In this Golden Jubilee year of the Institute it is befitting that the theme of my Presidential Address should be ‘The State of the Institute’. Since the formation of the Institute in 1947, Council has continually addressed this theme, recognizing the need throughout the years to maintain a twin-track approach. One track has been to address navigation issues, relying heavily for solutions on the expertise of members, and the other track has been to adopt measures which secure the future for the Institute. The first track has presented little problem, for within the Institute there are many experts, ranging from the practitioners of the art of navigation to the practitioners of the science and understanding of navigation and its associated disciplines. It is the second track, concerned with the future of the Institute, that requires Officers and Council to steer a sensible safe course around ominous thunder clouds that develop as rapidly as those in the Intertropical Convergence Zone.