AGM Reports at December 8, 2025
Commodore
The EHYC 2025 sailing year was truly one for the books!
First, my sincere thanks to our hard-working Executive for the time, energy, and good humour they’ve brought to overseeing the Club’s operations and activities throughout the year — including, perhaps most heroically, our executive meetings.
We started the year in fine form with a decisive win over WVYC in the 2025 New Year’s Day tug-of-war — and we fully intend to defend that title in 2026.
It was also a fantastic boating season personally.
Linda and I were fortunate to spend five wonderful weeks cruising Desolation Sound aboard Valinor, which celebrated her 50th year in 2025, joined by our son Jonathan, our daughter-in-law Christina, and our ship’s cat, Olaf.
On shore, 2025 was a banner year for the Club’s social life. Thanks to the Social Committee — and to the many members who hosted and participated — we enjoyed more than 80 events, including pub nights, Dinner on the Terrace, Wine Club gatherings, and everything from knitting to yoga. The variety and enthusiasm on display is exactly what makes EHYC such a special community.
Sail Past was a particular highlight for Linda and me. Despite a stubborn engine and a dragging anchor (entirely on-brand for us), the on-water fun was followed by a wonderful celebration and a truly memorable meal in the clubhouse.
To support the Club’s growing activity, we now have three full-time staff: Nancy and Rosie in the office, and Ian as Superintendent. I’m deeply grateful for their professionalism, commitment, and the steady work they do every day on behalf of our membership.
Looking ahead, we have two major capital projects underway: replacing our ageing barge and addressing the crack in the parking lot wall. With storms expected to intensify in the years ahead, these projects will require close attention next year and beyond. A sub-committee is already focused on identifying the best and most cost-effective solutions for the Club.
Finally, thank you to the membership and staff for an outstanding year. It has been a privilege to serve as your Commodore. On behalf of Linda and me, I wish you a joyous holiday season and a happy, healthy, and fun-filled 2026 on the water.
Nicholas Miller, Commodore, Valinor.
Vice Commodore
It has been a busy year for events that results in necessary wear and tear on the facilities but Ian has diligently kept on top of areas that needed attention.
Nancy Lo and her team have done a lovely job keeping the EHYC garden and landscapes in good order and we thank them for that.
Bruce and some work parties partially rebuilt the garden wall along the road. Speaking of work parties, the assessment fee for missing a work party went up in 2025 to a more realistic level.
The reason for this was two-fold, mainly to encourage more involvement in the club but also to more accurately reflect what EHYC has to pay external labour if work does not get done.
We will have the figures for work party participation during 2025 at the AGM but I do know Ian has had a last minute rush of volunteers that he cannot reasonably use. I’ve had a suggestion for better organizing from member Steve Kennedy that we will try to implement in 2026.
James Burdett, Vice Commodore, Bavaria 36
Rear Commodore
Docks and Decks
Rob Sloss continues to work on renewing deck boards and bull rails in a process that is akin to painting the Sydney Bridge, ie. start on one end and work to the other, then start over. He can complete 2 docks/year based on his time allocated and the length of the dock. Basically, 12’ of lineal dock per day. Finished dock 5 on March 13th. Will complete last 6’ of dock 6 in fiscal 2025 year end. Docks 7&8 to be done in 2026, then start over. Will work on whalers as required and high wear sites as required.
Whalers require 2x10 treated which is the same as deck boards. Have been able to source incised and treated to marine grade Hem-fir from Country Lumber in Langley. They are more competitive than Dicks Lumber.
Dock Anchoring
Replaced 9 chains overall this year in one of two ways. 1] Complete chain change if block in range and chain clearly degraded through to block or 2] dock to where chain enters sand at which point the chain seems to be preserved. We have 300 ft of chain in stock currently. We will start new inspections in the New year and hopefully over the last few years have caught up in respect to large amount of chain replacement in the coming year. Would be helpful to purchase an underwater drone for inspections. $2500 - $5,000. In the meantime, I will try to rent an underwater drone for capabilities. If successful, we can do our own inspections for chain wear and rebalancing of chains for dock positioning. Payback would be 3 months based on dive inspections.
