AGM December 2, 2024
Firstly, I would like to thank the Executive Team for all their efforts this year, a year not without its challenges.
I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of everyone who contributed to making this past year such a memorable one. From our ever-mindful staff, the behind-the-scenes social events work,
the fantastic work party efforts, and the folks who co-ordinate events like the SUP race, Fishing Derby, as well our popular regular events like the Anniversary dinner and Lobster-Fest, there was no shortage of good times, great company and opportunities to enjoy the water. Congrats also to those who managed to leave the dock and go cruising!
As we look ahead to another exciting year of events, let's not forget the wonderful activities still to come before and after the New Year. With the shorter days of winter upon us, what better place is there to be than among like-minded folks who share a love for the water..
Tyrone Stelzenmuller, Commodore Sail La Vie
Notice of Annual General Meeting
AGM Minutes, approved for distribution to EHYC membership
It has been an eventful year at EHYC with plenty of enjoyable events making good use of our shore-based facilities, thanks to our fantastic social director and team.
The new deck has been completed, as well as a new walkway and railing from the patio to the deck. Special thanks in particular to Bruce Pollock for all of his hard work and ingenuity. Bruce and Ian have been able to get the gate in between the patio and the new deck operational and lockable, but there is still work to be done removing a tree stump, and repairing the concrete around the BBQ which has cracked. We hope to complete this work in the Spring so that it is ready for the summer.
The grounds have been flourishing under the expert direction of Nancy Brown, aided and abetted by a cadre of enthusiastic volunteers. A new watering system has been installed which is functioning perfectly. We are looking forward to the fruits of the gardening team’s work as things start to come alive in the Spring.
We continue to wrestle with the cracks in the parking lot sea wall, and recently had a survey done by a Geotechnical consulting firm. The survey resulted in a number of recommendations which we are currently evaluating. We are also installing a crack monitoring device that will show us whether the problem is stable, or is continuing to worsen. Our objective is to finalize a remediation plan early in 2025.
Looking forward to an exciting and fun-filled 2025 as I move to Commodore and James Burdett takes over as Vice. Wishing you all fair winds and following seas!
Nicholas Miller, Vice Commodore Valinor
Unfortunately, the Rear Commodore’s report was mislaid. In its absence, here’s a brief summary of the highlights:
Moorage Agreement now established in annual renewal of moorage.
Moorage committee struck to review moorage applications for space, vessel size and description for fit on the docks and, seniority with recommendations to be made to Rear Commodore.
Docks are in good shape.
Breakwater has a projected 2-4 year replacement timeline. Breakwater committee has been struck to evaluate replacement options with cost estimates.
Brandon McManus, Rear Commodore Happy Place
It has been a wonderful, and busy year on the EHYC social scene. We have run 35 pub nights, many of them themed, with sip and paint, Robbie Burns night, a fantastically competitive pub quiz, burger, hotdog and curry feasts, a Vendee Globe session and a paddle board race adding to the fun of a Thursday night at the bar in the club. We also enjoyed 3 ladies get togethers, cork and canvas, a salmon derby and a dock party. This was on top of our annual events of Sail past and Anniversary celebration and to top it off the Commodores dinner. Weekly art club, weekly yoga and monthly Wine club round out the calendar.
Taking on the role of social director was a huge challenge for me. I wanted to try and get the community of the club together and out enjoying spending time together. The past year has been so much easier and smoother thanks to my fantastic social committee who have put hours and hours of their time and expertise into helping me put together this impressive calendar and pull off some really fun and exciting events.
Thank you so much to Tina Burdett, Denise Nosella, Kim Southerst and Tim Lepard. Thanks also, to many other members who helped with bar tending, running events, setting up and taking down, tidying up and playing tunes, and to Nancy and Rosie for all their help. An extra special thank you to Ian, who is always there to advise, and assist and goes above and beyond before, during and after every event. It is indeed a community that keeps it together. As I now take a step back from being Director, to stay on the committee, I think the club is in a great place socially. We have many other great things planned for the next year, including the upcoming Ladies drinks and then our festive Holiday party on December 14th.
We still need many volunteers to run the bar and to take on running events, work party hours are available for these.
Thank you to all of you ,who keep the club a club and not just a pretty marina, by supporting and coming to the events, and by volunteering to make them happen.
Ingrid Heaslip, Social Director Knot on Call
Once again - a busy year in the membership at EHYC.
There was a flurry of membership and moorage inquiries at the start of 2024 with the closure of Mosquito Creek Marina. Unfortunately most of the boats did not meet our moorage requirements.
Eagle Harbour welcomed 3 new Active Members and 2 new Associate Members. We saw a significant increase in new Junior Members - up 9 over last year. We had 11 Membership Resignations.
Our current membership stands at 201 Members:
125 - Active and Non-Resident
21 - Retired
16 - Associate Members
33 - Juniors
4 - Honorary Life
2 - Life Members
It’s been a pleasure to meet new members and share our beautiful club with them.
Thank you for the opportunity of working with the members of Eagle Harbour Yacht Club’s Executive for the last 2 years.
Katy MacLellan, Membership Secretary Caliente
So this year we made a small loss at sailing school and it’s possible that this may well be the pattern for the near future with combination of factors but particularly tighter budgets impacting summer camp enrollment. The numbers were 135 compared with 214 students in 2023. The recent years of exceptional success sadly appear to have been an anomaly. We need to anticipate returning to a more typical financial outcome, potentially operating at a loss as in previous years.
