We need your virtual presence and your vote on Wednesday September 18 via Google Meet to formally update club governance documents: both our Bylaws and our Articles of Incorporation. You’ll be asked to vote on Motion 1 to accept the 2024 Bylaws, and Motion 2 to accept the 2024 Articles of Incorporation.
Why? New Ontario legislation (ONCA 2010) has been handed down aimed at modernizing how not-for profit corporations such as the Kanata Sailing Club are created, operated, governed and dissolved. The new law requires that we update those two principal governing documents, the Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation. We must do this before October 18, 2024 in order to be compliant with the legislation.
UPDATING OUR BYLAWS
The Bylaws govern how we manage the club, including such things as selection of a Board of Directors, board members’ roles and responsibilities, membership categories and the conduct of meetings. It’s a document members should be familiar with.
The Bylaws were updated by a club committee (listed below) and have been approved by the Board of Directors. Now the Bylaws have to be ratified by our Membership. This is where you come into the picture.
We will be holding a virtual Special Meeting (link above), at which time you will be asked to approve of the updated Bylaws. We believe this approach will make the meeting simpler to manage. We need approval by 2/3rds of those who attend.
For context, clarifications were made throughout, and specifically in the following areas:
Added clarity around the removal and appointment of Directors;
Updated the Conflict of Interest clause; and,
Expanded Family Memberships to include dependents living at the parental home.
Both the current (2012) and updated (2024) versions of the bylaw are available on our Website here.
You are invited to review the document. As members, you are most directly impacted by Articles 5 and 6, entitled Members and Meeting of Members.
Motion No. 1 that you will be asked to vote on will be: “a Motion to approve the Bylaws in the form presented and included with notice of meeting of the Members”.
UPDATING OUR ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
ONCA also requires that we update our Articles of Incorporation. The motivation for these updates is that the Ontario government wants to make sure that club assets are well-managed for the benefit of the people of Ontario, particularly when a non-profit benefits from public funding, as we do. We need approval by 2/3rds of those who attend.
You can find the Articles of Amendment on our Website here.
Motion No. 2 that you will be asked to vote on is: “a Motion to approve the Articles of Amendment in the form presented and included with notice of meeting of the Members”.
ACTION
We look forward to seeing as many voting members as possible at the Virtual Special Meeting. If you are an Adult member with Honorary, Family, Single, or Student membership, you have a right to vote.
Each voting member is permitted to serve as proxy holder (hold the right to vote) for one other voting member who is unable to make the meeting. A simple email confirming this must be sent to Olivier, our Corporate Secretary, before the Special Meeting begins. This must contain instructions to the proxy holder who may either be instructed to vote at will, or may be given specific voting instructions for Motion 1 and Motion 2.
Questions relating to Bylaws can be sent to Tim, our Vice Commodore, who was heading up this effort. Questions relating to the updated Articles of Incorporation can be sent to Deb, our Commodore.
AUTHORS
Many thanks go out to Tim Stahl, our Vice Commodore, who took on the Bylaws task with input from Jean Mullan, Liz Prentice-Muir, and Deb McPhedran for the Articles of Incorporation.
Your KSC Sailing Director here with some updates about racing the year.
First of all – if you’ve never been racing, come on out on a Wednesday, and we’ll get you in a boat! It’s a great excuse for a sail, it is totally laid back and friendly, and we have a ‘nobody left ashore’ policy. Show up at the club somewhere been 5:30 and 6:00, and we’ll match skippers/crew on the fly. If you want to sail, we’ll make it happen! New sailors welcome!
Ken, Steve, and Olivier/Tom (behind Ken’s sail) at the start line for Race 1
Looking for Organizers/volunteers – 12-Mile-Island, Cat Regatta
We have tentatively set dates of Saturday July 13 for the 12-Mile-Island race and August 10 for the catamaran regatta. If you have an organizational bent in you, or are otherwise interrested in helping out, please contact me at sailing@kanatasailingclub.com. The organization isn’t that difficult, it’s mostly get word of the event out to likely participants, and figure out if you need support like a race-committee (and if so, who’s going to do it).
