Page 10 - Kwasind May 2020 issue

MAY 2020
Sailing Office News
Tommy Wharton, Director of Sailing
Hello RCYC Members,
I am incredibly excited to be coming back to the Club in the role of Director of Sailing. As a former Staff member working in the Sailing Office (from 1998 to 2005) it is an incredible honour to return to the Club in 2020 and see so many familiar names and faces and the many new Members as well. The RCYC is truly a special place and I am looking forward to working with the rest of the hard working Sailing Office team in providing exceptional service in all facets of our operations. Pride in programming and creating a culture of accountability will be the foundation of all Sailing Office activities moving forward. I am also very excited to join such a strong Senior Management Team and under the guidance and leadership of Neil Rooney we are well positioned to elevate the experiences of all Members and maximize the potential of all RCYC activities and programming.
The excitement I have for rolling up my sleeves and getting right into the thick of quality work is tempered by the reality that I am writing my first Kwasind Sailing Office update from the confines of my makeshift home office as we are all in lock-down mode and following the mandatory stay at home legislation. I, like many of the RCYC Members and Staff, have unfortunately not been to the Island this season. These are challenging times for us all and there continues to be countless disruptions to our professional and personal lives. Everything the RCYC has been doing during the COVID-9 situation has been done with our Members, guests, and employee’s safety and health in mind. Sailing is not deemed an “essential service” but I know personally the immense joy that being active on the water brings and the infectious passion that runs deep in our sport. There is a strong emotional connection to the wind, the water, the dock, the race course, and the next anchorage in whatever boat you choose to sail. Whether you are a Youth Sailor, a Cruiser, a High Performance Racer, a Midweek Crew member, a Dinghy Sailor, a Race Committee member, or a new boat owner any delay to this activity and the inability to see close friends and hone your skills is a massive loss. The love of sailing needs to be put in proper perspective during a global pandemic, but it is only human to be feeling a sense of disappointment from the fact that you cannot currently connect to the water like one used to.
Through this adversity there is a silver lining. What has impressed me the most in my first few weeks in the job here at the RCYC is the “all hands on deck” planning behind the scenes that is going on with all Staff, Senior Managers, Committee Members, Club Members and partners to make the most of our delayed season. We are all working from the perspective of a July 1st “back to normal programming” start date but this of course
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could be out of our control (pending government legislation). We are also not sure of what “back to normal” programming may look like as it relates to social distancing and other guidelines or laws that we will need to follow. I echo the Commodore’s video message that stated that the RCYC will transition out of this COVID-19 situation stronger and be in a more improved state than it was before. The teamwork and sense of purpose to improving our on-water programming and the Member experience at the RCYC is something that everyone is committed to and this delay in on-water activity has been used as an opportunity. I came across a quote that said “being positive in a negative situation is not naive. It’s leadership.” I think this is precisely what I am experiencing at the RCYC right now. There is a tangible re-framing of the tension during this crisis and we are focusing on the learning opportunities lying within the adversity rather than despite the adversity. A great example of this would be the increased online content that is currently populating the RCYC website. Jenny will speak to this in more detail below and kudos to her for launching an exciting new activity like Virtual Racing. The Sailing Office will be unveiling some fantastic new virtual content very soon on our website. This content is intended to increase Member engagement and that sense of connectiveness to all things sailing related. We feel that this will be a standing legacy of the COVID-19 situation as it has amplified our desire to use our website and social media platforms in a more purposeful way throughout the season and in years to come. Stay tuned for further details!
In terms of what has been my focus since starting it has been primarily on reacquainting and refreshing my knowledge of the RCYC Sailing Programs and the RCYC Sailing Office operations. There is an abundance of information from the recently completed RCYC Member Survey and also direct feedback that I have been receiving from various RCYC Committees and Club Members. I am working closely with the immensely talented Jenny Farrand and she has an extremely strong background in the current programming and we are carefully evaluating all past Sailing Office activities. I am also working closely with Ontario Sailing and Sail Canada to look at future partnerships and ways to best leverage our resources when appropriate. I welcome any feedback and would like to hear from any RCYC Member that have insights to share. I can be reached directly at Tommy.Wharton@rcyc.ca. We are looking forward to a fresh start this summer and moving forward with an energized Staff that will have a laser focus on accountability and a return to quality programming. Exciting times ahead.