What Was Once A Vice Is Now A Habit
Commodore Russ Marcks
It’s a gorgeous day in the marina as I write this in the cockpit of my boat. It’s always a pleasure being on the marina grounds to escape, even if only temporarily, the hustle of one’s everyday life. But this will be a long column, so let’s get started.
I have received many positive comments regarding the shape of the clubhouse. Thanks to everyone for continuing to pick-up and clean-up after use. Since the last ‘Vices and Habits’ column, HBYC has acquired a disinfecting sprayer. Our housekeeper sprays most surfaces in the clubhouse with a 3% Hydrogen Peroxide mist. As most people know, Hydrogen Peroxide is not harmful to us or building surfaces and eventually decomposes into Oxygen and Water. This has NOT replaced wiping down hightouch areas.
You may have noticed new landscaping going on. Brenda has placed several plants from her garden at the entrance to the club. We also plan on a flower bed in front of the window of the ships store. Flowers and ferns were also purchased to hang around the patio, so things are looking quite nice.
I also wish to let everyone know the status of the grilles and our short bout with no propane. For those that may not know, the marina supplies propane. There is always an extra bottle on site if one of the grilles does run out. However, I ask that you exchange the empty bottle for a new one at the propane locker located between the two sheds on the west side of Barn 3. At a minimum, please let one of the bridge members know so it can be replaced more quickly. Some have also noted the poor condition of our propane grilles. These will be replaced soon, although I don’t have a date just yet.
There have been many complaints about the limited hours our pumpout is open. This issue has been resolved. The pumpout station will be available 24/7 as it has in the past. You have quite likely noticed the docks are also being cleaned on a regular basis. It’s pretty tough staying up with our flying friends, but the young crew does a pretty decent job under the circumstances.
Marina crew working hard to swab the docks..
Another added convenience by the marina is docking assistance. The marina has purchased VHF radios. You can hail them on Channel 69 to request assistance, pump out, fuel, etc. Given the size of the marina, please give them at least five minutes. This means you should probably hail from the coal docks or very shortly thereafter depending upon where you are heading.
If you’ve spent any time here, you might have noticed the dockside WiFi has had issues with outages and intermittent drops. If you experience such problems, please call the provider, Beacon WiFi, at 8885185077. It is necessary to call them directly rather than going through the office. This allows Beacon to locate your slip and make certain determinations as to what may be wrong. At this time, all I can tell you is that the issue still exists as I write this but has been escalated. Beacon will likely be sending the engineer in charge of this property to troubleshoot this problem. I’m confident this issue will be resolved soon.
If you’re paying attention to the HBYC calendar, you know there are several events planned for the weekend of 13 June. After speaking with Jared, National Marina Day (which can be celebrated any day between Memorial Day and Labor Day) will be postponed. This is due to the fact that the corporate offices are not going to allow gatherings at this time. If and when it is rescheduled, we will also have the HBYC Blessing of the Fleet ceremony.
Also that weekend, we do have a Trustees meeting, a Membership meeting, a Fun-Race, and a Social planned. Janell, Genie, and Larry have been hard at work. I know Janell will be releasing her View from the Rear column so I’ll let her address activities. However, I do wish to address the Trustee and Membership meetings.
The Membership meeting will be a hybrid Zoom meeting. Zoom is extremely simple to use, especially as a participant. It may be used on various versions of Windows, MAC OS, and Linux and is also available for your mobile iOS or Android devices. The link to the meeting will be sent under separate email. To help prevent Zoombombing, please do not pass the link to nonmembers. The Membership meeting will be followed immediately by a guest speaker also on Zoom using the same link.
NOTE: It is critical to understand that the meeting and presentation will be conducted at the clubhouse. Our WiFi at the clubhouse cannot handle more than one Zoom session at a time. We simply do not have the bandwidth. So…Please do not try to login to this Zoom meeting with a mobile device at the clubhouse. You CAN login to the Zoom meeting from your boat using the Marina’s WiFi system.
I also wanted to pass along some information from Larry Hurst and Brian Penrod. If you are cruising, with the club or on your own, you need to be aware of highwater issues as well as whether or not marinas are open to receive you. Much of this can be handled with a simple phone call, but the following charts may also be of interest.
For more information about Great Lakes water levels, go to https://www.lre.usace.army.mil/Missions/Great-Lakes-Information/Great-Lakes-Information.aspx#ICG_ETH_22302