Duties

Why do we have duties?

The Club is entirely run by volunteers and relies on all Members giving some of their time to the Club. It takes many people to keep our club running smoothly.

Each Full Member and all active sailing family Members aged 18 and over shall undertake the following over the year;

  • three half days; or
  • two full days; or
  • one coastal duty.

Within a Family Membership a non-sailing Member may undertake the main Member’s duties.

Avoidance of carrying out duties may lead to disciplinary action and termination of Membership.

How can I see my duties?

Log in to DutyMan, the platform we use to manage these. Here you can view the duty roster, confirm that you can do your duty, or arrange a duty swap.

Types of duties available

  • Race Officer
  • Assistant Race Officer
  • Powerboat Helm
  • Powerboat Crew
  • Galley Duty
  • Coastal Duty

How are they assigned?

When you join or renew your membership you are asked which types of duty you’re able to help with, and any dates you know you wouldn’t be able to attend.

The Duty Manager will use this information to assign duties and they’re typically assigned in blocks e.g. first half of the season assigned first, then next half of the season to allow members who join later in the season to still be assigned duties.

If there are particular events or dates that you’d like to support, you can contact the Duty Manager or early in the season we sometimes hold a Dry Meeting where you can sit with them and pick your duties/dates.

What if I can’t attend a particular duty?

Please give as much notice as possible so that you’re able to find someone else to swap or stand in for you. Your first option is to use DutyMan itself to “Request a swap” – find someone with a duty that you are able to help with and request the swap. We suggest requesting multiple swaps to have the greatest success of finding someone able to swap.

Please be aware that it is your responsibility to find someone to swap with you.

If you are unsuccessful in finding someone to swap through DutyMan, or you have less than a week’s notice, please take a more proactive approach and either contact the Duty Manager, post in our WhatsApp community or Facebook Community page.

What to expect?

If you’ve been assigned a duty that you haven’t done before, don’t worry, they’re all very straightforward and training is provided where needed.

Race Officer

Assistant Race Officer

Support/Powerboat Helm

Qualification required: RYA Powerboat Level 2 is preferred, but helms with significant experience are also permitted.
Preparation:
What to expect: You’ll typically be supporting a set of races, or Adult Saturday Club, either half day or full day.

Support/Powerboat Crew

Qualification required: None, but you must be confident you can intervene in the event of an issue, such as a capsize where the sailor(s) are unable to support themselves.

Preparation: While it is unusual that the support boat will need to enter the water in the event of an issue, it can be necessary and safety of paramount. Please ensure you’re wearing suitable clothing (or have a change of clothes) should you need to get wet.

What to expect: You’ll typically be supporting a set of races, or Adult Saturday Club, either half day or full day.

Galley Duty

Coastal Duty (Helm & Crew)

Qualification required (for Helm): RYA Safety Boat

Preparation: You need to tow, or arrange to be towed, the support boat (typically Searider).
You must have suitable clothing for a sea-based event and prepared to enter the water if necessary

On the day: