BELLBUOY - APRIL 2024 ISSUE

5 New Members / March 2024 ON THE COVER

8

9 Member News

/ Centenary Lecture and Luncheon 1 0 Highlights / ABBA Fundraiser

Sir Henry Fraser, keynote speaker at The Barbados Yacht Club’s Centenary Lecture

Photos by The Barbados Yacht Club and Peter Marshall 1 1 Highlights

From Your Management Committee

The Committee wishes to advise you, its members, that our General Manager, Mr. Wayde Clarke, has made the decision not to renew his contract, which ended on April 15th 2024. The Committee accepted his decision.

The Committee has also decided to review the entire management structure, to determine the most efficient, and best options, for the Club currently. In the interim, Ms. Latisha Moore, our Finance and Administration Manager will manage the general administration at the Club while, for technical decisions, the management team will report to the chairs of their respective Sub-committees.

The process of confirming those requirements and procuring the agreed positions will take time. Depending on the time it takes to decide on the

structure, budget for any changes recommended and procure the team members, we may explore finding a suitably qualified temporary GM from amongst our membership. If you would like to nominate a member for this temporary position please contact Latisha, accountant@barbadosyachtclub.com or you may call the office and speak to her.

One of the challenges that the lack of our GM has caused is the weekly update. The GM was tasked with the responsibility of updating members of the operational plans for the Club in the weekly update. Please bear with us until we can restart this e-mail update.

Yours faithfully

The Management Committee

A section of the audience enjoying

L-R: David Tindale, Anne Tindale, Sir Henry Fraser, Dr. Maureen, Lady Fraser, Bernadeth John, Peter Thompson, Commodore and Dr. Christina Parkinson, immediate past Commodore

Andrew P. Hutchinson, Chair - Centenary Committee with special responsibility for the Centenary book giving the Vote of Thanks

Peter Thompson, Commodore - The Barbados Yacht Club

Sir Henry’s presentation

MEMBER NEWS

Peter (he insists we call him by his name and not his title) asked me if I would write the Bellbuoy message on behalf of the Management Committee this month, so here goes!

On Sunday May 5th, we will be staging the BYC Centenary Regatta with a weekend of activities and surprises. The Regatta HQ will be the Shot Hall Bar. There will be a Skippers Briefing on Saturday May 4th followed by live entertainment featuring JJ Poulter. Members are invited to join in the celebration of our tradition of “100 rums” and a few nibbles. An after-race party featuring Jacob Layson will follow the Regatta’s prize giving ceremony on Sunday with yet another “100 rums”.

Sunday, May 12th is Mother’s Day. The club will offer a special Mother’s Day breakfast buffet and a grand buffet luncheon in the Ballroom.

On May 17th we will be hosting the next BYC Pub Quiz, which is growing from strength to strength.

High Tea, a perennial favorite with members, returns on Saturday May 25th.

Look out for further notices on all these upcoming events. Thank you for your support.

On Friday April 12th we were delighted to have Sir Henry Fraser deliver the Centenary Lecture on the history of the Barbados Yacht Club to a packed house of members, guests, and the press. For those unable to attend, the full text of the lecture has been circulated via email. Just prior to the lecture luncheon we launched our Centenary Commemorative Book packed with stories and images that trace the formation of the club from 1924 to the present. Our limited edition BYC 100th Anniversary Mount Gay XO Rum was also revealed. The book and the rum are now available for purchase from the Office and Beach Facility. A limited supply of polo shirts and caps featuring the BYC centenary logo are also available along with the regular BYC merchandise.

A highlight of every April is Earth Day. We are working on a plan to add some visual appeal to the club through additional planting of shrubs, hardy flowering plants, and a few trees/palms. We had hoped to have the scheme in place by Earth Day, but it is still a work in progress. However, if any members have cuttings or plants they might wish to donate to this effort, please contact the office.

House and Grounds have been busy planning the necessary renovations of the ceiling in the clubhouse kitchen and ground-floor washrooms. The rafters in the kitchen must be shored up to repair the termite damage. The washroom fixtures, the window casing and a general maintenance upgrade of the bathrooms need to be completed in time for our formal Centenary celebrations. We are awaiting the contractor’s quotes to proceed.

The Entertainment Committee created a fundraising event with a live UK tribute band, ABBA Pure, who performed at the club to a capacity crowd on the beach on Friday 26h April. We want to thank the members and their guests who came out for a “super trouper” night of fun and to support the muchneeded repairs. A Shot Hall Renovation Fund has been set up to account for the proceeds from the night and in response to offers of donations from a few generous members.

MEMBER NEWS

Speaking of which, we received a new audio system with a set of speakers and a sound mixing board as a donation from two of our members, who do not wish to be named, but to whom we offer our sincerest thanks. This equipment is much needed to replace failing equipment employed in our club entertainments and rental events.

If you have been at the Club recently you may have noticed that some cracks in the exterior walls of the clubhouse have been filled and repainted, the stairs to the top floor of the clubhouse have also been repainted and the floors in the ballroom have had a few boards replaced, sanded and stained. Of late, all the tables in the ballroom have been sanded and re-varnished and the chairs have been re-upholstered. Not to be outdone, the fencing around courts 1 and 2 has also been replaced.

The Tennis Committee has announced an exclusive arrangement with ATS Tennis to provide members with tennis coaching for all ages and stages at the club. The tennis season is in full swing, so this is a terrific opportunity to get some direction and improve your game. Simply call 234-7987 or email DAMIEN@ATSTENNIS.BB to book a lesson.

The weeklong Easter tennis camp run by ATS concluded last Friday (12th April). It attracted thirteen youths between the ages of 5 and 15 who were taught basic tennis skills through drills and coaching. ATS will run another camp during the summer holidays.

Recently we have had reports of a few heated interactions between members as well as between members and our staff. We aim for a friendly, informal atmosphere at the club. If for any reason you see another member, a guest, or one of the staff doing something judged improper or against the rules and regulations, the correct thing to do is to report issues verbally or in writing to the office/Accountant one of the Supervisors on duty or Security. We have created a Members Services sub-committee to investigate any complaints, and that sub-committee will investigate and make recommendations to the Committee if any further action may be required.

With the Easter holiday already passed, the Winter Season is coming to a close and the club will return to the slower even pace enjoyed by most members. The next few weeks will be punctuated with Bank Holidays, including May Day and Whit Monday. The club will be open on all these holidays, so do begin making your social and boating plans.

Keithan Laurie Management Committee

NEW MEMBERS

MARCH 2024

Patrick Nichols and Agnes Nichols

Paul Garwood and Margaret Garwood

Allan Payne, Emily Payne, Felix Theodore, Benedict and India Payne

Irene Bancroft

Alana Gray

Alastair McKenzie and Shannon McKenzie

Emilie Harvey, Rueben Schruer, Frankie and Zoe Schreur-Harvey

THEBARBADOSYACHTCLUB

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE FOR 2023-2024

Commodore Vice Commodore

Committee Members

Mr. Peter Thompson

Mr. Christopher Parravicino

Mr. Adrian Gale

Mr. Brian Cadogan

Ms. Gillian Leach

Mrs. Keithan Laurie

Mr. Satcha Kissoon

Mr. Simon Parravicino

Ms. Latisha Moore

General Manager (Ag.)

Trustees Mr. Andrew Hutchinson

Mr. C. F. Packer, MBA

Mr. Dick Stoute

Mr. Peter Marshall