Club Vessels
Raider: Was epoxied and relaunched for harbour use only with an 8hp motor from the sailing school. Console removed so just a bare bones aluminum boat. It has already proved worthwhile in the ability to clear the breakwater (BW) of debris and much easier chain removal off docks. Ian will pull the Raider out in the near future and check to see how much, if any, water has accumulated in the hull.
Gibby: With Raider in the water, we can now turn our attention to Gibby and pull it back out. Engine has a bogging issue under load and also seems the impeller is no longer pushing water to cool motor. We have replaced the hydraulic steering and will look into sizing up a new motor starting with the 40 hp from Pepe. If it matches up works we can repair the 30hp and put it on Pepe. If not we may be looking at purchasing a motor that will fit Gibby’s needs.
Dauntless: has been in the water as well to be used for Supervised Sailing by our Juniors in November as a reliable alternative to Gibby if needed. With that finished it will also be pulled and winterized.
Breakwater
Holding up well enough. Projected life is 1-3 years as of our last inspection 2 years ago.
We have 5 zincs and wires on hand for deployment as needed.
As a note, there are 18 anchoring points: 8 to shore and 10 to 6x6x6 concrete blocks. As of our diver inspection mid-2025, 2 were showing wear of approximately 40% and the balance were 20%. 1 shackle and tie replaced at the south shore directly opposite the south end of the BW.
Breakwater Replacement
We believed we had a suitable replacement in what was the cut-off of Sewells Breakwater for $150K. This 266’ x 110’ x 23’ pontoon structure (think of a floating ladder with underwater rungs) had 17’ of draft and 6’ of freeboard. The structure is about 5 times the weight of our existing BW. Although this structure was great value and had moorage potential, what Nick Miller and I realized, using the bathometric survey done in 2018, was that we could not get this structure close enough to the rock bluffs and close the gap. This would have required a custom structure for wave attenuation.
We are now exploring options for a purpose-built structure for wave attenuation. This structure could offer potential additional moorage. As of Dec 2nd, Van Pile quoted a 43x233x12’ concrete structure (size limited by their operation in North Van), includes Engineering consultation, build, remove and replace, but no new blocks or chains or the decommissioning of our existing BW/chemical barge nor any permits or Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP) consultations. Total $2.6 million.
Good news is that they have identified a swap in and out charge of approximately $110K.
At this time, I believe that with the current, poor economic situation, we may have an advantage in securing reasonable costing options.
Moorage
Firstly, I would like to thank the moorage committee for their help in approving and measuring new vessels to EHYC.
As at FYE 30 Sep 2025:
2861.5ft Total Footage, 91 vessels in total (can be considered to be at capacity).
Added 311 ft (5 members off waitlist).
Resigned 255.5 ft (3 members resigned).
Other ins and outs: 1 member boat changed and upsized, 4 small boat shifts from larger space to smaller). Our moorage is now full.
Waitlist 13 members: 6 don't have boats and 6 have unconfirmed boat measurements.
Social Director
What a busy year we have had in our social programme. Our first event in 2025 was Burns Night. The haggis, toasts, readings, whisky and long tables help make this a huge success.
In February, thanks to Tim and Gabriella Paget a Mexican Valentines night to remember. Great food and music. On to March with Quiz Night courtesy of host Ian McBeath and a St Patrick’s Day pub night.
April started off with Anniversary Night. Food by Philippe and a review of the club history complete with old photographs. At the end of April a newly created Safety Weekend with food organized by the social committee to add to boat inspections and safety lectures and a car boot sale of boating equipment. This was a 2 day event.
