Canadian Yachting October 2022 - 22

NEWS AND VIEWS FROM
THE CHIEF COMMANDER'S
DESK
- by Peter Bolton, Chief Commander, CPS-ECP
Face-to-Face
At long last we have started meeting in
person. The education department held
its annual spring meeting in Toronto in
late March, followed a week later by
the ExCom and board meetings. We
are now looking forward to the AGM
in downtown Toronto in October.
Members of my squadron (Cape Lazo)
attended the Victoria Conference in 2019. It was a short 2 1/2
hour drive from our valley - no airports, security, long lineups or
pain involved. One of the things they observed was the amazing
number of like-minded boaters they met from all over the country.
Online Zoom and Teams meetings are good and have their place
but they can't replace a handshake or a discussion in the bar. We
look forward to seeing you in Toronto in October.
Bert's In, Gaurav's Out
Bert's Journey Across Canada By Canoe (www.kainani.ca) is well
on its way.
As of this writing, Gabriola Squadron's Bert terHart more than
halfway through his epic 7,000-kilometre portage, paddling and
hoofing it (dragging his canoe behind him).
Bert left Steveston, BC on April 1 and has since traversed Indigenous
routes using a map, a compass and a sextant - no GPS.
He has passed Kelowna, Vernon, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Prince
Albert, Nipawin, The Pas, Portage la Prairie and Winnipeg. Now
it's onward via the north shore of Lake Superior to Ottawa and
Montreal before finishing in New Brunswick.
Unfortunutely, London Squadron's Gaurav Shinde has had to pull
out of the 2022 Golden Globe Race
Gaurav was among 18 starters in the one class non-stop race of
boats with full length keels (32 to 36 feet and designed before
1988) with stern rudders but a dislocated shoulder, sustained in
a slip and fall, has forced him to withdraw from the 3,500 mile
Atlantic crossing scheduled to start September 4 in France.
I can only imagine how disappointed Gaurav must be after so
much preparation for the event. Join me in saluting him for the
effort. Bet on Gaurav being back out on the water soon enough.
vantage
Point
Since The Last AGM...
Martin Gangnier has come, made a big difference and is nearly
gone. He is gone as our NOD but is staying with us as a member.
He will continue to participate as a volunteer and advisor.
Just before last year's AGM, we asked the squadrons and districts
if they could make contributions to the Special Projects Fund. The
response left us astonished and grateful. We now have more than
$250,000 in the fund. Many thanks to the contributing squadron
and districts, and especially the CPS Foundation. As a result of the
support, a number of important projects are getting the attention
they deserve.
The BCM online PCOC project is moving forward slowly. A Letter
of Intent has been signed by CPS-ECP and BCM, and we are
working on the Master Service Agreement (the contract) and the
Statement of Work. Also in progress is discussing with Innovexa
how to construct data links so that student information can be
securely passed from their online system to the CPS-ECP database
that we currently use.
We get many comments from squadrons that only teach in the
classroom. They are totally averse to teaching online, for whatever
reason. But one of the PMD Squadrons, North Shore, has
demonstrated that it is possible to hold a classroom course (or
seminar) and, at the same time, feed the classroom content to
an online audience. This is surely the best of both worlds. It's
great to see the new technologies being adapted in ways that
work for all of us.
We're All Ears
As we look ahead to the 2022 AGM in Toronto, we will be welcoming
five new directors to the board. Board members' names
- both current and new - will appear in the Notice of AGM. This
will be sent shortly to all members.
We get the sharp edge of members' tongues from time to time,
particularly over a perceived lack of communication. Communication
goes both ways. If members have anything of concern to
tell us, please do so (politely) by email or by passing on the information
via your Squadron Commander, District Commander or
one of the directors. They may be able to record your comments
or even answer your problem directly but they certainly will know
who to forward the information to. ■
22 CANADIAN YACHTING | OCTOBER 2022
48'
46'
44'
42'
http://www.kainani.ca
Canadian Yachting October 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Yachting October 2022
