May 2011 - Evans Bay Yacht & Motor Boat Club

The SpinnakerThe Sailing CommitteeThe Vice Commodore, aside from being backup to the Commodore, is in charge of the Sailing Committee, whichlet’s face it, is what so many of us are here for. Their work starts early in the racing season with setting up a raceprogramme, and then getting together with all the other yacht clubs in the region co-ordinate their calendars toavoid clashes of important events. Once the programme is published they then move into race managementmode.Every race day they are ensuring that appropriate courses for each class of boat is set, making decisions based onWellington’s difficult weather conditions, ensuring we have sufficient rescue boat coverage for the day, physicallylaying out the course marker buoys, organising the on-the-water committee boat for starts & finishes, recordingthe finish times, watching to see that everyone obeys by the rules, making sure all boats that start also return, &getting the race results out afterwards.To do this the Sailing Committee consists of individuals with specific tasks, & brings in class representatives to helpmake decisions on their race courses. The committee needs to include, or be able to call upon, accredited raceofficials, a recognised sailing judge, people capable of manning rescue boats & committee boats, and at least oneperson who knows their way around a computer....and they always need more of these volunteers.Another part of their mission is ‘bidding’ for National competitions, as running these not only provides our sailorswith home ground advantage, but also provides training opportunities for our race management people & raisesthe profile of the club nationally, assuming they do a good job, which they always do, of course.And lastly, the sailing committee usually provides a club representative on the Wellington Yachting Association, ourregional sailing body which co-ordinates, promotes & develops yachting for the eleven clubs in the region. If youwant more of the low-down, have a chat to Gary Wagstaff or Rick Martin.HouseWhilst racing might be the raison d’etre of most yacht clubs, the House is where we spend most of our time. Whetherit’s for a good, cheap feed on a Friday night, a beer on Sunday afternoon to talk over the weekend’s racing or boatmaintenance achievements, or just a place to have a coffee while waiting for the kids to get out of that freezingsoutherly, the club simply couldn’t function without it.This year, as with many of the Management Committee roles, we’re looking for someone new to fill the RearCommodore’s position, so here’s a bit of a rundown on the work involved in being on the House Committee.First & foremost, we need people who are good natured & organised, because they are the front of house, often thefirst impression for new comers. The job involves food & drink, deciding how much is needed, where to get it from,ordering, arranging delivery times, storage and the serving of. Currently the club is not doing Friday night meals, sothis primarily means the provision of bar snacks, pies, pre-race food, on-tap beer, bottled alcoholic & non-alcoholicdrinks, tea & coffee. For special club events, caterers, either internal or external can be organised, but if you’re a cookyourself, then feel free to contribute.Another major function of the House is hall hirage for external events. Though much of this work is undertaken by theoffice, this role may involve some meeting time with hirees, sorting out their requirements and organising clubvolunteers to help, sometimes the hiring and management of bar staff. Someone from the club is required to bepresent for the duration of any external event.Having some knowledge of pricing, profits & stock control would also be useful, so we need people who can keeptrack of where everything is, and hopefully make an acceptable profit in the difference between buying and selling it.Living within a bulls roar of the club would be useful, but not essential and if you have a bar licence, we want youNOW, but if you don’t the club can help organise you getting one.If hospitality is your thing, this is your role. For more information badger Lynley Manning.FacilitiesPotholes in the trailer park, broken window, leaking tap, showers need painting, new roof, it all comes underFacilities.All the buildings around the club premises –the clubhouse, Black Shed, Startbox, TRIYA shed, Sailing AcademyShed – and the land around them – rigging area, hardstand, trailer park, car park – that’s what Facilities lookafter, inside & out, back to front. They’re a multi-talented team of more than just the sub-committee members,- 8 -