Bryan Cuerrier presents history of Quinte SailAbility
Their Honours watch a transfer demonstration
The Lieutenant Governor poses with sailors, staff and volunteers
Sandy gives roses to her Honour Ruth Ann Onley
On Tuesday, July 19th, we welcomed two very special guests, His Honour the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, the Honourable David C. Onley and his wife, Her Honour Ruth Ann Onley.
The weather cooperated and two of our boats sailed around the basin as Their Honours arrived at 11:00 a.m. They were greeted by Fletch along with 8 Wing Commander, Colonel Dave Cochrane and his wife Sherri Cochrane. Other invited guests then met him including the Mayors (or their representatives) from Brighton, Quinte West and Belleville as well as the Yacht Club Commodore Dennis Dove, the SailAbility staff, board members and the students participating in the presentation.
After the Vice Regal salute, music provided for us by the technicians of 8 Wing, a short speaking program was presented. His Honour addressed the group with a very inspiring message and he commended the school, students, volunteers and staff upon the 10th Anniversary.
Alex Renaud thanked His Honour and presented him with a Quinte SailAbility cap. Sandy Watson presented Her Honour with a bouquet of flowers and our thanks for visiting. New student Brian Cuerrier gave the history of Quinte SailAbility just as the Martin 16, sailed by Robin Edison, tied up at the dock.
Fletch invited Their Honours to move down the dock to watch a demonstration of the lift that brought Robin from the boat to her chair. Following that, under very light wind conditions, Scott Smith docked the Access dinghy with only a small help from Laura!
After the demonstrations, Their Honours took the time to speak with and meet everyone who attended and had many kind words for each person. We think they especially enjoyed meeting Red McGillivray because they got to talk to the man who went ice boating with Rick Mercer. (By the way, if you want to see His Honour have some fun with Rick Mercer, check out his website at http://www.lt.gov.on.ca/en/)
All in all, a great day for Quinte SailAbility—not soon to be forgotten. If you couldn’t attend, or even if you did, we hope you enjoy seeing these photos. We’ll try and add more later and we also hope to have the text of His Honour’s speech for everyone to read.
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