COMMODORE’S REPORT

Dear fellow members of the Tiverton Yacht Club,

Your Board of Directors and several of our committees have been very active for the past month. I had hoped to report to you this month that we had the building permit in hand and were starting the first phase of the reconstruction process. Unfortunately, things always take a bit longer than we expect them to. Getting the fire inspector’s approval of our building plans has taken longer than expected due to the new fire codes that have been put in place since the Station Night Club fire. The good news is that we have no major problem and I fully expect to have a building permit in hand before my next monthly letter.

There are several other issues that the Board has been working on. The first is whether to continue the $100 credit for members who earn it by participating in club work of various types. The intent of this by-law is really to increase participation in the work of the club. Unfortunately, it creates bookkeeping problems, such as who did and who did not participate, and raises questions as to how much work satisfies the requirement. The Board’s thinking is that a minimum of eight hours of work is required to get the credit. Many of our members put in far more time, but there are some who do the minimum (or less). For this year we’ll keep the credit in place, but we will be looking for your input and vote on a possible by-law change.

The next issue concerns the granting of a leave of absence (LOA). The club by-laws state that a LOA may be granted by the Board of Directors. In the past there have been no stated criteria and LOA’s have been rather liberally granted. The Board feels that a LOA should be granted in cases of hardship or under special situations such as a member who is being reassigned to work in another area. Unfortunately, loss of our clubhouse has coincided with an increase in the number of LOA’s. This, of course, presents a hardship on the loyal members who are staying with us to help get our clubhouse rebuilt. The board has decided to take a hard look at future requests for LOA’s and grant only those showing sufficient need.

In other action, the Marina Committee noted the need to move several pilings and to do maintenance dredging which will cost upwards of $25,000. The Marina Committee unanimously voted to approve a one-time assessment of $500 on slip holders, $200 on mooring holders, and $100 on dinghy storage. This will allow the work to proceed without undue burden on the funds the club needs to rebuild the clubhouse.

Wishing you all a happy new year and one with a new clubhouse,

Peter A. Franklin

Commodore

We are looking for one or more club photo reporters for the Fair Winds, our club newsletter. The photo reporter will use his/her digital camera and take shots of members engaged in TYC activities and events to be published in our newsletters and posted on our Web site.

Interested? Contact Eric Baker by e-mail at adswork@cox.net or phone at 401-624-1801.

David Lithway has been appointed as a trustee, replacing Butch Sanford, who passed away last year. The other two trustees are Frank Raposa and Jim Amarantes.

I am working on a racing schedule for next summer, and hope to have it finalized by the end of January. Be sure to check the TYC Web site race schedule page. Lanny

Sail Training News

The sail training committee is hard at work preparing for the 2006 season. There are a few IMPORTANT changes taking place:

3.The new sail training website is still under a bit of construction, so you’ll notice a few dates missing. We will update this information as soon as it becomes available.

4.Class fees: There is a nominal increase this year. If you were to compare our fees to other programs in the area, you’ll find that we are certainly a bargain. The new class fee schedule is as follows:

Inter. II, Racing: $500

5.Cruising Class: Our popular cruising class will return this summer, however, it will move to a Tues-Thurs. class.

We look forward to hearing from you. Please take a moment to send us that email about your summer plans and download your registration packet and send it in, as well!

Thank you! Sail Training Committee

Melinda McAuliffe

At our recent membership meeting, member Mike Walsh, who is also a member of the Seaconnet Sportsman’s Club, sponsored the TYC and was able to provide a wonderful setting for our meeting at no cost to our club.

Members Michael and Jane Eslinger, who own the Subway sandwich shop on Mariano Bishop Blvd. in Fall River, prepared and generously donated all of the delicious sandwiches.

The Board of Directors and fellow members would like to thank Mr. Walsh and the Eslingers for their support. THANK YOU!

Do you remember when you were a brand new member at the Tiverton Yacht Club? Did you find it difficult at all to meet other members? I know I did. Please help us to welcome our TYC 2005 new members in your own way. You might give them a phone call, send them an e-mail and/or (especially nice) invite them to come with you to one of our next TYC events and introduce them around. Our new (for 2005) members are:

Joseph and Lori Boivin and their children. Lucas, Amelia and Natalie, 401-421-5979, buckley3@cox.net. The Boivins have offered to help with the Events Committee and/or the Junior Activities Committee and/or the Marina Committee. They are interested in sail training, social activities, swimming lessons and youth activities.

Sean Conway and Elizabeth Kinnane and their children, Emmet and Fiona Conway, 401-624-4657, sconway@cox.net. The Conway/Kinnane family has offered to help with the Junior Activities Committee and/or the House Committee. They are interested in cruising, sail training, social activities and swimming lessons.

Robert and Amy Cooper and their children, Kyle and Cameron, 401-624-7049, arkcoop@cox.net. The Coopers have offered to help with the Social Committee and/or the House Committee. They are interested in sailboat racing, sail training, social, swimming, swim lessons and youth activities. The Coopers have a C&C 24 sailboat, Klank.

Scott and Jessica Humphrey and their children, Nicole and Madisson Humphrey and Singne and Rodger Brown, 401-624-7707, shumphrey@humphreysbuilding.com. Scott has offered to help on the Finance Committee. They are interested in cruising, sailboat racing, social, swim lessons and youth activities. The Humphreys have a 42' power boat, Scoot.

William and Beth Platt and their children, William, Andrew, Christopher and Morgan, 508-336-6649, bplatt@donmarcreations.com. The Platts have offered to help with the Race Committee and/or the Social Committee. They are interested in sail training, social, swimming pool, swim lessons and youth activities.

Thomas and Michelle Tormey and their children, Victoria, Olivia and Ava, 508-613-2169, michelletormey@yahoo.com. The Tormeys offered to help with the Social Committee and/or the Junior Activities Committee and/or the Membership Committee . They are interested in social, swimming pool, swim lessons and youth activities.

Kenneth Vieira and Maureen Reilly, 508-672-2299, ken@fortunefundraising.com. They have offered to help wherever needed, specifically; the Cruise Committee, Events Committee, House Committee, Membership Committee or Marina Committee. They have a 30' sailboat, Bridget. They are interested in cruising, racing and social.

While you’re thinking about it, do you have any friends who might like to join our club to take advantage of our sail training and our swimming classes? You might suggest that this is a particularly advantageous time to join TYC. Our initiation fee is $200 at the moment, but is on the way up to $500 momentarily and on to $1000 or higher when our new clubhouse is a reality.

For information about how to join TYC at this time or how to participate, please contact me, Lew Mutty lewmutty@earthlink.net, 401-624-6425.