Paul Cayard
Working through it
2020 will go down in history as one of the strangest and most disrupted years of our lives. For the families directly affected I extend my deepest compassion. Obviously the economic impact of Covid-19 has been, and will continue to be, significant. This is a ‘Big Life’ occurrence and one not to be taken lightly on any front.
Our common interest is sailing, a recreational activity. I happened
to find myself on watch as Chairman of the Board of St Francis Yacht Club this year. It has not been what any of us signed up for. But, as with all adverse situations, 2020 has presented us with opportunity and ultimately satisfaction. In the early days of Covid we made the decisions to shut down
our club and pay all of our employees for the subsequent six weeks. Giving our employees the peace of mind by securing their salaries, in the time of most uncertainty, gave us the satisfaction of knowing we did the right thing. Then we had to take the difficult decision to lay off almost all of our staff of 120 as the closure continued and there was no relief in sight. We also offered our members a 25 per cent dues reduction. Since mid-June we have been able to cautiously reopen some of our facilities, in a limited way, following the recommendations
34 SEAHORSE
of our Covid Task Force which has medical, legal, finance and staff representatives, plus the chairs of our three major committees. I am proud to say we have methodically, but steadily, provided our membership with more offerings through creativity and persistence. In some cases we have made the tough decision to cancel events,
like the Rolex Big Boat Series. There is satisfaction in knowing we did the right thing and our partner, Rolex, was completely supportive. In 2020 a significant health issue is confronting our world and we need to take decisions that reflect our social responsibility. Again adversity but also satisfaction generated by making good decisions. As we build back our operations from the bottom up we have yet
another opportunity thanks to Covid: to get rid of sacred cows and create a new business that is custom made to the needs of our membership and nothing more. In long-running organisations we all find projects, offerings and
even people we just don’t need. Rarely do we have the courage to really clean house and focus all of the activity and expenses on what is truly required. Covid gave us this opportunity. St Francis Yacht Club has been around for over 93 years and will be around for far more than another 93 years. 2020 will be a blip on the radar soon, just like a serious cold front on the Auckland to Rio leg. But right now we are in that cold front and it’s all hands on deck.
VAN DER BORCH
NICOLAS PEHE/DPPI
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