Sailpast on May 10 marks the beginning of our boating season. We had hoped for a better attendance than the 17 boats that left the harbour. However, the astonishing array of food created under the direction of Tina Burdett was incredible. In fact I heard people remarking that the food was catered. No, it was all in house by volunteers. 100 people enjoyed this extravaganza but there was still food left over. Hopefully Tina and colleagues will pull it off again next year. But please let’s get more boats out to salute her husband our Commodore for 2026.
Our regular June event is Lobster Night brought to us by Bev and Andrew Crane and a team of volunteers. Bev had to miss the event to rush back to Newfoundland to be with her very sick mother. Special thanks to the team that stepped up to support the event.
Through the summer we held monthly "Dinner on The Terrace” events. A country or area was chosen and we then asked members to cook and bring a dish from the area. The areas selected were Mediterranean, South East Asia, Caribbean and South America . Each dinner was a success with 40 or more attendees. A great free evening out and a chance to try foods from different countries. These events were headed by Tina with help from the other members of the social committee.
The Commodore's Dinner as held on November 1. We had difficulty locating a caterer that would provide the meal at a price that would fit with what our members will accept. Philippe who has catered many of our events was unable to cater the event. We even tried WVYC but the event would still be too expensive. After the committee considered the options and discussed with the Commodore, it was decided to self cater the event. This presents a significant challenge to the Committee. The meal plan was decided on and each member of the Committee was given a different dish to prepare except Kim who had the difficult job of changing our clubhouse into a Munich Beer tent for the night. Perhaps to our surprise all went remarkably well and 60 members were well fed and entertained. The entertainment consisted of the final NBA game.
The last event of the year was Awards Night. I was not able to attend but I heard very good things about the evening. I was very pleased that the Commodore saw fit to present this year’s Commodore’s Award to the Social Committee. I am grateful to him for this as the ladies on the Committee surely worked incredibly hard throughout the year.
Throughout the year we held weekly Pub Nights often with a theme and often some food. Attendance was varied but even if only half a dozen showed up we agreed it was fun. Of course, some Pub Nights were bigger events such as the ever popular Pecha Kucha put on by Gavin Froome. The Mexican Night has already been mentioned. Also we had a variety of speakers come and talk about such things as whales and glass sponges.
As previously mentioned we had difficulty making events affordable. We also have to be careful not to burn out the Social Committee if we do everything ourselves. One of the expenses included in the cost of events has been a cleaning fee. After discussion with the Executive these issues have been removed from the cost of the events enabling us to keep the costs down. This does well for next year’s events.
We had more members attending more events this year than ever. Despite this and partly because of the change to the billing of cleaning, we have been able to stay within our budget.
Another important focus this year was to review our food safety protocols. I have taken the Food Safety level 1 certification and we have made some improvements. We have new cutting boards, temperature probes, a heat lamp and a heated serving buffet counter. In addition, we have a protocol around Pot Luck food and signs in the kitchen about safe procedures.
It has been a pleasure to serve for this year as Social Director but it is time for a new person. I am grateful to Darwin for taking this on. A huge thank-you to the members of the social committee. Our club is incredibly lucky to have such talented and dedicated members taking on these tasks.
Tim Lepard, Social Director, Pegasus.
Membership Secretary
Once again, it has been a busy year in the membership at EHYC. I began my term as Membership Secretary in January and experienced a very brisk number of tours throughout the first eight months. Our membership activity has been exceptionally strong this year, and we have brought in $ 106,000 in new membership revenue as of September 2025. Early in the year, moorage turnover was so quick that one of our new members received a slip within two months of joining.
A highlight this year has been meeting and welcoming a number of young families into the club. This wonderful shift will help strengthen the long-term vitality, engagement, and community spirit of EHYC for years to come.
Over the course of the year, the Executive expressed growing concern that an increasing number of members were choosing to pay instead of participating in required work parties. As a result, we introduced several adjustments to reinforce our club’s culture of involvement and volunteerism.
