COMMODORE’S LOG

Iwant to thank you for the opportunity and honor to serve as the 2023-2024 Commodore of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. My earliest recollection of the Yacht Club dates to the late 60’s when I used to dine with family friends at the Club. Even at a young age I was always struck by the majesty and history of the club. I felt like I was in a very special place.

As a member of the Club for over 30 years I have built my own memories having attended many social and personal gatherings with family and friends. Who would ever have thought that I would be Commodore one day! I want to express a special thank you to Past Commodore Brian Smith for his leadership this past year.

He ushered the Club through our strategic and master planning processes that laid the groundwork for the next generation of Yacht Club members. I understand how Brian was so successful in private business as I watched how he dealt with the other Flag officers, Board and staff. He always listened and was open to other’s thoughts and opinions and had a genuine concern for the membership. I only hope that I can accomplish a fraction of what he has.

To that end, I am excited about continuing the process of designing a new clubhouse. The Building Redevelopment Oversight Committee (BROC) is hard at it with preliminary planning of the facility. I hope that they will have some conceptual concepts to share and gather member feedback over the coming months. By the time you read this our new docks should have been delivered and demolition well under way.

The Club also hosted the J/70 Worlds Sailing Regatta with over ninety entries representing over twenty countries. It is another feather in the Club’s cap to cement our reputation as a premier sailing club. I want to thank all the volunteers and the leadership provided by Dr. Jody Abrams and Corey Hall that made this event so successful.

We also hosted Michael Gutenplan, a third-generation mentalist who put on an incredible show and a new member party that was well attended, and another will be scheduled in 6 months. Please keep the Yacht Club in mind as you make your holiday party plans. Thanksgiving will include not only an incredible spread at the Club, but you can also order “Thanksgiving To-Go”. You don’t want to miss the Commodore's Ball on November 11th, it is a TITANIC themed event and a wonderful way to honor our outgoing Commodore.

Lastly, I want to share my experience attending the Club’s first International Council of Yacht Clubs (ICOYC) conference with our manager that was recently held in Vancouver. Your Club was admitted to this invitation only worldwide organization this past year. Over 45 clubs were represented from the US, Hong Kong, Australia, Europe and South America. I was honored to be asked to make a presentation about our Club’s strategic and master planning process. I met some incredible people with my primary takeaway being that it doesn’t matter where your club is located or how it is governed, we are all facing the same challenges.

Cordially,

Scott Boyle, Commodore