Commodore's Report

DON JOHNSTON

Commodore Please save the date! The Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held at 7.30 pm on Thursday 10 November 2022 at the WM Hotel in Sai Kung. The preparation has started and you will get the formal notice of the meeting in early October 2022.

As I write this note to you all, the Annual Report is being drafted and, as the individual reports come by me, I cannot fail to be impressed by the contribution of both management and the various committees. It is simply amazing to see how well you have all done despite the challenges.

Updated Articles of Association The General Meeting of Members was held on 21 June 2022. As you now know this was approved by a substantial majority and the AoA took immediate effect. My heartfelt thanks for your support!

The AGM in November will be held under the new rules and this means that there will be a change in the election of GenCom. A Nominating Committee has been formed and you have been notified of its composition. There will be more from the Committee’s Chair as they seek to give effect to the AoA.

Managing in the pandemic In his report, Paul deals with the current restrictions to help manage operations during the pandemic. In most other aspects we are acting as if we are back to normal. Sailing events are happening (albeit a little down on entrants), sail training is booming and Sailability (along with the SHK Scallywag Foundation) is setting new records.

Hong Sports Institute National Team Harvey, Rob and Alfie are justifiably proud (as, no doubt, are their parents) that four sailors from our Club were selected to join the Hong Kong Sports Institute National Team. These sailors are Daniel Chan, Peter Jessop, Seb van Ommeren and Tommy Wong and their success is a remarkable personal achievement.

HKSAR 25th Anniversary Sailing Cup. The event was a cooperation between the Home Affairs Bureau—now the Cultural, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB), the Hong Kong Sailing Federation (our national body), the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, Aberdeen Boat Club and Hebe Haven Yacht Club. This was a major achievement with record numbers sailing in all three events. Please read Bridget’s report for more detail.

New crane The need for major replacements is a rare event so we are often a tad out of practice as most of the Club’s major equipment is replaced at the 15 – 20 year mark. So, replacing the turquoise Kobelco crane became a major event for the Club. After significant discussion and research, the decision was made to order a replacement crane—and after it got the green light, the manufacture, delivery and commissioning were completed without a hitch. This is a credit to the suppliers, their agents, our management and OpsCom. Please don’t forget to read the rest of Eddy’s report.

More works matters It is gratifying to see facilities enhancement works around the Club getting underway, Rob has reported on the individual works and they will all help the Club to improve the quality of service to members and help make the Club safer for us all.

Having been on the forerunner of the Planning and Works Committee, the CDC, I know it takes immense patience to navigate the relevant regulatory issues—it is not an exaggeration to say that these can take five to seven years.

The emerging issue is the renewal of our private recreational lease in 2027. For most Clubs, this is already a very time-consuming experience, and the upcoming renewal has an added wrinkle in that all Club’s will need to fund a waiver fee which is estimated to be one-third of fair market value. There is no precedent so the CSTB has offered to indicate a non-binding amount well before the renewal process starts in late 2025. It is incumbent on the Club to preserve its cash until the indicative waiver fee is known.

Looking forward There are two popular club events scheduled in the near future. The first is in early October and is called “Steering the Course" and is jointly arranged by the Club and Sailability Hong Kong in support of a World Sailing initiative to help increase participation by women and girls in the sport of sailing. The second is the 24 Hour Charity Dinghy Race on 22 – 23 October 2022. Planning for this is well underway and it is always a spectacular sporting and social event.

請空出時間！ 今屆週年大會將於 2022 年 11 月 10 日（星期四）晚上7時30分在西貢 WM 酒店舉行。準備工作已經開始， 您將會於 2022 年 10 月起收到正式會議通知。

此刻為大家撰寫這份報告之時，年報正在草擬當中，而個別報告也由我來撰寫。管理層和各委員會成員的貢獻給我留下了深刻的印象。看到大家面臨 挑戰依然做得非常好，實在讓我驚歎。

會章更新 會員大會已於 2022 年 6 月 21 日舉行。正如您所知，更新獲大多數的同意，AoA 立即生效。我在此衷心感謝各位支持！

11 月的 AGM 將按照新規定舉行，即 GenCom 的選舉安排亦將有變更。提名委員會已經成立，並已通知你組成的相關詳情。委員會主席將在他們實施 AoA 時提供更多資訊。

疫情下的管理工作 在 Paul 的報告中，他應付目前的限制以管理疫情期間的運作。在大多數其他方面，我們表現有如回復了正常。航海活動如常進行（即使參賽人數有所下 降），航海訓練發展蓬勃，航能（連同新鴻基 Scallywag 基金）正在創造新的紀錄。

香港體育學院國家隊 Harvey、Rob 和 Alfie（作為他們的父母，毫無疑問）爲 4 個來自我們遊艇會的航員入選香港體育學院國家隊而感到自豪。這些航員是 Daniel Chan、Peter Jessop、Seb Van Ommeren 及 Tommy Wong，他們的成功是非凡的個人成就。

香港特別行政區 25 周年回歸帆船賽 這項賽事由民政事務局（現為文化體育及旅遊局）、香港帆船運動總會（我們的國家機構）、香港賽馬會慈善信託基金、香港遊艇會、香港仔遊艇會及 白沙灣遊艇會聯合舉辦 。3 項賽事均創下紀錄，是一項重大的成就。請閱讀 Bridget 的報告了解更多詳情。

全新的吊車 需要更換主要設備是不常見的事情，而因遊艇會的大部分主要設備都在 15至20 年左右更換，因此我們總會有些不習慣。因此，更換翡翠綠的 Kobelco 吊車成爲遊艇會的一項重大活動。經過大量的討論和資料搜集，我們決定訂購一部吊車作替換，在獲得通過後，製造、交付和委託的工作順利完成。這 有賴供應商及其代理商、我們的管理層和 OpsCom 的共同努力。別忘了閱讀 Eddy 就其餘內容撰寫的報告。

更多工作事務 很高興看到遊艇會周邊的設施改善工程正在進行，Rob 已就個別工程進行了報告，這些工程將有助遊艇會提高為會員提供的服務質素，並讓本會更為 安全。作為規劃和工程委員會的前身 CDC 的一分子，我知道處理相關監管問題需要極大的耐性——說可能要花 5 到 7 年也不爲過。

新浮現的問題是2027年續租我們的私人康樂場地。對於大多數遊艇會來說是一個非常耗時的過程。即將到來的續約工作還有一個額外的問題，就是所 有遊艇會都需要支付一筆估計為公平市場價值 3 分之 1 的減免費用。由於沒有先例，所以 CSTB 已經提出在 2025 年年底的續約程序開始之前，指定一 個無約束力的金額。本會有責任保留現金，直至知悉指示性豁免費用金額。

展望 2 個受歡迎的遊艇會活動將於不久的將來舉行。首先是於 10 月初進行，由本會及航能香港合辦的 Steering the Course，旨在支持一項的世界航海運動 倡議，鼓勵婦女和女孩參與航海運動。另一個活動是將於 2022 年 10 月 22 至 23 日舉行的 24 小時慈善小艇賽。規劃工作正在進行中。這個活動將會是 一個壯觀的體育和社會盛事。