As you know, the situation created by this global pandemic has been exceptional – the impacts have been wide reaching including at our sailing club. Your Board of Directors has been meeting every 2nd week as we monitor the impact of Covid-19 on NSC and attempt to make plans for the 2020 season which is fraught with uncertainty. I’d like to share, on behalf of your Board, the latest updates with you.
At NSC we will continue to act responsibly, care for our members and employees while balancing our desire to start our sailing season. For our specific situation, NSC’s ability to re-open is governed by several layers – the Province of Ontario, the City of Ottawa (both of which are overwhelmed in many ways) and finally your Board of Directors.
Today the province of Ontario announced that boating clubs may reopen when they are ready to do so. This is a positive step to getting our sailing season underway even though it will be in a much different form than we’re accustomed to. However because our club is located in a municipal park, further patience will be required until we receive a ‘green light’ from the City of Ottawa.
The NSC Board and management are in regular contact with the City to make a case for gradual re-opening. However, as you can imagine, there are dozens of voices at their front door and they are weighing demands of much higher priority calls. In addition, NSC and BYC as well as other Ottawa sailing clubs are joining voices to present a united front’ and further the cause.
On the Provincial front, the Ontario sailing association has been a proxy to the province and NSC has been on weekly calls for updates from the association and feedback to them. You can find the latest OSA communique here which summarizes nicely: “This (latest government announcement) cannot be taken as a green light to jump on the water tomorrow. It is a great step towards that however and a step to celebrate! It is a sign that we can keep the forward momentum towards more on-the-water activity and continue to prepare systems so that we can enjoy the prime summer months on the water.”.
When the City’s restrictions lift (and we expect little to no warning), we need to be very well prepared covering items such as how we’ll enforce physical distancing, respect for what “household” means in sailing terms, keeping employees and members protected and the like. For those of you who have recently shopped for groceries, I think you’ll understand the impact of guidelines from health authorities.
In anticipation of receiving permission to open, the Board has planned a sequence of activities that starts with the yard (to help you get boats prepared and launched), then docks (to let you use your boats) and somewhere further down the road (if we’re able to open them at all) the clubhouse, sailing school and sailing programs. We will be asking each of you to agree to a club COVID Code of Conduct while you are at NSC that covers physical distancing, sanitization and other steps. We are a community and it is important that each of us follow these guidelines to keep each other and our staff safe. We recognize that there are some places or activities at the club where keeping physical distances may be more challenging. In those cases, you will be expected to wear face masks. Of course our plan is subject to change as new directives and guidelines are unveiled.
While we cannot yet access our boats we are optimistic that those that wish to do so, will be able to do so soon in a safe and prudent manner. We also must be prepared in the event the Province or the City decides to ‘roll-back’ permissions if the pandemic takes an unexpected course. We know that our members will respect the procedures that must be put in place because, by now, you have a very clear understanding of what’s at stake.
I would like to close by saying that we are truly grateful for the patience and understanding that our members are showing as we figure out (on the fly) how to navigate these tricky times in a responsible manner.
Michael Hoffman, NSC Commodore