January - North East River Yacht Club

North East River Yacht Club
Member Newsletter
At The ‘Peake’ of the Chesapeake
Social, Power or Sail, We Have Something For Everyone
January 2012
COMMODORE’S REPORT
Lady Gloria and I hope that each and every
one of you had a joyous and safe Holiday
Season! As we look forwards to the New
Year, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on
some of the happenings affecting NERYC
this past year. I don’t have to tell anyone how miserable the
economy has been last year. We all were affected in some manner; some more and some less. It therefore stands to reason that
NERYC was also affected.
Right around the middle of the year, the BOG was faced with
the realization that we would run out of operating funds before
years end unless we acted. One of the major reasons for this
was the revelation that our rental cottages were not in
compliance with several regulatory issues and would require
expensive inspections and repairs to avoid the club from being
fined. Around that same time, a couple of issues in our kitchen
also came to light, and it was decided that an assessment would
be required to keep the club solvent for the remainder of the
year. The amount of the assessment was set so as to allow for
needed repairs, maintain a positive cash flow through the remainder of the year, and to help pay down a small portion of
legacy debt that has been accumulating over the past years.
While a few of our members decided choose to quit rather than
pitch in at a time of need, most stepped up to the plate and paid
the assessment. All seemed to be going well, but as we all
know, sometimes the best laid plans turn sour without warning.
Within the several months following the assessment, numerous
additional, costly, infrastructure repairs were required. The end
result being, of the approximately $42,000 collected by the
assessment, we were forced to spend approximately $35,000 on
repairs to the club properties and grounds. When in Ocotber we
began to take in slip deposits and dues for 2012 this, along with
some help from our line of credit, (which had been reduced
from $100,000 to $75,000), allowed us to maintain a positive
cash flow through the end of 2011. So, where does that leave us
now?
www.neryc.com
We have already used approximately 20 % of our budgeted
income for 2012. This is the highest percentage ever and,
that’s includes the assessment. In order to maintain a positive cash flow through out 2012 we will need to raise as
much revenue as possible. We must continue to attract outside events, we must retain our current members and recruit
new ones, we must fill our marina, and we must support
our club by attending club sponsored events and utilize our
restaurant. As I mentioned previously, there will be an assessment later this year. At this time I can not predict how
much, but the reality is, it will be required if we wish to see
our club remain open. No one, including me, likes to pay
extra, but if we want to see NERYC continue to be a place
to go to forget your everyday tensions, a place to relax and
gather with friends to share the fun and camaraderie of sailing or boating, a place to have a bite to eat while watching
the most magnificent sunset on the Bay, then I trust that
you will continue your support when that assessment notice
is sent out. I did not cause the predicament we now face,
neither did the current BOG, or you, the current members.
This issue has been building for many years, and it will
take time to fix. The good news is that by working together,
we can fix it!
On a positive note, at the December BOG meeting, Paul
Russonellio was approved as the clubs new Restaurant
chair. Paul brings some fresh ideas and considerable knowledge to the board, and I look forward to working with him
this coming year. Mark your calendars for Saturday February 11th, for another “Ask the Commodore” session. I plan
to begin at 1:00 and I have requested all available BOG
members to attend to answer questions pertaining to their
areas of responsibility.
That’s all for now, Lady Gloria and I look forwards to seeing all of you at one or more of the club events over the
winter. As always, please contact me with any questions,
comments, or suggestions.
Happy New Year!
Com. Russ Zehnacker
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FROM THE VICE
Happy New Year to our NERYC
Friends!
I hope everyone had a wonderful
and safe holiday season. Lady
Karen & I certainly enjoyed our time with family and
friends over Christmas. In Rochester, NY, the only element missing for Christmas was the snow – Nikita, our
Husky, kept herself busy watching the squirrels pack
up for the winter months. Hopefully, you are prepared
for the winter months, yet, looking forward to those
warm, sunny days on the Bay in 2012.
The new year is upon us, so please make sure you have
sent in your membership renewal as well as any
remaining slip fees you may have. Your BOG has been
hard at work constructing and approving a budget and
calendar of events to ensure a wide variety of activities
to meet the interests of our membership.
