Letter from the Commodore on Amalgamation
The Commodore's June 2024 letter to members on the proposed amalgamation.
Message from the Commodore
Since the club amalgamation General Meetings for both the Sydney Flying Squadron and the 18 Footers were adjourned back in November 2023 there has been considerable work been done to both validate the concept of one club, and facilitate the transition to one club should the members vote it through.
This time has been useful to further evaluate the current situation with both the SFS and Pattons Slipway operations. It is what the future holds to continue as a standalone club or as an amalgamated club with the 18 Footers which is key for making a decision.
The work by the SFS Board has not been a trivial exercise and is due to conclude in the near future so a date can be set for a membership vote.
The SFS member feedback on the amalgamation has shown there is a passion to keep the SFS identity alive and have the historic 18 and other skiff classes supported into the future. Something that the amalgamated club will need to ensure does not change and in fact improve the SFS standing as the oldest open boat sailing club on Sydney Harbour.
During this validating process, the Sydney Flying Squadron continues to operate, and has ended with a positive operating result this year. Membership numbers have increased and patronage in the bar and restaurant improved to deliver a positive result for the financial year. There are, however, many challenges ahead for the SFS to cement its future as a successful sailing club in Kirribilli.
Recently I attended a debrief for the Sydney Harbour Regatta at MHYC. Over ten clubs were represented including nine Commodores. A major topic for the meeting was the combining of fleets, whilst this is not possible for the Historic Fleet in terms of boats it could be possible with club and crew members.
Please be assured members will be advised as soon possible to the date for the next club amalgamation General Meeting.
Yours in sailing
Terence (Terry) Stewart
Commodore SFS
This text was read from the scanned original below by optical character recognition. It has not yet been checked by a person, so it may carry mistakes, and any results tables in the original are not reproduced here. The scan is the authority.