Wednesday Race Season
Our annual weekday series is well underway. Once again, we’re aiming for short courses with lots of short races. The first couple of race nights went great (getting in 7 races over the two nights) but the 3rd race night was cancelled due to lack of wind. Hopefully we’ll get some luck in the coming weeks. Steve, Ken and Mike have taken an early lead (full standings below) but it’s not too late! We discard results for one out of every the races, so even if you’ve missed a few weeks, had a bad night in the standings, or anything like that then the scroring system automatically doesn’t count your worst results
Quest/Feva Head Start
Last year, we noticed that the RS Quests and RS Fevas were often at the back of the fleet. This might be because the boats (especially Feva) are a bit slower than the Lasers and cats, but also they tend to be favoured by the recent learn-to-sail grads and by sailors bringing families/guests out. Either way, we figured we’d give the RS boats a bit of a head start this year. It gives the veterans in their fast-and-fancy boats a challenge (can I catch the RS boats?) and it gives the RS boats a fighting chance to celebrate a victory, instead of be resigned to the back of the fleet. Mike and his family were the first winners in a Quest, taking the 3rd race. We might tweak the system a bit later in the season, but so far people seem to be liking the system.
Welcome to the KSC Racing Season, Wednesday nights this year, starting June 12.
I’m Jason, your sailing director this year at KSC, and I’m here today to convince you to come out racing. Racing at KSC is exceptionally informal, and is more “an excuse to hit the water” instead of a real competition. No expereince nessessary (racing experience or even sailing experience), and it’s all about fun. Oh yeah, it’s free too!
So, what you need to know:
Race starts at ~6:30 – I recommend you show up at the club sometime around 5:30-5:45, rig up, attend the skipper’s meeting at 6:00 and hit the water to sail for the race course
We tend to get in a large number of short races. So if you miss the first race, it’s no big deal
Nobody left ashore policy is in effect – if you want to sail/race, we’ll get you in a boat. Students welcome!
Food/beverages on the clubhouse deck after racing
I’ve updated our general purpose “Racing at KSC” document with details for interrested racers, but don’t worry, there’s a skipper’s meeting if you have any questions. Alternativly, just look around for someone who looks like they know what they’re doing – the verteran racers will bend over backwards to help you out and to make sure you have fun out there.
The wind forecast for this week looks nice, with a base wind of ~7-8 from the SW, and some stronger gusts building as the night goes on.
Thank you for making Launch Day and the Open House such a success!
Save the Dates: June 8th for the Ontario Trillium Grant Recognition and Volunteer Thank You event and July 20th for SailPast!
Launch Day 2024 and Gas Shed Roof Replacement
Launch Day and Open House were a success!
Thank you to all the volunteers who came out on Launch Day (and other days) to lend a hand setting up the boats, the tent and readying the site for the sailing season and the Open House.
Open House 2024
The Open House had unexpectedly glorious weather and we had a great turnout of volunteers to welcome our 50 or so visitors. The Club was a-buzz with visitors who came by to checkout our stories, our people, and our boats and site throughout the day. As a result we had quite a few new signups for membership & training. Don’t fret though, there are still a few spots left for Adult Learn-to-Sail training, and a few more for Junior training!
Save these Dates – June 8th and July 20th!
On Saturday, June 8th at 1 pm, we will be hosting a ribbon cutting for the Ontario Trillium Grant Recognition Event including cake and refreshments (non-alcoholic). Members are invited to join in the celebration. VIPs from local & provincial government, as well as from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, have been invited to the event. We will be celebrating the generous Ontario Trillium Foundation grant received for our new T-shaped floating dock!
Following this celebration, members will have time to go sailing and then join in another little get-together around 5 pm with snacks and a toast to our many Club volunteers. The Volunteer Thank You Event is to thank our volunteers who are dedicated to running the Kanata Sailing Club by signing-up for Duty Day, helping to prep the boats and site on Launch Day, taking on repair projects, fixing boats, serving on the board of directors, helping with administrative tasks or in many, many other ways. Everyone is invited: those who volunteer all the time, those who volunteer when they can, and those who will volunteer in the future.
SailPast 2023
OnSaturday, July 20th, we will be hosting our Annual SailPast. This is an opportunity to welcome our newest sailors and members to the Club. We sail past our Commodore with our brightly decorated boats and enjoy some time on the water together before we settle in for the grandest feast – a traditional suckling pig roast, salads and treats. It is a well-attended event, and we invite everyone to join in the fun! Watch for an email update from Tom, our social director, closer to the date.
