DATES TO REMEMBER

Greetings fellow Newport Yacht Club Members,

It is an honor and privilege to serve as your new commodore for the coming 2022/2023 year. I appreciate all the support I have received, and I promise to do my very best for you and our club during my tenure.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank past commodore Betsy Green; rear commodore Mike O’Reilly; Float and Dock chairperson Steve Damas; Entertainment committee team members Linda Lupo and Yvonne Ferreira; and MEMBERS- AT- LARGE  Dennis Ferreira and Ed Lupo for their years of service and dedication to our club.

The nominating committee put forth a slate of committee members who were approved by unanimous consent at the October General Membership Meeting in accordance with our bylaws. From this slate I chose the chairpersons who form the Board of Directors along with the four Members-at-Large voted by the general membership.

Your new members of the board of directors are:

• Commodore: Robert Antignano
• Vice Commodore: Steve Dolan
• Rear Commodore: Chris Long
• Treasurer: Bruce Long
• Secretary: Edith Morin
• Regatta: FJ Ritt
• Finance: Larry Girouard
• House: Peter Jencks
• Membership: Jeff Blais
• Float and Dock: Andy Vouras
• Communications: Mark Marosits
• Entertainment: Laura Dargan
• Junior Activities: Mark Barszcz
• Offshore: Roy Guay
• Frostbite: Bea Grimmitt
• Young Adults: Kelsey Patnaude
• Member-at-Large: Dick Bowman
• Member-at-Large: Jack Ellis
• Member-at-Large: Roger Hemond
• Member-at-Large: Tom Robinson

In addition, I have appointed Bob Morin as the club measurer and Dave Stewart as the fleet captain.

Thank you all for stepping up to help the club on its continued growth.

As I mentioned at the General Membership Meeting earlier this month, I call on all our members young and old to participate in the club both as a volunteer and in club activities.

I also mentioned at this meeting the opportunities we have before us in 2023 and beyond. We will be focusing on many Important programs this year, here are a few of the major ones we have identified:

• Pay off dock loan,
• install new sprinkler system in the club house,
• purchase, install and maintain new Wi-Fi system,
• and, continue to manage our finances in a very difficult environment.

Also, I would like to invite all members to attend our annual dinner on Saturday November 12, 2022. Come join us at this formal dinner where the new board of directors will be present and also recognize past commodore Betsy Green for her contributions.

As the summer winds down and we focus on new opportunities, please take time to think about this great club and recognize how our staff has a lot to do with how smoothly it runs. They continue to give us great service even while short-handed. The next time you are at the club, take a moment to thank our General Manager Rudy Borgueta, our business manager Lynn Kelly, Bar manager Melissa Bidlack, Dock Steward Dani Janas, our kitchen and dock staff and the entire staff for their hard work and dedication that provides us with a welcoming environment and a club we are proud of.  

Wishing you clear skies and fair winds,

Bob Antignano

Commodore

COMMUNITY SPIRIT

Fundraising Success!

It takes all of us to have a great Junior Sailing program. Sometimes, we even have to play golf!

Here is a report from Edith Morin.  

The Dawson Pike golf tournament, which was held on September 25, 2022 was a great success.  Although there were only five foursomes, the field comprised a number of talented golfers and as usual, some not so talented!!  Bob Morin’s rules made it easy to keep the scores low and the weather also cooperated.

The team of Mary Moniz, Peter Herne, Mike Barszcz, and Aiden Gleason came in first and each person won a blow up “Alien” which were part of the course decorations. 

The tournament benefited the Junior Sailing Program.

The organizers would like to thank Joan Bartram and Jeff Staats who manned the desk, collected money and gave out goody bags.

Edith Morin

A PREMIER CLUB FOR THE MARITIME COMMUNITY

The Platinum Clubs of America administers a points-based system, grading Yacht and other clubs on their demonstration of excellence across seven criteria: universal recognition; amenities and facilities; caliber of staff and services; engagement and commitment of membership; governance and prudent fiscal management; adapting to changing times and overall success.

Our Club has been accepted into the Platinum Class of 2023-24, receiving this message of notification.

“We salute your Leadership, Management, Department Heads, and Staff who work tirelessly to enhance the Member experience. Your Board should also be congratulated for their passion and commitment to serve the Club, providing insight and wisdom while exercising fiscal responsibility.”

The Club is exceptionally appreciative of the dedication of our staff, and all those members who do their part to create a community of excellence that can be enjoyed by members, guests and community alike.

FLOAT AND DOCK COMMITTEE

November Dock Day
 
The Float and Dock committee is conducting our annual fall dock day November 5 starting at 9 a.m.   Our major project that day will be the moving of the docks on the southwest wall to the inner marina for the winter.
 
We need volunteers to crew the work boats and to disconnect the docks and ramps from their present locations. We need about a dozen volunteers for 2-3 hours.  
 
If you are available on November 5, please contact me at andyvou@verizon.net

Andy Vouras Chair, Float and Dock

REGATTA COMMITTEE

The racing for the Tuesday One Design and Wednesday PHRF Summer Series finished up in the last week of August.  Many thanks to Regatta Committee Members Al McCoy, Alan Renfrew and Lee Parks for their dedication and commitment to ensuring a high quality of racing is provided to our competitors.

Nineteen boats sailed in the One Design Series and 36 boats sailed in the PHRF Series.  25 total races were run by the “all volunteer” race committee.   Approximately 30 different member volunteers teamed up to crew the race committee boat, set the race course, run the starting sequences, and score the finishers.

Well done and thank you to all those who participated with race committee this season.

The awards party for the competitors and race committee is slated for 22 October at 5:00 p.m. on the Club’s main deck.

The off season will be the time to hold race committee training and brush up on procedures for the upcoming season. If you are interested in joining our team, we’d love to have you on the team so look for future announcements as training become available. We intend to be a host for some US SAILING race committee training seminars this winter and spring.

F.J. Ritt Chair, Regatta Committee

OFFSHORE COMMITTEE

We will be having a Bermuda One-Two Skippers’ Forum/Shore Party on Saturday 5 November.  All interested in shorthanded sailing are welcome. We will have a guest speaker, Frank Bohlen, who will give the talk he gave at the CCA seminar recently.

The Notice of Race is planned to be published by the end of November and registration will be available starting 1 January 2023.

Roy Guay Chair, Offshore Committee

FINANCE COMMITTEE

The 2022 YTD budget performance through the end of August shows us as beating the budget, which is great. However, our costs for utilities like electric, gas, cable, trash removal, offsite rent, and food & beverage costs are running higher than what was budgeted. Therefore and eating into the extra income we would have earned from member and non-member transient dockage being much higher than budgeted, as well as well dues and initiation income coming in higher also.

Insurance quotations have been received from two of five prospective vendors. The preferred quotation represents savings over our current premiums.

Planning out a long term vision for the Newport Yacht Club and the capital expenditures it requires continues to provide spirited debate and discussion at the board level with much more information to come as we move through the process. If you have any thoughts you would like to share about where you would like to see our club in the future, please email me at Finance@NewportYachtClub.org

Steve Dolan, Vice Commodore