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Board Newsletter – Issue 24, April 2021

From the Helm

Dear Members – The Exmouth Rally and Race has departed and a wonderful celebration of our fleet starting what is currently the longest single destination race in Australia!  Congratulations to all involved – in particular CEO Karen, Sailing Manager Thor, Club staff and the Race Committee for bringing this event to fruition.  We are looking forward to a great race and rally and I wish all skippers and crew a safe passage to Exmouth.

As previously advised the Annual General Meeting will now take place on Tuesday 27 July.  Nominations are open for a number of Flag Officer and general positions on the Board of Management. Please see notes below for your information and update.

Ron Greer, Commodore

Club Capex & Significant Projects

SERVICE JETTY – As advised last month, Jetty and Marine Construction will commence work on the Service Jetty replacement on 17 May.  Temporary fuel arrangements will be put in place for the duration of the construction period.  Diesel will continue to be available however unleaded will be unavailable for approximately three months. 

FIRE & EMERGENCY SERVICES – We are still waiting on a response from DFES regarding the proposed fire strategy and preliminary designs.  We hope to have an approval to progress by mid-May.

DINGHY CLUBHOUSE – Architectural and structural drawings have now been completed and are currently being reviewed.  We expect to call for tenders shortly.

SITE DRAINAGE ISSUES – This ongoing issue continues to be hampered by rainfall.  Further work needs to be undertaken under the railway line pending permission from the owner.

BOATYARD SCAFFOLDING/STEPS – We have identified a mobile scaffolding unit suitable to be used in the Works Area for cleaning/sanding boats.  Five units have been ordered and their performance will be monitored over the next couple of months with the view of further purchases if successful.

LIFE CYCLE COSTING AUDIT – NON MARINE ASSETS – Further to the recent audit undertaken by WGA which detailed asset management and life cycle costing for marina assets and infrastructure, the Club has engaged PAEMAC to carry out a similar audit of our non-marine assets.  The information gathered will assist the Club identify and plan for future maintenance and replacement requirements.

DoT Lease Update

DoT have restated their refusal to provide a copy of their valuation. This means that despite several meetings and correspondence, FSC has not received an explanation on how the proposed rent of $760,000 p.a. was calculated. In the absence of information disclosure by DoT, it appears that resolution by arbitration is the inevitable way forward.

Constitutional Review

Work is still continuing on amendments to the Club’s Constitution and the Working Group is on track to present the final report and recommendations at the Annual General Meeting in July.

Membership

As at 29 April, the Club had 3,169 members which continues to be at a historically high levels.

Annual General Meeting

The date for the 2021 AGM has been set for Tuesday 27th July, commencing at 7.30pm.  Nominations are now open for the following vacancies on the Board of Management:

Flag Officers

Commodore                                                        Vacant

Vice Commodore                                                One year term

Rear Commodore Sail                                        One year term

Rear Commodore Power                                    One year term

Rear Commodore Fishing & Dive                       One year term

Board of Management Members

Four (4) Board of Management Members         Two year term

Treasurer                                                            One year term

 

Nomination forms are available at reception and should be submitted to the CEO at ea@fsc.com.au by close of business on Tuesday 29 June 2021.

Section News

Angling, Game Fishing & Dive

Game Fishing: A quiet month on the game fishing front as far as organised events were concerned.  We have
received reports of plenty of dolphin fish (mahi mahi) being caught out at the Fads and marlin numbers being reported as the highest seen a decade.  Our next Topics night will take place on 13 May. 

Angling:
Another successful kids fishing clinic was held during the April school holidays.  The clinic was fully booked and lots of fish caught!  Our monthly
fishing competition went ahead but no records broken this time!  We also had a great presentation from Craig
Thomas.

Dive:  A quiet month for the dive section due to bad
weather not allowing our monthly dive to go ahead.  We did get ‘hands on’ with some very expensive toys – underwater drones – thank you to Todd Haffner for presenting.

Sailing

The Freo to Exmouth race is now only a couple of days away with 37 boats confirmed to start.  Members are encouraged to get out and farewell the fleet for the official race start at 12.00pm.

The Wednesday Twilight program was extended through April with a steady turnout of boats.  We look forward to the twilight fleet returning when we commence again next season.

Power, Bosuns, Pipes & Drums

Power:
 Join us for a Boat Party from 5.30pm on 22 May.  Boats will be rafted up off the VIP jetty or join the Lawn Party in the pop-up bar area on the lawn.  Prizes for best dressed boat and nautical or ocean themed lady, gentleman and child.

Bosuns:
As usual the Bosuns have been very busy this month – in addition to fuelling up
boats and checking fire pumps they have worked their magic around the club including completing lock-up gates for the Junior Clubhouse, making up a system so that anodes can be checked without having to get into the water and
refurbishing a donated trailer to be used for the Containers for Change
program.

