November 14th, 2013 will be a date I will always remember – it was the date of the DMYC AGM and you gave me the honour of being your Commodore – Thank you all. It is a privilege not too many people get and I will do my utmost to uphold the traditions and principles of the DMYC. We also elected a new committee – some existing and some new faces. The full Committee is:

Position Name
Commodore

Kevin Burke
Vice Commodore

Dermot Reidy
Rear Commodore

TBA
Hon. Treasurer

Frank Guilfoyle
Hon. Secretary

Duncan Hill
Boathouse Captain

Denis Nolan
Rear Commodore Sailing

Ronan O’Neill
Membership Secretary

TBA
Slipmaster

Joe Csibi
Committee Member

Frances O’Rafferty
Committee Member

Stephen Harrison
Committee Member

Ian Cutliffe
Committee Member

Peter Tobin

I thank all of the Committee in advance for all the work we are about to take on.

To those who have retired – Liam Owens, Peter Keay, Paul Irvine, Sue Murray, and Neil Colin – all I can say is again thank you for everything you have done for the club. I hope you will allow us call on your individual talents (and font of knowledge) at various times and continue to help make this club what it is. Over the next while I will be calling on others to assist us by being part of working groups or groups set up for particular tasks – I hope you will be able to help us at the time – we always need “volunteers”.

A New Year for DMYC

The founding members of the DMYC decided to have the AGM in November every year thus giving the incoming Commodore and the new Committee a chance to “bed themselves in” over the winter months but that does not mean that they sit around doing nothing! We have already met and doled out the various responsibilities and projects. You should see the results of some of these in the coming weeks.

The first activity – thanks to Liam Owens’ organisational skills (and arm twisting) is the Thursday Night talks. Joe Csibi gave us his recollections of sailing to and in and around the Caribbean. His final remark was “if you are going to do one thing when you sail – sail the Caribbean” – if only Joe, if only!

These nights are high in entertainment value as well as giving us a chance to meet up, have a chat and also meet others we might normally see while on the water.

An Offer You Can’t Refuse

That last comment brings me to an initiative brought up at the AGM by Dennis Nolan – an Introductory Rate for new (and any returning ) members of €175.00. This rate would be for 2014, and again in 2015 with the full rate of applicable membership (crew, ordinary etc.) applying after the two years. It might be a good way to introduce a friend, family member, business colleague to the water through the DMYC. It might even solve that age-old problem – “what do I get her/him/them for Christmas?” Please give it a thought for your Christmas list!

A full list of new rates was agreed at the AGM and for the most part is a reduction of 17% or so from last years. We realise that we need the revenue from the subscriptions to run the club but in a serious effort to attract more members, keep our existing members, and possibly win back old members, it was agreed the rates for 2014 would be:

  • Ordinary, Family A, Family B : €600
  • Crew: €300
  • Senior: €420
  • Overseas and Shore: €240
  • Junior and Student €10

A voluntary contribution of €150 on Honorary Senior and Life Members was also agreed. As was said at the AGM : this is our lifeblood and we need as many subscriptions as possible next year. Frank as Treasurer will be presenting various payment plans in the new year to make things as painless as possible!

Santa’s Visit

Talking of Christmas leads me to the annual visit of the man in red to the Club. Once again the RNLI will help Santa arrive in style. As it is early in the Christmas season Santa has left his reindeer at home training for the big night and will come to the club on a high tide on 7th December by the RNLI’s Lifeboat. We are still looking for volunteers for the few hours Santa will be with us to make sure all the children get their presents – please contact Karin in the office if you can help.

Lift-out and Moorings

We had a very successful lift out and much thanks and praise goes to Denis Nolan, Ian Cutliffe and their well trained crew who got all the boats out and stored or towed away safely. It is not a task that should be taken lightly and the safety of all involved and also the general public passing by is always our first concern. This theme of health and safety is something I will return to again in later newsletters.

Communications

These days social media and the net are the most important and effective method of getting any message out to a wider audience. Through the efforts of our new Hon. Sec., Duncan Hill, we would hope to have our web site seen as one of the “best in class” in the coming months. We will have more information on it, new sections – including “crew wanted/ crew available”, new and wider links of interest to all those using the site and getting on the water.

That is all for now – if you have any queries, suggestions or just want to have a chat please contact me.

Lastly but most importantly at the beginning of this Festive Season let me wish you and yours the happiest and most peaceful Christmas and if you can think of someway to help someone in need of this special season – please do, don’t hesitate.

Best Wishes
Kevin Burke