Key New Faces at KSC – Welcome Steven and Sam!
Steven Parry, Head Instructor of the Adult Learn-to-Sail Program, and Samantha (Sam) Boulton, Head Instructor of the Junior Learn-to-Sail Program, are both new to KSC and started teaching on Tuesday, May 14th.
Steven has worked as a skipper, guide, and flotilla leader. He has 3 decades of sailing stories from around the world and guarantees engaging, interactive, and entertaining training sessions. He has been teaching students in Buckham’s Bay for the last 2 seasons. He has his CANSail 1 & 2 Instructor certification along with a long list of other credentials, including ASA Keelboat & Intermediate Coastal Cruising Instructor, RYA Commercial Yacht Master, and ICC International bareboat license. He has been the Director and owner of a yacht charter brokerage agency for 30 years.
Sam comes with 2 years of coaching experience from Nepean Sailing Club and is a certified CANSail Level 1 & 2 Instructor. She was responsible for teaching students the fundamentals of sailing in a fun, safe, respectful, and inclusive environment. She earned her CANSail Level 5 (at the age of 14) and has raced competitively, including at CORK International. She just completed her 1st year of Science in Marine Biology at Dalhousie University.
Welcome aboard Steven and Sam to the KSC team!
New AED, Dock, Gas Shed Renos… and a 5th RS Quest!
The KSC and board of directors are always thinking about ways to keep our Club members safe both on the water and off. This year we have a new device, the AED. What’s that you ask? It’s an automated external defibrillator. It is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses life-threatening cardiac issues and can be used to restart a person’s heart if it has stopped beating. The AED will be placed in a highly visible location in the clubhouse. An AED training date will also be announced. Thank you to Tim Stahl for championing this safety initiative.
Installation of the new floating dock 2024
If you haven’t had a chance to come down to the Club recently, you will be very pleased to see the new T-shaped floating dock has been installed. The KSC was fortunate to receive a generous grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation for a new dock composed of six lightweight sections plus gangway, with hand-safe connection points. This dock and associated coach boats enhance safe community access to the waterfront in this area.
When you come to the Club, you will also see a new roof on thegas shed. A big thank you goes out to Stephan Bilan and other volunteers who assisted. The project entailed raising the gas shed frame onto higher posts, stress-testing the structure’s integrity, reinforcing the roof and then the full re-shingling. Stay tuned for the next phase which will be siding and staining.
Why bother with all this repair? We could have bought a new shed. The answer is that KSC prefers to direct funds to new sailboats and accessories (spinnakers, better beach dollies, sailing storage!). Moreover, this is one of the ways we keep membership costs down.
Which brings us to the last but not least of what’s new at the Club. Unfortunately, we didn’t receive the OTF grant that we had hoped would cover the cost of the 5th RS Quest. Tragic. However, the good news is that the Club is doing well enough that we were able to buy RS Quest #5 out of current funds. This is one of the most family-friendly, popular boats in our fleet, and for good reason, as it is a wonderfully stable boat for newer sailors.
Bylaws, Strategic Plan,Club Rules, FAQs
Over the winter months, while the Club was asleep, the Bylaw Committee was hard at work and has updated the Club Bylaws to meet the new (2010) Ontario government regulations. The Committee members were Tim Stahl (chair) , Liz Prentice Hudson, Deb McPhedran, and Jean Mullan. The KSC board approved the final version which can be seen here, and this will be circulated to the KSC membership in advance of the Saturday, July 20th SailPast when we will ask for a membership vote on it. We’re pleased to formalize an unwritten part of KSC culture in these new Bylaws, in that the membership director is acknowledged to have broad discretionary powers, and a bonus: “Family” now includes all children still living at home, regardless of their age.
The Strategic Planning Committee was also hard at work over the winter. Corinne Civalleri, Andre Violette, Genevieve Segu and Annie Miller (chair) met throughout the winter to develop the five pillars to guide our success for the the next five year period: 2025 – 2030. The five pillars are membership, community, training, facilities (on shore and on water), and sustainability. The Committee is currently fine tuning their document with a view to having their plan adopted by members’ vote at the Annual Meeting in the Fall.
