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2010-05-26T09:55:00.001-04:00

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Aimee Mullins on the Opportunity of Adversity

2010-02-18T17:56:00.002-05:00

A great TEDMED talk from the amazing Aimee Mullins:

2010-01-19 Board meeting minutes

2010-02-15T12:06:00.008-05:00

Minutes from January 19th, 2010, Y-Knot Board meeting at Clifton Park YMCA, 6:00 P.M.

In attendance were Scott Stewart and Don Miller (co-Vice-Presidents), Keith Edwards (Camp Chingachgook liaison), John Kershko, Trish McCluskey, Spencer Raggio and Dan Byrnes (Secretary). Dave Whalen participated part of the time remotely.

1. Don welcomed John as a new member. He and his daughter had volunteered this summer, made terrific contributions then and we're very pleased to have John on board here.

2. Scott moved to accept the minutes from Nov. 7, 2009 and Spencer seconded, passed unanimously (new member John abstaining).

3. Treasurer's Report

Scott asked whether we were going to break "away" regatta expenses out from the miscellaneous category, so we could track them separately and possibly fund them better. Scott mentioned the Nyack and Burlington regattas and the Mobility Cup as examples. Spencer suggested that Treasurer Rick Irvine speak to Camp Director George Painter about breaking those items out a little differently.

The 2009 cash flow statement shows a loss of $632. Spencer estimated that traveling to "away" regattas cost about $4,000 for transportation and expenses. Last year, membership fees and donations were down from the prior year, but 2008 donations included an unusual $5,000 item from Nyack Yacht Club. Don and Trish raised the question of whether there wasn't anything like that last year, and Keith said he would check with Aimee, who does the books and thank you letters, and get back to us. Spencer moved the Treasurer's report be accepted, Scott seconded and it was unanimous.

4. Committee reports

Two committee chairs are still open: membership and publicity/promotion. Technically Program Director is open too, but camp staff is filling in for that and that is working fine.

Next meeting, Dan will have a hit list of transportation companies and other transportation-concerned organizations to contact about promotion this spring, including possible site visits recruiting interaction with the drivers. Dan proposed making a publicity tool (pro forma press release) out of the establishment of the 11 sailing dates and the 3 racing clinics to create a reason for contacting the organizations on that list. Keith said Aimee has resources for the distribution list, and Spencer said he does, too. We'll have this organized by next meeting.

Regarding fundraising and merchandising activities, the calendar idea has been talked about this year, but we needed winter photos a few months ago to make the deadline for this year. (Let's all go out and get winter photos.) Pens and other merchandise will be discussed more next meeting.

George has proposed fundraising to pay for the new dock area--maybe a special event. Would the board like to host a special event? He is trying to fill a gap of about $40,000 on a $180,000 budget. Would we consider: dinner and sail, silent auction and a sail? Do we want to sell boards on the dock? Do we want to setup a PayPal account to make a virtual program do-able? Spencer mentioned that a local company called Change Roundup will let people sign up so that if their charge on a credit card is, say, $18.33, the item will be rounded up to $19.00 and the change will be contributed to a not-for-profit of your choice. We could put out a call for funding that way. There's a lot to tie in. We agreed to pick it up next meeting.

Spencer said at future regattas we're going to be giving out a participant ID on a lanyard as a give away.

5. Old business

Keith said that the new single-boat boat trailer is scheduled to complete retrofit work this spring. The critical path item is 12-inch bed support and its welding requirements. It may become a work weekend project for April 24 and 25.

The autohelm won't break again — or require a sawed-off crescent wrench wrapped to the control with bicycle tire clamps to couple the piston to the steering mechanism. Since there are no clamps, chafing on the gel coat will no longer happen. Great job, Keith!! (Note that the autohelm is critical particularly for sip-n-puff steering interfaces used by high order quadriplegics, but as we saw this summer it's also really useful for sailors other than those with spinal-cord injuries. This is really cool to get this system back in service.)

An "away" regatta policy was drafted by Spencer, called the Regatta Policy for Loaning and Transporting Boats. This year, the Mobility Cup will be in Vancouver. Canadian Rail Co. would offer free shipping, but we'd have to do considerable work to load and secure our boats, and the rail company can't guarantee departure or arrival. That precludes the Mobility Cup for this year. There are plans for Burlington and Montreal. If they do something in Marlborough or Newport, now, we might be able to use the policy to decide to go. In New York City, Larchmont is also active. Y-Knot would also like to help sailors with traveling expenses for these events.

Dave Whalen said he had researched a Sonar with a gimbal seat — a Strahle seat. Dave said he'd like to look into whether using this device would help Y-Knot sailors participate at Nyack or Larchmont. Dave gave a great report about how much he enjoyed racing this summer up in Toronto, with Don Miller and Pete Hogue assisting. (He got to see a Yankees away game, too.) We need to look at getting the right harnesses. More research is available from the U.S. Sailing Web site.http://www.ussailing.org/swsn/technical-adapt.htm

We are planning to reserve 3 dates this summer for the sail racing clinic. The goal is to set aside 3 boats for racing practice. We will do brushing at all 3 sessions, and the 2nd session will also cover windward and leeward roundings. The last session will practice starts and finishes. The goal is to have a pathway for new sailors to come out over the summer and feel comfortable in the fall regatta, rather than having the sailor's first experience with starts, roundings and finishes be the regatta. If more than 3 people want to do it, we can talk about moving the session into the morning. We do not want to take away from regular sailing, so we do not plan to use more than 3 boats. Keith brought artistic renderings to show what we are planning to do. George says we are 80% approved. Bathroom facilities will still be up the hill. Dredging permit has been approved and will probably happen in the spring. This will make it lots easier to use all six Martins.

