Your Association again had a successful and active year and remains financially sound. Our operating surplus for the year was $6,575.82, our third (consecutive) positive annual balance. As you will see from the Financial Statements, of which you have a copy, we will end the year with an overall operating surplus (Bank Balance) of $24,699.33.

Non fee income includes $65.29 from "40 yrs. CD" orders and $2010.00 for the Fleet Development Fund. This includes $460 outstanding from last year but does not included a further $600 still due from Regatta organizers at KYC and RHYC.

This year again shows a significant saving due to our decision to changeover from "hard copy" assembly/printing and postal distribution of Sharkscan to a "digital" format and automated distribution. This objective was not achieved in 2001 and, to avoid a continuing ‘loss of service’ to those members who are unable to communicate via Email or to access the Internet, our Secretary prepared and distributed a ‘hard copy’ issue of Sharkscan towards the end of the sailing season. A number of members welcomed this effort enthusiastically. I will leave it to the Secretary (Sharkscan Editor?) to comment on the ‘personal cost’ involved. Financially she has billed the Association only just over $500 for printing and postage and I suspect this is a gross understatement of the actual cost..

Total fee income increased this year as membership recovered from 287 in 2000 to 305 this year. We had a net loss of 28 members last year, however and we are still well below the 325-350 levels of previous years. Aggressive membership building and retention activity in the Regions is still much needed.

Handbook sales were absent this year, as the old binder version, prepared by Ken Deeley, is now "Sold Out". Thanks to James Roser of Humber College Sailing School, we received (at no cost to the Association) 9 excellent photocopied ‘replicas’ of the old manual into which I was able to insert some updated material from the website. The main content is still in need of refreshing and updating and I propose to do this myself, before I ‘launch’ in the Spring. I hope that, in the process, I will be able to scan in and re-develop all content material in an editable ‘digital’ format so that we will be able to update and reissue the manual on a regular basis.

"Shark Bytes" – www.shark24.org, continues to be very popular with over 70 "hits" from different individuals, accessing almost 3000 pages daily. A number of boats and other equipment have changed hands through its "Shark Mart". The site has continued our contact with the European fleets. We have active links to the German Shark Web site and to several Shark sailing Clubs. The site continues to attract visits from several "isolated" Shark sailors, in Sweden, Finland and, on our eastern seaboard, from places such as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Nantucket, North Carolina and Long Island as well as around the Great Lakes and, believe it or not, on Great Slave Lake!

Ivan Amery (West Winds) has continued his valuable support in maintaining "SharkBytes" and Eric Calvert’s "Racing Page" provides valuable current information for our racing fleet.

In conclusion I must pay tribute to our new Secretary, Jinnie Gordon, who took over from me last year and has done a ‘sterling’ job, under very difficult circumstances. We are very lucky to have her! I will continue to work with Ivan on the web site until other arrangements can be made but, someone must be found to take over the Treasurer responsibilities this year!

Bill Henderson