A year of strategy and development Commodore John Warlow reflects on 2023 and looks forward to 2024, which holds great promise for RQYS. It is with great pleasure that we can look back on our last 12 months and, with our change of Flag Officers in June this year, I would like to thank Past Commodore David Redfern for his efforts while in the seat and acknowledge his efforts over many years. I feel we are in the strongest position we have ever been in for some time and we are well placed to consolidate our existing facilities and start looking at future opportunities that may be possible during the Olympic countdown. With a revised Strategic Plan nearing completion, next on the agenda under the guidance of the new Board will be drafting of a new Development Plan, for which Member input will be sought. At the time of writing, the much awaited Bar and Boardwalk renovations are out for tender, with construction due for completion by mid-2024. These works will include the total refurbishment of the Clubhouse toilet and shower facilities at ground level as well as introduce a lift to allow equitable access to our Flags function room. The Canaipa Long House project is also underway and is due for completion on a similar timeframe. Our thanks go out to our Members who have graciously donated substantial funds to get this project off the ground, and I can’t wait to welcome them to the opening of the new facility in 2024. Off-the-beach sailing activities continue at a frenetic level, starting with our Sailing Academy learn to sail programs, in addition to our Opti Green Fleet Saturday program with up to 40 youngsters participating; our midweek schools’ learn to sail programs have almost 800 students enrolled. This is in addition to secondary schools’ teams racing attracting fleets up to 40 boats on the ‘off days’ in our regular sailing programs. Read more about our incredible Academy team on page 42. I have been asked how these programs benefit the Squadron, and my answer is simply that they introduce future Members to the Club — most of our RQYS Youth and High Performance Squads have come through these programs — as well as the parents who may not have had a reason to be engaged with our Club before. Our Keelboat racing has benefitted from the recent installation of four fixed marks around the Bay. Our thanks should go to the vision and perseverance of our committees and individuals who facilitated the interclub collaboration and negotiations with the Department of Transport and Main Roads, Maritime Safety Queensland and Australian Sailing to finally make this happen after many years. I know the WAGS fleets have been successfully using the new marks: it will be nice not seeing a rig hanging off the Hope Banks beacon anymore. Our general boating groups, while maybe not as high profile as the sailing groups, are continuing to generate more and more interest and activities. Between the Sail & Power Cruising Groups and Power Navigation events, it seems there is an organised activity almost every week. It is interesting to note that our marina occupancy is now over 95% and our trailer boat hardstand has been at 100% for some time. Part of our strategic masterplan redesign will definitely be focused on boat storage. I am looking forward to another year and can’t wait to report on the progress we hope to make both on and off the water in 2024. Happy boating! Commodore John Warlow n Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Yearbook Mainsheet 2023 5 Commodore’s report
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