Deborah Hertzog

John Michael

Dave Horton

Marco Moretti

Karen Horton

Flo Muller

Eric Kent

Diana Saez

Osman Kurtulus

Matt Schlanger

Lee Luce

Ernie Schlesinger

Jim Luce

Cliff Selover

Patricia Lukes

Miriam Sorkin

Matt Lydon

Richie Stark

Bill Mann

Gary Tenenbaum

			$1,583.01

		$6,072.38


					

	$6,681.50

	

			$973.89
















	

	$973.89


				

	$4,000.00


				

	$3,470.00

	$1,503.89

To members of the Cruising Fleet – Here are the Minutes from the Annual meeting last Saturday. If you have any changes or adjustments, please let me know. Attached is our full Cruising Fleet Schedule for the year of both racing and cruising events. The next meeting will be for anyone who thinks they might want to race this year. On Wednesday, April 15th, two weeks before the start of racing the Race Committee will discuss the Sailing Instructions, new courses, the Scoring Rules for 2016, and the new Appendix T rules (Alternate Procedures for Dispute Resolution). You may only attend if you have done your taxes. Lastly, our thoughts go out to Joey G on the loss of his Mother. We’re so sorry, Joe. Lee Luce Cruising fleet Secretary _____________________________________________________ Cruising Fleet Annual Meeting, March 12, 2016 Attendees: Morris Azar Deborah Hertzog John Michael Eric Baumes Dave Horton Marco Moretti Nancy Bolan Karen Horton Flo Muller Dick Bracken Eric Kent Diana Saez Gene Cohen Osman Kurtulus Matt Schlanger Donna Cox Lee Luce Ernie Schlesinger April Elsasser Jim Luce Cliff Selover Mark English Patricia Lukes Miriam Sorkin Allen Fligor Matt Lydon Richie Stark Margaret Grace Bill Mann Gary Tenenbaum The meeting was called to order at 10:10 am with an introduction of officers: John Michael – Fleet Captain – Racing Karen Horton – Treasurer Lee Luce - Secretary Joe Glogiewicz – Fleet Captain – Cruising – absent New Members Welcomed Marco Moretti – July 2015 Jason Mull – July 2015 Nick Prastos – November 2015 Michelle Babian – November 2015 Laura Rothschild – December 2015 Mark English – December 2015 Review of 2015 Cruising Activities In Joey’s absence, Karen reviewed the successful activities of 2015 including hosting the Opening Day BBQ and Sailpast, hosting two monthly meetings, Cruises to Bowline Point (18 boats), Chelsea, and Liberty Landing, Coast Guard inspections (15 boats thanks to Dave Horton), and the Fleet BBQ on the Pier in August. The blow-out Pier Party in August had to be the highlight of the year for all Cruising Fleet members. Review of 2015 Racing Activities John Michael reported that 31 boats raced, 11 more boats than in 2014. There were a total of 33 races completed, 9 fewer races because of weather. However, there were 262 “boat races”, up 31% over 2014. All in all, it was a great year for racing. Treasurer’s Report - 2015 Last year we moved the Pot Luck Awards dinner from March to November to present the racing awards within the racing season rather than six months later. That meant we had two expenses for two award ceremonies totaling $1,800. In addition, the Pier Party expenses were higher than anticipated. The Ensign Fleet had promised a significant contribution because of the Cruising Fleet participation in Thursday Night sailing lessons, but we never received a check. Eric Baumes noted the Last Chance Regatta made money. (Financial Report attached.) Karen then presented the proposed budget for 2016 which includes an increase in dues from $25 to $30. The purpose of the increase is to make sure we don’t go below the $1,500 minimum in our Chase checking account. Mark English noted that his company (Ameriprise) has money market accounts with minimums of $500. Karen admitted she was a local bank for convenience and we’ve never had a problem staying above the minimum before. (Proposed Budget attached.) Action Item - John Michael will follow up with the Ensign Fleet to make sure we get paid for Thursday Night sailing. Scheduled Events for 2016 Ø Racing - The first Sunday race is May 1st, and the first Wednesday Night race is May 4th. Ø Opening Day - The Cruising Fleet will host Opening Day, Saturday, May 14th. Margaret Grace has organized a dockside party to start around 3 pm. She plans to invite a few other fleets to participate. Please contact Margaret if you can help. Margaret said she really loved seeing boats fly their dress flags