24 November 2020
Dear Members
Although this newsletter is being written on a rather wet and miserable day, summer is definitely arrived and we have had some fabulous warm days here in Knysna. All indications are that we will be busier than ever over the holiday season and it seems that many people will be holidaying in SA rather than going elsewhere for Xmas.
All harbour berths which are available for hire in December/January have been let and there is currently a waiting list of people who want to hire a berth for the holiday period. If you have a berth and you are willing to let it out, please contact Clive at libcknysna@gmail.com or phone 079 378 8252.
LIBC ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2020
The 29 th LIBC Annual General Meeting will take place at 18h00 on 21 December 2020 at the LIBC Club premises. Please make a note of this most important date. At this point we are uncertain about the format and arrangements for the meeting in view of the Covid-19 situation. There has been an alarming resurgence in the number of cases and the Garden Route has been identified as one of the hotspots in the country.
Your safety and that of our staff and committee are of primary concern and we will make sure that is not jeopardised. We hope to hold the meeting outdoors, and/or we may have to limit the number of attendees, bearing in mind that the quorum for any LIBC general meeting is 15 Members. We may also arrange a Zoom facility so that Members can join the meeting remotely via video link. We will keep you informed over the next few weeks.
Depending on the final arrangements for the meeting, prior to the meeting any committee reports and notices of motions will be circulated among members in case they want to make written submissions.
BERTH OWNER’S AGREEMENT
It has come to the Committee’s attention that there is an error in many of the existing Berth Owner’s Agreements. At the time when the LIBC harbour was originally constructed, our lease with the Knysna Municipality expired in 2022. This was later extended to 2042. The problem is that all the older Berth Owner’s agreements still have the original expiry date of 2022 and theoretically this means that many of you will have to hand your berths back to LIBC in a couple of years’ time!
Clearly this was never the intention, but we have taken proper legal advice and it has been agreed that an Addendum will be drawn up for each such Agreement to extend the period of the Agreement until 2042, in line with the more recent Agreements. We are going through the Club records and as soon as the Addendum is available, it will be forwarded to the Members who are affected for signature and return to LIBC. The LIBC Committee stresses that the onus is on each Member who is in possession of a berth to check your agreement, make sure that it has the correct expiry date, and, if necessary, to ensure that you complete the process of signing and returning the Addendum.
LIBC Management will complete the Agreement Addendum and we will send it to each Member who is affected, but it is then up to you to ensure that we receive a signed copy for the Club records. Kindly note that scanned copies of the document will be acceptable, provided that they include the Berth Owner’s signature, as well as the LIBC Chairman/Treasurer signature.
PAYMENT CONFIRMATION
Please, please!!! When you make an electronic payment, please make sure that you use either your membership number, or your name as the Beneficiary Reference. We receive so many payments with either no reference or the weirdest names and then we have have to try to decipher them and trace the origin of the payment.
Even more frustrating is when we then send reminders about outstanding amounts and we are told (often rudely) that payment has already been made, only to find that the problem is due to incorrect payment references!
We also remind you not to respond to any electronic communication advising you of a change in the LIBC banking details, nor will we accept any email notifications advising LIBC of a change to any Member’s banking details. The LIBC banking details will not change without a formal notification which will NOT be communicated to Members via email.
MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
Following a few recent queries the Committee has obtained legal advice concerning a couple of matters related to membership of LIBC and we wish to bring the following to your attention:
In terms of the LIBC Constitution, membership is limited to natural persons only and therefore a close corporation, company, or trust cannot be a member of LIBC.
By extension, because it is only members that can “own” a berth, all berth agreements must be in the name of a member who must be a natural person. From a practical point of view, it must be remembered that in terms of the LIBC Constitution, the spouse, children and grandchildren of members are allowed the use of the LIBC facilities. In effect, membership of LIBC is a type of informal “family membership”. Clearly, therefore, membership has to be by a natural person.
This further means that in the event of the death or resignation of a member, membership has to be transferred to another natural person, who has to be a member of LIBC. In the case of sibling children of the deceased member, each sibling has to become a member in his/her own name. LIBC will normally waive the entrance fee when the spouse or children of a deceased member applies for membership.
It is also clear from the above that “automatic” transfer of membership and the entrance fee will only take place between legally married spouses and to children. In all other cases the person wishing to take over the membership must apply and pay the application fee as well as the normal membership.
Finally we remind you that use of the LIBC facilities is limited to the Member, his/her spouse, children and grandchildren. Any other person wishing to use the LIBC facilities as a guest MUST, AT ALL TIMES, be accompanied by a Member, or such person must become a Temporary Member or Member themselves. You may not, under any circumstances, allow friends, staff or visitors to use the LIBC facilities based on your membership.
