2021 OPENING DAY ADDRESS Rupert Leslie
Commodore 1997 - 99 | Vice Patron | Life Member
Patron Colin (Cowden), Distinguished Guests, and fellow members, when Commodore Cook asked me at the AGM if I would make the Opening Day address, having said I’d be delighted, I asked him if there was anything he would like me to focus on. A very confident “Your call” was the answer. When I got home that night I was wondering what to talk about. I went and sat in my office and nudged the computer mouse - two screens came to life from some research I had been doing earlier in the day – one had a 1953 Landgate image of the SoPYC area overlayed with the current Club’s Land Titles, the other had a 2021 Google Earth image of the Club today and its marina and surrounds. I stared at these for a while – the differences were stark. The 1953 image showed that where we are now sitting was a tidal river sandbank with the shoreline running where the current cycle way runs outside the Club’s back fence line, the 2021 image in contrast shows the reclamation of the SoPYC peninsula and the infrastructure the Club has accumulated over the 60 year journey we have enjoyed on this site. I remember saying to myself – it’s not just about what we have built, it’s actually about the people who made that journey happen, it’s about the culture and the community that has been created. I went to bed that night wondering if I should be brave and bold enough to talk about SoPYC’s future, the next 60 years and what that next part of the journey might look like. Commodore Cook will be the 45th Commodore to take stewardship of this great yacht Club, and he and the 44 Commodores that have proceeded him, some of whom are on my left, together with their supporting Flag Officers, Treasurers, Management Committees, Captains, and the countless members who have been part of this journey all need to be acknowledged for the huge voluntary effort that has shaped who and what we are today. To all of them, past and present, we owe a great debt of thanks and recognition. The pendulum of who and what we are is never still. The diversity of our large membership base ensures the arrival of new ideas and new points of enthusiasm. Our governance and enshrined objectives help clarify what we strive to be, and our commitment to yachting in all its forms, both sporting and
recreational, helps describe the centre point of the pendulum – that point where a sense of equilibrium is felt. Some days after my late night contemplations, I decided I would be brave and have a crack at talking about what the long term future might include. Using a Johari window approach, I condensed a 50 year look forward down to 4 primary known knowns and 1 known unknown. Recognising these hopefully enables us to start to build a picture. I colour coded these using a traffic light approach, with green representing substantial opportunities for SoPYC, and red being a threat to our future. Of these 5 points fortunately 4 are green, the other I am uncertain about. The uncertain one is the known unknown. It is of course Covid 19 and what the endgame of the pandemic is going to look like. At a Club level it has a flag of short term caution. The reason I have not allocate a colour to it is that, as an eternal optimist, I think there is evidence of some green shoots emerging. A tangible sequence might see cultural and behavioural shifts that results in a preference for recreation closer to home, it might see people staying closer to the benefits that living in Australia affords, it might see a strengthening of family groups as grandparents and parents reallocate priorities, and it might see being closer to the offerings that organisations like SoPYC provide as playing a part of that. Time will tell, but there may well be long term opportunities that arise, and that all yacht clubs could be well positioned for – I can only hope. The 4 green opportunities are big, and relatively easy to see – 2 of these are SoPYC specific, the other 2 are equally applicable to all other yacht clubs. I shall try to be brief.
Technology in our sport – the first BIG green
The media and virtual coverage in 2021 of the recent America’s Cup, the sailing events from the Tokyo Olympics, and, for the offshore enthusiasts, the latest edition of the Vendee Globe Race in 50 foot foiling class yachts sailing non-stop single handed around the world, has been incredible. Sailing at these elite levels can be now be enjoyed and appreciated easily be everyone from home. The investment in the technology has been enormous and its capacity to engage and enthuse both sailors and non-sailors of all ages and abilities is growing rapidly. It is a high end marketing of our sport that has been sought by many of us for a long time. It is not difficult to imagine where this might go in the next 50 or 60 years. As the technology continues to improve and become more affordable, it will undoubtedly at some point filter down to clubs and classes. Boat tracking, drones, virtual screen underlays and interactive cameras (to mention a few) will feed to automated production software that will then stream directly onto Clubhouse screens and members devices. A State Championship events will be able, in real time, to be viewed by families and supporters from home or the club or wherever they choose, Grandkids will be able to watch
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