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
Qualification: No formal qualification is required but experience in dinghy racing is useful. You should be familiar with the racing rules and able to set a suitable course for the conditions on the day, but if you aren’t confident, the racers will be happy to help.
Race Officer training is available if you are interested in becoming a Race Officer!
Preparation: Race Officer Notes. It can be quite cold standing on the Maid of Kent so to take warm, wind & waterproof clothing.
Assistant Race Officer
Qualification: No qualifications or experience required, you just need to be able to write and be mobile enough to get out to the Maid of Kent.
Preparation: It can be quite cold standing on the Maid of Kent so to take warm, wind & waterproof clothing.
Support/Powerboat Helm
Qualification required: RYA Powerboat Level 2 is reuired. Helms with significant experience can be assessed and issued with a PB2 certificate by a Powerboat instructor.
Preparation: Support Boat Operating Guidelines
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. This may require you to have sufficient strength to assist in recovering a sailor into the powerboat.
Preparation: Support Boat Operating Guidelines
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
The galley duty has been created to support some of our club events.
It may be useful to contact the event organiser a
few days before the event – you should find contact details in the duty roster in dutyman.
On your way to the club please buy milk. (If you need guidance on how many people to cater
for please contact the race officer / event organiser as they should be able to offer
assistance.) There is an expense form available to allow you claim back money spent.
You should arrive in good time before the event so that teas/coffees can be offered to
participants as they arrive.
- Tea and coffee are provided in the kitchen.
- Mugs are in the cupboard opposite the sink, and spoons are in the top drawer next to the sink.
- Two kettles are provided for hot water.
- During the event it is possible any spectators/family might like to have a hot drink.
As sailors come off the water please offer them refreshments.
At the end of the session, ensure that mugs and spoons are washed up and put away and
the kettles are switched off at the plugs.
Finally, a big Thank You for doing the duty and helping our club.
Coastal Duty (Helm & Crew)
Qualification required for Helm: RYA Safety Boat
Qualification required for Crew: RYA Powerboat Level 2
The coastal ribs have a fixed VHF radio – this should only be used by VHF licence holders, except in emergencies.
Preparation: You need to tow, or arrange to be towed, the support boat (typically Searider). The club will reimburse mileage costs from the club to the coastal location.
You must have suitable clothing for a sea-based event and prepared to enter the water if necessary