2024 AGM Minutes
The Merchant Navy Association Boat Club
Notice to Mariners
NSBA NEWS
INLAND WATERWAYS ASSOCIATION
CANAL & RIVER TRUST
NEWS
1.
Meeting opening
The meeting opened at 17.30 hours.
The Commodore welcomed members to the 13th MNABC Annual General Meeting followed by each member introducing themselves.
2. Members present:
Committee: C Edwards (Commodore and Chairman), R Card (Rear Commodore), C Woods (Rear Commodore and T Brant
(Secretary).
Members: Mrs V Foster (MNA Past President), J Sail (MNA Vice President), Mrs R Card, Mrs L Edwards, M Harris, L Payne, G
Shimmings and N Williams
3. Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from:
D Buckpitt, D Cornes (Membership Secretary & Treasurer), D Hearn (Webmaster), T Eaves, J Johnson-Allen, B Lawrence, R
McClean, C Overton, S Partridge, I Pearson, J Rose & S Walker.
4. Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting (19 September 2023)
Approval of the Minutes: Proposed by J Sail, seconded by C Woods and were unanimously accepted.
5. Matters arising from the previous Annual General Meetings
There were no matters arising
6. Commodore’s Report
The Commodore’s report (see attachment) was unanimously accepted.
On 1-2 June this year, the Commodore and R Card (Rear Commodore) provided Guard Ship duties, using their own motor cruisers,
for the Norfolk Broads Three Rivers Race which covered 50 miles on the Rivers Bure, Ant and Thurne.
7. Constitution (Read Here)
The Commodore thanked R Card for all his dedicated work in drawing-up the new draft MNABC Constitution and the meeting
unanimously agreed.
The revised Constitution was required as the MNA National Councillors had agreed that the MNABC should be recognised as an
affiliate Branch and should take care of its own finances. Discussion followed, then R Card proposed that the new Constitution was
adopted, seconded by C Woods and unanimously agreed by the meeting.
The annual subscription was then discussed and it was agreed that it should be £10.00 paid, preferably by Direct Debit, on 1 January
for members who received their MNABC information by email and £12.00 for members who received their information by post due to
postage, packing and printing costs. At present, 50 members had not supplied an email address which involved a few hours work
for each mailing.
A meeting quorum would be 12 members - this was proposed by Mrs V Foster, seconded by J Sail and approved by all except one
member.
The meeting unanimously agreed that David Cornes would be appointed as Treasurer and a Barclays Treasurer’s Account would be
opened requiring two Committee members to be signatories for each outgoing payment. There would be 4 appointed signatories – C
Edwards (Commodore), R Card (Rear Commodore), D Cornes (Treasurer) and T Brant (Secretary) to ensure that there were 2
signatories available during illness or leave.
8. MNABC Officers
The Election of Officers was not due until the 2025 AGM.
P.Battagliola (Vice Commodore) had recently stood down due to his business interests. It was agreed that Mrs V Foster should be
co-opted as a Rear Commodore and I Pearson as a Committee member until the 2025 AGM Election of Officers. The Commodore
stated that Committee Members were needed from other areas.
9. MNABC affiliations
The Commodore stated that in addition to the Merchant Navy Association National, the Club was affiliated with the Institute of
Seamanship, Norfolk & Suffolk Boating Association, National Water Safety Forum, National Independent Lifeboat Association, Sea
Safety Group of Coastwatch Stations, RNLI and the RYA.
10. Defaced Red Ensign
The Commodore reported that he had written to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and a reply was awaited.
11. Any Other Business
J Sail proposed that the Club should sponsor a younger person to attend a boating safety course. This was unanimously agreed.
12. Date of the next MNABC AGM
The date and time for the venue to be advised but it was agreed that it should be held in Liverpool.
J Sail undertook to see if the AGM could be held in a local yacht club.
13. AGM closure
The meeting closed at 18.50 hours.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
MERCHANT NAVY ASSOCIATION BOAT CLUB
THE NEW VICTORY HALL, NEATISHEAD, NORWICH NR12 8XG
TUESDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2024
Merchant Navy Association Boat Club
Affiliated
MNA
BOAT CLUB
Commodore’s Christmas Newsletter 2024
The Merchant Navy Association Boat Club
Greetings Shipmates,
Yesterday was the Winter Solstice so, in effect, one could say that the sun has started its journey back towards us, so here’s
wishing everyone a really enjoyable Christmas followed by a Happy and Healthy New Year!
On a rather more sombre note, you will already know from the Minutes of our AGM last September, that, in order to meet the
requirements of the Charity Commission, the MNA Boat Club is now “affiliated to, but independent of” the Merchant Navy
Association charity (MNA).
This meant that we had to develop a new Constitution which was approved unanimously at the AGM and subsequently
adopted. A copy was circulated with the Minutes of the AGM and is also available to view on our website at
www.mnaboatclub.org.uk
The up-side of this change is that we can now control our own destiny without the need to get approval for everything we do
from the MNA National Council, which meets only quarterly. The down-side is that we no longer receive funding from the
MNA and will have to charge an annual subscription.
In order to meet the cost of their clubhouses, regattas, safety boats etc, other RYA affiliated boat clubs in the UK have
members’ annual subscription rates running into several hundred pounds. The MNA Boat Club has no such assets or
liabilities other than the funds required to cover our overheads for printing, stationary, postages, public liability and other
insurances, our website and the fees required to cover the cost of our affiliations to the RYA and other organisations with
which we have “operational partnerships” such as the RNLI as regards our mission to enhance safety at sea and on our
inland waterways.
Consequently, at our AGM, it was agreed unanimously that we would keep our subscription as low as we possibly could so
the annual subscription for the year commencing 1
st
January 2025 was set at just £12.00 per annum reducing to £10.00 for
those willing and able to accept all communications via email thereby saving us costs for stationery and postage for
Newsletters, minutes of meetings etc
Once the festive season is over you will be receiving an email or letter from Tim Brant our Secretary with the details of the
Boat Club’s new bank account, along with details as to how to pay your £10.00 or £12.00 subscription for 2025. Any further
gratuitous donations would of course be more than welcome!
I hope that all our members will appreciate our new independence and will re-join our Boat Club for what should be be an
interesting and enjoyable year With best wishes for Christmas and of course for 2025!
Yours Aye
Clive
Access to the Broads from the sea via Lowestoft will not be possible between Wednesday 12th Feb and
Friday 28th March as the only way in is via MUTFORD LOCK which will be closed for that period for essential
maintenance work
One can sea access the Broads from the sea during that period via Great Yarmouth