THE NORTH AMERICAN STATION

OF THE ROYAL SCANDINAVIAN YACHT CLUBS

AND NYLÄNDSKA JAKTKLUBBEN

est. 1945

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  • Nicholas Orem
  • June 3, 2021
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2020 Annual Meeting Minutes

North American Station Annual Meeting Minutes

December 5, 2020

Attendees: E. Godshalk, N. Orem, R. West, J. Bowden, D. Tunick, D. Brown, H. Nakajima, A. Heyward, C. Säve, M. René, H. Roos, O. Haxthausen, A. Barrows, C, Anderson, G. Sherman, Home Clubs Commodores Casselbrant, Kjærsgaard, Salén and Welín, and ca. 100 attending members.

Post Captain (PC) Ernie Godshalk called the 2020 NAS Annual Meeting to order at 1000 via Zoom.

Secretary West confirmed the presence of a quorum and presented the minutes from the Spring Meeting on June 5, 2020.  Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board waived reading of the minutes and approved them.

  1. Final Voyages – R. West and N. Orem

Henry Hill Anderson Jr.

Cynthia Crump Crimmins

Nicholas Bayard Dill Jr.

Oivind Lorentzen Jr.

Nigel Savage MacEwan

William Scott Piper III

The bell on the Blunt White Trophy was rung once for each member, with eight bells at the conclusion.

  1. PC Godshalk gave a brief PC report on actions by the Governing Board, including appreciation to retiring Governors Brown and Nakajima and introducing new Governor Magnus René; contact and activities this year with the home clubs; the state of the Station is in good order.
  1. Fleet Captain Tunick reported that the fleet is scattered due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
  1. Secretary: Secretary West reported that current membership totals 271 members.
  1. Treasurer: Increased revenue from robust membership dues and contributions to our 75th Anniversary fundraising campaign in conjunction with the deferral of significant expenses by not being able to host the Atlantic Round and Five Club Regattas or our Christmas Dinner Dance, leave the Station’s finances in better shape than in many years past. As of December 4, the Station had year-to-date revenue of $44,710, total expenditures of $14,251 and net revenue $30,459. Cash on hand was $118,400 with approximately $4,500 of dues outstanding, most of which we hope to collect before year end.   Statements of activity and financial position for year-to-date 2020 and fiscal year 2019 were distributed.
  1. Nominating Committee report.   NC Chair David Brown presenting.  The Nominating Committee places the following names in nomination for the positions indicated for election at the 2020 Annual Meeting of the North American Station:

Post Captain, for a term ending in 2023:  Nicholas R. Orem

Treasurer, for another term ending in 2023:  Jennifer Bowden

Governor, for a term ending in 2023:  Gale Sherman

Governor, for a term ending in 2023: Ernest Godshalk III

The following individuals will continue to serve in the positions indicated:

Secretary, for a term ending in 2022:  Richard L. West

Governor, for a term ending in 2021: Allan Heyward

The following individuals will continue to serve as Representatives of their Home Clubs and as members of the NAS Board of Governors with open terms:

KSSS: Caroline Säve

GKSS: Magnus René

NJK: Henrik Roos

KDY: C. Ove Haxthausen

KNS: Angelica Barrows

The Post Captain will appoint individuals to serve in the following positions as vacancies require and who will serve ex-officio on the NAS Board of Governors:

Fleet Captain

Chair, Membership Committee

  1. Membership Committee:  Mr. Orem reported that two candidates for membership have been approved by the Governing Board.  Upon motion duly made and seconded, the members ratified the elections of new members Magnus and Maria René.
  1. The Atlantic Round (TAR), by Palmer Sparkman.  TAR 2021 will be hosted by the NAS in Norway; TAR 2022 in Newport.  Members interested in racing in Norway should contact the Mr. Sparkman, who is the NAS team Race Captain.  
  1. Five Club Regatta and Junior Exchange report by Ms. Barrows.  Both were canceled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.   Plans for 2021 are still uncertain and will depend on status of vaccinations and travel restrictions.
  1. Home Club reports: 

GKSS – Commodore Robert Casselbrant reporting.    Celebrating 160 years since founding in 1860, small celebration outside at club Awarded order of merit Ernie Godshalk and David Tunick

Canceled J70 champs and 49er champs. Hosted a Waszp regatta.

KDY – Commodore Kjærsgaard reporting.  KDY remains very active. Messrs. Godshalk and Orem have been elected members.

KSSS – Patrick Salén reporting.  Sailing is “Covid-friendly.”   However, KSSS canceled a number of events, including the Gotland Runt.    Otherwise, singlehanded sailing grew in popularity, training increased, and summer camps were full.  Staycations were popular, as Swedes enjoyed the archipelago.  In 2021, KSSS celebrates 190 years since the club was started at Skeppsholmen, May 15, 1830.   

KSSS salutes its 75-year friendship with NAS.  Recognition award presented to PC Godshalk in connection with the end of his term as Post Captain 2014-2020.