The Club Rules and FAQs also needed modification to reflect the changes in the Bylaws. Behind the scenes, Mike Lepard updated the FAQs while Jean Mullan took on the task of updating the Club Rules with valuable input from others (Thanks, Carla!). The Club Rules will go to the board for final approval and then be posted to the KSC website. The FAQs are sent out to all new members as they sign up.
Did you notice how much was done over the winter? That’s because the sailing season is meant for sailing, and that’s what we’re going to be doing! We look forward to seeing you on the water, and at shore-side gatherings. This is your cottage in the city, your base for sailing the Ottawa River, and we hope you take ownership of all it has to offer.
The snow is gone and before you know it we’ll be back on the water for the 2024 sailing season! We have a few updates and some important dates to mark on your calendar.
Registrations are Open
Just a reminder that membership and training registrations are open, you can signup on our website. We have the following training sessions available:
Adult Learn to Sail – 3 sessions available May to July including weekday evening and full-day classes.
Junior Learn to Sail – 9 sessions available July to Aug full-day (9-4:30) classes.
Family Learn to Sail – 1 session that overlaps LTS3 & JLTS2 which allows parents to learn along with their kids.
Launch Day – April 20th
Our 2024 Launch Day has been scheduled for Saturday, April 20th, starting at 9 am.
We need all current & past members on deck for this event where we’ll pull the boats out storage and prep the grounds for the upcoming season. There’s lots to do but it goes quickly if we have lots of help. Like every year, this will take place rain or shine. Be sure to bring gloves, boots and workwear with you. We will be removing the boats from the clubhouse, prepping boats with masts and rigging, and hauling some of the boats to the beach. The dock will wait for a later date (see below). A potluck lunch will follow, if you would like to bring something hold tight, more details will be sent soon.
Public Open House – May 4th
The 2024 Public Open House has been scheduled for Saturday, May 4th, from 12-4pm.
The open house is when we invite members of the public to come check out the club and see what we’re all about. If you’re available that day, come on down to the club and bring along any of your interested friends or family. We’re located at 1610 Sixth Line Road along the Ottawa River.
New Dock Delivery and Installation – May 11th
Thanks to a Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) Capital Grant, the club was able to purchase a new T-shaped floating dock. The new dock is tentatively scheduled to be delivered and installed on Saturday, May 11th.
Wednesday Race Nights
This sailing season, Race Nights will be held on Wednesdays starting June 12 until August 28(weather and water levels permitting) so you’ll want to put it in your schedule now. The 1st race usually starts around 6 pm so you’ll want to arrive early on race night to select and rig your boat, and get out to the race start in time.
Our social director Tom is putting together a few outings this winter while we wait for our warmer weather to return. He also has a number of events planned throughout the summer but more details to come.
If there is enough interest, sometime in March he will be organizing a snowshoe outing in Gatineau, which will take members for a 1hr guided loop ending at a nice bistro. If you’re interested in joining them please let Tom know.
2023 Annual Meeting & Highlights of the Year
This may have been a first: the meeting was held at the Britannia Yacht Club due to a “scheduling kerfuffle” at NSC. Sweet digs! We spent little time admiring, and got down to business.
Commodore Corinne oversaw a Very Very Good year. A few of the highlights touched on at the Annual Meeting below. The entire 2023 KSC AGM presentation can be found online here.
Financial Statements
KSC Financials are looking healthy, and we have hopes and dreams to build on this going forward. There were some minor issues with the CRA but the purser will have those sorted soon. We’re entering into 2024 in a very strong position in no small part due to the grants awarded to the club.
Grants
Fantastic news, we look forward to delivery of our new floating dock in the spring of 2024. The Ontario Trillium Foundation is generously funding this essential infrastructure to support community need for access to recreational facilities on the waterfront in Dunrobin/West March. We call for a party to recognize this OTF Grant in the spring! See the news item on our previous post: New Dock Coming in Spring 2024.
Harbourmaster Steve and Training Director Ken shared instructors’ feedback that the club’s RS Quests were easily the most popular, versatile family-friendly boats that KSC owned, and we could do with more. Having two more would allow members to sail their favourite boat recreationally even while classes were going on. We invested in number four in September, and we have applied for an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant to purchase the fifth. We’ll know by late February.
KSC has received over $146k in grants over the last 3 years, huge thank you to the volunteers who’ve made that happen!
