The new sailing season is now here. About 10 different things are all coming together as we get ready to Commission the New Clubhouse on April 13.

New Log masthead - that is pretty apparent, isn't it? We ran out of the old masthead just as we launch our new season. Randy Alley and Bob Kates decided to make a masthead, which mimics the look of the newly redesigned website www.fbyc.net. Randy has also made this issue extra thick, especially packed with information about our great yacht club.

Clean up Day was held March 16. Many thanks to the over 60 people who turned out to work that day getting the property looking better and being entertained by our leaders. Thank you Bob, Dick and David!

Crossed Burgee Image - appears on the Commissioning Invitation, the Log masthead and the web site banner. You will also see it featured in the new clubhouse. It is designed to capture our heritage - we were founded as the Urbanna Yacht Club in 1939 - and our future - we have built a great new building in 2002. We will continue to use the crossed burgees for the foreseeable future for many purposes, but we do not plan to change the traditional logo on our stationery. Some of you incorrectly believe the burgees are reversed. We are advised the current burgee should appear on the left. The senior burgee always appears on the left when burgees are crossed. The old Urbanna burgee would be senior if it were not retired. That should be the end of that!

Opening Day - Plans for Opening Day and the Commissioning of the new Building are complete. All we need now is the finishing touches on the building and an Occupancy Permit! We planned for 220 people max for the dinner, and already have 180 reservations with the event still 17 days away. If you did not meet the April 1 deadline, you should check with Julie Chapman to see if your reservation is "confirmed". Alain Vincey is implementing his contingency planning. We have planned a traditional commissioning ceremony and will recognize representatives of CBYRA, PHRF, other yacht clubs, and all our own past commodores who attend. Music, usually led by the Rennies, will be greatly assisted by the Christchurch School Chorus. Please drop by the new Clubhouse for a visit on Friday night, then please stay out of the new building all day Saturday until the ribbon is cut, unless you are asked by the commissioning committee to help get it ready.

Building Contract Information - some members incorrectly think our contractor is obligated to be finish the new Building by Opening Day. The contract says the contractor is to make every effort to finish by April 1, 2002, but is not obligated to do so. We think he is doing an excellent job and that we are getting a high quality product, particularly when you consider we have added complicating factors during construction - like oak floors upstairs, and changing the bathroom doors after they were initially built. We are not making any shortcuts to finish by April 13. We plan to use the building on the Commissioning weekend and then give it back to the contractor for completion in the ensuing days. We feel allowing the building to be completed a week or so later is well worth it in the long run. We hope you all will agree and will cooperate with the process.

Yearbook and Sailing Events Books were mailed to all members in the last month. We were able to fit much more information into the two books, and we produced extra copies of the Sailing Events book so they can be distributed to participants in our events. Extra copies are also available by mail from Mary Spencer for $5 each. The increased cost of the books was almost canceled out by the savings using "Media Mail" (the old Book Rate) yet they still arrived within a day or two of the mailing. We hope you like the new format. The authors of the books, Mary Spencer, Jere Dennison, Allan Heyward, Jay Buhl, Jan Monnier, and Sam Stoakley did a great job using the requested formatting. That enabled us to consolidate all the information into the books and onto the web site at www.fbyc.net/Events very promptly. Lack of available information will not be an excuse this year for non-participation.

Member database Most of you returned your Member Data Sheets so the new Yearbook reflects your accurate personal information. Ric Anderson has worked the last year perfecting a new member database and we are about to implement it. The on-line data has been updated to the recent Yearbook data, and we hope within the next couple of months to add the capability for Mary to update the online data. If you need to know a member's phone number, address, or e-mail address, use your yearbook or go to the member's page www.fbyc.net/Access/Members/ and you can do a search. As the year progresses we will add the capability to search for people interested in…., etc. as you indicated your interest on the data sheets.

The New Clubhouse would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of many of our members. Over the past 3 years many people have worked on the project. I have asked many members to help with the project and I have not been turned down by even one person - with the only exception being on donor solicitations. As a club, we are very proud that 50% of the total project cost has been funded by voluntary contributions from over 50% of our membership. Because of the excellent fund raising response, we are getting a better clubhouse than originally planned, we have avoided a material increase in dues, and our debt will be lower than expected. We have raised our initiation fees by $500 so future members will contribute equally to the clubhouse capital costs.