SANPARKS NEWS
The Chairman recently attended a SANParks Park Forum meeting where we received an update from a variety of stakeholders involved with the Garden Route National Park and a detailed report concerning work being done by SANParks themselves. It is always interesting to hear what is going on behind the scenes and also to hear that a lot of
work is being done that the public rarely hears about. Of particular interest to Lagoon users is the fact that SANParks definitely appears to be carrying out a lot more active patrols both on and around the lagoon and are making an effort to clamp down on illegal activities. Let us all support them on this.
On a negative note, the Covid lockdown has had a massive negative effect on the SANParks budget and this is going to impact on a lot of the work they do. It was reported that the project to repair, replace, and generally upgrade signage, buoys and markers on and around the Lagoon had just started in earnest when the lockdown happened and that has effectively put a complete stop to the work. It was also a worry that the budget cuts may affect a lot of the work done to clear rubbish and alien growth and we can only hope that the conservation efforts in this area are able to continue. As a result, the LIBC committee has decided that we will do what we can to assist SANParks by trying to maintain all the buoys and markers in our section of the Ashmead Channel as well as the Steenbok Channel.
Other interesting news was that the new Zipline at Harkerville is in operation and we were shown some pictures. For those of you who like an adrenaline rush and are not scared of heights, it sounds like this could well be an activity not to be missed this summer, so go and give it a try!
SOME VERY FISHY TALES FROM ARLAND READ
Let’s hope Xmas brings a bit more cheer w.r.t. fishing success. It really has been an “anno Horribilis”. Starting off with Covid and the 5-month lockdown. This certainly helped the Estuary.
There was no traffic on the Estuary and it even stopped all the illegal baiting which no other laws have been able to prevent. It appears as if there are more bloodworms and Prawns on the sandbanks.
It was followed by months of continuous freezing water that hovered around 12 degrees. If the sea temp is that cold it does not necessarily permeate throughout the estuary. One can simply motor up past the railway bridge and go towards Belvidere to get into water above 16 degrees, below which fishing is a nonstarter. This year we recorded temps of 12 degrees and under, up well past the road bridge for weeks on end. It was even too cold for Blaashops to bite!
When the cold more or less came to an end our beautiful rain started, although it made the water brown and impossible to see the mullet required for live bait. Throughout the year our iconic Leervis/Garrick have been really small at 50cm and under. It was difficult, even with barbless hooks , not to severely injure these small specimens. Cobtober came and went without a cob being caught. In trying in the early evening, you can be sure of catching Ragged Toothed and Gully (Spotted Hound or Sweet William) sharks. In summer at the Heads, shoals of small fast swimming Hammerheads readily take lures and live bait.
Interestingly at 1,5meters in length the Hammerhead will weigh 45kg, the Raggie 60kg and the Hound Shark 15kg.It’s all about the Girth! Our Hound sharks are extraordinarily good eating! Just remove the skin. Choca at this time of year become a pest and unlike Squid or Octopus are really tasteless rubber. Tried every known way of cooking these, to no avail. But let’s be a bit positive here. No GREEN GUNGE. Could that be because of the cold water or just no traffic or other man-made disturbances on the estuary during lockdown?
Just to remind people with Interceptor Boats—–the slatted Cabin door is inserted into its frame and then the top moulding/half of the boat is put on. This makes it impossible to remove to repair etc. The PVA adhesive gluing the slats /louvres into place, eventually packs up and the slats start to drop. You must fix the corners of the door with L shaped brackets to keep it together before this happens.
Saw quite a few motors resting on the ground in our trailer park. Tyres deflate and sink into the mud allowing this to happen. This put a strain on the hydraulics—-keep them well tilted! If you see Conservation infringements and things like missing signs and buoys, please call the
SANParks on 044 382 2095 or cell 082 881 7769.
Let’s all practice Boat Etiquette these holidays. Give stationary boats a wide berth or at least slow down a little. If you or your friends are new to the Estuary, please study the SANParks Map to see Estuary rules, sandbanks, etc
WEBSITE AND CONTACT DETAILS
Physical address: Erf No 2060,0 Links Drive, Leisure Isle, Knysna, 6571
Phone 079 378 8252
Note that the phone is manned during LIBC office hours only,
06h00-18h00 every day of the year, except Xmas day
Email libcknysna@gmail.com
Website www.libcknysna.co.za
LIBC GATE NUMBER: 065 509 3553
Please store the number on your cellphone and those of your immediate family who may want to enter the Members’ enclosure.
Also make sure that all such numbers are registered with Clive andMargie so that the gate control mechanism recognises your number.
Please do not expect Clive or Margie to open the gate for you!!!!
Note that the old existing landline connection will shortly be discontinued.
Thats is all for now !
The Committee