DATES TO REMEMBER

Happy New Year everyone! 

The frostbite races will begin on January 1, come on down and support our sailors.

It is also a great time to visit our club, have a drink and snack in the lounge or just relax on the main deck taking in the great views.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our members and our entire staff for their dedication and support which will enable our great club to continue to grow and prosper. 

Rosalie and I would like to wish everyone a safe and healthy new year.

Bob & Rosalie

COMMUNITY SPIRIT: SEASON OF BOATING SAFETY

The Club is launching our 2023 Season of Boating Safety on January 31 at 7 pm with a great presentation from the Better Bay Alliance on the basics of boating safety. This program is delivered by highly experienced local experts who focus on what’s important to everyone boating on Narragansett Bay. This joins a lineup of popular safety events at the Club and open to the public, including:

• State Boating Safety Certificate Classes-Offered twice, once in March; once in April.
• Vessel Safety Check Weekend with VSC Stickers, DEM Head Inspections and Flare Collection: May 20 & 21.
• Kayak/Paddlecraft Safety Course: Offered multiple times, first course in April, date TBD

For more information, contact Mark Marosits, Communications Chair communications@newportyachtclub.org

COMMUNITY SPIRIT: BLOOD DRIVE

Your donation of  blood saves lives! The Club will be hosting a Blood Drive on February 5 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Please make an appointment in advance. Book at www.ribc/drives sponsor code 0650.

STRATEGIC PLAN INPUT INVITED!

Work has begun on the NYC Strategic Plan and we need your input!  We have the retrieved the strategic plan from approximately 10 years ago, we have polled your Board of Directors for their input, and now it’s your turn! Your ideas and thoughts for what you would like to see your club look like in the next 5-10 years is needed to complete the plan with everyone’s input. Creative ideas can be submitted around any of the three primary areas of the marina, the clubhouse, or the overall organization itself. Get your thinking caps on and submit any and all ideas to: vicecommodore@newportyachtclub.org. We will allow approximately 60 days for membership suggestions and then will finalize the plan and publish a poster size summary at the club.

Thanks and we look forward to hearing from all of our members and spouses!

Steve Dolan, Vice Commodore

REGATTA COMMITTEE

Call For Race Committee Volunteers!

Happy New Year from the Regatta Committee! This is the month that we are initiating our plans for our summer sailing activities. Accordingly, we are seeking to add to our cadre of Race Committee volunteers. What does that involve you ask?

The NYC Race Committee conducts races in the beautiful East Passage area of Narragansett Bay, typically in the area west of Goat Island and just south of the Newport Bridge. We are known for our spring and summer Regatta Series on Tuesday and Wednesday nights in partnership with Sail Newport. 

Previous Race Committee experience is not required to volunteer. We’ll teach you everything you need to know with our onshore training sessions and in real-time out on the water.  Race Committee roles include:

Principal Race Officer (PRO) the person in charge for a particular race; Signal Boat Operator; Signaler, prepares, raises and lowers signal flags; Timer; Line Spotter; Mark Boat Operator and more.

Typically, each Race Committee volunteer will hold a variety of these roles throughout a season’s racing.

Dock time is 5:00 pm on both nights and we are back to Newport Yacht Club for burgers and a beverage on the deck before sunset. We also run several local, regional and international weekend regattas which attract sailors from around the world.

Sound fun? You bet it is! You might be wondering, “What do I need to do to get started?”

It’s easy, just send an email to: regatta@newportyachtclub.org with your contact information and we’ll get you added to the NYC Race Committee email distribution list. Then simply attend the informal training and signup to volunteer for races.

Race Officer Training

We are also hosting a US Sailing Race Officer training session on February 25, 2023. We encourage anyone who desires to become a more knowledgeable Race Officer. 

Here’s the Link:

http://www1.ussailing.org/enrollment/selectregistrant.aspx?courseid=13497396

Here are some course details:

The seminar consists of ONE in-person session on Saturday, February 25, 2023, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

The seminar will be held at Newport Yacht Club, 110 Long Wharf, Newport, RI

There is approximately 90-120 minutes of REQUIRED pre-course work prior to the in-person session. Attendance is required to complete and pass the course.

About 10 days before your course begins, you will receive an email from US Sailing inviting you to participate in the course through Canvas, US Sailing’s online learning platform. Please click the “Get Started” link to complete your profile and access the required course materials.

The lead instructor will email you with additional course information.

Course fee: $40. A discounted US Sailing special introductory membership is available for first-timers during the registration process.