Thank You - as a club we owe a big thank you to those who have done jobs on the new Clubhouse project since Judy Buis appointed a Building Committee in March 1999. I'll try to list the names and jobs:

• Original Building Committee: brainstormed our needs in 1999 and drafted a Building Program in 2000 which defined our desires for our architect - John Koedel, Judy Buis, Jim Cobb, Dick Cole, Mike Calkins, Connie Garrett, Mike Karn, Jan Monnier, Strother Scott and Winston Trice.
• Commodore's Advisory Group: About 17 former commodores assembled for lunch on June 6, 2000, to review our plans and options. They recommended a 2-story building and a fund raising campaign to finance the project.
• Building Finance Committee: fought long and hard battles about the pros and cons of financing options, fund raising, borrowings, sensible limits, and the effect on the future of the club. Building Committee, plus Flag officers plus Russ Collins, Jere Denison, Waddy Garrett, Charlie Jones, Bob Rock, Mark Wensell, and Alain Vincey.
• Fund Raising Committee: set an original fundraising goal of $100,000, received early indications for about $175,000, then raised the goal to $300,000 and finally raised $400,000 from over 50% of the members: Bev Crump, Jim Rogers, Ben Ackerly, Chip Hall, Elizabeth Staas, Mike Karn, Judith Buis, Connie Garrett, Noel Clinard, Dick Cole, Mike Pleninger, Allan Heyward, Rip Radcliffe, Jim Cobb, Jerry Dennison, and Doug Selden.
• Donors: about 200 of you have donated between $50 and $30,000 each. Your names will be displayed on the donor plaque at the new Clubhouse.
• Building Committee Chairs for construction: Judy Buis and Connie Garrett had to manage the construction team and make the selections - colors, tiles, materials, appliances, furniture, etc., that "the membership" desired.
• Owners Representatives during construction: Mike Karn and John Koedel were on the job on a daily or weekly basis for about 10 months answering the questions and planning ahead so the job went smoothly and stayed cost efficient.
• Pretty mahogany entrance doors, kitchen and bath cabinets, and much more were made by Mike Karn.
• Electric fixtures David Levet has provided about 120 fixtures at wholesale prices.
• Mahogany snack bar upstairs is being installed by cabinet-maker Rick Farinholt.
• Irrigation system - so the lawn will stay pretty and green is being put in by Gil Miles.
• Furniture - roomfulls of furniture made by Butler Woodcrafters, Inc. are being provided by Mac Butler. We may have samples for the opening and the rest will follow after the building is completely finished.
• Art Committee: Jere Dennison and Mary Anne Hooker will approve all future wall hangings, art work, etc., but have a great collection ready to hang on Day 1.
• Sound System project manager: Paul Howle has provided a Richmond International Raceway quality sound system. From now on, we can be our own Dee-Jays.
• TV manager: David Lee has secured the heaviest TV we can afford and plans to make it immovable!
• Landscaping: Bob Kates is about to kick off the landscaping once he can get a little nearer the building.
• Commissioning Committee: Julie Chapman, Elizabeth Staas, Meg Clinard, Susanne Crump, Wayland Rennie, Lydia Strickland, Nancy Lipscomb, Alain Vincey, Evie Wilton have organized and planned our almost sold out events on April 12-13.

Club Rules - we will need to take care of this new building and make sure it serves our purposes. We have published new rules in the back of the Sailing Events Book. Several rules deserve note - The upstairs is intended for adults only at all times - no children upstairs unless accompanied by their parents. No smoking is allowed in the clubhouse. And we have new rules about use of the various kitchens.

New Flagship - on a personal note, I have had time to work on the Building, the web site, the database and other projects that interest me because unlike most of my predecessors, I have been a boat-less Commodore. But my new J-105 has now arrived at Fishing Bay and I look forward to serving as an on-the-water commodore during the rest of my term. Thank you for your support over the recent months.

R. Strother Scott, Commodore

Of 804-780-3271 H 804-556-4066 Cell 804-405-5999