As Vice Commodore, I am involved with the legal,
insurance, and infrastructure aspects of our club. From
an insurance perspective, Bob Efford, as our Insurance
Chair, continues to serve our club and keep insurance
premiums to a minimum while ensuring adequate
coverage for our property and our club programs. As
our Buildings & Grounds Manager, Charles Paris is
doing an outstanding job working on the club and
rental property infrastructure, including the
coordination of significant improvement projects. This
is an area where substantial investment has been
required recently in 2011 for emergency and critical
infrastructure repairs / upgrades at our club, and we
expect that an increased level of investment will
continue to be required in 2012. This investment is
extremely important in order to enable us to operate our
club, so we hope that you, as NERYC members,
continue to support us in this area of need.
Please mark your calendars for our Opening Day 2012 on
May 5th (also Kentucky Derby Day), and plan to join us
to kick off the boating season at NERYC. Celebrate with
us at our Opening Day 2012 and encourage other Yacht
Club members to attend our event, and share a great day
with us. We received excellent feedback about NERYC
from other Yacht Club members at our 82nd NERYC
Commodore’s Ball in November 2011 – let’s continue
the tradition of being the “Friendly Yacht Club on the
Peak of the Chesapeake”. You can also start to plan
what you would like to place in our NERYC
Opening Day Booklet to celebrate our Opening Day. We
had some great pictures taken of our members and boats
in 2011, let’s show our personalities and exciting action
shots.
I would like to reach out to our membership to ask for
volunteers to help at Opening Day on Saturday, May 5,
2012. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact me (302-562-7177) or Lady Karen (484-433-4501).
I look forward to serving you in 2012 as NERYC Vice
Commodore.
V/C Steve Hogan
Our House Committee, led by Lady Susan Andrews,
will continue to look for opportunities to enhance our
club. During the year, please look for and recommend
opportunities where you can volunteer your time and
expertise to help improve our club infrastructure,
including work days, so we can work together to keep
costs manageable. Contact myself, Charles Paris, or
Susan Andrews, with your recommendations (and look
for emails where members are asked to help out).
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FROM THE REAR
FROM THE FLEET
Thank you for supporting me as I
served as your Fleet Captain in 2011.
Looking back, we really had a great
year of cruises and lots of fun with
the Fleet Captain Locker events and dock parties. I
will definitely miss helping with the events and all of
the dock party fun.
Happy New Year NERYC Members!
Christmas is behind us and I hope you all had a
wonderful New Year celebration. If you missed the New
Year’s Eve party at the club you missed a fabulous time.
Now that I have shifted to the position of Rear
Commodore, the organization of the club calendar is
one of my responsibilities. We have begun to map out
the majority of the events for 2012. The calendar will
be available on our website and in the Waterline
newsletter monthly. We will follow the same format
used previously by Steve Hogan. The calendar includes
all events and activities at NERYC. It includes events
such as the Super Bowl Party, Club Cruises to other
yacht clubs, the Crab Feast, Silent Auction, Dinghy
Poker Run, Dock Parties, Sail Races, Celebration
Dinners and all outside scheduled events.
I am into my winter sport of ‘beageling’ and Steve is
praying for the lakes to freeze so he can launch his ice
boat. There are two great functions planned at the Club
for February…the 3-Sheets to the Wind party on
February 4 and the ‘Land’ Cruise at the Club on February 25. These events will surely help get us through the
winter and then we can start counting the days until
spring.
If you are a new member, I highly encourage you to
take the opportunity to attend as many events as
possible. This way, you will have a better chance of
getting to know the other club members, develop new
friendships and get the most out of your NERYC
membership.
As soon as I am able to confirm dates I will publish a
schedule.
I will be highlighting various events throughout 2011
in the Waterline and Yahoo Group e-mails as they
come up. Also if anyone is interested in helping out
with event planning in 2012, please contact me at
mcoffman@de-loans.com or at 302-494-6631.
I am working on finalizing the 2012 cruise
schedule. The tentative destinations are:
Havre de Grace, Inner Harbor West, Bowleys Marina,
Rock Hall Landing or Crescent Yacht Club, Maryland
Yacht Club and Sassafras Harbor Marina.
Tally Ho!
FC Ginny Somers
I would like to take time to thank Ginny Somers for
two reasons. First, she helped me a great deal during
my 2011 Fleet Captain season and secondly, for
stepping up and taking on her new position as Fleet
Captain herself. Ginny has demonstrated a great many
qualities that will assist her during the 2012 season and
I’m looking forward to working with her again.