Don said we will operate at least one shuttle bus between Albany and Lake George, with a goal of operating one for all sailing dates next year. Don got a lead on a bus (ReadiVan, from a nearby senior assistance program) and they are going to lend it to our program to shuttle people from Albany up to Lake George. It has room for one wheelchair. We're going to look at shuttling from Stuyvesant, maybe the Bruegger's Bagels. Don proposed staffing it with volunteer help from the organization lending us the bus. Dan reminded the board that (he's heard) we've done it with volunteers in the past and it ran out of steam. To make a transportation work persistently, Dan said, we may need to hire drivers and get funding. For now, the Board agreed to work with a volunteer system and see how it goes.

There's a Federal initiative from the early years of the Bush administration requiring transportation organization that receive Federal funds to coordinate with other providers of transportation services for disabled citizens, so there are programs already in place in at least some public transportation organizations that could help us meet our goals. Dan found for instance a Web system in testing to coordinate transportation for disabled people — it's being tested in the Cayuga-Seneca system. I have a demo CD if anyone is interested in learning more about it. If this system ever makes its way into Albany, we would be able to benefit immediately. Dan met with Albany public transportation officials and they recommended we start with Glen Falls about interfacing with disabled programs. He's looking into getting up a contact there.

6. New business

The NY State Governor's office operates an event site. Don will take care of putting our data on their calendar.

When will this board meet for the balance of the year: 2/16, 3/16, 4/20, 5/18, 6/15, 8/17, 11/16. Nov. 16 will be the banquet.

We discussed moving the July 4 date just in light of the holiday.

We discussed having a Sailabration dinner in mid May. Spencer will contact the other organizations (Lake George Club, Corinthians) and check for interest.

The YMCA has an expense form we should start using.

We have merchandise we've made for special events such as the regatta. We can merchandise it. We may need a price list to help with this. Run this idea by Rick. (The hats especially have a lot of fashion appeal. Thank you, Rick!)

For the next meeting, we're going to try to find a location where we can wi-fi Dave in more readily.

Scott moved to adjourn, Spencer seconded and the vote was unanimous.

Submitted by Dan Byrnes, 2010-02-15.

2009 Y-Knot Board Annual Meeting

2009-12-09T18:20:00.004-05:00

November 7th, 2009 at Camp Chingachgook, 2:45pm

In attendance were Scott Stewart and Don Miller (co-Vice-Presidents), Rick Irvine (Treasurer), Becky Bonn (Secretary), Spencer Raggio, Trish McCluskey, Dan Byrne and George Painter.

Minutes from August 11, 2009 were accepted by Scott, and Trish seconded.

Treasurer's Report
Rick Irvine: the report is not totally up-to-date as of today. Participants were down. Miscellaneous expense was made up of travel expenses, mileage and lodging, new sails (should be switched to designated), apparel (should be set up as a line item, such as Y-Knot Store). A line item should also be created for regional regattas. Ti Race: nothing was raised but the Corinthians still sent approx. $200. Sailabration is an awesome end of the year event, maybe we should host a crew party at the opening season. Trish motioned to accept and Spencer seconded.

Committee Reports
Program Director / Camp Staff: Carol can reply to emails sent for volunteer and sailor registrations as confirmation. George says we are on autopilot at this point and through the slower times it is good that we have a good system in place and we will get stronger especially when the dock is in place. If more people show up then register we need to have a back up in place. We are comfortable with 22 sailors; maybe we can go later in the day depends on daylight. We can possibly go back to morning starts, depends on sailors and volunteers.

Membership
34 members currently; 40-50 in the past.

Publicity/Promotion
Dan will promise to have a plan in place by January's meeting concerning bus drivers and by February he will work on brochures/flyers to places in the Capital district. Trish's friend Peter Brady works with the Special Olympics and can possibly help.

Fundraising
Rick Irvine can make pens with our web address on them, magnets with dates, or calendars. LG Commerce Website and the Mirror and Chronicle would be great resources if we advertise. Online Store would be a great addition to our website.

Regatta
Spencer has all the pictures from the Regatta on Flickr. Rick donated glass picture frames for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner in each fleet. Thank you Rick, they were beautiful and appreciated.

Old Business
Keith has been keeping up the boats and they look good; running rigging is all color coded. Spencer put a spreadsheet together and Keith is working towards getting all the boats the same. BJ donated a single trailer that will be a huge asset to Y-Knot. Thank you so much BJ!

Regional Regatta Expenses should be a budget item; Trish will contact Mobil about possibly donating Gas Cards and check with hotel owners to see what they would offer. We need to work on publicity for regional regattas. Spencer tried after the fact for write-ups about attended events to update our website, with little luck. Spencer is working on defining policy and criteria needs to be set for sending boats and people to away events. The website calendar will list dates for regional regattas.

Waterfront area is still in the permitting phase and has 7 agencies involved. There is a 50% chance this could be built for next summer. The money is in place and a last appeal will be sent to add to it. $180K is for the dock and boat house and will have 3 additional lifts -- 5 in total. This will take Y-Knot to the next level and the community sailing.
Dan will present, in January, the idea of a competitive racing team and add a date to the calendar. George will send a draft of the calendar dates for confirmation.
Nyack: Steve and Pete want to go back to build upon the relationship started with them.

New Business
Marc will stay as President, Scott and Don will remain as VPs, and Rick will continue as Treasurer. Becky's term is up as secretary and must rotate off the board for one year. Dan Byrnes is elected as the new secretary and his role starts January 1, 2010. John Kershko would like to join the board. Dave Whalen would like to rejoin but has a hard time making the meetings. The board will try video conferencing. Scott motioned to accept the new board and Rick seconded the motion.

