Canadian Yachting February 2017 - 62

Jim is also concerned that the National message should not be delivered
as "National is doing this to us", but
rather the District Officers "should
be a conduit of quality information
that comes from National. This is the
major part of a (District) officer's job.
We become cheerleaders in a sense,
with quality information flowing in
both directions." On the information
front Jim is also concerned that each
Squadron has to realize that for the
boating public the Squadron's web-

site is a primary source of information
and contact. So during the next few
months each Squadron in the Quinte
District will have its website reviewed
by Jim to ensure that all the information there is up to date and relevant.
I then asked Jim what his vision for
CPS-ECP and himself was for 2016
and he said, "My vision would be
to successfully lead Quinte District
through these changing times with a
minimum of distress. I want to foster
better communication between the

leadership and the troops on the front
lines to create a feeling of unity. More
"We", instead of "Us" and "Them"."
By R. John Garside, AP

Squadron Commander Interview
Bay of Quinte - Donny Maracle

THE PORT HOLE

Squadron: Bay of Quinte Power and
Sail Squadron
Location: Bay of Quinte, Ontario
Past Squadron Commander: Donny
Maracle, CN
Warrant Issued: 1954
Membership: 324
Life Members: 10
Newsletter: Yardarm
For this interview I decided to cast my
net very locally and basically went across
the bridge and met up with Donny Maracle the Squadron Commander of the
Bay of Quite Power and Sail Squadron.
This is my first face-to -face interview
so I was able to not only ask my regular questions but also observe Donny
at work at his home which is located
on the Bay of Quinte which flows into
Lake Ontario.
Donny began his association with
CPS-ECP back in 1984 with the then
many weeks long Boating Course.
When I asked him what attracted him to
62

Canadian Yachting

taking a course he said, "My uncle had
a boat and set off to the local Thousand
Islands for a few weeks and invited me
to come out too. Well, on my way out
there things got a bit confusing as there
were so many islands and there were no
sign posts! It was obvious that I needed
to know more about these charts and
other things that were in the water."
So in 1984 Donny began his boating
education and continued all the way
through to celestial navigation. Now,
on top of that, he also took the old Marine Maintenance Course. Being a bit of
an expert himself in this field he soon
found himself teaching not only the
regular Boating Course and the more
advanced courses but also this rather
rare course offering as well.
Donny, being a long time boater,
was always interested in the water and found that being involved
with the teaching end of the Squadron exposed him to lots of interesting people. When I asked him what
was the best part of being part of the
Quinte Squadron he replied, "teaching the courses and meeting all the
nice people!". After being a proctor
for a while Donny then became one of
the Assistant Training Officers of the
Squadron (now known as Assistant
Educational Officers). Following that
he moved into the Executive Officer
position and then took on the Commander's position several years later.
February 2017

Donny has now been the Commander
of Quinte for four years.
Presently the Quinte Bridge has
twelve members with a few members
holding more than one role. When
I asked where their Bridge Meetings
were held Donny chuckled and revealed that, "We hold them at the local funeral parlour actually, using one
of the vacant visitation rooms". These
meetings are about two hours long
and are held monthly from September
through to the month of June.
Being on the water the Quinte
Squadron has developed some very
close ties with the local Bay of Quinte
Yacht Club. Donny pointed out, "that
we are all boat people so it is a natural that we should complement each
other." As a result each year there is
a sailpast involving the Squadron and
the yacht club with the yacht club's
commodore being present to take the
salute.
In trying to give value to the members Donny emphasized that it was very
important not only to teach relevant
courses to the public and its members
but also to involve the members in the
various Squadron social activities. Donny feels that, "We have to give value
to their membership and by providing
more social events is certainly one way
to do it". So each month on the third
Thursday there is a special Speakers
Night and the turnout is always good.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Yachting February 2017