Dear Members and fellow sailors, Thank you for joining us this evening.
We are meeting tonight for a number of reasons. From a committee point of view, we are very proud of how the yacht club has developed over the last couple of years and this is partly down to you as sailors and particularly our members.
The Laser Nationals was sailed out of the Port of Port Elizabeth from the 1st to the 4th of October. The regatta was a huge success and a special thanks has to go to Tony and Sigi Bailes, but also to all of our members and other local sailors that got involved both on and off the water in being part of mark laying, safety and other admin roles behind the scenes. With boats entering from all over the country we had the opportunity to show what we could offer. The feedback from the National Race Committee and the sailors themselves was that it was one of the best dinghy regattas they have been involved in for some time. Thank you all for your support.
It is also now no secret that we are being watched by SA Sailing. As a club without premises we have been able to show that Sailing is very much still alive in the region and we are in a position to continue growing sailing both as a sport and as a past time. The Transformation committee are also watching what we are doing. Cape Town and Durban both have active sailing programs, and SailingPE will soon be starting our own with various schools, charities and with the local Sea Cadets. For me this is a very exciting time for Sailing in the region and it is our ambition to start a regional match racing tour. To achieve this we will be applying for lotto funding to buy in match racing keel boats. SA Sailing have supported our proposal to do this and will support our funding application with Lotto and have offered to continue with searching for additional funding. This is obviously something that will take some time and we will keep you updated as this progresses.
In continuing with the transformation theme, Port Elizabeth has been through the name change procedures. SailingPE will now been known as Gqeberha Yacht Club. Although there has been resistance to the cities name change, and there remain valid queries over the change, we feel that the best way to continue to grow sailing in the city is to take where we have come from and grow with the cities new identity. We have been engaging with a number of local businesses over the last few weeks and the general consenus is one of great support. There are a number of businesses that are supporting our members by offering discounts on products and equipment on presentation of a yacht club membership card, and others that we are still in discussion with.
Thank you again for your support and we hope to see you on the water again soon.
Commodore: Mark Dawson Vice Commodore: Tony Bailes Honorary Secretary: Rodney Idris Treasurer: John Tudehope Safety: Morven Maclean
