Furious members of the Royal Cape Yacht Club have staged a mutiny over plans to renovate their smoking bar and open a 350-seater public restaurant.

The club commodore is under fire for concluding the face-lifting deal with a flamboyant Cape Town restaurateur known for up-beat parties and political connections.

The row revolves around an ambitious plan, initiated by Commodore Russell Vollmer, to breathe new life into the 101-year-old yacht club by renovating the aging premises and adding a restaurant.

But irate members - who say the plan was not authorised in terms of club rules, and accuse Vollmer of treating the club like his private business - have scuppered the plan.

Members have sought legal advice and posted angry letters on the club's website.

"The club has an excessive and inexplicable appetite for money, which it directs at its members. Long-term members with sailing skill say they can no longer afford the club," said one.

Other complaints highlight expensive moorings and subscription fees, and poor facilities - including a chartroom without charts.

Vollmer confirmed an "outsource" agreement with city restaurateur Mark Tarica, but said the matter was still up for discussion.

Vollmer said the renovation plan was aimed at securing the financial viability of the club, whose membership has dwindled in recent years.

"Most sports clubs throughout the country have problems in keeping themselves liquid. Obviously it's in our interests to try to remain liquid," said Vollmer, adding that many members were not prepared to invest in the club.

Tarica, the chief executive of the Maestro's franchise and owner of two popular Cape Town restaurants, this week said he had been approached by the club in December.

He said he had already invested R500,000 of an estimated R2.5-million to R4-million upgrade plan which, if completed, would have included five managers, and executive chefs serving South African Italian cuisine.

"They came to me in a desperate situation - to take over the bars and the kitchen at one month's notice. I jumped in to help them out, and that's why we were only able to sign a heads of agreement - which is a binding agreement," he said.

Tarica said the original upgrade plan involved stripping the members' smoking bar, the ladies' bar, the regatta centre and the upstairs chartroom.

Criticism of the plan by club members prompted an angry response from Vollmer in the club newsletter. He accused his detractors of misinformation and loutish behaviour.

He referred to one report-back meeting that included a vocal minority "so aggressive towards the [club executive] committee and [that] heckled so much that it proved impossible for the committee to have a proper communication with those present".

However, Vollmer's detractors say his plan will effectively snuff out a century-old club culture.

Comments posted on the club's website also accuse Vollmer of selling out to big business: "It [the plan] is likely, as members have said, to make of this club a commercial restaurant with a yacht club attached."

Another read: "The committee wants outside money because they have run the club into debt. They are in debt because they spend beyond the club's means. To get money, they pawn the club to go into business."

Other members who spoke to the Sunday Times complained about "rogue" elements in the club - but said the upgrade plan might help to improve the club's image.

Said Anton Musgrave, a member for over 20 years: "We found that there are often incidents and experiences that I don't want to expose my daughter or wife to. I've even removed my yacht from the club."

Sunday Times
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge