Update on Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club’s Abaco Relief Efforts
It has been several months since Hurricane Dorian ravaged Marsh Harbour and the surrounding cays. Recovery has been slow because the damage was so extensive. Many great organizations are still on the ground helping with the recovery effort by providing materials and manpower as it is needed. Some will still be there for years to come.
At the Annual General Meeting of the Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club (RMHYC), held on February 4th in Stuart, Florida, I announced the results of our Club’s initiative to donate 100% of the dues that we received during the fall renewal season. These would be memberships renewed for the 2020 season. I was happy to report that we were able to generate $12,000 for donations to hurricane relief in Abaco and the surrounding cays. We have been monitoring the situation very closely and looking at various organizations who are on the ground in Marsh Harbour and the cays trying to figure out where to donate our money. Several of our members are in Abaco now dealing with repair and rebuilding of their homes and had very good input to our decision making. One of our members, an engineer by profession, traveled with his wife to Marsh Harbour for a 2 week volunteer deployment with Water Mission International to service and maintain the several RO water maker plants they have placed in the area. The stories that these folks tell about the recovery and rebuilding effort are quite amazing.
The Club decided to divide our donation money among the four organizations who really stood out in the crowd. When we asked the question, these 4 organizations were always named as doing amazing work for the people of Abaco and asking nothing in return. We decided to give $3,000 each to:
Of course, there are many other worthy organizations who are doing fine work after Hurricane Dorian. These are just the ones that the Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club chose to support.
Some of our members have recently crossed over to make the best out of the rest of this season. Some places like the Green Turtle Club are now open for business. Still others say they will be open in April.
What about next year? There have been many discussions about that. Many of the RMHYC members will go back next year. Next year will be very different for sure but we believe it is very important for the Club to return to Abaco. Our members make up an important part of the recovery; after all, we are essentially tourists. The sooner tourists can resume visiting the islands of Abaco, the faster the recovery will be.
Thanks for your support,
Scott Coles
Commodore
Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club
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