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.
Start thinking about your best chili recipe for the potluck, and email Tom soon at [email protected] if you plan to bring one.
We hope to see plenty of members, old and new, at the club working together to start getting boats and the clubhouse ready for the new sailing season. This event takes place rain or shine.
To bring:
gloves and work wear
battery powered tools if you have ’em
items that you volunteered to store over the winter
Our exciting plans for the day:
Flipping and rigging the RS Quests and Fevas
Moving Lasers & Bytes out of the clubhouse and assembling their dollies
Taking the Optis out from under the deck to the beach
Moving the power boats down to the beach
Getting the dock setup in the water
Potluck chili when we wrap for the day (BYOB if desired)
We’re fortunate that certain resourceful members have offered to lend us their generator for keeping chili crock-pots warm. That’s right, no hydro as yet, but watch for brand new overhead lines as you drive down the club access road!
Looking forward to hitting the water and the new deck with everyone. See you next weekend.
From our friends at Sail Canada, we’ve implemented new safe sport policies for all volunteers/employees of the club. See blurb below.
A Commitment to Safe Sport at Kanata Sailing Club In our sport across Canada a tremendous amount of work and resource has been committed to adopt the Sail Canada Safe Sport Policy Package at every level of sailing. Safe Sport is a commitment and initiative to prevent and address maltreatment in sport, ensuring that sport environments create safe and positive experiences for all. Kanata Sailing Club has adopted the Safe Sport Policy Package and is committed to fostering a safe sport environment in our organization and within the sport of sailing. Everyone has a role to play, and we look to you for support in upholding its expectations and keeping each other accountable. The Policy package can be found on our website: https://kanatasailingclub.com/club-policies-and-operations/safe-sport-policies/
Registration for training and membership is open for the 2023 sailing season. There are still lots of youth training slots open but these tend to fill up quickly, be sure to sign up early!
Our 2023 launch day has been scheduled for Saturday, April 22nd, starting at 9am. We need all hands on deck for this event, 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 work wear with you. We will be removing the boats from the clubhouse, prepping boats with masts and rigging, hauling some of the boats to the beach, and assembling the dock in the water.
The 2023 Public Open House has been scheduled for Saturday, May 6th, from 12-4pm. 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 say hello.
The Kanata Sailing Club celebrated our 2022 Sailpast on Saturday Aug 20, and used the occasion to celebrate our spring 2022 Trillium Grant, with speeches, dignitaries and media invited down to the beach to view the boats, and a suckling pig BBQ event running into the evening.
We thanked Ontario Trillium Foundation for a generous grant of $36,100 that allowed the club to purchase three new RS Feva sailboats for Learn-to-Sail training, and post-graduate recreational sailing, even including Wednesday night races. They’ve already ventured several times as far as the Aylmer marina beach, and to Pinhey’s Point historic site, and performed heroically with both novice and seasoned sailors alike.
The grant was awarded under the terms of the OTF Resilient Communities Fund, to help non-profits rebuild and recover from the impact of COVID-19. We are very grateful for these funds which allowed the purchase of dinghies that:
are fun, easily rigged, stable-hulled boats that can be sailed in higher winds without frequent capsize
inspire confidence in new sailors, even when sailing solo as required under physical distancing protocols
improve retention of Learn-to-Sail graduates and refresh club membership.
Thank you to everyone who participated in making this day a rousing success!
Vice-Commodore, Harbourmaster, Commodore and MC, Training Director sharing the granting story and thanking @ONTrillium from the KSC deckRS Feva on the water, kitted out for SailPast3 RS FevasKSC board members in front of RS Feva on Trillium Grant Recognition Day / SailPast DayRS Feva, Quest, and Optis sail past the Commodore during SailPast Day
We will be hosting powerboat training for those who have their PCO license already but aren’t familiar with our boats. Training will be held Friday, June 24th, at 6:30pm.
Social Sails
Various members will be hosting informal social sails this summer, starting with a sail to Aylmer on Sunday, June 26 for lunch at the new Le Bateau restaurant. Boats will leave at 11am for the ~30min sail over to Quebec.
This is the perfect opportunity for those who aren’t comfortable sailing by themselves to partake in a group trip. Whether solo, on helm, or as crew, all members who want to go will have a spot.
If you’re interested in organizing an event of your own feel free to contact me and I’ll gladly add it to our calendar and the next newsletter.
Race nights
Race nights are picking up again, starting this week they will be held every Wed at 6pm sharp. Be at the club early to rig the boats and get on the water before the race starts! Our training staff will be onsite to conduct the races so members can focus on the perfect jibe.
New Boats Arriving Soon
Fortunately our little club has scored a major win: we’ve secured funding for several new boats! Everyone on the board is quite excited to announce the good news, however we’re not allowed to reveal all the details just yet. Very soon you’ll hear more about the new vessels and the large improvement they’ll have to our training fleet. And I can’t think of another sentence that starts with “A” but the funny formatting should be enough 😉
Catamaran Training
For those of us who don’t have our red tags yet, Ken is gauging interest in a cat training session this summer. Contact Ken if you’re interested in signing up for red-tag training, this is a one day training course that has a nominal fee.
Duty Days Going Old-School
Due to some technical difficulties with the previous calendar service, the board has decided to go with a more old-school approach to the duty day sign ups. The next time you’re at the club check out the pin-board for the duty day calendars:
Just put your name down for morning or afternoon on either Sat or Sun. Remember that all members are required to come help out for at least two half-day sessions.
Smaller Sails for the Bytes
Carla & Steve have been hard at work on a side project to get smaller, more controllable sails for the bytes. These are now ready and should be easier to sail for those members who are smaller in stature. A huge benefit is that they look and feel like a laser sail so should be more familiar than the usual byte rigging.
RS Quest Rigging
If you haven’t made it out to the Sat afternoon rigging sessions that Heidi has been hosting, you can find a nice rigging video up on our website here.
As always, if you have any comments/concerns, do bring them up with our board of directors.
That’s all for this week, see you out on the water!
