Dear Members

Just an update on some club issues. Firstly, thank you to Ghana Breweries for the painting of our river rescue boat – now aptly named the Voltic boat (a slight improvement on the previous name!) She is looking gorgeous, and is now also sporting a brand new Mercury 25 hp motor and ready for action.

The club has purchased a backpack insecticide spray kit with all the safety equipment to go with it. The staff will be spraying the entire club premises once a month to keep the mosquito population at bay.

Here we are already past midyear, and a lot of the expats away on their summer holidays. It has been pretty quiet at the club lately as a result of so many members being away, as well as the fact that a lot of members have left Ghana. As the yearly subscriptions is the club’s main source of income, it is of some concern. We would therefore like to urge all members to encourage visitors to the club with the aim of recruiting new members.

The club has a lot to offer all age groups – we are particularly keen to encourage the younger generation to learn to sail. To this end, the club has spent some money to get two Lazers on the water which is the ideal boat to learn the basics of sailing. The Lazers can be hired for either 2 hours or for the whole day at a very reasonable rental. Also, one of our club employees, Francis, has agreed to teach beginners to sail for a small fee. Francis is a very competent sailor and very patient with the kids.

The club has also acquired some new kayaks to hire – two singles and one double. We also still have the Canadian canoe. They can also be hired for either 2 hours or for the whole day.

The hiring out of our 4 rooms also brings in some welcome income, and we would like to encourage the members to make more use of them. Room 1 (with Queen sized bed), and room 2 (with 2 bunk beds) have air conditioners. Room 3 (with Queen sized bed) and room 4 (with 2 bunk beds) have fans. All rooms are fitted with mosquito nets, but members need to bring their own bedding and towels. The air conditioned rooms are Ghc 50, and the ones with the fans at Ghc 30 per night. Please ensure that you book your room at least 3 days in advance by phoning our club manager, Isaac, at 0243501815.

The kitchen is well equipped with 3 fridge freezers, a gas stove, a microwave oven and a coffee machine. There is plenty of crockery, cutlery, pots and pans etc. We have 2 barbeques which the staff will light at any time, the charcoal is supplied by the club. The staff will also organise wood for a bonfire, which is magical for the kids (and non kids!). Remember to bring some marshmallows to roast!

Those of you who have spent a night or a weekend at the club, will know that there are few places in Ghana which offer the peace and tranquillity you get there. Sitting on the banks of the Volta River watching the sunrise or the seeing the full moon reflecting on the water is a wonderful experience.

Hopefully once everybody is back from their holidays, the monthly racing on the first Sunday of every month will thrive again. Any member who would like to crew on racing day, can contact our sailing secretary, Duncan MacNicol at 0544330096 and he can try and arrange a berth.

The club is also looking for sponsors for races or even mini regattas in the form of prizes, providing meat for a barbeque etc. The sponsor can put up advertising for the day – a great way to market your product as our members are from all walks of life. It can also provide an opportunity to entertain some of your clients – we could arrange for them to have a cruise on the river on a banana boat and visit some of the local rum distilleries on the islands, or have a walk through the fishing village which is quite an experience. Please contact Zenda Geddes at 0249759758 or Simon Inskip at 0544310494 to discuss sponsorship.

Looking forward to seeing lots of you (and your visitors) out at the club and more importantly, out on the water! We’ve got the best sailing waters any sailor could wish for, let’s use it!

Yours in sailing

John Geddes

Commodore