R/C Mark Coffman
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North East River Yacht Club
Land Cruise
Destination: Our Very Own NERYC
“Family Game Night”
Games for all ages - zero to ninety!
February 25, 2012
5:00 Social Hour
6:00 – Buffet Dinner – Chef John’s Special Lasagna
$15.00 Adults – $10.00 Children 12 and under
Children’s Games Upstairs with Adult Supervision
Adult Games in Commodore’s Dining Room
Socializing in the Burgee Lounge
Coordinate your own card game or play one of many board games
Sign up sheet at the club or call Linda at the club office
Questions/Suggestions: Contact Ginny Somers ginnysomers@verizon.net or 610-458-8192
Prizes and Surprises!!! A great party to get better acquainted with your fellow members!!!
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FROM THE RACE COURSE
The new sailing year is upon us and in
just a few short months we will begin
preparing for the 2012 sailing season.
Between now and opening day we still
have lots of fun sailing activities to participate in. First
up will be the “3 Sheets To The Wind Regatta” on Feb
4th which is our annual fund raising event for the Jr sail
program.
The 3 Sheets to the Wind Regatta is a fun-filled evening
that consists of dinner at the club, rain gutter regattas,
dancing in the burgee lounge and lots of fun. For those
of you who have not previously participated in a rain
gutter regatta, don’t worry, you will receive all the training you need the night of the event. Anyone, of any age,
can take part in this fun event. We expect to see our last
years ladies champion Kay Watkins defend her title.
The fun evening of rain gutter races is capped with the
world famous championship blow off between the
power boaters and the sail boaters.
The Feb 4th event will start off with a Jr Sail program
parents meeting at 4PM and kids races starting around
5PM. Happy hour will start at 6 and dinner at 6:30, followed by the big regatta. I encourage any parents who
would like to find out about the 2012 Jr sail program to
attend.
After the 3 sheets to the wind event, look out for details
on the annual sail seminar sometime in March. Then it
won’t be long before we are preparing our boats for re–
launch next season.
See everyone on Feb 4th.
Happy New year to all!
Rick Hanson
Sail Program Chair
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If January is your birthday, or anniversary month, or you are
a new member, we’d like to celebrate with you! Please come
and enjoy a cocktail compliments of the Club.
You must be present on Friday, the 13th, to receive
your drink.
Featuring Live Entertainment!
Birthdays
Judy Herman
Barbara Lutz
Sue Russoniello
Carolyn Doyle
Paul Cranny
Al Black
Den Cimino
Cheryl Eckman
Sandy Cohee
Claire Brechter
Susan Williams
Julia Sauder
Lisa Ilus
Wedding Anniversaries
2
7
8
11
13
15
19
19
22
25
27
28
31
Mike & Gail Smith
Dan & Shirley Johnson
Allan & Andrea Johns
Bud & Mary Alice Gallagher
Bill & Josie Dallas
Dean & Hanlie Bowman
1
27
25
4
6
31
1998
1991
1962
New Members
Kevin Dill
Rosey & Michael Tracey
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Don’t
Miss!

Birthday Night
NERYC Events
Come on down to the club and join
the fun at all of the January events,
or enjoy a meal any
evening the club is
open. Bring your
friends along to
share our
hospitality, food
and enjoy beautiful
waterfront view.
Bar & Restaurant Hours of Operation
Thursday 1700-2000hrs
Friday & Saturday 1700-2100hrs
Sundays: Closed thru the winter
80 Bayside Drive, North East,
MD 21901 (410)287-6333
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BOG Meeting
Birthday/
Anniversary Night
2/25 ‘Land Cruise’
2/17
2/10
2/4
3 Sheets to the
Wind Raingutter
Regatta
Coming in February
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8
30
29
31
24
17
10
3
Tue
The friendly club at the
peak of the Peake!
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16
2
1
15
Mon
Sun
27
20
13
6
Fri
Phone: 410-287-6333
E-mail: neryc@iximd.com
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19
12
5
Thu
P.O. Box 267
80 Bayside Drive
North East, MD 21901
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18
11
4
Wed
January 2012
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7
Sat