First, a point of order. After the last issue of The Rhumb Line, Wendy discretely pointed out that I was being economical with the truth over my choice of photograph to accompany these missives pointedly she said I looked younger than I really am. In fact, such was her consternation that she removed the photo altogether. I, therefore, attach a more recent picture, grey whiskers and all.
This serves as a year-end round-up of sorts and I’ll start with sailing, primarily, because it’s my favourite subject and we are a sailing club. As you read this, 14-year-old Ethan Thompson is in Argentina with the Bermuda Team competing in the Optimist South American Championships. Ethan was recently crowned Bermuda National Champion in the Optimist. We are thrilled for him and for our coach Nico who has nurtured Ethan over the past 6 to 7 years. We all wish him well in Argentina, and we are all very proud of any youngster that travels and flies the flag. In the same vein, we have thirteen sailors heading to Miami to compete in The Orange Bowl Regatta between Christmas and New Year, Gryffy Benevides, Indira Coleman, Tadhg Gotfredson, Fox Targett in Optimist Green Fleet, Noah Amaradasa, Evan David, Nina Gotfredson, Sam Redburn in Optimist Championship Fleet and for the first time, Pharaoh Benevides, Ben Redburn, Ciarra Wells and Isaac Wickramage in Laser 4.7 and Sergio De Frias in Laser Radial Fleets.
We are excited to have such are large team “going on the road” and it speaks to the strength of our sailing program. Along with Ethan’s success at “Nationals”, Miguel Power was fourth and Ethan’s younger brother Simon was the “Junior National Champion”. In Green Fleet, RHADC sailors comprised the majority of the fleet, and the top five sailors were from RHADC. We have had our juniors competing at World and North American Championships, US Nationals and other regattas across the United States this year. Classes are full, and we are limited only by COVID regulations and the availability of coaches. Despite having our hands tied in the early part of the year, we have been busy both with juniors, we have over 100 youngsters in the program, and a growing adult program. The RS21s, after a slow start due to COVID, are proving popular. We have a growing Laser program of ex-Opti sailors and Sunday morning high-performance program in Nacra 15s.
I mentioned last time our desire to build an adult women’s program and can report that from our adult classes we have one team who are being trained so that they have the confidence and skills to race in our Wednesday Night Series next year. We have the nucleus of a second team and if you are one of those sailors who has done some classes and is now thinking “so what now?”, get in touch. We continue to work on our 5-year strategic plan for sailing and hope to publish it early in 2022, although much progress is already being made in building our pathways and high-performance program.
After Orange Bowl, Nico and Maria head home to Uruguay for their well earned annual break and we start again at the end of January.
I will also add here that Patrick Cooper, Sailing Committee member and all round good guy, was third in the recent IOD World Championships.
Thank you to all the volunteers who helped with Race Committee duties this year. It’s a team that needs more bodies, so please reach out if you’d like to get involved.
COVID has presented a challenge to us, as it has to many establishments, and we must thank our staff for working through changing regulations and reduced hours to keep your Club functioning. I think, all things considered, that we are emerging out of the other end perhaps stronger than ever. While not to everyone’s liking, we adopted a conservative approach to managing the situation and now have “Trusted Establishment” status. This is a government accreditation giving us more flexibility in planning events which is especially useful at this time of year. Even through this, we have received two Best of Bermuda Awards – “Best Company Christmas Party Venue” and “Best Products & Services”. Please consider this when donating to the staff Christmas fund, we really cannot function without dedicated, friendly and conscientious staff. I must commend our General Manager, Cassius, who sets the tone from the top. With his team, he has been able to manage costs and keep us profitable through this tough period.
Our inaugural Christmas Fair was a great success, for vendors and members alike, with The Club busy last Saturday, and followed up by a well attended Members Christmas Raffle. Thanks to all suppliers and vendors who donated prizes, and to you, the members for buying tickets and taking part. Membership continues to grow with a net increase of 54 in the past 12 months. If you are one of the “54”, welcome!
Although we have been restricted in many ways, good work continues. At “press time” the solar panels are being installed on the Mangroville Roof, Andrew (our new Dockmaster) is making progress on the marina, and clearing the backlog of maintenance work and keeping the operation running smoothly. The repurposed floating dock on the South Side has been an instant hit both as temporary berthing for sailors and day dock. The retaining wall for the patio was repaired, we have an additional fire pit on the South Side of the patio and the South Lawn has been enclosed making it safer for our younger patrons. The tennis court transformation into a boat park was completed this year ahead of the RS21 delivery. Tristan was promoted to Food & Beverage Manager this year, and hopefully you’ve had chance to try his creative cocktails, and sampled the evolving wine list.
There’s an army of volunteers across various committees, who give up countless hours, and provide guidance and direction to our staff and management team to help us constantly evolve and improve. There are a number of initiatives in the works, and plenty to look forward to in 2022. Watch this space for news of visiting yachts, the Annapolis to Bermuda Race, enhanced “green” credentials, regattas and initiatives to “expand our franchise”, that is make RHADC welcoming to all members and their guests and ensure more people have a stake in how we run the club.
RHADC is a complex organisation, with multiple volunteer committees and professional staff running a marina, sailing school for adults and juniors, running a clubhouse with catering, bar, functions, a decent chunk of real estate while being responsive to a diverse membership. In 2022, we are initiating a “Governance and Structure Review” to ensure the Club is run effectively and efficiently for the benefit of its members. Importantly, the Club isn’t “broken” but periodic reviews of how we operate in a modern world are important. We would be interested to hear from any of our members who have Management Consulting/Organisational Change experience who would be willing to help us navigate through the review and any recommendations that may result. Please get in touch!
While we are talking about volunteers, how about a mention for Alfred Spearing and Scott Johnson, who for many years, have been calling bingo every other Tuesday!
And finally, there are the members. That’s you. RHADC means different things to different people, and there are many of you who provide ad-hoc support throughout the year for which I thank you, and there are those with whom I don’t necessarily see eye to eye (you know who you are!) from time to time. But be rest assured your management team, Flag Officers, committees and staff are all working together to build the best club we can possibly be, appeal to our diverse demographic and grow. We can’t do that without membership support and patronage. Thank you all.
And finally, finally, I must thank Jen without whose support I could not devote so much time to RHADC.
Enjoy the holidays, perhaps some time off with family and friends. From me, Jen, Ben and Sam to you and yours, Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2022.
Fair winds,
Neil Redburn
Commodore