Dear Harbor 20 Fleet 1 Members,
The Fleet 1 Board of Directors has determined we need to increase fleet dues from $50 to $75 this year. The fleet has held some exceptionally high-quality events in 2014, including Tuning Day, the summer Rodeo Regatta and party, the Fleet Championship, and the Holiday Party. We have also procured high-quality awards, including High Point and Rain-or-Shine takehome trophies and C Division perpetuals. The fleet dues are used to pay for, or in some cases subsidize, these events as well as the cost of the website and other administrative functions. Given the positive feedback from fleet members about the events and awards, we feel it’s important to maintain their quality in 2015. We also want to make sure we keep the social event ticket prices reasonable and affordable for all members.
Before making the decision, the board researched other fleets’ dues and found that many are higher than ours (J70 $75, Etchells $125, Melges $250) without offering events of our caliber. We have no intention of raising dues to the Etchells or Melges level, but we wanted to make sure the Harbor 20 fleet provides greater value at reasonable fees.
The board intends that the dues be kept as low as possible in future years. We will carefully monitor income and expenses to ensure that you as a member get the best value for your dues. The increase in 2015 dues is partly to cover some one-time occurrences in 2014: First, our estimate of membership growth was optimistic, so our income was lower than forecast. Second, the annual awards budget didn’t cover the full cost of the new perpetual trophies. Finally, we had some unexpected costs related to the Fleet Championship and other events. We’re taking steps to ensure this doesn’t happen in 2015 and beyond.
The total of the new dues to become (or renew) membership for Fleet 1 will be $90 annually. This represents Fleet 1 dues of $75 and Class dues of $15. The Class dues are primarily used for the annual directory (which will be published in about a month), Class / National website, US Sailing membership, Class marketing & promotion, overhead, etc.
The new fees are already posted on the website and are in effect for all renewals. In fairness to all members, we’re asking those who have recently renewed their membership in 2015 to pay the increased amount by paying the difference between the old and new amounts. We have set up a special purchase item here for that purpose.
If you have questions or comments about this change, please feel free to contact either myself (Nik Froehlich) or our Treasurer Gary Thorne.
Nik Froehlich, Fleet 1 Captain
Gary Thorne, Fleet 1 Treasurer