George said Aimee can check on availability on wireless capability and meeting at the Clifton Park YMCA. January 19, 2010 will be the first meeting. Meetings after that will be the third Tuesday of the month. Items to be discussed at the next meeting will be dates for 2010, extending the Y-Knot community sailing program season and 2010 NYS Governors Expo.

Meeting adjourned 4:30pm
Minutes submitted by Becky Bonn 12/9/09

Pierre Richard Repeats as Y-Knot Cup Winner

2009-09-18T22:24:00.002-04:00

Another great showing from our Canadian friends, with Pierre Richard repeating as Y-Knot Cup winner. Consistent breeze on Saturday allowed for three races for each fleet that day. On Sunday, a perfectly still morning sent the Silver fleet back to the dock without racing, but the Gold fleet came out in the afternoon in a freshening breeze for two races to wrap up the regatta in style. We received some great coverage from the Albany Times Union on the event as well. Check out the complete results from our tenth annual regatta. And photos from the event have been posted to Flickr.

Hilary Lister Completes Her Sail Around Britain

2009-09-17T22:24:00.002-04:00

Exciting news from Martin 16 godfather and Y-Knot friend Steve Alvey: “For the past three years, I've been working with a very bright and committed quadriplegic woman from the U.K. — Hilary Lister. Her dream was to sail around Britain and when she started talking about this, it was a naive dream in my view. Nevertheless, I supported her dream by equipping her with a sophisticated sip & puff control system that allowed her to sail her Artemis 20 and control a Raymarine GPS autopilot with her breath. She's worked tirelessly since that time to put together the technology, support team and courage to complete the journey. I knew that she was giving it a go for the second time this summer, and she made it round last week. Hilary is to be commended for her spirit, drive and tenacity.”

There’s a brief article about her accomplishment in The Guardian, and you can read more on Hilary's website.

Quadriplegic Sails Solo Around Britain

2009-09-02T13:14:00.001-04:00

From BBC News: A disabled yachtswoman has become the first female quadriplegic to sail solo around Britain. Hilary Lister, 37, was applauded as she sailed into Dover harbour, in her home county of Kent. On arrival, she declared: "I'm so relieved to be home but looking forward to the next challenge.

Y-Knot Board of Managers Minutes

2009-09-01T10:36:00.004-04:00

Y-Knot Board Meeting
August 11, 2009
Northwoods Health System, Niskayuna

In attendance were Marc Carnevale, (President), Scott Stewart and Don Miller (co-Vice-Presidents), Rick Irvine (Treasurer), Becky Bonn (Secretary) Keith Edwards (YMCA), Spencer Raggio, Trish McCluskey and Dan Byrne.

Financial Report
Rick Irvine. George would like to ask Y-Knot to donate the money in the designated fund ($13,025) to go towards the new dock at camp. Since Y-Knot has already received $100,000 from Betty Little towards the dock, the board decided to hold on to the designated fund for its original purpose. Spencer motioned to accept, Trish seconded the motion and all agreed.

The question to purchase a single trailer for the martins was raised. It would cost about $1900 from Yankee for a basic trailer, which would not be outfitted for a martin. A trailer could allow us to take a martin to a tradeshow or to Nyack, which in turn could generate sales. It would be easier to work on one boat at a time and it would allow some sailors who have small cars to tow one boat. Rick saw a used one but it would need to be refitted.

Y-Knot community sailing: $600 was pulled out of profit to cover administration fees. It equals about 40%. Spencer will look back further to see when admin fees kicked in.

Don motioned to accept the financial report and Scott seconded the motion.

Committee Reports
Keith Edwards is being groomed for the position of Program Director.

Membership
Where does the volunteer information go that is generated from the website? Is there someone that answers the YMCA inquiries that can also forward information from Y-Knot? Official invitation needs to be sent out prior to events. The board is wondering about Aimee Bousquet; Spencer will find out her role from George and follow up on where information and emails go.

Fundraising
PowerPoint, not sure where Pete is at with it. Dan will take the content and send it out to the group. Trish will be speaking in September to the Wounded Warriors and will talk up Y-Knot. Rick suggested the Prospect Child & Family Center on Aviation Rd. Rick has calendars and will have a mock up done for the November banquet. We can then take orders once the dates for 2010 have been set. Also water bottles will be given to participants and also available for sale at $10 each. Rick and Becky are working on new shirts as well for volunteers and for sale.

Regatta
Spencer will have NOR for Sept 12 – 13 out soon. Don will be on the dock. We will need to borrow flags from the LGC. This is our 10th annual regatta. Spencer will talk to Rebecca to find out if Canadian sailors will be in attendance. Rick will donate glass picture frames for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner in each fleet.

Boat 13 is beat up but salvageable, Keith is hoping to have it repaired by the Regatta but it is not guaranteed. The new sails are here and Rick is going to look into the process of adhering the logos to the sails. Rick and Don will measure the sails on Sat and start working on placement.

Spencer is still working on the Regatta Policy. Dan Byrnes will have more information by November concerning a competitive racing team. Dan will also be speaking with Rebecca and George about grant writing with the hopes of putting funding in place for transportation. Spencer sent a survey out in June concerning the structure and platform of the Y-Knot and heard from two people.

Year end banquet is November 7th. Becky will work with Aimee concerning the Silent Auction. Spencer will find out from Nate Dickenson if they, the Corinthians, are interested in attending. The Volunteer of the Year has been picked and the Trish is working on the gift that has also been decided upon. For surprise sake both items are left out of the minutes.

