: Jim Damery has been his usual amazing self keeping the Clubhouse in such great condition. It’s a never-ending task and Jim does it in a seemingly effortless manner. Thanks Jim! The tables have been ordered for the conference room as well as new lighting and we’ll begin re-painting soon. Our goal is have the project completed prior to Opening Day.

OUTSTATION: The City of Bainbridge has notified us that permits are not required to replace the transverse docks so we are moving rapidly ahead to complete that project prior to Memorial Day weekend – it’ll be a “balanced” improvement to our existing transverse dock. P/C Dick Timmerman is nearing completion of the new storage cabinets, fireplace insert etc. They look fantastic. Thank you Dick! The painting project has been completed on the wall where the new cabinets will be and the comments have been very favorable. We anticipate completing the painting at the outstation work party on April 18th. The paint really brightens up the outstation as will the new lighting. Speaking of the new lighting, we have applied for a PSE energy-savings grant and we are cautiously optimistic that our project will receive some support from PSE because of the significant energy savings the new lighting will provide.

DOCKS: Waterfront Construction is busily working on our work list and will complete the tasks for which we’ve budgeted this year. The new water pipes for Dock 1 should be completed by mid-March, thus alleviating the need to constantly monitor temperatures and interrupt water supplies to the dock. April will see the roof work on Dock 2 completed prior to Opening Day. The roof work on Dock 1 will commence after Opening Day. Work on the fire code compliance projects are in the planning stages with new draft curtains being the first member-driven project. We really need volunteers to contact Art so we can get this project moving forward and save the Club the considerable expense of hiring an outside contractor. Art Mauldin deserves lots of kudos for his hard work and leadership on all of our docks projects—it’s an enormous task. The Club really needs volunteers to step forward and help with dock projects and to take leadership roles in the various docks committee assignments listed on the organizational chart printed in the February Bilge Pump. Please help.

The response to my plea for members to volunteer for our various committees for next year has been most gratifying. I’m very appreciative for all of your support. There are several openings still available so don’t be bashful about getting in touch with me!

Fair Winds,

Ed Jennerich
Vice Commodore

What a great club: a Born in ’38 dinner (a lot of old-guys did this one), a predicted log race (QCYC gets hardware), Don and Judy Wilson’s fleet cruise to a bowling alley (some balls were actually going backwards), Chris Benson’s Boat Show booth (really a great job) Brian and Carolyn Barton’s Sweetheart Dinner (they are already on-board for next year), Linda Roehl’s yard cleanup with 11 helpers (Gary and Elaine Halvorsen, Walt and Yvette Doolittle, Greg Scott, Craig Ranta (we had to show him what weeds look like), Dale Roberts [your commodore got his knees dirty], Tracy McPhee, Nancy and I). Check our website, the Bilge Pump and flyers around the club for all of the events and work parties that make our club great.

Grounds – Linda Roehl chaired the Feb 7 cleanup and we pulled a few weeds and planted fresh flowers. Our club looks great with the bright colors. Two big cleanups are coming into view, April 18th at Winslow and April 25th for the “Pride of Queen City.” Please mark your calendars and give Linda or Art a heads-up so they can plan what to get done.

Security – Rod Hilden is taking charge and while chairing the Security position he also is helping Art with dock ideas. Give him your support, his experience is invaluable.

Membership – We have openings for 28 new members. The boat show is done and the open house will have given interested applicants a chance to visit our in-station. For those who don’t join immediately we may have to check with them every now and then to see if they are interested. Keep an eye out for new ideas about membership classes that are being discussed (this may convince some applicants that we care about their concerns). Don’t forget about the yearend raffle for $1,000.00 for those who bring in new members.

Remember our Vice Commodore’s famous saying “The number one reason people don’t join an organization is that they aren’t asked,” so ask the prospects to join. We are a first class organization. Be proud to fly your burgee and have fun.

George Austin
Rear Commodore