But making a profit is NOT the purpose of the Sailing School. If we happen to make a profit then great but that happens to be incidental and It is perhaps timely to reflect on the Sailing School’s essential role in our club's mission.
It not only nurtures future sailors, ensuring the longevity of EHYC, but the School also reinforces our standing in the community and this is a very important factor in securing and renewing our waterfront lease. We remain committed to offering accessible sailing education for local children.
Without the pub nights, the social functions and, crucially, the Sailing School we become just another place to moor a boat. I certainly don’t want that for us as a club.
James Burdett, Junior Co-ordinator Bavaria 36
Make it stand out
t has been an honor to serve as Staff Captain at EHYC for 2024, and I eagerly look forward to another year of creating unforgettable memories with fun-filled events.
The year kicked off with our annual EHYC tug-of-war against the formidable WVYC team. While we couldn’t maintain our undefeated streak this time, I’m confident we’ll reclaim the title next year! Following the challenge, about 75 brave participants took the plunge for the Polar Bear Swim, with nearly 100 returning to the club afterward to warm up with chili, buns, and hot toddies—a fantastic way to start the season.
The Staff Captain’s Super Cruise to Pages Marina was a highlight, with 22 boats and their crews in attendance. While I couldn’t make it this year, I heard from Tyrone and others that it was a resounding success. The weekend featured docktails, market trips, and hikes to Drumbeg Park, capped off with the ever-popular Commodore’s Breakfast. Huge thanks to everyone who contributed!
Sailpast was another standout event, despite the chilly weather. It was wonderful to see so many beautifully decorated boats on the water, and we even had enough wind for the sailboats to properly sail past—though Tyrone had a bit of a challenge anchoring the Commodore’s vessel! The day concluded with a fantastic spread at the club and live music, making it a memorable start to the season.
June brought the inaugural EHYC Annual SUP Race on the 20th, a joint event with WVYC. It was an amazing day with calm waters, sunshine, and a Hawaiian-themed paddle around Eagle Island. Kim Whittall took home the win for the EHYC ladies, while Harry Coleman (Commodore) claimed victory for the WVYC men.
Looking ahead to 2025, I’m excited to build on these incredible events and celebrate new successes—starting with reclaiming the tug-of-war title. Here’s to another fantastic year at EHYC!
Sean Whittall, Staff Captain Tribune
Yearbook completed on time and well under budget.
New Website launched with “Members Hub” to answer and facilitate member’s questions. This is a living document as well as the repository for all past issues of “Soundings”.
Soundings has now been replaced with an on-line Blog providing prompt coverage of recent events that are photo friendly. This offers a portal for potential members to see and “virtually” experience EHYC activities.
Bruce Pollock, Executive Secretary Amscray
It is my pleasure to report on the fiscal 2024 financial results and fiscal 2025 budget.
As reported in the annual financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2024, revenues exceeded expenditures by $44,443 (2023 $135,105).
Total revenues increased slightly to $666,806 (2023 $652,070) primarily due to substantially higher interest income from term deposits, increased moorage revenues and increased revenues from social events. Interest income was $42,352 (2023 $27,537) due to higher term deposits and increases in interest rates. Moorage revenues were up 6% to $344,874 (2023 $325,032) largely due to a 5% rate increase. Social revenues were up 13% to $43,550 (2023 $38,517) from increased Thursday evening casual themed nights and larger events. Offsetting these increases were declines in sailing school revenues and clubhouse rentals. Sailing school revenues were down 28% to $56,826 (2023 $79,522) due to a large reduction in students and shorter season. Club rentals were relatively low again at $26,298 (2023 $33,326) due to a lack of movie rentals. Entrance fees also declined to $40,550 (2023 $77,488) as there were only 4 new active members compared to 8 in the prior year.
Total expenses increased by 10% to $655,531 (2023 $595,835). The largest increases were shore facilities and wages and benefits. Shore facilities costs increased by $9,109 to $28,234 (2023 $19,125) due to increased clubhouse and equipment repairs and new furnishings. Wages and benefits increased by $31,272 to $221,849 (2023 $190,577) due to increased administrative hours.
In terms of capital items, the club spent a total of $31,691 (2023 $19,962) for a replacement work boat ($24,056), construction materials for the new back deck ($4,204) and dinghy equipment ($3,431).
In fiscal 2024, we are budgeting a surplus of revenues over expenditures of approximately $29,000; however, budgeted capital expenditures of $60,000 will require us to draw on our cash accounts.
The only budgeted capital project is repair of the parking lot wall at $60,000. Please note that is only a rough estimate and that further investigation is required to determine the nature and extent of the required work.
In order to keep pace with inflationary cost increases, the Executive has approved a 3% increase in moorage, dues and electrical charges.
In summary, we were fortunate to generate another surplus in fiscal 2024 despite the relatively low entrance fees and movie rentals.
I would like to thank Nancy for another year of dedication and commitment to the Club. I would also like to thank Rosie who is now assisting Nancy and doing a wonderful job. A tremendous amount of work goes into running the Club as well as supporting all of the Executives and their functions. As usual, our good fortunes depend a lot on Nancy’s (and now Rosie’s) hard work and efficient management of the many tasks required to run the Club. A big thanks to both of them!
Peter Day, Treasurer Lovely Lisa