Next meeting is the annual Board Meeting on Nov 7 at Camp Chingachgook
Minutes submitted by Becky Bonn on 9/1/09

Y-Knot Sailors Finish in the Money at Burlington

2009-08-19T11:22:00.004-04:00

Congratulations to Steve Mintz, Eric Rose and Dave Whalen, who represented Y-Knot at the NDAA Regatta in Burlington earlier this month. The results:

Steve Mintz (Lake George, NY)
Patrick Standen (Burlington, VT)
Eric Rose (Manchester, VT)
David Whalen (Albany, NY)
Andrea Kerr (Essex Jct. VT)
Charlotte Merle-Smith (Monkton, VT)

A note from NDAA President Patrick Standen:

“I want to thank each and every one of you for helping NDAA make the 7th Annual Lake Champlain Martin 16 Invitational Regatta such a big success. We had superb wind conditions yesterday giving us the opportunity to have 8 races!

“First, a big thank you to our corporate sponsor FairPoint Communications. Their generous sponsorship makes it all possible. Also, a big NDAA thanks to the Malletts Bay Boat Club for hosting the event and special thanks to Mark Gardener and crew for setting perfect courses as the Race Committee. Thanks, too, to the hard work of the boat crew spearheaded by Pete Hogg and Keith Williams. A special thanks to George Painter and Y-Knot Sailing from the YMCA Camp Chingachcook for the use of their Martin 16 boats.”

Martin 16 Conversion

2009-07-12T11:36:00.002-04:00

Very interesting video on the M16 conversion project being done by the DSA in the UK:

Board of Managers April 15, 2009 Minutes

2009-06-15T13:37:00.002-04:00

YKnot board meeting
April 15, 2009
Clifton Park Town Library

6:15 Minutes were previously read online by members in attendance

In attendance were Scott Stewart and Don Miller (co-vice presidents), Rick Irvine (treasurer), Sara Grube and Keith Edwards (YMCA), Spencer Raggio, Trish McCluskey and board alum Steve Mintz.

A get well card was signed for Mark Carnevale, who is in the hospital.

Financial report: nothing new to report. Sails will be ordered once the final cost for adding the YKnot logo has been calculated. New categories for spending have not been resolved to date. Rick and George will continue working on this.

The dates June 27 and 28 have been approved by the camp for a Race training clinic to be given by our Canadian friends. Lakeside cabins with ramps will house them for the weekend. Trish will contact Mark to help him with finalizing the arrangements.
An email blast needs to be sent to past participants, inviting them to join in. The board agreed that there should be no cost to the Canadians for the accommodations and food, since they are traveling to help with our racing program. Sara will talk to George about this.

Sara will finalize letters to the Bank of America looking for volunteers; the bank will then donate $200.00 to the YKNot program once the employee completes a number of hours.

Where does the volunteer information go that is generated from the website? Sara believes it goes to a main site at the Y. Is there someone that answers the YMCA inquiries that can also forward information from YKnot? Sara was not hopeful, but would check into it.

Dan was not in attendance, but sent an email about the activities he was following up on. He is meeting with Mike Peluso to work on the possibility for transportation for sailors to the lake. He did speak to several bus companies, but nothing has been resolved so far. The deadline for the grant money was missed, but he would like to work on it for next year.

Scott reported that the Bull and Bear was unresponsive to requests for information for a fundraiser.

This year is the 10th anniversary Regatta. Spencer and Rex will work on something to commemorate the event. We would like to have media coverage. Other suggestions were speakers and getting all the past winners to attend.

Fishing has No Boundaries, a program for disabled people, will hold a day of fishing at the camp on the same weekend as the regatta. There was some concern that this a. takes away from the regatta b. having that many people on the waterfront will be cumbersome and c. numerous boats and drivers will already be needed for the regatta. Don said that it was an organization that is run out of Windham, NY and they wouldn’t require anything from the YKnot organization.

Spencer is working on the policy for regatta travel and loaning boats. He expects it to be done well before the July 23 regatta at AQVA.

There are 8 people signed up for the work weekend April 25 and 26. Boats will be cleaned, waxed and fixed. Inventory will be taken on slings and gear. Keith suggested we try to get No Limit in the water this weekend as well.

Rick has been researching Tshirts and hats. A bright shirt will help identify a volunteer to any sailor coming into the docks. He will email more samples to us and a decision will be made in time to have the shirts available for the volunteer training day on May 16.

New waterfront: George has put the work out for bid.

Our friends at the Nyack Yacht Club contacted George. They are having the open house again this year and asked if we could send someone down and perhaps a boat to display. Keith informed us that we could only sent two boats, since the trailers need to have two in order to properly balance. He suggested that we purchase, for approximately $1500.00, a single trailer. He will look into this and report back. Steve would like to go down and would need someone to go with. He will try and find someone to go with.

Scott motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:00. Trish seconded.
Next meeting Tuesday, June 15. Sara will arrange for a meeting room at the Y.

submitted by Trish McCluskey

Adaptable Steering for the Martin 16 Video

2009-06-02T23:35:00.002-04:00

Another two-part video from the Point Claire Yacht Club in Montreal, this time on some of the steering adaptations available for the Martin 16:

Basic Transfer Fundamentals Video

2009-06-02T23:31:00.003-04:00

Two-part video on how to transfer a sailor from wheelchair to Martin 16 using a hoist, created by the Pointe Claire Yacht Club:

Board of Managers March 09 Meeting Minutes

2009-03-22T17:16:00.003-04:00

March 11, 2009

Meeting called to order at 6:10. In attendance are Mark Carnevale (president), Scott (vice president), Don Miller (vice president), Rick Irvine (treasurer), Dan Byrnes, Sara Grube (YMCA), Rex Moon, Spencer Raggio and Trish McCluskey.