Membership
Membership has grown! Counting every single head, KSC membership stood at 135… a recent record! Another reason we really need two more RS Quests. Single & Family memberships are up this year, and a new member survey results were positive overall.
Comms/Web
Lots of website cleanup and a new membership/training sign-up form was setup for 2023. There are quite a few website updates planned for 2024, if you see any pages that could use some sprucing up please contact Devin our website director.
Site
Members re-shingled the clubhouse roof in a single weekend in late September. If we’d known it was going to be such a source of merriment, we’d have done it sooner. Shout-out to Capital Services of Stittsville who provided much-appreciated expertise and labour-saving heavy equipment. We were fortunate on the day of the big push, in that the winds were as low as they could be at 0 knots gusting to 2… Great for roof work… Tragic for sailing.
Hydro-Ottawa first teased us by installing new poles in April. Then we waited…In Hydro’s defence, the May derecho redirected their manpower, and then they went on strike for 3 months during which time KSC was not a high priority. But, in early November, Hydro completed the final touches, energized the lines, and voila! Hydro is back.
Training
Learn-to-Sail adult and junior training programs went extremely well with seasoned instructors Heidi and Connor at the helm, both of whom are moving on in their lives and careers. Our pleasure at this is bittersweet, as we will miss them and their calm expertise. New instructors will be needed for next year, if you know of anyone who would be interested (and has their CANSAIL training certificate) please contact Corinne & Carla, the new training directors.
Also if you notice new green tags on the board this is a new category for members who’ve completed their first cat sailing course and are eligible to sail the RS Cat 16s. Once they have some experience on those they can take a more advanced cat course to get their red tags for sailing the Hobie 18s.
Harbourmaster
Fleet renewal has had a very positive impact on the club & membership. A RS Quest was purchased at a steep discount at the end of last year and as mentioned we are applying for another grant to purchase our fifth Quest this year.
KSC also welcomed a sporty 470 to the fleet at the end of the season. This boat was a donation (thank you!) and enthusiastically refurbished. It’s a technical boat, and a blast for experienced sailors.
Members try out newly refurbished 470
The RS Cat 16 has had warranty repair to its hull and will be back for 2024 season.
A very sweet white Kevlar canoe was donated to the club, and is another item available to all members. On low wind days, it’s an option if you aren’t in the mood for low-wind practice.
Social
Social Sailing events contended with the full range of challenging wind conditions, high to low, but we enjoyed outings to Aylmer Beach, Pinhey’s Point, and Twelve Mile Island to boot. One particularly memorable September event was cannily re-branded as a high wind monohull training session, with plenty of capsize recovery practice. Beehive manoeuvres, anyone? Sailpast offered fine winds, and Commodore Corinne continued the grand tradition of offering a non-denominational, even secular blessing to the fleet as it sailed past under fine control. The new tradition of BBQ suckling piglet was repeated, and as every part of the animal was well-received, we’re likely to continue. Tony’s roasting program is spectacular. After dinner, two facilitators, Bianca and Barbara, arranged entertainment and made certain that we got to know each other a little better. Bravo: we’d like a repeat!
Sailing
There 6 race nights and 11 races total, unfortunately weather didn’t cooperate well this year but fingers crossed for the 2024 season.
The absolute sailing season this year extended for a total of 204 days (almost 7 months), from April 15 to Nov 4 inclusive. October 27 would have made a spectacular last day, with winds gusting up to 28 knots. Only one experienced sailor ventured out and enjoyed 4 near capsizes in a Laser, discouraging the pair of wafflers on shore. That might have been the last day, but the water was still warm enough for obsessive types in wetsuits who ventured out November 4 in forgiving winds.
KSC Members Facebook Group
If you haven’t yet joined our private Facebook page, consider it. The name of the page is “Kanata Sailing Club Members” and is available to past/present members. It’s where you can post KSC experiences and news you want to share, or announce your interest in having company when heading out sailing / hiking / skating, whatever.
Make sure we can recognize your name! If KSC knows you as Paul, but your Facebook name is unknown to us, lend us a hand figuring out the connection. If you’ve requested to join and we haven’t replied please send Mike our membership director a reminder.