on something like Opening Day, and she hoped everyone would do so. Lee said if people would like to buy a suit of dress flags to let her know, and maybe we could put in a discounted price offer to West Marine. Action item – Treasurer work with Margaret for an Opening day budget. Action item Lee poll members about buying dress flags. Ø August Meeting Host - For the second time this year the Cruising Fleet will host a General Membership Meeting Thursday, August 4th. Ø The Cruising Fleet Pier Party is scheduled for Saturday, August 6th, with a rain date of August 20th if necessary. Volunteers are needed, so please contact Karen or Joey G to help out. Ø Ambrose Rally– a three-day racing/cruising rally is planned for the weekend of August 12 – 14th. Ambrose Light Rally – John & Morris discussed the Notice of Race handed out to the group. The plan is for a fun “racing cruise”. There will be a race each day with a pursuit start (smaller boats start first, bigger boats catch up). The first race will be from off Piermont to Liberty Island Marina; the second race will be from Gravesend Bay, around the Ambrose buoy back to Liberty Island Marina; the third race will from Liberty Island Marina back north to the buoy off Piermont. The group has the choice of staying at Liberty Island Marina each night or dropping a hook behind the Statue of Liberty. Morris encouraged boats that don’t want to race to come any way and enjoy the fun. An official PHRF rating is not necessary. The registration fee is to pay for race awards, hats and shirts. Several members pointed out that this rally would be offshore and that the safety requirements are different on the open ocean than they are in the River. Jim Luce mentioned that folks might want to check their insurance to make sure the coverage includes below the George Washington Bridge. A short discussion of flares, and types of flares, occurred. Ø Three Club Regattas are scheduled Memorial Day, July 2 -3rd, and Labor Day weekend. Attendance by the Cruising Fleet has traditionally been very low. The Race Committee has asked that we increase the participation rate of our Fleet significantly at these regattas. Ø Coast Guard Inspections – Dave Horton will try to arrange Coast Guard inspections again this year. He pointed out it is good to be reminded what the basic equipment safety standards are, and to have the Coast Guard inspection sticker prominently displayed. This often prevents a boarding inspection at the most inconvenient time. Ø Race Patrol Duty – The Cruising Fleet is responsible for filling 36 slots on Race Patrol duty this year, beyond the regular work service obligation. The good news is being on Race Patrol is really fun, even if you’re not a racer. If you have to miss a race, you can request to get your average points for that race at the end of the year. A sign-up sheet was passed around the meeting. Thanks to those who signed up. Discussion Topics for 2016 Ø Motion proposed to split Cruising Fleet - Donna Cox proposed a motion to divide the Cruising Fleet into two separate fleets – one for cruising and one for racing. Eric Baumes read the Constitutional requirements for starting a new fleet within the Club. This prompted a spirited discussion. Since a large number of members both race and cruise, dividing the current Fleet into two fleets would require doubling the member work load for Race Patrol, Fleet meetings, and especially dues. Since the Cruising fleet already has a Fleet Captain for Racing and a Fleet Captain for Cruising, some asked what the point would be in separating into two fleets? Others felt that the size of the current fleet of 120+ members provided a wonderful diversity and easy exchange between racers and cruisers. After an active exchange of views, Donna withdrew her motion. Ø Trophies - at the Racing Fleet meeting February 27th, Paul Kisala proposed changing our expensive trophies into flags or pennants such as mentioned in the September 2015 Telltale. Morris brought a flag sample to the meeting. First place would be gold, 2nd place would be red, and 3rd place would be blue. Each flag would be printed to identify the event. Morris estimated flags would cost less than $10 each depending on the printing. Matt Schlanger spoke in favor of having a more traditional engraved trophy stay in the mix of what trophies are