Don motioned to accept minutes from February meeting and Scott seconded motion.

Financial report
Rick met with George to go over the programs and budget. Expenses were broken into "home" and "away" expenses for boats and regatta. There was much discussion about how to expense items like dinners and lunches, trophies, mugs, etc. All were put under "awards and gifts." Rick will work with George to see if there is a better way to expense these items to more accurately reflect what the money was spend on. It was suggested that additional lines for banquet, registration fees, auction, etc. be created.

Rick will also follow up with George on the following: Will the sails be purchased with money from the designated fund? Are we using the 2008 actual money spent or the projected budget to use for 2009? Under which heading did the money from 2008 auction go?

Rex suggested $2000 from boat repair be put into budget for regatta travel. Rex made a motion to accept report and follow-up questions, Scott seconded motion.

Sailing dates need to be updated soon. There are a number of requests for learn-to-sail registrations. Sara will check on the July 19 / August 1 discrepancy and email Spencer.

The research questions that were emailed to board members were discussed. The questions were about expanding the program to include tennis, hiking, and other water activities. It was once again brought up that the charter and by-laws only include sailing as a Y-Knot activity. The majority of the members in attendance do not support the idea of expanding the program because it would be spreading not only the finances too thin, but the volunteers as well. It was agreed that it is a wonderful idea, but one that should be explored outside of the Y-Knot program.

Dan is going to look into getting fliers to bus drivers who transport handicapped clients, with hopes to get more participants. He also suggested that Y-Knot participants and volunteers make visits and presentations to local programs and/or group homes to increase participants. Rex will work on putting a PowerPoint presentation together for this purpose. Dan will contact Mike Peluso to see if he has contacts for a van to transport sailors to Lake George to participate.

Spencer emailed the board earlier in the month with regard to contacting volunteers that reach out to the program via website. Rick volunteered to make these contacts.

There was discussion about creating a database that matches a companion's experience level to a participant's experience level. George may be open to changing the way he manages database, Rex said he had explored this topic with George in the past.

Volunteer training day has consistently been on the same day as the final learn-to-sail day. However, this ties up volunteers who can teach the new recruits how to rig the boats. It was decided that the day would be changed to a Saturday, May 16, the day before the final learn-to-sail date.

Any volunteers who are Bank of America employees can get a $200 certificate for the program with a specified number of hours volunteered. Sara will look into posting a letter or flyer on the bulletin board of local branches.

Sails will be ordered after the start of the new fiscal year, April 1. In addition, one large sling ($139) will be ordered and tested. The numbers we have and the sizes will be inventoried during the April 25-26 work weekend. Don made a motion to accept and Rex seconded the motion.

Spencer is working on a written policy for out-of-town regattas, with regard to travel, expenses and boat lending.

Mark has been in contact with the Canadians to host a joint training weekend. While here for the ’08 regatta, the Canadians kindly offered to travel down and hold a training clinic for our participants and volunteers. Dates are being explored and Sara will check on the availability for accessible lodging.

Hats and visors have been discussed a number of times at past meeting. Do we really need these items? The website has a number of specific suggestions for items the participants should bring, with hats being one of them. We have run out of T-shirts for volunteers. Having a color that readily identifies a person as a volunteer is a good idea. Rick will look into pricing and printing shirts.

Dan suggested setting aside a couple of days for a race clinic. It was agreed this was a great idea. It was decided that the July 5 and 19 clinic days would be earmarked to have a couple sailors start before lunch with a mini-clinic and have a short two-boat practice race after lunch. We can always add another date if it works well.

Dan came across a potential funding source for Y-Knot. Craig H. Neilson may fund for changes in programs to help them increase the services they offer. The deadline for a proposal letter is March 31. Dan will write a two-paragraph brief on Y-Knot. He will forward it to George and board members once he is done. If the proposal is accepted, we will need a grant writer to write a formal grant proposal. Is this something that the YMCA grant writer can take on? Sara will check on this.

Meeting adjourned 8:05 pm. Minutes submitted by Trish McCluskey for Becky Bonn.

Aimee Mullins at TED: Redefining Disability

2009-03-15T10:34:00.001-04:00

"Athlete, actor and activist Aimee Mullins talks about her prosthetic legs -- she's got a dozen amazing pairs -- and the superpowers they grant her: speed, beauty, an extra 6 inches of height ... Quite simply, she redefines what the body can be."

Board of Managers February Meeting Minutes

2009-02-18T18:58:00.002-05:00

Date: February 11, 2009
Location: Mocha Lisa's Caffe, Clifton Park, NY
Present: Marc Carnevale (President), Scott Stewart (Vice President), Don Miller (Vice President), Rick Irvine (Treasurer) Becky Bonn (Secretary), Rex Moon, Spencer Raggio, Keith Edwards, Sara Grube, Dan Byrnes

Marc called the meeting to order at 6:10 pm

January 19, 2009 minutes were reviewed and questions were raised concerning the cost of traveling expenses, $3,000, was not just for Mobility Cup. The board would like this clarified. Don motioned to accept the January 19th minutes for now and Scott seconded that.

Treasurer's Report: Rick Irvine
Rick will contact George to set up a time to meet to review the finances.

Committee Reports
Program: Sara wants to review the following dates
4/ 24-25 Boat work weekend
5/23, Sat Sail Day
5/31, Sun Sail Day
6/13, 20 Sat Sail Day
7/5 Sun Sail Day
7/7 Tues Sail Day
7/11 Sat Sail Day
7/19 Sat Sail Day
8/4 Tues Sail Day
8/15 Sat Sail Day
9/20 Sun Sail Day

Marc will check with the Canadians to see if they are interested in coming down for a weekend in the spring to sail.

