To be held online between 18.00 on October 18th and 18.00 on October 20th.
All current committee members have agreed to continue to serve on the committee. If anyone else would like to join the committee, or you wish to nominate someone for a place (of course, with their permission) then please let us know asap. We are still short of a cruise co-ordinator.
Agenda:
- To approve Minutes of the AGM 2018.
Proposed by Jan Thomas Seconded by Hilary Whitby - To re- elect the committee.
Proposed by Mo Wood Seconded by Richard Whitby - To approve the Commodore’s Report
Proposed by Martin Turner Seconded by Jan Bird - To accept Treasurer’s Report
Proposed by Mo Wood Seconded by Martin Turner - To approve donation of a further donation of £200 to Cotswolds Boatmobility to fund the training of a volunteer in RYA Power Boating Level 2.
Proposed by Hilary Whitby Seconded by Jan Bird
AOB
We hereby give notice of our Annual Social and Planning Meeting to be held at Stafford Boat Club on November 23rd from midday to 5pm approx. including fish and chip lunch. Details to follow.
Reports:
Commodore’s report 2019
This year has been quite successful in several ways.
Firstly, from a membership point of view, we have had a net gain of members with the addition of some who seem keen to travel and fit in with our general ethos. (Being adventurous and a bit mad), so a warm welcome to them.
I think if you look at the treasurer’s report you will see that we are in a very healthy state financially. We may, at some point, need to consider our charitable giving.
On the matter of club events this year, Martin organised, what I understand, was a very good outing on the Mon and Brec attended by some 13/14 people on five hired boats. I say some, as all of my report is from hearsay as, due to family illness, we were only able to attend one event this year, and that was by car!
This was followed on by a general gathering of six boats to the Birmingham canal navigations, organised by the BCN Society. According to all that attended, it was an excellent trip, if not slightly punctuated by the usual detritus in places like far flung Walsall.
Eight Boats then meandered from Birmingham and other places to attend the Stratford festival, where we had the gazebo erected and did yet another radio interview about the club and our mad escapades over the Wash the previous year. Many thanks to our media correspondent and her assistant yet again. Mind, even I got in on the act!
This was followed by some more meandering to the Evesham festival.
Due to our personal lack of organised activity this year there was a small unofficial transit of the Cheshire ring by Clara Grace and Cormorant 2 whilst attempting to negotiate the floods both out and back! Summer floods that is!
Looking forward to next year, we have the outlines of a cruise linking the main event: Peter’s Basingstoke canal trip which promises another one ticked, hopefully.
The route we are personally taking has been published on mobilize, leading to some having the erroneous impression that it’s a private cruise. Nothing could be further from the truth: advance notice of ideas only being given as, if people want to join in these things, they need booking earlier rather than later, especially when going anywhere near London. There is also the small matter of there only being one obvious route from our home mooring to Basingstoke!
In closing I would like to thank Mo Wood for her sterling work as secretary, always being slightly ahead of the game, our treasurer Jan Bird who has done a great job in the face of adversity, never a suggestion that it was too much. Thank you, Jan., Of course I can’t fail to mention Hilary as membership secretary, not only because she does a great job, but for other reasons too!
Thanks also to the members that come up with cruising ideas and get stuck in, that’s what the club is all about. Please keep the ideas coming in and feel free to suggest yourself as a coordinator.
I look forward to seeing you all at the November social
Ric Whitby
Commodore
Membership Secretary’s Report Oct 2019
Our current membership stands at 51 paying members, plus 2 honorary life members, so a slight increase on last year. We’ve lost some members this year for various reasons, but have gained others, usually by personal recommendation from other members. It’s important that all new members join us because they share the club ethos as ‘The club that really cruises’ so maybe we need to have some sort of vetting system to ensure this and this can be discussed at the AGM.
I have now become an administrator on the Mobilize site so, once a member is accepted, I can input their information directly onto the site, hopefully speeding up the process. I’ve also removed those who are no longer members. It’s really important that we are able to reach all our members via the Mobilize system as this is the way we disseminate information and conduct our AGM. I still don’t have email addresses for all individual members ( ie when I only have one email address per couple), so some members are not able to vote on agenda items in the AGM. Could you also let me know of any change of contact details.
I’d like to remind members both old and new that there is a members section on the club website where you’ll find information about members and their boats. If you haven’t added your details yet, or you’d like to update your information, please send a Word document and any pictures in .jpg format to Ged Layfield, our webmaster on ged@rascal.org.uk.
Ged has asked for the following information please:
I particularly ask that members send me some information about themselves, their boat(s) and a little bit on how you became boaters. We all agree that this helps us to get to know each other and to be able to look out for member boats when out and about. I would also like a picture of the two of you (head and shoulders selfie is good but any shot will be gratefully received) and a picture of your boat (full length if possible) and its signwriting (just a panel with the name etc.)
Hilary Whitby
Membership secretary
Cotswolds Boatmobility Report – October 2019
Like the kingfisher that darts before us, with a tantalising flash of blue, the years seem to be flashing by. It doesn’t seem that long – 2015 – since the 4Cs helped us get started with a donation of paddles for our first Katakanu, and various lots of support for setting up from members. Indeed, without the help of 4Cs members, we may not have even got off the ground….or in the water.