Based on Executive recommendation and a formal vote, all prospective members are now required to meet with at least two members of the Executive before their membership is confirmed. This ensures everyone understands the expectations of being part of the club.
We also voted to increase the fee for missed volunteer hours from $150 to $300 per missed work party, to emphasize the importance of member participation.
We welcomed 8 new Active Members, 6 new Associate Members, and saw 4 new Junior Members. We also received 21 membership resignations.
Our current membership stands at 198 Members:
129 – Active & Non-Resident
21 – Retired
20 – Associate Members
22 – Juniors
4 – Honorary Life
2 – Honorary
It has been a pleasure meeting new members and helping them become part of our community. Thank you for the opportunity to serve on the Executive this year. I look forward to continuing as Membership Secretary another year.
Mary Hay, Membership Secretary, Sula.
Junior Co-ordinator
Kids Summer Sailing Camp 2025 -
156 sailors hit the docks this summer, countless capsizes, more confidence, stronger skills and one unforgettable summer on the water.
What Sailing School Means to EHYC -
Running a kids summer sailing camp is one of the most meaningful ways we connect with the wider community. Every Wet Feet giggle, every CANSail milestone, and every proud parent moment helps cement EHYC as a place where sailing is passed on, shared, and kept vibrant.
This programme is a big part of how EHYC maintains its community standing. By welcoming kids from the neighbourhood, building confidence, and passing on the love of sailing, we stay relevant and rooted and earn our place as a long-standing part of this waterfront neighbourhood - not just for today but for generations to come.
Numbers - With 156 total registrations (higher than last year - exceeding our expectations) — and a notable increase in the intermediate and advanced levels, signaling strong retention and progression through the CANSail pathway. This year we reported a profit of $7,696 compared to a loss of $6,566 in the previous year.
Leadership on the Water - This season was powered by an incredible team of coaches — a mix of returning leaders and new instructors: Sam, Chase, Justin, Max, Arel, Rahaa, Ross, Ethan and John, all of whom brought professionalism, patience, and energy to the programme.
And a big thank you to our volunteers and future instructors in training: Beibhinn, Sofia, Nicole, Robert, Declan, Henry, Frazier and Emilie.
From helping students conquer their first capsize to running races, our coaching team brought out the best in every student. A special thank-you goes to Head Coach Sam Parr, whose 10th and possibly final summer with EHYC was nothing short of exceptional. Sam’s ability to juggle boats, kids, volunteers, parents, engines, and schedules — all while maintaining his signature calm and cheerful demeanor — is a masterclass in leadership.
Marketing
This year, we piloted a more strategic approach to marketing and registration. Here’s what we did differently:
• Attended the Gleneagles Spring Fair with a booth to promote the Sailing School
• Installed a new beach-facing banner with a QR code linking directly to registration and info
• Distributed new EHYC lawn signs that included QR codes, throughout the community
• Launched a new online registration system via our own website — no third-party platform!
• Ran a fun, visual Instagram countdown campaign leading up to registration, sharing photos of past student highlights
These efforts brought fresh eyes to our program and helped cement EHYC as the go-to summer sailing school in our community.
What Parents Are Saying
“This is the most organized camp we’ve ever been part of.”
“The boats were in great shape — better than what we've seen at other clubs.”
“Our child came home confident, happy, and asking to come back next year.”
The feedback has been consistent: EHYC’s programme stands out not just for the quality of instruction, but for its culture — one of positivity, mentorship, and camaraderie.
Supporting Roles That Made It All Happen
Ian deserves a huge thank-you for overseeing our coach boats and engine maintenance. His quiet efficiency, mechanical know-how, and calm troubleshooting behind the scenes ensured safety and reliability on the water.
And a special thank-you to Rosie, whose admin support was nothing short of excellent. From managing registrations and rosters to juggling logistics and communications, Rosie kept everything running behind the scenes — and with a smile.