FINANCE COMMITTEE

As we close in on the end-of-the year we appear to be ahead of budget. We finished November ahead of budget for the first 11 months by $86K before the CapEx is deducted.  CapEx is currently at $32K.

No December surprises are expected, and we should finish the year with a net cash more than $50K. Good news! Final numbers will be reported by the middle of January 2023.

I hope everyone had a meaningful holiday season and look forward to a prosperous new year.

Larry Girouard, Chair Finance Committee

JUNIOR SAILING COMMITTEE

It’s hard to believe in the throes of winter that we are already planning for the 2023 Newport Yacht Club Junior Sailing program.  Registration is slated to open in early February and if past performance is any indication of future results. . . there will be a flurry of activity as parents look to secure their preferred sailing sessions for their kids.

We have begun the hiring process for instructors and a director to lead the program.  If you have any potential candidates, please ask them to contact Rudy Borgueta the Club General Manager at Newport Yacht Club General Manager.  Competition for instructors and directors has significantly increased on the Bay over the past couple of years so we are trying to get ahead of it by starting early.

In staying true to our mission to “give back” to our community we are pleased that once again we able are to offer up to 20 scholarships in 2023.  These scholarships provide an opportunity for young sailors that they might not otherwise have, to get on the water, have fun and learn to sail.  Our program has been the fortunate recipient of generous financial support from member Jack Ellis and the Cranston Fund, the Dawson-Pike Fund and the NYC Endowment Fund.

Obviously, there is a cost to running this program, instructor and director salaries, fleet maintenance, supplies, fuel, and other costs all of which have gone up substantially over the past couple of years.  While scholarship donations are much appreciated, those funds are restricted specifically for scholarships.  We know you’re all anxious to learn about ways you can support the Junior Sailing program, so be on the lookout in the coming months for opportunities to provide unrestricted donations and support for your clubs’ Junior Sailing Program.

As always, any thoughts, comments, or suggestions please email any of the committee members:

Michael Barszcz Chair, Al Sgambato, Aedan Gleason

ENDOWMENT FUND UPDATE

The Newport Yacht Club Endowment fund has reached a point in its life where it needs to make a course correction.

The Endowment Fund was created by a group of club members who wanted to benefit both the Club and the wider community.

They developed a scholarship program to benefit students interested in marine higher education. Geographically their focus was on providing for students from Newport, Aquidneck Island  and Narragansett Bay. Using these scholarships students could and did attend accredited schools located primarily in the Northeast. Our scholarship recipients attended Maine and Massachusetts Maritime Academies, Kings Point, and the University of Rhode Island among others.

Over the last decade the funding of higher education has changed completely. As the cost of higher education has exploded, the system of awarding financial aid has changed as well. Small scholarship grants like those awarded by the Endowment fund had dwindled in the amount of support they provide to the point where they are not appealing to students.

In the Spring of 2021 our long time Treasurer and Investment Advisor, Bill Loeseke, passed away. Bill’s legacy of care and concern for the Endowment Fund was exceptional. In the Fall of 2022 the Endowment Fund received a legacy of fifty thousand dollars from Bill’s estate. This extraordinary gift changed the management of the fund as our assets now exceeded a quarter of a million dollars.

The convergence of these two events, the legacy and the changes in financial aid affected the future of the Fund. The Board of the Endowment Fund made the decision to turn the assets and management of the fund over to the Rhode Island Foundation. The Foundation will award one ten thousand dollar grant each year beginning in 2023.

The Dawson-Pike Fund was moved to the Rhode Island Foundation as well.  Grants from the Dawson-Pike  Fund will be dispersed to Junior Sailing each year to continue their history of scholarships for Adventure Camp.

Donations may continue to be made to either of these funds. A check made out the Rhode Island Foundation with a note in the memo field for either Newport Yacht Club Endowment Fund or Dawson Pike Fund may be sent to :

The Rhode Island Foundation, One Union Station, Providence, RI, 02903

We thank you for your support of the fund both through attendance at our events and your generous donations and memorials.

Joan Bartram

President

OFFSHORE COMMITTEE

Online registration opened on 1 January for this year’s Bermuda One-Two. 

Schedule of 2023 races:

2023 Bermuda One-Two:

• 2 June Newport to Bermuda start
• 15 June Bermuda to Newport start

 New England Solo/Twin:

• 28-29 July

Forums/Shore Parties:

• 4 March
• 4 November

Roy Guay, Chair