offered. Also, Morris suggested passing a winner's burgee along each week to be flown in the following week's races by the previous winner. A proposal was made to set up an awards committee, but there were no volunteers. Action item – John Michael, Fleet Captain – Racing, will appoint an Awards Committee. Ø Mentorship – for a few years the Cruising Fleet has assigned mentors to new members for the first year. Ernie Schlesinger has agreed to mentor Laura Rothschild, Lee will mentor Michelle Babian and Mark English, Marco Moretti will help Nick Prastos, and John Michael will be available for Jason Mull. All members of the Cruising Fleet should meet and lend a helping hand to any new member. Ø Thursday Night Adult Sailing – if you are willing to get involved and commit to teaching and/or volunteering your boat for Thursday Night Adult Sailing, please contact John Michael. This is a great way to sail every Thursday evening in June and July, and help attract new members to the Boat Club. Please let Bill Mann know if you are going to participate because your boat would have to go on the Club insurance policy. Ø America’s Cup Tour Presentation – the America’s Cup, and Tucker Thompson’s Presentation, will be May 1st at the Bear Mountain Inn from 6 – 10 pm. Tickets start at $45 and can be purchased after the meeting. Eric (Baumes) said HRYRA would endorse and help promote the event but the HRYRA name cannot be used. Bill Mann had written that the promotional material could not use the Nyack Boat Club logo without Board approval, nor the Cruising Fleet logo without approval. He agreed to try to get an answer as soon as possible. A vote was taken and the group agreed to endorse the event and approved use of the Cruising fleet logo. Ø Appendix T – Alternate Procedures for Dispute Resolution – Eric Kent, on behalf of the Race Committee, presented a summary of the important facts racers should know when we switch to the new Appendix T rules. This involves penalties while racing, post-race penalties, expedited hearings and arbitration. Ø Buying new mooring hardware – Ernie Schlesinger is willing to put a composite order together to buy chain and mooring hardware through the Ship’s Store. Lee agreed to put out an e-mail to the Club, Action item – Advise members to contact Ernie if they need new chain and other mooring tackle. Lee volunteered to help with this. Ø There is a Nyack Street Fair April 10th. Margaret Grace is looking for help in the booth. Ø Margaret Grace recommended a crew table before Wednesday Night Racing where we could keep track of boats that have a need or place for crew, or sign in visitors that have come looking for an opportunity. Ø Please don’t forget to encourage your guests to sign in when they visit. The Guest Book is in the front lobby. This is very important. Election of Officers The nominated officers were announced: Fleet Captain, Cruising – Joe Glogiewicz Fleet Captain, Racing – John Michael Secretary – Lee Luce Treasurer – Karen Horton Karen Horton said she and Joe Glogiewicz were withdrawing their names from nomination. John Michael asked for volunteers. Mark English agreed to run for Treasurer. Morris Azar agreed to run for Fleet Captain – Cruising. The new slate of officers elected were: Fleet Captain, Cruising – Morris Azar Fleet Captain, Racing – John Michael Secretary – Lee Luce Treasurer – Mark English All officers were elected unanimously. The meeting ended at 12:15 pm. Respectfully submitted. Lee Luce Cruising Fleet Secretary March 13, 2016 _________________________________________________ Financial Statement - 2015 Balance from 2014 $1,583.01 Total Deposits $6,072.38 2015 Dues $3,100.00 Special Dues $50.00 Fee Reversal $24.00 Pot Luck (Spring) $375.00 Pot Luck (Fall) $280.00 General Meeting -Beer $114.00 Pier Party $463.00 Last Chance Regatta $1,666.38 Total Credits $6,681.50 Jan General Meeting $60.00 CF Business Meeting $25.00 Pot Luck $398.57 2014 Trophies $900.00 General Meeting 8/6 $193.40 Pier Party $2,769.63 Last Chance Regatta $1,419.54 2015 Awards $915.36 Balance 2015 $973.89 PROPOSED BUDGET 2016 Balance from 2015 $973.89 Expected Deposits $4,000.00 2016 Dues $4,000.00 Expected Credits $3,470.00 Awards $1,000.00 Pier Party $2,000.00 General Meetings $150.00 Pot Luck Dinner $250.00 Last Chance Regatta -- Miscellaneous $70.00 Balance 2015 $1,503.89