Governance Items
Outgoing Directors: Ken, Rob and Mike
We are losing two long-term directors, Ken Skublics and Rob Zgraggen, who merit standing ovations for their outstanding direction at a difficult time.
You may not have known this, but Rob opened members’ eyes to the dire straits we were in, in the “before-times”, calling for action in no uncertain terms. The club appreciates his directness, as it was so valuable in challenging times. Rob served as Purser for three critical years, starting in 2020, and hands over a healthy reserve to the incoming board!
“Not so much a directorship, more of a lifestyle choice” is a fair description of the KSC Training Director’s role. Ken served as Training Director for four years, and training, you should know, is the front-line mission for the club. Things happen that must be handled, and tough calls made, and Ken was there with the swift well-balanced decision. People needed information, often the same information more than once, and Ken made himself (patiently) available. To give you an inkling of the job, two people will be taking it over now that he’s retiring from the position. If we could just remember the details of his decision-making process and bottle some of his reliability, we’d be solid.
Ken, and Rob: thank you both so much for setting us up for success. What we do with that generous set-up is up to the new board now.
Mike Reece is formally leaving the Sailing/Racing Director position, but we hope he volunteers to return in future to implement his plans. This year, he had to focus on immediate issues, and hand-off this year’s racing agenda to Acting Sailing director, Carla Millar. We so appreciate that Carla stepped in to run the racing program in 2023, not to mention her design of the newest trophy. We’re fortunate that Carla has agreed to second our new training director this year. As mentioned above, that’s a big ask.
Worthy of note is that three new/relatively new club members with plenty of experience, either sailing or board position experience, have agreed to join the new board: Tim, Genevieve, and Olivier. We are very excited to have them. Sailing (aka Racing) is also looking very interesting with Jason returning to direct us. Corinne and Carla will brilliantly cover training challenges, starting with finding new instructors. If anybody knows a potential candidate, do not hesitate to reach out to them.
Let’s welcome back returning board members Mike, Tony, Tom, Steve and Devin in the same roles, but now to fulfill their plans for world domination.
Strategic Planning Committee
Anne-Marie Miller: Lead
Genevieve Segu
Corinne Civalleri
What do we cherish most about the club, and should we make moves to preserve those aspects? Can you see particular challenges ahead? Where do we want to go from here? We’ll hear from the members of this committee in 2024, asking us questions like that. The aim is to tap into members’ knowledge, inspiration and hopes to guide the club’s direction the following five years: 2025-2030.
By-Laws Committee
Tim Stahl: Lead
Liz Prentice-Hudson
Jean Mullan
Deb McPhedran
Our by-laws, articles of incorporation, and related policy items require updating to meet current governance requirements. We’re highly motivated to complete these, particularly the bylaw update, to retain control of the details, and prevent the application of boilerplate government-authored bylaws instead. You’ll be hearing from this committee too, as special meetings will be required for your votes.
Safe Sport Team
Carla Millar: Lead
Olivier Clerc: Screening Officer
Treat others well. Don’t be inappropriate. There are safeguards in place, and rules and repercussions around this matter. The club will continue to advance a respectful sport culture that delivers quality, inclusive, accessible, welcoming and safe sport experiences.
Looking Forward to 2024
With the line-up of volunteers above, and all the generous ongoing volunteer efforts we continue to enjoy, the Kanata Sailing Club is poised for a sparkling 2024!
To all members and their loved ones: Fair Winds and Following Seas! See you on the water!
Deb McPhedran, Commodore
(And a huge thanks to Jean for her help putting this newsletter together -ed)
Land acknowledgement
The Kanata Sailing Club is located on the traditional, unceded territory of the Anishnaabe Algonquin nation. We are guests on this land, and commit to honoring these peoples, lands and waters.
Ontario Trillium Foundation Capital Grant to Rejuvenate Kanata’s Community Sailing Centre in Spring 2024
Thanks to a $37,900 Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) Capital Grant, the purchase of a new T-shaped dock will help the Kanata Sailing Club continue to address the community need for safe, well-managed recreational spaces on the waterfront in Dunrobin Shores/North Kanata. This new dock, selected for lightness and hand-safe connection points, will rejuvenate our waterfront facility, extending its service-life and reducing health and safety risks.
The club is looking forward to accepting delivery of this new dock at the earliest possible installation date in the Spring of 2024.
