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By Remmert Wolters
CYC Treasurer
Most members are aware that CYC has had a somewhat mixed financial history in the last five years. The club was extremely successful in raising money for capital projects, while the operational side was struggling considerably and was only surviving by raiding the capital reserves to cover the losses. With the 2009 budget, the CYC board made it clear that this practice could not continue. Painful decisions were made to cut the budget, and increases in dues and race fees also were implemented.
Remmert Wolters
The general state of the economy is obviously a significant concern for many of our members, and I can only report that it is really too soon to tell what impact it is going to have on CYC's finances. As of the last week of February, about 55 per cent of our members had either paid their dues in full or had made partial payments. That is more or less in-line with the previous years, and we will know more when racing season starts, because folks will have to pay their dues before they can start registering for racing. Once the Lake and Sound programs are fully operational in early April, we will have a pretty good idea of what we will be faced with as a yacht club.
Many of us take our racing program and our clubhouse for granted, but we should all realize that we have a unique sailing environment that presents a special set of challenges. We are one of the few yacht clubs in America that is capable of setting square race courses in very deep water and run up to five races in one evening, as we sometimes do on Lake Washington during the summer. To accomplish this, we have a very experienced racing staff and equipment to match. Those who travel and experience many other racing venues will tell you that our club runs one of the best racing programs in the country.
Obviously, this has an impact on our budget. Our racing payroll and equipment costs are very high in comparison to other yacht clubs and we need to make sure that all those who benefit pay their fair share of these costs. Many of us sail with a regular crew, who get to enjoy the sailing experience almost as much as the owner/skipper does. Please encourage these crew members to join CYC as associates and have them take some ownership of the hobby of sailing. If you are an owner/skipper who is trying to justify the expense of paying the dues and race fees, there is nothing wrong in asking your regular crew to chip in a little bit and allow everyone to continue to participate. Where there is a will, there is a way. Just do not give up on yourself, your fellow sailors and your yacht club.