“READY... PLAY!”
Message from your Commodore
8 Social Scene Tina Turner Tribute Show
1 0 New Members June 2024 1 1
Fellow Members,
First, let me apologise for the lack of a June Bellbuoy. We were busy preparing for the passing of the hurricane, as well as for the Tina Turner show and the Bellbuoy became the sacrificial lamb. I hope you will accept my apologies.
Your Committee has been busy over the past weeks streamlining our Food and Beverage operation. We have reviewed the present practices and, with the input of the Food and Beverage Sub-committee and your concerns, we have discussed the operation. Consequently, we have decided to implement some changes to the way Events and Banquets are managed.
I will now explain some of the changes, and the reasons for those changes.
There is usually a requirement to book attendance at events in advance. This allows us to plan our catering for these events so that we order the required inputs for the event in advance. We have noted that there have been several instances where last-minute bookings are made, or, in some cases, no reservations are made and members arrive on the same day
of the event with the expectation to be admitted to the event. This places unnecessary demands on the resources planned, including the need, on some occasions, to make emergency purchases for inputs at supermarkets, other convenience stores and/or rush orders in smaller quantities from our suppliers. The result of this are additional, higher raw material input costs that we are unable to recover.
We have decided to institute a cut-off period for bookings of 48 hours before an event being held for the public at large and 24 hours before member events. In other words, event promoters need to advise us 48 hours before the event of their expected number of attendees, if we are providing the catering for their event and, in the case of member events, you are expected to book no later than 24 hours before the event. This allows us to purchase all raw material inputs from our established suppliers, at the price budgeted, and maintain the menu's quality at the expected costs.
Secondly, we are aware that, from time to time, emergencies may arise that prevent a member from being able to attend an event as planned. A common practice, therefore, is for the member to advise the office after the event, of their nonattendance and seek refunds for tickets purchased from the office staff. I am sure that you will also appreciate that we would have catered for the planned attendees, and this affects our revenues.
We are therefore implementing a procedure for such requests. If a member cannot attend as planned, that member is required to advise the Committee by e-mail via the office and the Committee will review the request and respond accordingly. You can send your request to the office via officebyc@barbadosyachtclub.com and that request will be forwarded to the Committee accordingly. We commit to you that we will respond to all requests received.
Finally, there has been the practice of charging a member’s account for the price associated with the tickets for an event in the month in which the event occurred. This creates challenges for the accounting team with regards to reconciling the revenues and, as can be expected depending on the duration of time between the purchase of tickets and the actual event, some errors can be made inadvertently with regards to the correct allocation of the payments received. As a result of the issues identified with the present practice we will be charging members’ accounts with the costs of tickets for events at the same time the bookings have been made. This allows us to more accurately capture the payments and allocate them correctly.
It is summer again and we understand what this may mean for those members who have children. We however need to ensure that our children are properly supervised. Please be reminded that our Regulations speak to the supervision of children.
Regulation No. 10, Supervision of Children, states that:
“Children under the age of 16 are the responsibility of their parents or guardians who shall ensure they do not unduly disrupt Members. Children who are guests are under the responsibility of the member who invited them to the Club.
Children should not be allowed to play in the bar area.”
We have already experienced damage to the Club’s property in the first few days of the vacation and we want to ensure that you, the members, have the facilities that you expect when you visit your Club. These damages reduce the number of facilities and equipment available to you. It also places unplanned costs to our maintenance budget. We hope that you will assist us in keeping our club to the standard expected.
We were fortunate that Hurricane Beryl passed the island leaving the Club with minimal damage. The staff spent the Sunday of the hurricane’s approach preparing for the hurricane and I am sure that this preparation reduced some of the expected damage.
I would personally like to thank all of the members of staff for the hard work and dedication they placed on ensuring that items were properly stored, that the Club was well prepared for the passing of the hurricane and that, once the hurricane had passed, we were operating soon thereafter. Their efforts were outstanding.
Unfortunately, one of our member’s yacht broke its mooring and washed ashore. We wish him every success in recovering from this tragedy.
On the second Friday of June and July we had a meet and greet for all of the new members. June’s meet and greet included members from as far back as those who were voted in during the COVID pandemic. We felt that it was only fair to include members who joined after the meet and greet sessions were last held.
Our July meet and greet was back to normal and included members who were voted in at the end of June. Both sessions were thoroughly enjoyed by the members who were able to attend.