KSC closing day for 2023 will be Saturday, October 14th starting at 9am. This is where we move all the boats up from the beach and ready the clubhouse for yet another long winter. As we always say, many hands make light work so please do your best to show up and help out! This event is rain or shine, bring some gloves and dress for the weather. We’re also looking for volunteers to don a wet suit and help haul in the dock, I’ll be sure to bring mine but could definitely use some help.
Like most years we are going to have a potluck afterwards so bring along your favourite food items. We’ve created a spreadsheet for members to add what they are bringing so we can take stock:
The directors had a good discussion about this topic and we wanted to acknowledge the tremendous effort our members are making to help out. From major site renovation projects to small housekeeping tasks, it’s you the members that keep this club going. So a huge thank you for all that you do!
This year we have a number of board members that will be exiting their roles, and we are looking for anyone that would be willing to jump in and help out. Since it may not be obvious what each director does, here’s a brief description of each:
Commodore – The captain of the ship, this role helps bind the whole organization together and keeps us moving in the right direction. Ultimately responsible for the safety and security of the club.
Vice-Commodore – Pulling in the big bucks with all the grant applications, this role is mostly to fill gaps in the org and help take on tasks which don’t have an obvious owner.
Membership – Looks after our members of course, this role is for making sure everyone is happy and keeps track of who is joining and how to get more people to sign up.
Training – An important job in a teaching club like ours, this role hires the instructors and keeps our training classes running year after year.
Site – Handles all the hardware that isn’t stainless, this role keeps the clubhouse and the land it sits on in tip top shape.
Social – Our official event planner, this role coordinates events and works closely with the Sailing and Membership directors to keep our members active in the club.
Harbourmaster – Boats boats and more boats, this role keeps our fleet on the water and in ready-to-race condition.
Purser – Fundamental to the operation of any non-profit, this role keeps tabs on the credits and debits and ultimately signs all the cheques.
Website & Communications – Separate positions that have been commonly held by the same person. This role manages our KSC website and sends out all these perfect communiques, always on time, and with absolutely no spelling or grammatical mistakes at all.
Sailing – The perfect job at a sailing club after all, this role works closely with the Social director to coordinate special sailing events and organizes the weekly race series.
Corporate Secretary – Also fundamental for a non-profit, the secretary is responsible for recording important decisions and cataloguing the corporate history of the club.
If any of these sound like something you can help out with, even if not officially or even if a board member is still occupying the role (like me!), please reach out to our commodore Corinne. You can make a big difference to the operation of our club, and the directors would really appreciate the help.
Annual General Meeting
On that note, the KSC AGM will be held at the Nepean Sailing Club, Harbourview conference room on Thursday, November 23rd starting at 7pm. This event is where we review the operation of the club for the last year and gives the membership a chance to voice their opinion on the handling and direction of the club.
We will be hosting the event in person and by Google Meet, meeting link & call-in numbers provided in the event link above (click the date). Feel free to come early and have a bite to eat and a pint with the other early birds. The Harbourview room is next to the pub on the 2nd floor.
If you have photos of sailors or other happenings around the club, please upload them to our drive and we’ll present them at the meeting as well as find a place for them on our website:
Hello everyone, just a few quick updates from your KSC board of directors.
Dock Install Sat June 3rd
Calling everyone who’s able to help! We’re bringing the big dock down the ramp and anchoring it on the beach. This usually requires a bunch of people as it’s very heavy and difficult to maneuver.
If you’re free please come down to the club and help us move it this Sat, June 3rd, around 10:30am. If you bring a wet suit Ken will be very happy to have some help positioning the dock in the water!
These race nights are great fun and a great way to improve your skills. Our top racer, Steve Harrington, will give an overview of racing rules and strategy (e.g. races are won and lost at the start line) before we venture out on the water for some actual racing. Our instructor crew will run the races, and the two main rules are, nobody left standing onshore, and have fun. Tom Neumann has graciously agreed to supply hamburgers and beer for afterwards (please bring some cash if you want a burger and beer). The session will begin on the beach at 5:30 pm. Learn to sail students welcome to participate as crew.
Power to the Club Coming Soon!
If you’ve been to the club recently you may have noticed a bunch of new hydro poles installed. That’s right, we’re going to have power restored to the clubhouse soon! Stay tuned for more info.
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