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COMMODORE’S REPORT
Michael Smith, Commodore
How nice to start a report with “It gives me great
pleasure to congratulate all of our skippers and crew
who sailed together for their club to win the Association
Cup.” It really is a club award too, as most of those
participating spend their year racing against all of
the other boats in the club, so the standard of racing
of all helps push that high standard. Well done to all,
and I look forward to collecting the trophy on behalf
of the club and returning it to where the trophy feels
at home.... Although I still seem to be waiting for the
phone call from Sandringham advising when to collect
it?
There has been a lot of activity on the marina
development and our lease details. It may seem like
not much is happening at times, but a lot is going on
in the background working the wheels of bureaucracy
which David Sterret shall elaborate on more in the
Development Report.
The way in which our club is funded has been under
review since February, and we are working on changing
the model on how we raise both working and capital
funding for projects today and in to the future. It’s
been interesting speaking to some of the other clubs,
particularly those who have been rebuilding club
houses to find how they have been funded - and much
of it is from substantial membership contributions. It
was said to me recently that “we must find a way to
raise funds without burdening the members” - but
really, upon whom else does the responsibility lie?
While we raise income where we can from functions
and seeking sponsorship, at the end of the day a club
exists for its members, and the club will be what we
make it.
Peter Abrahams and Ken Harrison have been doing
some fantastic work on alternate funding proposals for
the club, which would see us with cash reserves and
funding for continuous capital works. I for one would
like to see the bar and the bathrooms refurbished
sooner rather than later, and we will soon be launching
a campaign to assist with these projects.
I often here people say “These days, we’re past this just
being a club, it’s a business now” I don’t quite agree,
we must remain focussed on being a club, but aim to
run the club professionally. Changes in the office are
working very well, with the process still in progress.
It also means charging a fair price for services, not to
aim for a commercial price necessarily, but at levels
that will not just cover costs but allow for future
replacement. I believe we have slipped in a number
of areas, and you will see changes over the next few
months that are essential to not just maintain the club’s
future, but lift us out of the mediocrity of “getting by”
and raise standards for the current membership and
for attracting new members.
More details over the next several months as this is
implemented.
I dropped into Valenica a couple of weekends back
(conveniently) between work in Dubai and Rome to see
two days of America’s Cup racing. It was fantastic to
be there the day Prada, with Australian skipper Jamie
Spithill, sent the American BMW Oracle team home -
again proof that clear leadership and a cohesive team is
so important in a campaign. The town itself seemed to
be creaking at the seams, and that was only a semi-final.
I’ll go out on a limb - while I’d like to predict that Prada
won a close fought battle with New Zealand, to go on
and defeat Alinghi - the harsh reality is that Team New
Zealand were too good for Prada, and they went on to
beat Alinghi in a tightly fought contest. However, the
big upset was the announcement that the event would
not be returning to New Zealand, but rather to Dubai,
home of Emirates, and once again, the lure of foreign
dollars had folks back in the land of the long white
cloud cursing long and hard throughout the land!
Fair winds. Commodore.
Newsletter of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria • June 2007