RQYS Mainsheet 2021

Commodore

REPORTS

REPORTS

Sailing, and everything that goes with it from a life skills perspective, is undoubtedly a fantastic experience at any age, but particularly so for young people. The sport can be enjoyed for a lifetime but the skills developed while learning to sail can actually provide a solid foundation in so many ways at a critical time of a child’s development. The benefits and learnings that the skill of sailing brings to young children from a capability, confidence and knowledge perspective are priceless. Every member of RQYS can be very proud of the part that the Squadron plays in the important role of developing our kids and young adults. Who knows: our next Olympian could be sailing out of the harbour in an Opti on any given Saturday morning!

The Squadron is in a strong financial position with very little debt left to pay down and plenty of cash for operations. We have achieved much in the area of capital expenditure over the past 12 months with a number of projects completed, including: • resurfacing of all internal roads and carparks A full list of projects is contained in the General Manager’s and Marina Manager’s reports on the next pages. One of the highlights of the past year was marking the Squadron’s 30 years of ownership of our wonderful Canaipa outpost on Russell Island and several hundred people headed down to Canaipa for the day and shared in the celebrations that followed. Those that attended got to see the new Caretaker’s cottage under construction (which is now complete) and to view plans for the proposed ‘Long House’ member facility, yet to be started. When finished, our Canaipa ‘resort’ will provide significantly enhanced benefits for mem- bers, serving us well into the future. Our much talked about bar renovations fell victim to supply chain interruptions and labour shortages and, in the end, could not be completed prior to the opening of our sailing season, so the project was delayed until March 2022 in our off-season. Once complete, this will transform our Clubhouse and our member experience. Our Club would be nothing without our volunteers. Our ability to run our regular sailing fleets and our regattas would be non-existent and we simply would not be able to provide the programs that we do, without them. My special thanks and appreciation goes to each and every one of these special people without whom we would not function. • new floating dock • new storage sheds • expanded hardstand area.

Similarly, my thanks to our committee members, all of whom are volunteers, for the great work that you all do and the expertise you bring to the club.The importance of our committees has been highlighted during the exercise that is currently underway in relation to our system of governance. Our committees are at the coalface of our membership, and it is well noted that any proposed change to our system of governance incorporates a mechanism that involves the committees and the faces and voices of our membership. Thanks, and appreciation also needs to go to our General Manager, Shawn Ket, and his committed and dedicated staff, for all that they do to ensure the Squadron runs as smoothly as possible.

As you will most probably have seen, Shawn has announced his resignation from the Squadron to begin to enjoy semi-retirement and, on behalf of the Squadron membership, I would like to thank him for his dedication to the role of General Manager and for the contribution that he has made during his time in the chair. In closing, and as I said at the outset, after an extremely unusual passage of time, I think we can look ahead with confidence and enthusiasm. In so doing I would like to assure you that our Club is in very good shape and well positioned to take advantage of the significant opportunities that we have before us.

Speaking of Olympics, what a fantastic result for our RQYS Olympians at Tokyo 2020(21) – Mat Belcher and Will Ryan taking Gold in the 470s, Mara Stransky putting the world on notice for 2024 in the Women’s Laser Radial and Jake Lilley doing us proud in the Finn class for the last time. Mat and Mara attended a welcome home event at the Squadron and entertained and educated the crowd, remotely supported by Will and Jake who attended by video from Europe. What gracious champions they are and all expressed their gratitude to the Squadron and the support received and which they continue to receive from our members.

Mainsheet 2021

5

rqys.com.au

Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Yearbook