Dave Dodd – Commodore

Henry Pasila – Past Commodore

Barry Atkinson – Vice Commodore – House

Brian Skuffham – Treasurer

Doug Trumble - Secretary

Rob Giberson – Membership

Gerry den Hartog – Moorings

Tonny den Boer – Docks

Gary Eames – Property

Larry Tilling – Sailing School

Manager – Dennis Payne

Bay Beaver Bugle – Ross Trant

Mark April 14 on your calendar! That is the date for the annual Riverboat Fantasy the major fund raising event in support of the Sailing School. Details will be found in the Club House, or by contacting Brenda Hellyer. This is an evening not to be missed!

Last month’s Bugle included a note about the Long Range Planning session with the Board on Jan 6th & 7th, albeit without the table of planning areas. One member commented that, having read it several times, he didn’t understand what it was saying, so I guess I must be doing something right! Look for updates elsewhere in the Bugle.

PEYC is a self-help Club - most of the work of the Club is done by members’ volunteering their time and skills to avoid paying for services that we can provide ourselves. Full members put in 8 hours of time annually, and anyone docked on the Town or Club docks is expected to help with the docks, launch and haulout.

It is often the same members that repeatedly provide their time. We rely on some members almost exclusively for certain work around the Club. James, "Jimmy" Magill is one of these; he has an intimate knowledge of the electrical system of the Club – he’s repaired, upgraded or installed most of it for many years now. He most recently completed installation of the video security monitoring system that provides a video record of the front and rear of the Club to help prevent or catch vandals and thieves. Thanks James! There are many others like James and I will try to identify them in future issues.

Some members find they have to struggle to find opportunities to "put in their hours". Volunteerism is not restricted to maintenance-type work, nor do we wish to exclude Supporting Members from the rewarding experience of helping out the Club P.E.Y.C has a vibrant social life, and most events are created and carried out by volunteers. Again, there seem to be a few members who are most active in generating and producing fun events – like the Celtic Ceilidh and Scotch Tasting and the Chilli Bonspiel of January, Euchre nights, dances, pig roasts, regattas, etc. We applaud the initiative and energy of those volunteers, and encourage others to put forth ideas and effort to produce other events.

Those wishing to help out or initiate jobs or events and are uncertain how to proceed should contact the appropriate Director (i.e. House, Property, Docks etc.) or the Club Manager, Dennis Payne. In addition, Club members have a wealth of skills – but we don’t know what they are! If you are interested in helping, and have skills to offer, please let me know so we can better use the resources available to us.

Finally, I want to thank all the members who selflessly volunteer their time; each event has a host of members that help out, and while we try to thank as many as we can, there are many who we miss – so THANK YOU!

Docking and Mooring applications will come out soon – we request the speedy return of Docking applications, with the deposit, by March 15th. We need early confirmation of dock requests so that we can allocate docks and inform those on the waiting list whether they will have a dock (or not) as soon as possible.

I hope to issue a new Club Directory in April. The limitation on issuing the Directory is the desire to ensure that the information is complete and accurate. With the deletion of mailbox numbers in the addresses of Picton residents, we are left with a few members for whom we have no street address. With e-mail, we get a "delivery failure" if a member has changed provider and has not informed us of their new address. Also, if your Yacht information changes, we’d like to know so the Directory will properly identify You with your Yacht. So please let us know if your information has changed (e-mail or letter to Rob Giberson, c.c. Dave Dodd) so it will be correct in the new Directory (and we can communicate with you!). Reminder: The Directory is distributed only to members. If you wish that some information not be shown in the Directory (such as your e-mail address) we can accommodate that request while keeping the information in the Club records – but you MUST let us know what not to show! commodoredave@sympatico.ca

We learned that many Club members are confused about the organization which purchased the old Picton Post Office and Customs House. To clarify , the Archives and Collections Society is a legitimate, non-profit, registered charity, with directors, much the same as PEYC, the Regent Theatre, and so on. It is not a one person operation, and it should not be confused with its Executive Director who does not own it,.

The impressive collection is not privately owned, but is the property of the Society It was begun by the late Bob Davis and the Society has grown out of that. The National Chair of the Building Campaign is Geroge Cuthbertson, sailor, engineer, yacht designer and a founder of C and C Yachts. Other directors include Cecil Yolles, architect Alan Allan Rae, a retired Senior Vice-president of the Bank of Montreal lesser mortals like Larry Tilling, Michael Stiff, Ross Trant and Chris Holder. Funding for the purchase of the building is entirely private.

This feature was suggested by Linda Austin and Gord Timperon. Weekend sightings of interest will be noted, or so we are told, at such anchorages as Glenn Island, Lyon Island, Ram Island, etc. The project should be of great interest to many…

The weather co-operated and the harbour froze solid, so that this popular event, held annually if the ice permits, took place following the Celtic Night of January 26. January 27 saw the competitors gather on the ice near the Town Docks and competition was fierce. The weather was cold, the innovative curling was fun and the chilli was hot. Toilet seats indeed added an interesting touch to the event.

"Please come out and join us on Saturday, March 10 at 1500 hrs for the Adventures of Erlichen, a C & C Landfall 38. James Hartford and Lynn Stein have volunteered to put on an interactive PowerPoint presentation of their yearlong 8000-mile trip from Toronto to Grenada and back. Bring your questions, your thirst and your appetite. Potluck snacks are planned. (Caribbean theme preferred). Please bring one hors d’ouevre/canapé/snack to compliment the usual fine selection of beverages at our bar. Hope to see you there. As a condition of attendance, all rotten tomatoes must be checked at the rear door. And always remember, "time flies when you're having rum".

The long range planning meeting last month identified the ageing clubhouse infrastructure and clubhouse modifications as a prime area of concern, one requiring an early plan of action. The latest information on the subject is that requests for quotation (RFQ’s) have been sent out to three engineering consultants to provide a report on the state of the existing infrastructure. This first phase will ensure that any future modifications to the clubhouse will be undertaken without undue (and therefore expensive ) modifications to plumbing, electrical, heating and sewage systems.

The quotations are due before the next board meeting, so we should be able to report in the next edition of the "Bugle" who will be undertaking this investigation and how long it will take; oh, and how much it will cost.