NJK – Mats Welin reporting.  2020 recap: good season despite Covid, although no racing in May.   Junior training programs were very popular.  The AGM was held virtually last week.  No in-person meetings until spring.   Thank you to PC Godshalk for years at NAS.   NJK has elected Ernie Godshalk as permanent member.   Nick Orem is a member of NJK ex officio.

KNS – Ms. Barrows reporting.  Norway experiencing travel restrictions.   It is hard to find a boat for sale.  New docks installed at the club.  KNS has a fleet of J70 and J80 boats that can be used by KNS members.

  1. NAS 2023 Cruise in North America.  Cruise Chair Chace Anderson reporting.  Two-week cruise beginning July 21, 2023.   Anticipated itinerary will be Newport, Cuttyhunk Island, Hadley Harbor, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and return Aug 1. 
  1. Long Range Planning Committee – Nick Orem reporting.  The Long-Range Planning Committee (LRPC) was formed after the 2019 Annual Meeting.  The LPRC is considering these issues: aging membership and financing TAR and 5C in the USA.
  1. Awards. 
  1. David Brown (PC 2011-2014, winner of Blunt White in 2018) was given an embroidered badge in a shadow box “with deep appreciation for long and dedicated service.” 
  2. Hiro Nakajima (Director since 2004, former Secretary, Chair of TAR at Stamford YC, Peter Spahr Award recipient, owner of Hiro Maru: recipient of PC award in 2019 for winning the Transatlantic Race) was given scroll vellum inscribed “… with deep appreciation for long and dedicated service to eh Board of NAS…”
  3. Post Captain Award:  Golden Eye, owned by PC Godshalk.   Hinckley Sou’wester 42
  4. Blunt White Trophy: Ernest Godshalk.  David Tunick’s encomium is attached to these minutes.  The Blunt White Trophy is awarded at the discretion of the Governing Board to a member who has brought distinction to the Station by meritorious service, outstanding seamanship, outstanding performance in long distance racing or cruising, outstanding sportsmanship, the effective organization of an official activity of the station, or any combination of these phases of yachting.  The trophy was established by members of The North American Station.   The trophy, a silver bell, was designed by Count Pehr Sparre.  
  5. 25-year award to Barbara and Harald Rosengren
  1. Old Business:
    1. New members introduced:
      1. Amanda Balasubramanian
      2. Pernilla Frisk
      3. Peter Hansen
      4. Johanna Moffitt
      5. Maria Mølle
      6. Magnus & Maria René 
      7. Per & Anne Charlotte Säve
      8. Richard Waterman
    2. The entire slate presented by the Nominating Committee was elected by acclamation.
    3. PC-Elect Orem thanked the members for their trust in electing him PC.  PC Orem thanked Ernie Godshalk for handing over the station in such good health.  He also thanked immediate past Post Captains David Brown and David Tunick, Secretary Richard West, Treasurer Jennifer Bowden, outgoing Board members Brown and Nakajima, Chace Anderson for his work on the 2023 Cruise, home club Commodores, and the authors of the Station history.
  1. New Business:
    1. Speaker series
      1. In January, Juan Corradi, will present Norwegian Steam, the story of the Norwegian sailors who comprised the crews of many of the America’s Cup defenders in the first half of the 20th century. 
      2. Don’t Give Up the Ship!, arranged by David Tunick, will be presented in February 2021 by Rich duMoulin and a panel of six sailors that includes member Les Crane.
      3. In March at talk about the International Knarr Championship organized by Doug Adkins.
    2. 75th Anniversary fundraising.  ½ of goal raised; plan to restart campaign in 2021
    3. The 2021 Directory will be finalized, printed, and delivered by January.
    4. We will postpone our 75th Anniversary Celebration until we can have it live at the 2021 Christmas Dinner Dance.
    5. The Young Members Committee is Chaired by Carolina Save
    6. TAR and 5C 
      1. 2021 in Newport is rescheduled to 2022
      2. 2021 KNS in Norway - dates TBD.
    7. The NAS will organize our first domestic cruise in many years in 2023.  The cruise will start in Newport and sail to Nantucket with stops at many historic and attractive anchorages along the way.

Meeting adjourned at 1140 EST.

Respectfully submitted,

Richard L. West

Secretary

BLUNT WHITE AWARD 2020

ERNEST L. GODSHALK III

PRESENTED BY DAVID TUNICK (Zoom)

THE BLUNT WHITE TROPHY IS OUR HIGHEST AWARD. A SILVER BELL, HAND-CRAFTED IN STOCKHOLM, IT WAS DESIGNED BY OUR FOUNDER, COUNT PEHR SPARRE. IT IS RESERVED FOR A RECIPIENT WHO, AS PRESCRIBED BY THE DEED OF GIFT, HAS, QUOTE, “BROUGHT DISTINCTION TO THE STATION BY MERITORIOUS SERVICE, OUTSTANDING SEAMANSHIP, OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN LONG DISTANCE … CRUISING, OUTSTANDING SPORTSMANSHIP, [and] THE EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATION OF AN OFFICIAL ACTIVITY OF THE STATION, OR ANY COMBINATION OF THESE PHASES OF YACHTING.”  END QUOTE.

