The PSPS Council of Management met by video conference on Saturday 21 November 2020; all but three of the trustees were in attendance.
Decisions Since the Last Meeting
It had been agreed to suspend Branch meetings until the end of 2020. The Treasurer had been authorised to pay future donations for the Waverley Covid 19 Relief Appeal on a monthly basis. The grant for the Boiler Refit Appeal would be transferred to the Covid 19 Appeal, and Branches to be requested to consent to any monies granted in 2019, not spent, to be transferred.
Council Membership
John Anderson and David Green were co-opted onto Council.
AGM
It was agreed the AGM had gone well. It was proposed to hold the AGM for 2021 at Balloch on Friday in expectation that Waverley would be sailing that weekend. The format would depend on restrictions in place at the time.
Ships
Kingswear Castle was reported to have had a very successful year. Funds were said to be available for the first phase of work for rebuild; the website was being upgraded to make donations online.
Work had stopped on Maid of the Loch; it was hoped to reopen at Easter, and it was also vital to get the ship out of the water to survey the hull. Historic Environment Scotland will be providing £94,000 towards the work.
Thanks were expressed to WEL and WSN for operating a short season for Waverley in difficult circumstances. Thanks were also given by Derek Peters to Martin Longhurst for the prompt and efficient transfer of PSPS donations. The Brodick incident was taking up a large amount of time.
Medway Queen had opened to the public from 5 September but had to close again due to Covid restrictions. It was planned for the ship go to Ramsgate in 2021 for repainting and to take part in Dunkirk evacuation commemorations.
Membership
It was agreed to offer one year’s free membership to any non-members donating £250 or more to the Covid appeal.
Branch Meetings
Agreed that Branch meetings and AGMs could be postponed to Autumn 2021. Agreed to hold online meetings between January and May 2021. Technical support would be supplied centrally. Agreed that Branches could donate more than £1,000 to WSN for the Covid appeal.
PSPS Collection
Drawings were being scanned at a competitive rate of about £5 per drawing. It was agreed it would be highly desirable for drawings of Waverley (those in the archive and those held by WSN) to be scanned. It was agreed the Society would meet the costs. It was agreed that the ‘collection’ section of the website should be published.
Future Meetings
Council will meet on 27 March, 26 June and 20 November 2021 and the AGM on 15 October, subject to Waverley sailing that weekend.