Old Business:
Boat Repairs: Keith reported in order to purchase new sails 40% is needed for a down payment and the shipping is free. Spencer thinks we should try at least one set of Dacron sails, by the end of the discussion everyone thought we should purchase all Dacron sails. This will save approximately $900. A new numbering system will be put on the sails; Spencer suggested Y091, Y092 and Y093. Everyone agreed. Keith will place the order.

Regatta Policy: Spencer has spoken with Pete Hogg and they are working on the procedures.

New Waterfront: Keith brought a few pictures and shared with the group.

Hats and Visors: Rick and Becky are going to meet with George about our current inventory

New Business:
Amendment to The Operating Guidelines Mission Statement
Don Miller wants to see the program expand. He realizes this could be a year-long process to change the by-laws. He asked if there is interest in expand the program and be able to offer adaptive kayaking, canoeing, tennis etc. The group present at the meeting would like to stay with sailing and feels these other sports could dilute our manpower and finances. Don would like to keep discussing the possibilities and possibly stretch the program to start with kayaking or canoeing.

Meeting Adjourned: 7:30 pm
Minutes submitted by Becky Bonn 2/18/2009

Board of Managers January '09 Meeting Minutes

2009-01-30T14:16:00.004-05:00

Date: January 14, 2009
Location: Clifton Park YMCA
Present: Marc Carnevale (President), Scott Stewart (Vice President), Don Miller (Vice President), Rick Irvine (Treasurer) Becky Bonn (Secretary), Trish McCluskey, George Painter, Rex Moon, Spencer Raggio

Marc called the meeting to order at 6:15 pm

Becky had posted the November 1, 2008 meeting minutes to the website. Don would like to amend the November 1, 2008 minutes concerning the trailblazer. He wants to see our program expand and diversify and is very supportive of the idea of a trailblazer. He feels the trailblazer could broaden our scope of adaptive sports that could be offered at such a great location as Camp Chingachgook.

George made a motion to have Becky email the minutes and agenda out to the board a week prior to a meeting. Scott seconded the motion. Don motioned to accept November 1, 2008 minutes and Scott seconded that also.

Treasurer's Report: Rick Irvine
George reviewed the finances; he has not had a chance to bring Rick up to date yet. Our budget is to break even at $21,000. Our revenue was $25,636 and our expenses were $20,570, leaving us with an operating gain of $5,066. This year Nyack Boat Club donated $5,000 to Y-Knot, which was a great surprise. George will move the $5,066 to our designated funds and we will start the 2009 year with $12,260. The statistics show a great year of sailing and we had a record high of participants: 87 people attended the sailor days; this number does not include regatta participants. The regatta number includes volunteers also. Rex would like to see the breakdown of the core group vs. groups in general. Rick asked if we could create a questionnaire to track why some sailors do not return. Miscellaneous expense is high due to travel expenses; Mobility Cup = $3,000, plus mugs, $1,800 for a three-year supply, and we bought watches for awards. George and Rick will meet and fine-tune the report before the next meeting. Don motioned to accept and Marc seconded the motion.

Committee Reports
Program: George will have the camp take care of this committee's responsibilities.

Membership: Jenny resigned at the annual meeting, so this position is open.

Publicity: Dylan is not here and the board has decided to take him off the board. This position is open, although Trish will speak with Maryellen about chairing it.

Fundraising: Scott Stewart will call Pete concerning the Sandbagger Boats. Rex will talk to Bill Dutcher about having it during the Americade. Rex will work on a Power point presentation.

Regatta: Rex and Spencer will co-chair. Marc will contact the other sailing groups and ask them to link to our website.

Don wants to expand our program and possibly host a tennis clinic with Eva Galvin. Don would like to see other adaptive sports integrated. Currently the mission statement keeps the program geared toward water sports. Changing the mission statement could take up to a year.

Becky will send out a list of committee positions that are open along with the job description.

Old Business:
Boat Repairs: George will set up thre or more days. Spencer says all the running rigging is updated. Steve provided sail prices to Marc. Doyle = $1,325 and North sails = $1,500. George is meeting with Keith and Steve on Jan 15 and will bring up the sails. Rex motioned to purchase 3 sets of sails and Scott seconded the motion. All are in favor.

Regatta Policy: Spencer has it in the works.

Social Sailing Event: Rebecca will work on to generate interest; Marc will contact the Canadians and invite them.

New Waterfront: the two story dock/building should be accomplished over the next two years.

Hats and Visors: George and Becky will work on before the summer.

New Business:
Slate of officers and terms for 2009: Marc Carnevale, President, expires 12/31/10; Scott Stewart, VP, expires 12/31/10; Don Miller, VP, expires 12/31/09; Rick Irvine, Treasurer, expires 12/31/11; Becky Bonn, Secretary, expires 12/31/09*; Trish McCluskey expires 12/31/10; Rex Moon expires 12/31/10*; Spencer Raggio expires 12/31/11.

(*serving a second term, and must rotate off the board for at least one year.)

Dates for 2009
Board Meeting Dates (all meetings start at 6:00 pm at Mocha Lisa's in Clifton Park)

Wednesday, February 11

Wednesday, March 11

Wednesday, April 15

Tuesday, June 9

Tuesday, August 11

Saturday, November 7 at 2:00 pm

Learn to Sail Days: Sundays, May 3, 10 and 17
Volunteer Day: TBA
Y-Knot Cup Regatta: September 12 and 13

Meeting Adjourned: 8:05 pm
Minutes submitted by Becky Bonn 1/29/09

Quadriplegic Woman to Sail Around Britain

2008-12-03T08:18:00.005-05:00

According to a report on the BBC website, Hilary Lister, a British disabled sailor, is attempting to be the first quadriplegic woman to sail solo around Britain. Read the rest of the story.