I know that you are wondering about the status of the recruitment of a new General Manager. The Committee has identified three key positions required, including the General Manager’s position, and we are in the planning stages for these positions. We want to ensure that the necessary processes and procedures for their success are in place and these are currently being worked on. We will keep you updated as this process progresses.
Our Club was the venue for the Tina Turner event on June 28th . We made some changes to the way we operate at these events with the hope of providing a more efficient service to the patrons of the event. Unfortunately, the turnout was lower than expected but, by the accounts of those who attended, a great time was had by all.
This month we will also play hosts to a concert featuring the Troubadours International in what is expected to be their last live performance. We are hoping to continue the processes started at the Tina Turner event. The intention is to optimise our Food and Beverage service and to provide a more efficient and safe delivery of food and beverages to the patrons.
We are listening to your concerns and complaints and hope that the above changes and requests are taken in the manner in which they are intended. We hope that you understand our concerns and look forward to your understanding and cooperation as we seek to resolve the issues identified. We expect to be advising you on additional challenges and changes so that we can improve the service provided to you, our valued members.
by Brian Cadogan
On Friday June 22nd and Saturday June 23rd the ladies of the Barbados Yacht Club hosted a friendly tennis tournament with Jean Merry’s “Hot Doubles” Team from Trinidad and Tobago. All the ladies from both teams enjoyed the tennis and the Trinis declared it the best weekend ever!! They thoroughly enjoyed their visit to Barbados and even had the amazing experience of watching a turtle lay her eggs on the beach in front of their apartments!! The score in the end was 23 matches to BYC’s “Bajan Hot Shots” and 17 to Jean’s “Hot Doubles”. Thanks to all BYC ladies who came out and played and made our visitors feel so welcome. Special thanks to Marie-Jeanne Symmonds for organizing the shirts and to Darrin White for everything he did over the weekend. Huge thanks also to the BYC staff for their support!
Jean Merry had the following to say upon reflecting on the weekend:
All our players expressed that they had a wonderful experience over the weekend. The Event was exceptionally well planned and we appreciate how much effort and dedication went into making it a success.
We are all delighted to start back our friendly tennis rivalry: Jean’s Hot Doubles against the Barbados Yacht Club Ladies after missing the last five years due to COVID.
“We have been competing for over 20 years and it seemed like we never stopped as we had great competitive matches throughout the weekend. Our whole team thoroughly enjoyed the two days of tennis.
The camaraderie and friendly atmosphere made the Tournament truly special! We would like to thank Karen McGuire and her team for making this event such a memorable experience.
We look forward to hosting the Barbados Yacht Club ladies in Trinidad in the near future.”
The following poem written by Jossine Josz of the BYC sums up the wonderful weekend experienced by the Ladies.
In June of twenty twenty-four, From Trinidad's lively shore, Sixteen tennis stars took flight, To Barbados for a trip so bright.
Coach Jean Merry led the crew, With fun and matches to pursue, Paused by COVID's long, dull years, Their return brought joyful cheers.
They showed up Friday, quite a sight, In T-shirts that were pure delight, "Forever Tennis Friends," they read, A bond of friendship widely spread.
Friday and Saturday, oh what fun, On the courts in the blazing sun, "Jean's Hot Doubles" in pink and blue, Their tennis moves were sharp and true.
"Bajan Hot Shots" joined the play, In yellow first, then blue display, At the Yacht Club, laughter soared, As music played and spirits roared.
With drinks in hand and dancing feet, Their energy was hard to beat, Today, at brunch in Seafoam's charm, Where the view is sweet and warm.
The Trinidad crew gives thanks in style, To the Bajans for making it worthwhile, So here's to tennis, fun, and laughs, To friendly matches and autographs.
Thank you all for coming here, We'll see you again in a happy new year!
Summer is here at last! Leading up to this we have had a few busy weeks at the club. The end of month social in May featured a popular West Coast band, Ubique. These, new to the club, entertainers proved to be a hit with our members who were up dancing through the night, even in the rain.
Mid-June we celebrated Father’s day at the club with a successful Breakfast Buffet on the beach and a Buffet Luncheon in the Ballroom. In between the club hosted a wedding, numbers banquets for visiting cricket fans and numerous member birthday parties.