The EHYC community rallying behind our coaches and staff: from design and copy for the website, towing boats and fixing engines, to snapping action shots and picking up supplies, volunteers showed up with tools, time, and team spirit. A huge shout-out to those who lent a hand: Gavin Froome, Ryan Leeson, Justin Elvin-Jensen, Andrew Mollard, Bruce Winfield, Tyrone Stelzenmuller, John Roberts, Alexandra and John Mancini, Bruce Pollock, Nick Miller, and many more who stepped up.
We’d love to keep building on that energy. Whether you’ve got a knack for boat mechanics, a camera lens you like to use, or just enjoy helping where it’s needed — let us know!
Looking to the Future
With this year’s success, we’re looking ahead with excitement. Goals for next year include:
• Boosting CANSail 2 registration (a crucial stepping stone to advanced levels)
• Expanding our Opti programme with a more advanced level goal of single handed sailing.
• Growing our Junior Volunteer and Coach-in-Training programs
• Continuing to refine our registration and admin processes
• Offering returning coaches more leadership opportunities
The EHYC Sailing School continues to thrive thanks to the incredible people behind the scenes and on the water — and we’re so proud of how far we’ve come.
Thank you to our coaches, students, volunteers, and staff.
Here’s to another summer of Getting Salty — see you in 2026.
Will Goldsmith-Jones, Junior Co-ordinator Zig Zag
Staff Captain
It has been an honor to serve as Staff Captain at EHYC for 2025, and I look forward to another great year of creating unforgettable memories with fun-filled events. The year started with our annual EHYC tug-of-war against the formidable WVYC team. We had an amazing turnout of Club Members and were able to reclaim our winning status. Thank you to those members that jumped in and helped bring it home. Following the GREAT WAR, 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 successful SOS Weekend on April 26th & 27th had a strong sense of community and combined hands-on learning with fun activities, beginning with breakfast and featuring 39 valuable boat safety checks facilitated by RCM/SAR, including new EHYC recruits, alongside essential CPR/AED demonstrations and a powerful man-overboard display. The weekend also included a well-received Marine Gear Trunk Sale and a SAR vessel tour, all supported by dedicated Club Volunteers and generous food and drink contributions, effectively showcasing EHYC's collaborative spirit and shared dedication to water safety and community bonding. Thank you to all members, along with Nancy, Rosie and Ian that made this weekend happen.
The Staff Captain’s Super Cruise to Pages Marina was a highlight, with 24 boats and their crews in attendance. While I couldn’t make it this year, I did hear from members that it was a huge success. Thank you to everyone who helped make this event happen. I know it's a team effort. Looking ahead to 2026, I’m excited to build on these fun filled events and celebrate new successes—starting with our NEW undefeated title at our NEW YEARS DAY tug-of-war. Here’s to another fantastic year at EHYC!
Sean Whittall, Staff Captain, Tribune
Fleet Captain
Award Highlights
Commodore Trophy: Awarded by Commodore Nick Miller to the members of the Social Committee, namely Denise Nosella, Tina Burdett, and Kim Southerst, with a special shout-out to Tim Lepard, for outstanding work in creating many wonderful social events this year.
Golden Iggy: Presented to Rear Commodore Bruce Pollock for his outstanding dedication and commitment in a sometimes thankless and challenging job of managing moorage allocation and dock and breakwater maintenance.
Sausage Roll: Presented to Peter Heaslip for his tireless service on work parties especially for building some much needed benches and structures from recycled wood around the club.
Sailing Achievements
Winner of the RNSA Double/Single Handed Trophy and Fisher Snowflake Series: Bruce Winfield.
Winner of the Bluenose Trophy for best skipper overall in the VARC calendar year: Bruce Winfield.
Best Overall in the Round Bowen Race: Bruce Winfield, Nunnehi.
Progress Award: Tyrone Stelzenmuller, after a vigorous few rounds of rock-paper-scissors at awards night, for obtaining the fastest crossing time returning from Super Cruise.
