Harbor Happenings

by Matthew Gorton

Well the days seem to fly past. It has been one year since I took on the chairmanship of the harbor committee. We have tried to resolve the issues presented to us, and I have a whole new appreciation of the complexity of running a harbor. As you may remember, the committee members serve two year terms. Herb Rodricks’ and Eric Artman’s seats on the committee were up for reappointment by the board of directors at the October board meeting. The board appointed Howard Leistner and Eric Artman to these open positions (Eric had previously filled in for a vacant seat, only serving part of a two year term).

I would like to pass on my personal thanks to Herb for his contributions over the last year. Herb brought a unique perspective to the committee and provided great insight on a number of hot issues. Thank you Herb. Welcome to Eric and Howard. Although Howard is officially joining the committee, he has been sitting in the wings of the for several years as an advisor. The key part is that he now has a vote! The other three committee members are myself, Erick Ahrens, and Frank Dunn.

If you are interested in serving on the committee as a non-voting advisor, please give me a call. The advisors always take an active part in the discussion, and we work to achieve consensus among everyone. It is only on the tough choices that we may be forced to actually count votes.

So what has been happening in the harbor…In last months bill I sent a flyer with changes to the rates for guest berthing, and reinstatement of maximum limits on guest berthing. These changes were made to bring the over-night fees more in line with the harbor tenants monthly fees, and to try and make the guest facilities more available to all members. We have also done our annual survey of berth rental charges at the comparison marinas. We have decided not to raise the per foot berth rental rate in the harbor. However, it appears that the electricity charges do not cover the electricity bill. We are considering raising the electricity but will review it at the next harbor meeting.

We have not had any new boats arrive in the harbor this month, although we do have an open ‘D’ line berth that I will be offering to the waiting list. Wen Lin has extended his leave of absence through July next year. Wen's yacht is in the yard in Canada, and once the work is complete he will continue cruising up north. This brought up an interesting question about who could sublet a berth in the harbor. After much thought and debate, the committee decided that it will continue offering sublet opportunities to members on the harbor waiting list who do not already have a boat in the harbor.

On a final note, we had had our first good blow for the winter. Where-ever you keep your boat, but especially if you keep it in the Corinthian harbor, please check that your dock lines are secure, that the lines are not chafed, and maybe consider leaving a spare dock line on deck—just in case…