Thanks to a generous donation by two of our members, we have now two additional large screen televisions which we will have use of for rentals and also for viewing live events and we are considering a summer movie line-up. Stay tuned for news of the viewing schedule which will of course include the Summer Olympics. The two televisions were first used for the video concert of the South African music sensation Krone. The concert on the beach was presented by Stephen Walcott and was well received by the members in attendance. On the same day as the concert, our Commodore held his first meet and greet session at the beach bar with some of our newest members to introduce himself and welcome them to the club.
In other entertainment news, Rockin’ Hard presented Rebecca O’Connor the Tina Turner tribute concert– Tina Simply The Best at the end of June. This was a terrific concert with over 500 persons in attendance.
The next big event will be the BARP Crop Over concert Platinum Soca at the end of this month. The concert will be hosted on the beach and has an impressive line-up of Calypsonians and the Troubadours International, in what has been billed as their final public appearance.
Entry Tickets as well as Food and Beverage tickets are available to Members from the office and can be billed directly to your account. We will be charging tickets to member’s accounts on the day of booking. We need to remind members that ticket sales for all events are final and nonrefundable. Tickets are always transferable, so if for any reason you are unable to attend a concert or event, simply pass them on to a friend. The proceeds from the food and beverage sales of this concert will go to a tennis court rehabilitation fund for needed repairs to courts 3 and 4. Members of the tennis community have volunteered to provide support for this effort, so please come out and support them.
After a break in June, the popular Quiz Night returned on Friday July 12th. The next Quiz Night will be on August 16th, it is not too early to book your team of 6 or less for a fun night of trivia at the club.
After the Committee approved competitive bids, some much needed repairs in and around Shot Hall has started. This includes the two washrooms in Shot Hall Bar on the ground floor. The funds raised at our Pure Abba concert at the end of April are being applied to this upgrade.
The renovation should be completed in a few weeks and we look forward to sharing with you the big reveal. Much needed work is also being carried out in the Shot Hall kitchen to sure-up the ceiling which supports the upstairs washrooms, which had to be temporarily closed due to safety concerns. These works are being carried out in preparation for our planned Centenary celebrations in August.
We will be hosting a Centenary Cocktail Reception on Saturday August 24th at which Dame Sandra Mason, the first President of Barbados and our Patron will unveil a Centenary plaque. It promises to be a very special evening to mark 100 years since the actual inception of the club. We will kick off the entertainment with Andre Daniel on the grand piano and following the unveiling ceremony live music by our loved Bay Street Jazz Ensemble. Look out for notices on this big event, save the date and make plans to attend. We are seeking a volunteer photographer to capture the highlights of this event. Anyone who might be interested in sharing their talent on the night please contact me directly 256-2216.
School’s out for Summer. Tennis and Sailing both have training programs for the kids so be sure to check these out and don’t forget we have kayaks and paddle boards for rent.
For the adults, why not try out a 3 month trial membership of the gym or play some pickle ball, just ask security for the loan of the racquets and balls. Finally, nothing beats the heat like sipping a cocktail under the trees followed by a refreshing dip in the sea.
Have a great Summer, see you at the beach!
Keithan Laurie Chair, Entertainment Committee
June 1st marked the beginning of the 2024 hurricane season and we wish to remind boat owners that your boat trailers should be in good working condition during this time
Particular attention should be paid to Phase 3 of the Hurricane Contingency Plan which reads as follows:
Hauling out of boats will take place during this phase.
Owners must present themselves prior to or during this period and not during the WARNING PHASE.
No staff or equipment will be available for hauling up of boats after this.
It is imperative that you check your vessel after rainfall to ensure it is free of stagnant water. The Ministry of Health has reminded us that the Aedes Aegypti mosquito is still present and since the Barbados Yacht Club, is located “down wind”, we are considered a very high risk area We have asked the boatmen to be more vigilant in their checks but request your assistance in controlling this problem
Commodore Vice Commodore
Committee Members
Mr. Peter Thompson
Mr. Christopher Parravicino
Mr. Brian Cadogan
Ms Gillian Leach
Mrs Keithan Laurie
Mr. Satcha Kissoon
Mr. Simon Parravicino
Ms. Latisha Moore
Trustees
Mr. Andrew Hutchinson
Mr. C. F. Packer, MBA
Mr. Dick Stoute
Mr. Peter Marshall General