Voyager Award(currently renamed the Will Goldsmith-Jones and Kelsey Westbrook of Zig-Zag award): To Gary and Sandi Bellamy of Barefoot Venus for inspiring adventures.
Fleet Special Trophy: John Roberts for completing VanIsle 360.
Racing Angler Trophy: Bruce Winfield and Greg Ballinger for largest fish caught while racing a sailboat.
Special Recognitions:
Jetsom Award: Marcel Maes for dragging a red channel marker “almost to Passage Island.”
Golden Wrench: Andrew Mollard for dedication in solving his many mechanical issues this year.
Ted Peck Award: Tom Nosella for catching the largest coho salmon of the year.
Winter Chinook Trophy: Ben Lavalee for catching the largest spring salmon of the year.
Hanby Youngest Angler Trophy: Scott Pollock
EHYC Invitational: Godfrey Forssman for double handed participation in Southern Straights.
Special Service Awards: for service above and beyond any expectation.
The Crystal Trophy: Nancy Brown and her amazing gardening team for outstanding beautification around the club this year.
And last, but not least, the Photo Contest Winner: 1st Place: Zoe Auge.
Peter Maclellan, Fleet Captain, Caliente.
Treasurer
It is my pleasure to report on the fiscal 2025 financial results and fiscal 2026 budget. As reported in the annual financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2025, revenues exceeded expenditures by $66,375 (2024 $44,443). Total revenues of approximately $676,052 were approximately the same as in the prior year. Moorage revenue increased by approximately $16,000 (5%) and sailing school revenues increased by approximately $12,000 (20%) due to an increase in the number of students.
These increases were largely offset by lower interest income of approximately $7,000 (16%) due to lower interest rates and a decrease in clubhouse rentals of approximately $11,000 (41%) due to a lack of movie rentals. Other income is comprised of initiation fees and work party assessments. Initiation fees increased by approximately $65,000 to $106,044 (2024 $40,550) as there were 8 new active members and 6 new associate members. Work party assessments declined slightly to $11,550 (2024 $12,900).
Total expenses increased by 8% to $708,514 (2024 $655,531). The largest increases were shore facilities and wages and benefits. Shore facilities costs increased by approximately $22,000 (79%) to $50,674 (2024 $28,234) primarily due to (i) a reclassification of cleaning costs from social activities as well as an increase in those costs ($7,696), (ii) parking lot wall inspection reports ($12,489) and (iii) new equipment ($909 for a wood chipper and $1,799 for a utility trailer). Wages and benefits increased by approximately $51,000 (23%) to $272,927 (2024 $221,849) due to increased administrative hours, wage rate increases and back-dated pay increases. We had no capital expenditures in 2025 (2024 $31,691). Therefore, all of the operating surplus contributed to our cash assets. Our financial position continues to improve. We now have net liquid assets of $996,272. The majority, $814,877, is reserved for future dock and breakwater replacement. In fiscal 2026, we are budgeting a surplus of revenues over expenditures (before depreciation) of approximately $59,000. Expected capital expenditures include a replacement breakwater, repair of the parking lot wall, a new engine for the workboat and the purchase of a Martin 242 sailboat. At this stage, the amount and timing of the breakwater replacement and parking lot wall repair are unknown. As the Club faces the largest expenditure in more than 20 years since the building of the clubhouse, I believe that we should minimize discretionary club expenditures and continue to build our reserve fund. In order to keep pace with inflationary cost increases, the Executive has approved a 3% increase in moorage fees, membership dues and electrical charges as well as a 5% increase in entrance fees.
I would like to thank Nancy, Ian and Rosie for another year of dedication and commitment to the Club. Over the past few years, our Club has greatly increased the number of events. A tremendous amount of work goes into running the Club as well as supporting all of the Executives and their functions. A big thanks to all of them!
Peter Day, Treasurer Lovely Lisa