2021 Opening Day Photo Gallery

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

the virtual versions of Grandpa racing his H28 on their device at home, Dad will be able to watch his son racing his optimist or foiling board whilst taking Mum to lunch, a change of speed by a time trialler will flash red on the club screen as a live F1 style result shows the penalty.

I could go further, but you get the idea. This is an exciting future space for all of us – it has a capacity to engage the full breadth of the sport at State, Club, and local levels.

It will cross generational divides and will give Clubs a strong point of engagement with both current and future members. It will be an opportunity at some point that could well play a defining role in the future of SoPYC.

Canning Bridge Precinct Vision – the second BIG green

This public growth initiative is right on SoPYC’s doorstep. Emanating from collective work done by the Cities of Melville and South Perth, the WAPC and the WA Government DOP in 2009, and subsequently endorsed by the WA Planning Commission in its Directions 31 paper of 2011, the expectations of population growth in the immediate area of 205k people, 120k new dwellings, and an increased workforce of 150k is already well and truly underway. Residential and office towers are already being built as we sit here today, and the supporting infrastructure for future growth is being upgraded.

Remembering that this was the 2031 WAPC outlook - it is not difficult to imagine in 50 or 60 years that this would have expanded way beyond those numbers on both sides of the Canning Bridge, and both inshore, and north and south on both banks of the Canning River.

The needs of these high density outcomes for residents and businesses could well require access to external facilities for recreation and social amenity purposes.

This represents a significant future opportunity for SoPYC. As one of the few self developed and community based sporting and recreational facilities in the area with a capacity to incrementally grow both its shoreside and water based facilities, SoPYC has the capacity to meet or influence the recreational needs of this population. An increased demographic of young singles and families, from children through to retirees will arrive, and engagement with them has the potential to be rewarding for SoPYC and its future.

It is, I think, a reality that cannot be avoided and, might I be bold enough to suggest, it should be embraced.

Our Capacity to Grow, and our Financial strength – the third BIG green

The last 22 years have seen SoPYC replace and increase its entire pen system, and build the Western and Eastern hardstanding areas. The opportunity continues to exist for incremental growth of these water activity facing assets and their configuration, and to further improve the solid revenue base that these contribute and which underpin our future.

A necessary recent recognition and refocus toward professionally maintaining these assets has been an essential step in this process, we have grown to point where this workload needs expert management, and protecting these assets is fundamental to the future. As these changes settle into the regime of the Club, the time is approaching for investment in and refurbishment of our member facing land based facilities, particularly if we are to take advantage of the previously mentioned opportunities.

It is not difficult to imagine that in 50 to 60 years we would have further optimised the use of our water and land area footprints with an increase in our marina berthing capacity, a redesign layout of our buildings for better use of the peninsula, a new main clubhouse (probably staged) to meet a masterplan focused on the future needs of new and current members, and offering improved support of our on water activities.

Getting this right will be challenging, but it presents the current and future leadership of the Club with an opportunity to provide a vision of a purpose designed facility which not only meets expected growth but in fact generates its own growth because it exceeds the expectations of current and future members.

Our Members, our Culture and Community – the fourth BIG green

The single greatest asset organisations like SoPYC have now and will have in its future is its people – its members and its staff.

Our Club enjoys a positive and inclusive culture, and is a community of like but varied interests.

A 50 or 60 year forward view shouldn’t see this change and should incorporate growing the engagement the Club has with and between its people, and about ensuring they support who and what we collectively are, and what we collectively want to achieve.

The future will be about providing services, facilities, events and recreational opportunities for everyone who walks through our door, and this may at times present some twists and turns as growth and the character of the society we are part of gets pushed and pulled in different directions.

It is about remembering the pendulum I mentioned earlier, allowing it to move around, whilst at the same time staying true to the core values and objectives that have steered us along the journey so far, and will continue to do so going forward.

All of the above suggest some interesting and exciting dimensions to the future.

On that note, it is nearly time I give up this microphone. Thank you Commodore Michael for the opportunity to make this address.

Let me congratulate and welcome all sailors who are here today and all those who will actively take part in the summer sailing program. May you enjoy good breezes, fair and earnest competition, and a cold beer with tales of success and incident in the bar afterwards.

It is now my pleasure to declare the 76th Sailing Season of the South of Perth Yacht Club open.

Rupert Leslie

Commodore 1997-99 Vice Patron Life Member