RGSC March 10 Meeting Minutes Draft

Rough draft of minutes from March 10:
RGSC board and club meeting, Saturday, March 10, 2007

Meeting called to order
We have quorum
Buzz has Art B.’s proxy. Board members Stan H. and John W. joined Marilyn B. and officers Buzz B., Commodore; Pat B., Vice Commodore; Charles A., Treasurer; and Carol Anne B., secretary.

Treasurer’s report – Right now checking account has a little under $1900.
All bills are paid
Another $200 to $300 of income has not yet been recorded in the bookkeeping program that Charlie is using.
The balance in the club savings account is about $9300.
Buzz will send out the proposed budget for 2007.
All records are now computerized; Charlie bought a bookkeeping program for about $60 that should be good for a couple of years.

Rich S. presented the mast-up lot report. Three spaces are now empty.
At some point, will could have an issue with non-paying tenants; so we need to clarify procedure as to what to do if that happens. It was suggested that the defaulters would need to be contacted by registered mail and then the club could take possession of their boats and trailers after getting title via the motor vehicle department. Some work is needed to place rocks and fill to prevent erosion in the mast-up lot, and the club needs to arrange work party. Rich would like sometime to buy railroad ties/timbers for making parking stops for boat trailers and would then paint numbers on the parking stops.

The Race Committee report was presented by Larry J.
Time change. Beginning with spring series 2, the race committee and board decided to move skipper/crew meetings to 11 a.m. Saturday, with a 2 p.m. start and an 11 a.m. start on Sundays. Larry will send Buzz the budget for race committee.

Adams/Mallory sailing championships:
Pat discussed most recent thinking of US Sailing’s Area F leaders about where and on what kinds of boats to hold the Area F semi-finals. The finals will be held on the Etchells, but most boats in the Galveston Bay Etchells fleet are not available to be loaned for the championships. The board discussed putting together a credible bid to host these championships. Pat will put together a proposal and send it up to Area F.

Cruising Report – Buzz will put together a schedule for raft-ups. Discussion, with input from cruiser William G. and others, led to a consensus that the raft-up dates should try to avoid club meeting dates and major races. Also agreed to was the need for the club to provide support and leadership for the raft-ups. Suggestion: Don’t make this an official event if we don’t have to, insofar as park fees and permits are concerned.

Pickle Race – Rich S.reported on the Pickle Race, to benefit youth in the New Mexico Boys and Girls Ranches, will be Easter Saturday, April 7th, 2007. The race gives youth who don’t have a home to go to for the holiday a fun outing to enjoy. Rich has been in touch with the Ranch people and PNM (as a sponsor) to coordinate the event. Also, Sue plans to bring her eighth-grade class from the Bernalillo charter school where she teaches.

Rich and Sue plan to have a no-sails race and then a regular sailing race. The Women on the Water sailing group, the WOWs, will host the picnic and games after the race. Rich and Sue need skippers to come with their boats and take the youth and their chaperones out on the water. Each skipper should bring decorated Easter eggs and picnic food (such as hot dogs or burgers) for themselves and the youth they’ll be hosting.

NMSU college sailing class. Members of this class, taught primarily by Sue and Rich, just completed their final exam. Several of them may need to re-test in order to pass. They also got on the water on the weekend of March 10th and completed their on-the-water qualification in light air conditions. To be fully certified, the class members will also need to demonstrate their boat handling skills in winds of 12 knots or more.

Club Survey –

Buzz led the discussion about the club survey he sent out a few months ago, in which he polled club members about what to do with club income and possible steps the club could take to expand its activities, such as buying a boat, starting a junior sailing program, or purchasing property for a clubhouse.

Several club members who responded to the survey had questions about the purpose of buying a club boat or the kind of boat to be bought. Would it be used as a committee boat, mark-moving and safety boat, coach boat for youth sailing, boat to be rented out to members who don’t have a boat, or as a floating clubhouse? Would having a rental boat discourage some club members from buying their own boat and would some renters be irresponsible with the boat?

Some members who responded to the question about buying a clubhouse were concerned that it would result in a dues increase and cause members to drop out of the club.

Some members who were asked about encouraging power boaters to join the club didn’t think they’d have much in common with the power boaters.

Also mentioned at the meeting was the possibility of the club being given a chance to run all or part of a marina, due to possible marina ownership changes at the lake and new opportunities that might be offered by the state parks.

The most positive results were strong club support for youth sailing. Some questions were asked about the purpose of a youth sailing program (general support for sailing by the club or a way to get families to join the club and grow the club; in general; the group thought an important part of the program would be to promote the club overall), the best way to do a program when our lakes are distant from big cities, and what steps would need to be taken to create a youth sailing program.

Barbara H., who had experience with the youth program at Lake Travis’ Austin Yacht Club, described steps to be taken to make a youth program. The club needs to clarify what we want the program to accomplish, and will need to obtain boats (dinghies to be sailed, coach boat) and equipment (safety gear, training aids), and provide instructors and an adult to oversee the program and manage paperwork, safety, and possible risks. To protect the club and provide quality instruction, all instructors would need to be trained and certified.

The group discussed ways the club could support the program. One suggestion was to bring in a trainer from US Sailing who could train and certify youth sailing instructors. Also discussed was cost. In general, Barbara advised the group that most programs, once they get going, are run as financially self-supporting programs, with fees charged to the participants offsetting costs.

Also discussed was how to identify youth who might want to learn to sail. One idea was to survey club members to learn about any children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc., who might be interested. Also suggested were contacts with Scout, Campfire, Y, Boys/Girls Club and other youth groups and building our relationship with the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Programs at West Mesa and Los Alamos high schools.

Other points discussed during the board meeting:
Overall promotion is needed for the club. Having the web site working is a good thing that has brought some people to the club.
The club needs more activities for cruisers and club members who aren’t active racers. There’s a dichotomy between racers and cruisers.
We need to find a place with better acoustics and perhaps more privacy for general meetings; with changes at the Inn and the patio now torn up at the Dam Site, our options have become more limited.



Following the board meeting, Buzz convened the general meeting.

Treasurer Charles A. reported on club finances; financially the club is looking good, with revenue coming in from the mast-up now that most of its start-up expenses have been paid.

The board reported on the possibility of our bid being considered for the Area F Mallory and Adams cup semi-finals. Pat mentioned the race management class that he and Carol Anne completed in Houston recently and safety instructor training being offered through the state parks.

Larry J. has prepared the racing schedule for all of 2007.

The club is still working on scheduling raft-ups and cruising events, and Buzz invited volunteers to organize these activities.

Survey results showed strong advocacy only for youth and college sailing. The club leadership and interested members will look at what we can do and figure out the focus of a youth sailing program. Club feedback is invited.

The time change for regatta skipper/crew meetings and start times was announced.

Buzz asked for club member input so that he and club leaders know what people want.

Sue S. announced that we are still doing the Pickle Race, and that the Boys and Girls Ranch youth will be joined by a class of eighth-graders. She needs to know how many youth our skippers can take out on the water and asked the skippers to bring hot dogs, candy, Easter eggs, etc., for the youth who will be on their boats.

Buzz also asked Albuquerque area sailors to look around their neighborhoods for boats and report their locations to him so he can find out who has the boats and invite them to join the club.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.

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