THERE IS ONLY ONE PERSON AMONG OUR MEMBERSHIP WHO REPRESENTS THE DEFINITION OF EVERY CRITERION THIS AWARD SPECIFIES. BY UNANIMOUS ACCLAMATION OF OUR AWARDS COMMITTEE, THE WINNER IS OUR ESTEEMED AND OUTGOING POST CAPTAIN, ERNEST L. GODSHALK III.  HE IS RECEIVING IT A SECOND TIME - THE LAST TIME WAS IN 2017 – AND THAT PUTS HIM IN VERY RARIFIED COMPANY SINCE OUR FOUNDING IN 1945. IF WE COULD DO AWAY WITH OUR BYLAW DICTATING TERM LIMITS, ERNIE WOULD BE IN DANGER OF BEING CROWNED POST CAPTAIN FOR LIFE. BUT, ALAS, HE HAS NOW SERVED THE MAXIMUM TWO TERMS.

ERNIE, YOU HAVE ENRICHED OUR ENTIRE MEMBERSHIP WITH YOUR VISION, LEADERSHIP, DEDICATION, AND COMMITMENT TO THE NORTH AMERICAN STATION. YOU HAVE BROUGHT THE NAS TO ITS HIGHEST POINT IN OUR 75-YEAR HISTORY IN INNUMERABLE WAYS. YOU INSPIRED VIGOROUS PARTICIPATION IN THE ATLANTIC ROUND. YOU INSPIRED ROBUST PARTICIPATION IN THE FIVE CLUB REGATTA FOR JUNIORS. YOU INSPIRED THE REBIRTH OF THE JUNIOR EXCHANGE. YOU INSPIRED THE COMMODORES OF THE FIVE CLUBS TO ATTEND OUR EVENTS. YOU INSPIRED PARTICIPATION IN OUR CRUISES TO A BREATHTAKING EXTENT, ESPECIALLY THE LAST IN SWEDEN. AND YOU INSPIRED OUR MEMBERS TO ATTEND THE SPRING MEETING, THE CLAMBAKE, THE ANNUAL MEETING, AND CHRISTMAS DINNER IN RECORD BREAKING NUMBERS. 

THAT KIND OF INSPIRATION DOESN’T COME WITH JUST A SMILE AND A NOD. A DAY HARDLY WENT BY DURING THESE LAST SIX YEARS WHEN YOU WERE NOT IN TOUCH VIA INNUMERABLE EMAILS, LETTERS, NOTES, AND PHONE CALLS WITH THE BOARD, WITH INDIVIDUAL NAS MEMBERS, WITH KSSS, KNS, KDY, GKSS, AND NJK. YOU HAVE WORKED INDEFATIGABLY TO DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS ABROAD WITH A LASER FOCUS ON THE HOME CLUBS. THOSE RELATIONSHIPS – BUILDING, NURTURING, AND GROWING THEM - IS AT THE VERY CORE OF OUR MISSION. YOU PERSONALLY VISITED EVERY HOME CLUB, ALL OF THEM ON YOUR BOAT, SOME BY OTHER MODES OF TRANSPORT. YOU HAVE DONE ALL THIS AND ENGENDERED A TRUE SPIRIT OF COLLEGIALITY, COMARADERIE, AND CONVIVIALITY, THUS EXPANDING OUR VISION AND OUR REACH ENORMOUSLY.

YOU HAVE COUPLED THIS WITH A WINNING PERSONALITY, AN ELEGANT STYLE, AND A SENSE OF HUMOR EXPRESSED IN SO MANY WAYS, BUT UNFORGETTABLY VIA YOUR LETTERS WITH ACCOMPANYING PHOTOGRAPHS, YOUR MANY PUBLISHED ARTICLES THROUGHOUT THE YACHTING PRESS, YOUR BLARING OFF-KEY TRUMPET, YOUR RECITATION OF COMIC POETRY, AND YOUR UBIQUITOUS PRESENCE. YOU WIN FRIENDS EVERYWHERE YOU GO, BRINGING DISTINCTION TO YOURSELF AND TO THE NORTH AMERICAN STATION. 

FOR THIS AND MUCH, MUCH MORE, FOR YOUR SUCCESFUL EFFORTS TO MAKE THE NAS MORE RELEVANT IN SCANDINAVIA AND IN THIS COUNTRY THAN IT HAS EVER BEEN, FOR YOUR BEING THE EXEMPLAR OF A POST CAPTAIN WITHOUT EQUAL, WE ARE SO VERY HAPPY TO PRESENT YOU WITH THIS TOKEN OF OUR AFFECTION AND GRATITUDE, THE BLUNT WHITE TROPHY.