Sailing Duties
As part of becoming a member we all commit to do our share of sailing duties as a condition of membership. This applies to every type of membership except Social members and those under 16. The requirement is to do at least four duties during the sailing season, which runs from the start of the Spring series through to the end of the Autumn series, and typically comprises three Sundays and one Thursday evening. During the off season, Frostbite and Brass Monkey series, those who sail in the series are expected to contribute by doing duties during those series. We can only race if we have a full duty team and so it is down to us all individually to do our share.
There can sometimes be assumptions and misunderstanding about the level of skills and experience needed to do a duty and so here are a few pointers :
- A duty team is made up of 4 members but not all of them need to be skilled and experienced sailors/racers/power boat drivers and so all members can play their part.
- There are 2 roles that are for members who do have specific skills and experience :
- Race Officer : experience in managing all aspects of club level racing
- Safety Boat Driver : RYA Power Boat Level 2 or RYA Safety Boat
- The other 2 roles, Assistant Race Officer and Safety Boat Assistant, do not require anything other than willingness and enthusiasm to get out on the water. They are both a brilliant opportunity for those less experienced to gain valuable insight and experience, both in the roles of the duty team but equally to observe and learn from those racing. It also gives members the opportunity to talk to their duty partners and quiz them on all aspects of their own sailing knowledge and experience.
It should be noted that the Race Officer has overall accountability making an assessment of the conditions and the decision as to whether allow members (racing or otherwise) onto the water. The decision of the Race Officer is final and cannot be overruled.
Please continue to sign up for duties throughout the year via the club website (if you are not sure how to you can find a how to guide here). Racing is at the heart of what we do, and your help is absolutely essential to ensure we have the qualified safety cover and race management needed for racing to take place.
Last updated 12:07pm on 3 April 2026