Annual Meeting of Managers 2008

2008-11-04T20:10:00.003-05:00

Date: November 1, 2008
Location: Camp Chingachgook
Present: Steve Mintz (President), Scott Stewart (Vice President), Don Miller (Treasurer), Becky Bonn (Secretary), Trish McCluskey, George Painter, Marc Carnevale, Rick Irvine, Rebecca Stanley, Rex Moon, Spencer Raggio

The meeting was called to order at 2:25PM
Steve welcomed everyone and introduced Rick Irvine to the board. Steve was not able to reach Bob Flanagan, however Steve believes he is interested in joining the board. Also Rex withdrew his resignation and will try to make as many meetings as possible. Spencer Raggio is also rejoining the board.

The minutes from October 22, 2008 meeting has been posted for all to read.

Treasurer's Report: Don Miller handed out a financial summary as of 11/1/08. $7194.00 is in the designated fund at this time. Total revenue is $24,336.00 to date. $19,486.00 in Expenses and currently we have an operating gain of $4850.00. Spencer handed George a check for $1000.00, raised from the Ti Race, on behalf of the Corinthians. This year donations, $11214.00, are at a record high along with the number of participants served also. Nyack donated $5000.00 and Steve would like to have the secretary send a special thank you to them.

Committee Reports:
Membership: Jenny was not present to report.
Publicity: Dylan was not present to report. However Steve wants us to know that even though he will be off the board he will still publicize Y-Knot.
Fundraising: Scott will follow up with Pete Hogg concerning the Sandbagger Boats "Bull" and "Bear" with the hopes of having them come to Lake George in 2009.
Regatta: Rex felt the Regatta was a tremendous success. The weather was awesome and he wants to extend his thanks to everyone involved, especially Spencer. George wants to thank Marc Carnevale for his efforts in recruiting the Canadians. Also great job on the prizes Trish!! Thank you to Yankee Yacht and Kam for the use of their boats.

Old Business:
Steve looked into prices for purchasing new sails for the Martin's. A set on the Martin website is listed for $1325. He checked with North Sails and they are about $260 higher without a spinnaker. Steve believes we only need to purchase 3 at the moment. George feels we should purchase 6 sets but agrees it does not have to be all at once. There was much discussion about the material used and other companies to buy from and f a bigger discount would be involved with a larger quantity. It was decided to let Rex and Spencer look into the purchase of new sails and report back at the January 2009 meeting.
Becky researched pricing on slings and will supply the information to Rebecca to look over and report which sling type might be best utilized for Y-Knot.

George and Becky will look at the current supply of Y-Knot apparel and report on new possibilities at one of the next meetings.

Regatta policy for loaning & transporting boats: Spencer will work on for 2009.

Don Miller was asked to present an idea of a trailblazer, a machine that would allow a disabled person to hike a mountain. The machine would be for 1 person and could cost $4800 to $6900 depending if it's new or used. This would take the program in a different direction. Rebecca suggests we ask if Pat Standens group could utilize it in their program. The discussion was summed up best that if you could be hiking you could be on the water. There are other adaptive water sports to explore such as kayaking or canoeing, keeping our program on the lake for now. Marc suggested looking for grant money to purchase the trailblazer. Steve motioned to table this discussion for after we found out how much new sails will cost. Scott seconded the motion.

Amendments to Operating Guidelines - Don Miller wants to discuss Section 6, Subsection B of the guidelines:
The following Officers shall be elected by a majority of the Y-Knot membership at the fall general meeting. The terms of office shall be a two-calendar-year term that commences January 1 of the following year. The Y-Knot President and at least one Vice President shall be individuals with disabilities.
Rex motioned to discuss amending the guidelines and Scott seconded the motion.
The motion is should we change the guidelines to allow an able bodied person to be president or not. Steve feels strongly against changing it. Rebecca reminds us that people with disabilities started Y-Knot and the disabled leadership sets us apart. Don said that at the Oct 22, meeting no one felt comfortable taking that role. Discussion brought on other ideas such as an interim president or changing the length of the term or having it mandatory to have 2 of the 4 or 3 of the 4 positions be held by a disabled person, not necessarily the president position. Rebecca agrees that people should not be pushed into a position they aren’t comfortable and that she wouldn’t want an able bodied person making the decisions for the disabled. George believes that change is good and our next leader needs to take us to the next level. The president of the program needs leadership, communication, motivation and organizational skills and if an able bodied person possess these qualities than we should consider changing the guidelines. Steve agrees that we need a great leader and if you have a disability then you will have the report with the audience we are trying to capture. George doesn’t want the choices limited. Spencer feels that a group within the board needs to take the recruitment process seriously to help train the leadership. Rebecca said that this is a fundamental decision and one she feels we are not ready to make. She feels we need to take more time and find out from other programs, such as Shake-a-Leg and Pat Standen’s group. Rex withdrew his original motion and motioned to keep things as they are allowing time to research how other programs are run. All agreed to table this for a future discussion.

New Business:

Board of Elections - Motions were made and seconded for the following and all agreed:
President: Marc Carnevale
Vice President: Scott Stewart and Don Miller
Treasurer: Rick Irvine
Secretary: Becky Bonn

Rex wanted to congratulate Steve Mintz on a job well done as President.

