2022 End of Year Report
Ahoy, Sebago!
And Happy New Year! Despite a couple of glitches beyond our control — most notably a little bug called Covid that won’t quite go away — 2022 was a good year for the club. Our finances are in order, our boat racks and membership rolls are full, and the waiting list to get in is longer than ever. Most importantly, we were able to get ourselves — and great numbers of other people — back on the water!
Bonnie and the penguin.
Here are some of the highlights:
- An epic spring cleaning including the removal of debris and abandoned boats and the de-cluttering and reorganization of the clubhouse, boat shop, and garden shed.
- Approximately 45 new members joined this spring and were welcomed to the club with new member orientations and basic stroke classes.
- The planting of memorial trees (Eastern red cedars) for departed members John Wright and Bonnie Aldinger, along with two legacy gifts: a $10,000 donation from former member Elsie Mulhosen, who met her husband at Sebago in 1981, and a $12,000 bequest from Bonnie Aldinger’s estate.
- The design, installation, and maintenance of new native plant beds along the front fence and by the clubhouse door.
- The launch of an 18-foot dory, the Canarsie Voyager, built by youth from the nearby Breukelen Houses.
- The purchase and delivery of a 32-foot ‘peace canoe,’ paddled by club volunteers all the way from the North Brooklyn Community Boathouse on Newtown Creek. Well-attended training sessions followed.
- Three successful community Open House events, arranged in partnership with State Senator Persaud, at which we hosted an average of 100 guests, many of them members of local youth groups.
- A full calendar of kayaking — all-level paddles, full-moon paddles, training classes, regional trips, and the return of the all-club race series with area clubs Yonkers and Inwood.
- Much needed reinforcements for our trip leader ranks with half a dozen paddlers successfully completing the assistant trip leader workshop.
- Races, sailing cruises, and the return of the always in-demand sailing class kept sailors — novice, intermediate, and experienced — actively on the water through October.
- Continued cabin improvements, a new dock, and a growing fleet of kayaks and canoes continued to attract members and their guests to the lake for day and overnight visits.
- Numerous other improvements and refinements including new wash racks, extensive driveway repairs, a new compost pile near the garden plots, and a weather station on our dock that offers real-time wind and temperature data.
Many thanks to all those who donated time or money, helped organize events, and pitched in and cleaned up afterwards. Sebago would not survive without you!
Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year!
Beth Eller, Commodore
Rob Buchanan, Vice Commodore