Pipes & Drums:  Unfortunately due to the COVID lockdown over the ANZAC day long weekend our Pipes & Drums were unable to participate in the many planned events.  The next event will be the Fremantle Highland Championships on 23 May (rescheduled).

Duty Officers

The Duty Officers have been active in the Club on Friday nights in addition to their Saturday and Sunday shifts. The men and women in white along with selected staff have been quietly collecting the raffle ticket money from the ‘Happy Hour’ patrons helping to raise $2,500 for the Exmouth Primary School. The DO’s wanted to say a thank you to the many generous Friday night members who have participated with their money and humour to creating an excellent Friday night ambience in the Club.

From the Desk - of the CEO

As our Commodore mentioned, it has been a very busy time leading up to the Exmouth race & rally but it is finally here and everyone is so excited and looking forward to a wonderful time both on and off the water in Exmouth.  I will be away in Exmouth to help look after everyone and make sure all the events run smoothly – and my husband David is taking the week off to come up with me and help!  He thinks he is going there for a holiday!!

We always like to make mention of any new team members and we are pleased to welcome Stephanie to our reception desk who you will get to meet on Fridays & Saturdays.  There are also a few new team members in our Galley Restaurant – so please also make them feel welcome.

I also wanted to thank everyone who has supported the weekly raffle with the proceeds being donated to the Exmouth Public School – and pleased to announce we raised $2,500 which will be presented to them at the Presentation Dinner.

Karen Baldwin, CEO

Finance

FSC reported an overall profit for the year of $37k, with the month of March resulting with a $318k loss with increased expenses in R&M and the Dinghy Section.  F&B had a good month, particularly with private functions which on its own achieved a $52k
profit.  Overall F&B exceeded budget target by $68k.  YTD, F&B is still well below previous year with the continued impact from COVID closure of our
operations during the first half of the 20/21 Club Financial Year.

 As reported last month, 1st April has seen the start of a new budget year, and a
number of maintenance & capital projects will form part of the year ahead’s activities.

 Club auditors will commence in May to review the Club’s financial performance and finalise the Annual Report in time for the Annual General Meeting in July.

Organisation & Club Culture

Work is continuing with development and implementation of the new organisational structure.  We have commenced work on the
re-design and re-build of the Club website.  The new website will provide members with up to date information which
is readily available and easy to access.  We hope to have the new page in operation towards the end of July 2021.  

Corporate/Governance

We have recently installed a computer in the lobby to assist members checking their account status and balances. A poster outlining the differences between e-purse and house support is also on display. Please let us know if you require any further clarification.

GBC Systems has been engaged to provide a proposal on the Club’s Environment & WH&S compliance. 

Clubs WA recently undertook an audit of all FSC liecenced areas and processes regarding compliance with the Associations Act & Liqour Act. Results of the audit will be reviewed and action steps taken to ensure compliance. 

Legal / Insurance Matters

Club Marine Claim: this matter remains outstanding however a site visit and inspection was undertaken in mid-April.  We have not received any updates since then.

Membership Activities & Events

We are continuing with our regular Friday night entertainment into the cooler months – including the very popular meat tray raffle!

The House Committee is always working on new ideas for future events including themed Friday night specials, a ‘Film Club’ and a “Winter Wonderland” Ball which is scheduled for Saturday 31 July with the very popular Greg Schultz band providing excellent entertainment.  Ticket sales will open in May. 

Promotion for Mother’s Day has been very well received with all venues booked out in the week prior to 9th May.

Marina & Maintenance Matters

As previously mentioned work on the Service Jetty replacement will commence on 17 May, weather permitting.  We will shortly have a banner on the protective fencing showing details of the new design.

 

We are finalising quotes for upgrading the outdoor BBQ area and should have proposal for Maintenance committee to review in May.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Just to reiterate the Commodore’s message – the provision of fuel from the 17th of May for a period of 12 weeks (approx.) will be limited to a temporary 15,000 litre diesel fuel tank onshore but still accessible for boats to refuel.

Unfortunately, anyone requiring premium or unleaded will need to find another source for the duration of the work – approx 12 weeks.

Welcome New Members from March intake!

Brendan Christian

Hayley Christian

James Holland

Lyn Holland

Richard King

Jane King

Matthew Lovelady

Sharnie Sammut

Antonino Mangano

Cona Mangano

Romano Sartori

Louise Sartori

Simon Thompson

Sharon Thompson

Gerard Doyle

Benjamin Kahn

Matthew Perry

Alessandro Scaglioni

Dino Cescovo

Kim Amer

Honey Collins

Samuel Lundin

Annie Walker

Matthew Boulton

Beatrix Clarke

Lucas Cunningham

Callum Grant

Jake Hamley

Jesse O’Neill

Ollando See

Neranda See

Mason Shoobridge

Violi Valentino