Sailing Calendar 2009 will be planned at the January 2009 meeting.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at the Clifton Park YMCA, 6PM
Meeting adjourned 4:30PM
Minutes submitted by Becky Bonn 11/4/08

Y-Knot Board of Managers Meeting Minutes 10/22/08

2008-10-29T15:52:00.006-04:00

Board of Managers Meeting Minutes

Date: October 22, 2008
Location: Clifton Park YMCA
Present: Steve Mintz (President), Don Miller (Treasurer), Becky Bonn (Secretary), Trish McCluskey, George Painter, Marc Carnevale

The meeting was called to order at 6:15PM
May 27, 2008 meeting was cancelled, the April 30th meeting minutes were accepted by all.

Treasurer's Report: Don Miller handed out a financial summary as of 10/22/08. $7194.00 is in the designated fund at this time. Revenue is $18612 to date. $15769 for Expenses with a operating gain of $2843 to date. We did receive $1250.00 from the LG Rotary and about $5000 from Nyack however this amount is not listed currently in the figures above.

Committee Reports:
Program: Rebecca was not present to report.
Membership: Jenny was not present to report.
Publicity: Dylan was not present to report.
Fundraising: Scott was not present to report, however Steve had provided information about the Sandbagger Boats "Bull" and "Bear" and hopes to have bring them to LG In 2009.
Regatta: Rex was not present to report. Don recapped the event for us. The regatta was great and a huge thanks to the Canadians for attending. One issue was made by a sailor, from Maine; he hoped to use the auto helm. Don was not familiar enough with it to set it up correctly, he asked Pete Hogg for help and he realized some parts were missing after the boat returned from Montreal. This problem made it impossible for 3 sailors to sail in the silver fleet. Don would like to see standardized directions made up on how to install and/or swap out equipment.

Old Business:
Boat Repairs - George said small things were taken care of. Rex mention at April's meeting about exploring the idea of a second set of sails; the first set would be for training and the second for Regattas. George will find out prices for Martins sails. The discussion has been tabled at this time. Purchasing new slings was discussed and Becky will look to see if there are different styles available.

Regatta policy for loaning & transporting boats: Spencer was not present to report.

Steve wrote a letter that was sent out via email on August 14th with the hopes of generating more interest and participation. Unfortunately he did not receive any response. The members decided not to pursue a Y-Knot Sailors 2 day weekend at this time and it will be taken off the agenda at this time.

Eva Galvin would like to host a tennis clinic for the disabled possibly the weekend of the Regatta. Don Miller would like to see this happen and in order for this to happen he says the courts need to be smooth, and have easier access to the bathrooms. Also the west side of the courts needs to be more accessible. We will table this for discussion at a later meeting.

New Business:
Officers - Becky made the motion to nominate Marc Carnevale as the next president and Trish seconded the motion. However George would like to change the by laws and see the leadership role be run by an able bodied person or a disabled person. He feels the program has changed and the current structure will not work. Also the meetings could possibly be reorganized to have maybe 4 a year and plan the whole year at the annual meeting. Some details are already on autopilot with the camp. Don motioned to change the by laws as well and Marc seconded the motion. A vote will need to happen at the annual board meeting. If the vote is accepted the motion will be to have Don Miller be president and have Marc Carnevale as treasurer. Rex Moon submitted his resignation and we accepted it with regret.

New board members - Dan Byrnes wants to join and Don will call to invite. Hoping to have Spencer Raggio come back after his one year rotation off. Becky will ask him. Marc will contact Dan Kennedy. Also we hope Mary Ellen will stay involved and plan a Wounded Warrior Day.

Volunteer of the year will be Rick Irvine & Bob Flanegan. Steve has already purchased the gifts and Steve will follow up with them to make sure they can make the meeting and to see if they are interested in joining the board.

Silent Auction will be held at the annual banquet; Steve has already received some donations to use and is hoping we can all find a few people to donate something. Becky will contact Yankee Yacht about a boat rental.

Next Meeting: Annual meeting November 1, 2008 at Camp Chingachgook, 2pm
Meeting adjourned 8:20Pm
Minutes submitted by Becky Bonn 10/29/08

Pierre Richard Wins 9th Annual Regatta

2008-09-26T22:10:00.004-04:00

Great weather and a great turnout for the Y-Knot Regatta in early September, and a very impressive showing from our Canadian guests. Check out the complete results and photos from the regatta.

UPDATE: More photos of the event posted by George Adams.

Ten Sailors on a Great August Sailing Day

2008-08-17T12:08:00.001-04:00

We had an incredible Y-Knot Sailing Day on Saturday, August 16 serving ten sailors with disabilities (including five new people) with 18 great volunteers and three YMCA staff. We had seven boats sailing in light winds on a beautiful day (excluding a few rain showers). Thank you to all of our dedicated volunteers who make this program fly!

Y-Knot Sailors Compete in Burlington, Montreal

2008-08-13T11:04:00.002-04:00

From Y-Knot President Steve Mintz: "Mark Carnavale, Pete Hogg and I attended Martin 16 regattas in both Montreal and Burlington. We brought along four Y-Knot boats to each event. Dave Whalen also competed in the Burlington event and took first place, with Mark coming in second. Both Mark and I will be competing in Mobility Cup in Montreal, and Y-Knot will again provide four of its Martin 16s for the event."

Nice Sailing World Story About Nick Scandone

2008-07-17T09:42:00.003-04:00

"Amidst the small fleet of BMWs, Porsches, and other late-model luxury autos gracing the parking lot of Southern California's Balboa Yacht Club, Nick Scandone rolled in on his own special set of wheels" ...

US Disabled Sailing Championship Concludes

2008-06-12T15:12:00.002-04:00

Just in case you missed it, check out the results from the US Disabled Sailing Championship at the link above.