Next week, we are taking the boats on our usual trip up to the Ocean (a wide bit at the current end of navigation on the Stroudwater Canal) where we will be seen by the Heritage Lottery Fund visitors, doing what we do best – having refreshments part way through the morning, by the landing stage, with our flasks, bamboo cups and box of cakes or biscuits…..and having fun. For having fun, getting away from it all, being near water, being with people and seeing the wildlife is why people come and it is what we are all about.
We continue to be the only way to regularly get out on the canal on a boat for those who might not otherwise be able to and as such we are the flagship (couldn’t resist the pun) for the canal restoration project. We were part of a community day called Nicer on Water, with the Cotswolds Canals Connected group, when we shared the water with the Stand Up Paddleboarders, the local canoe club, the CCT trip boat and invited members of the local community, to see what the canal has to offer.
A number of events were also held to bring the restoration to the attention of the wider local community. We have a regular group of weekly boaters, regular occasional visits from Care Homes and a special school and annual trips with social groups of all kinds. With mental health and exercise taking a higher profile generally, we encourage everybody to come and have a go, and having the boats we do, we are able to take out on the water, people with all sorts of disabilities. If we have spare seats, we sometimes just collect people on the way – last week it was a couple from Tewkesbury who had just come for a run on the towpath, and some children from Australia with their local grandmother. Usually we see these people again, because once they know we are there they want to come again.
Being waterway pioneers isn’t without its issues. Water levels can vary, as our section has not recently been dredged, nor profiled. Weed levels can get too high for our small plastic electric motor on the Wheelyboat. We had alterations to make our slipway safer but it is still the only slipway. There are no facilities along the canal, to make it a destination. We found that not having a loo was putting people off coming, so, after much deliberation about composting, planning permission etc, we launched an appeal for funds to buy a new Accessible Portaloo. It was £1500 but straight away we were given £1000 towards it, by one generous local person, and the company waived the VAT so our faith in going for it was well rewarded. As we have to pay to empty it, we keep it locked but just in case any of you want to use it, you have the usual key. And we offer the facility to the CCT volunteers.
Having been operating for five years now, we have had to replace some of our original equipment. We have checked and replaced life jackets, bought a new Katakanu and serviced the Wheelyboat engine. Insurance is a large item. Publicity isn’t cheap, with printing and banner costs. We were very fortunate to be given the services of a professional film maker at cost and to have these costs funded by a local charity grant. We are consolidating our training procedures and we have three volunteers with RYA Power Boat 2 certificates, in addition to Helmsman’s certificates and others. This is to do with our boats not being standard vessels and not being compatible with standard certification. We are looking to fund three more people at £200 each for the two-day course. We have been generously funded by lots of local groups and individuals and we need this to continue. Most grant applications have to be made for specific items which do not include training and running costs.
So, it would be good to see some of you, and your friends and family, out on our boats sometime. We go all year round, except in January when we clean and service the boats. It is good to know that we continue to have your support. We are having a New Year’s Day session at Ryeford and our AGM is at Ebley Mill, Stroud on Friday afternoon on February 7th (tbc). You are all invited. We have a Facebook page and please feel free to share the video – its been seen by nearly 5,000 people. Thanks, from Jan and all the Cotswold Boatmobility group.
- We are looking for a new secretary as our lovely Theresa is moving away. Trustees meet every two months and the role is to call the meetings, send out the agendas, take the minutes and then send them out.
Cotswold Boatmobility, 89 Boakes Drive, Stonehouse GL10 3QW
t: 07562 173659
e:info@cotswoldboatmobility.org.uk
w:www.cotswoldboatmobility.org.uk
Patron: Peter Best
Jan Thomas
Treasurers Report – Year ending April 2019
I took up the reins from Ric in March this year to become Treasurer for the 4C’s following an invitation from the committee at last years AGM. Having been the Hon Treasure for my local branch of Formby & Southport Riding for the Disabled Association for the past 10 years and managing to keep track of funds, I was considered a suitable candidate (plus I believe nobody else wanted the job!)
And so to business.
Our membership numbers swelled by 2 to 49 members (47 paid up plus 2 x honorary). We actually gained a few other new members who signed up very late in the season so it was decided to carry their subs over to the next year.
No donation was made to Cotswold Boatmobility, no payment was made for web hosting either probably because of the change in our financial year dates.
Postal charges were high due to the number of AWCC cards and books that were posted out, plus a couple of awards to members who could not attend the planning meeting and get together. Gifts were given to our outgoing Commodore and also to our web guru Ged in thanks by the members. Venue hire is for the excellent use of the facilities at Stafford Boat Club and consumables (which I thought were for eating) was for carbon monoxide gas testing kit.
Our bank balance remains healthy with contingency money needed to replace stock and satisfy ongoing expenditure. The summary of accounts can be found by clicking on the pdf below:
Jan Bird
Treasurer