DATES TO REMEMBER

COMMODORE’S CORNER

This month, I write about a topic that must be taken more seriously than has been evident in the past:  our visitor log in the lounge.  The fact that we have a log requiring visitor registration is a condition of our Class D liquor license granted and renewed annually by the city.  Newport ordinance 5.12 on Alcoholic Beverages licenses limits Class D licenses (private clubs) to 16.  That ordinance also invokes Rhode Island state law title 3 rule 9 by reference which requires documentation on guests in a log entry; logs must be available for inspection.  Penalties for violation include:  $500-1000 fine, alteration of hours of operation, and/or revocation of license.  With 20-25% of annual Club revenues coming from our Lounge operation, we cannot afford to jeopardize our liquor license.  If we lost it, the financial impact to all of us would be devastating and it would be difficult to reacquire a Class D license.

That said, the importance of guests signing in cannot be overstated.  This log is reviewed by the Club management regularly and it has been observed that this log is frequently abused as entries indicate the sponsoring member name as “Lady Gaga”, “Joe’s girlfriend”, or “Donald Trump”, or something completely illegible.  A change to the house rules was made early this year to require members to sign in their guests to cut down on frivolous log entries – please make every effort to comply.  This log is also utilized to estimate the % of lounge revenues that come from non-member sources as this is a condition of our not-for-profit status.  We are required to not exceed 10% of revenues, exclusive of initiation fees, from non-member sources.  If this log was audited and determined to be disingenuously filled out, we may be required to alter our estimated % of revenues from non-member sources.  If the 10% threshold were exceeded, we would have to seriously curtail non-member sources of revenue including transient dockage, participation in Frostbite, Offshore and Regatta events, and member’s guests attending Club sponsored entertainment events. Again, this would have a significant negative effect on all of us.

 We are also taking steps to more closely monitor log entries of visiting members of other yacht clubs.  While there is technically no member to sign them in, our reciprocity rules are clearly stated and long-standing so the name of the yacht club represented by the visitor will suffice as the sponsoring member.  We are also taking steps to comply with this requirement for seasonal activities such as are sponsored by the Regatta, Offshore, and Frostbite committees. 

You may notice increased diligence by our bar staff to check membership cards if you are not personally known to them or asking if the log has been completed.  Please know that they do this as part of their job and in so doing, protect all of us from potential violations of our liquor license requirements.  If you are asked to prove membership, keep in mind the spirit in which it is requested and do not act or speak harshly – they are doing what is asked of them.  It is not necessary to sign the log if your guests do not go to the lounge.

I appreciate all who have been following proper guest procedures and am grateful to all who will now take this requirement more seriously.  Our great Club depends on all of us!

Wishing you fair winds and following seas,

Tom Rowe, Commodore

Ida Lewis Yacht Club Invitation

Some great photos from the Ida Lewis Yacht Club Invitation held on October 5th.

ENTERTAINMENT COMMITTEE

The Annual Dinner on Saturday, October 19th.  The Paula Clare Band will do an encore performance from Opening Day.  Mark your calendars, sign up will be posted a couple of weeks before the event.

Respectfully submitted,
Pam Akgun, Entertainment Chair

FLOAT & DOCK COMMITTEE

F&D Dates of Interest

Steve Damas, Chair
Bob Morin
Roger Hemond 
Frank Pearson III 
David Stewart

REGATTA COMMITTEE

Hi everybody! Well – hard to believe the racing season is over but here we are!!
We had a pretty successful season with about 60 boats registered to race between the Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

I want to thank all of the sailors that participated for coming out and making it such a success. I hope to see all of you and more next season!!

I also want to thank the almost 50 members that volunteered for race committee duty this past summer! Without these volunteers, we would not have been able to host the racing events. You know who you are: Thank you!!!

To those who raced: the end of season awards party is Saturday, October 26th at 3:30 pm!! There will be some munchies and a bar for our celebration. Bring your crews and come celebrate the summer of 2019!!

RACERS Save the date: October 26th at 3:30 pm – the awards party. Bring your crew and celebrate the season!

Regards -Nancy Parrillo, Chair Regatta Committee
Alan Renfrew
Al McCoy
Tom Pederson
Lee Parks

OFFSHORE COMMITTEE

On 2 November we will have a Bermuda One-Two Skipper’s Shore Party including a talk. “Sleep while sailing solo offshore – tips and considerations” – Phil Haydon, Ph.D. is both a neuroscientist who studies the regulation of sleep and a solo offshore sailor. He has integrated his scientific knowledge with sources of information provided by others to develop his own “checklist” to follow when racing offshore. He will share this information in the hope that it will be helpful to other sailors and prevent them from making errors, that can be serious, after prolonged periods of sleep deprivation.

Roy Guay – Chair
Ted Singsen
Kristen Wenzel
Betsy McClintock
Pat Clayton
Caryn Cummings
Brian Clayton
George Crocker

If you have something you’d like to share with the Club membership in the Burgee, please send your submission to: communications@newportyachtclub.org for review and consideration.   

NEWPORT YACHT CLUB WIFI