Fall 2011 Commodore Letter
Greetings everyone!
The Board of Governors met on October 22, 2011 to review the summer season’s events and to plan the club’s 2012 activities. I thought we had a wonderful summer and all the traditional club activities were well attended. Again, I’d like to thank Suzanne Decrow and Martha Massey for smoothly running the Events Committee and agreeing to continue. The club can always use volunteer help with the numerous annual activities and if you’d like to be more involved please contact Suzanne or Martha. In addition to help with club activities, The Club is looking for a new Treasurer and 4th member at large. Our existing Treasurer, Tim Vander Mel, has been in office for over 7 years and is ready to pass the job to another member and promises to help with the learning process. These positions are a great opportunity to get more involved with The Club and we would really appreciate the help.
The floats and ramps came out of the water in late-October due to mild weather during September and October. Our Vice Commodore, Loring Kydd, did a fantastic job protecting these valuable assets of the club. When you see him please thank him for all the work he does behind the scenes. The dinghy permit system continues to work extremely well. Although the club has acclimated to more traffic in the cove, parking remains one of the areas the club will have to address in the future. I would like to remind members to obtain parking stickers and place them on their vehicles. Parking permits maybe obtained at Maine Camp Outfitters in Sunset (Andy Fuller’s office at the Sunset Post Office).
Moving away from parking to the cove itself, the harbor committee has been hard at work on the reorganization of the cove. Buster Peasley spent a day in the cove this fall maintaining member moorings with his heavy duty barge. We moved a number of moorings to better position the large boats in the cove. He will be back in the cove next spring so if you missed him this year, I encourage all members to confirm the safety of their moorings. Please remember, the placement and integrity of moorings continue to be the responsibility of members and annual maintenance is a good way to avoid the problems the Club has experienced in the past.
At the Annual Meeting, the membership approved placing water on the dock by a 70% margin. There was a significant discussion regarding the impact to neighboring wells and potential for increased traffic at the cove. In the end, I feel the process The Board pursued was fair and all objections were adequately addressed. I want to thank everyone for their participation, suggestions and the level-headed debate that brought this process to a successful conclusion. Although lengthy, I feel very positive about the project and feel it will benefit the membership for many years to come. The Yacht Club property was evaluated and a site close to the garage was deemed most suited to finding water. I’m happy to report that we found water at 140 foot depth with a flow rate of 7 gallons per minute. The good news is that this depth is shallower than surrounding wells and the impact to neighboring wells should be minimal. Speaking of minimal, the total cost of drilling was less than $2,000, significantly less than anticipated. We will begin the plumbing process in the spring.
Another project the Board discussed is adding a deck to the outside of the garage on the side that faces the cove. This deck would run along the entire side of the garage and out approximately 12 feet from the structure. This small project would add a substantial area for members to informally congregate away from the docks and wharf. This project is in the early stages, however, we are working with the building inspector for approval to add onto the existing structure. The affected area is within the 75 foot tidal setback and so any plan will need a variance from the planning board. Preliminary discussions with the building inspector seemed positive and we believe a variance would be granted. This is another exciting improvement that will benefit the membership for many years to come.
Finally, the Club’s website (www.DeerIsleYachtClub.com) continues to be a work–in-progress. We have formed a website committee that will endeavor to improve the site and increase its functionality. If you haven’t already visited it, I’d encourage you to do so! The newsletters will be posted there along with the calendar of events and updated information. In response to several requests, the Board has adopted a web and email policy. There is a section on the website for members to post notices seeking transportation, For Charter and For Rent ads, etc. which will be screened for legitimacy. Also, the email list of members will only be used for official business or notices and will not be made available for individual use.
I wish everyone a happy holiday season and look forward to seeing you next Spring!
Best to all,
Jeff
Welcome!
to new members Pete and Ann Tarlton
Archivist Wanted!
Anyone interested in sorting and compiling the fascinating documents that comprise the history of the Club since its beginnings in the 1920′s, please contact the Secretary or any other Board Member.
