I am proud to be elected as the Commodore of the Royal Brighton Yacht Club. The elections saw a large turnout of voters following a vigorous, contested election campaign, the first for many years. What is clear is the membership is keen to be involved in the future of our great club. Your new General Committee has a great mix of skills and experience and we’re keen to get to work. There is a recognition that the club needs to continue to evolve to reflect the needs and aspirations of all our members.
Your new Flag officers
Commodore – Cath Hurley
Vice Commodore – Grant Dow
Rear Commodore – Andy Holmes
Club Captain – Paul Jackson
Honorary Treasurer – Brett Heath
Committee members
Keith Badger, Murray Cowdell, Karen Johns, Simon Lynch, Bronwyn McIlveen, Paul Tadich
There is a lot to look forward to at RBYC. The club has faced a difficult year in trying economic conditions, but prudent financial management has maintained our cash reserves. We now need to plan major projects while improving profitability. Dollars are tight and there are a lot of competing interests so we’re not going to be able to do everything we would like. However significant changes are already underway. The new hospitality plan is leading better food and service and promises stronger returns for the club.
The attenuator has been stabilised but we need to plan ahead for its eventual replacement. We need to fill empty pens backed by long term asset and funding plans.
The recent agreement with Australian Sailing will see RBYC as the home of high-performance coaching in Victoria. We need to further strengthen pathways for our young sailors while keeping the door open for those who sail for enjoyment.
We need to plan for the future, refreshing our strategy and developing the Master Plan for our facilities funded by philanthropy. A visionary document showing what the development will look like is essential to create excitement and engagement with the club and what it has to offer.
There’s a big year ahead with Sail Melbourne, the Opti Nationals, the 2.4 Nationals as well as our regular racing on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays and our youth sailing programs.
Opening Day is this Saturday with boats entered from all fleets. This year we’re starting the day at 8:00 am with a swimming relay for our aquatic members with prizes for the best male, best female and best mixed teams off the beach. So, start the day with a coffee and come and join in the fun. Formal proceedings start at 11:30 AM in the Bayview room, followed by the sail past and pursuit race, with festivities at the club afterwards.
I’m looking forward to seeing a colourful display of boats on the water.
See you there!