During the Recent Cruise Committee Meeting Held at the Club Sat, Feb 6 It Became Clear

During the Recent Cruise Committee Meeting Held at the Club Sat, Feb 6 It Became Clear

Cruise Committee Goals, Policies and Operations

WAIVER

1.Understand the SHYC General Policy and Waiver Form.

GOALS

1.Promote Safe and Enjoyable Cruising

2.Promote Maximum Participation by Club’s members in all aspects of cruising

3.Encourage mentoring among members.

SAFETY POLICY

1.Each skipper is responsible for the safety of crew and vessel

2.Communications are important to inform participants in a cruise, therefore:

A.The Cruise Committee Co-Chairs will assign and publish a specific VHF channel to be used for inter-vessel communications during each cruise, e.g. VHF Channel 68.
B.The Harbor Captains for a particular day’s destination will share the communication watch responsibilities for that particular transit.
C.Harbor Captains will conduct VHF roll calls at least once a day (morning or evening).

3.It is the responsibility of each skipper to inform the day’s Harbor Captain(s) of any problems on route or changes in their plans or destination.

RESERVATIONS POLICY

1.Whenever possible each skipper is responsible for their own mooring / slip reservations. Wherever possible dinners and drinks will be billed directly to each skipper at the time of the event by the establishment.

2.If direct billing at the time of the event is not possible, each skipper will be responsible for their proportional share as determined by the Cruise Committee Co-Chairs, respective Primary and Secondary Harbor Captains and the Club Manager. Such billing will be handled by the Club through the Club Manager.

3.If circumstances require a reservation deposit for a service provider, all skippers with confirmed cruise registration will be proportionally charged, whether or not they attend, unless they give prior and timely notice of cancellation as required in the Reservation Form.

4.Every reservation deposit for a service provider should be approved by the Fleet Captain. The Reservation Agreement and deposit will be signed by the Club Manager.

5.The “Weather Policy Agreement” will be used for all reservations requiring a deposit advanced by SHYC.

6.Each skipper is responsible for the safety of crew and vessel, however should there be a significant weather event predicted, a joint decision by the Fleet Captain and participating skippers will decide whether to cancel, reschedule, or change a portion or all of the cruise. The Harbor Captains and Cruise Leaders will immediately make necessary calls and arrangements to cancel, reschedule or modify the cruise in accordance with the negotiated “Weather Policy”, including calls to the cruisers, and affected service providers and the Club General Manager. The Club General Manager will help to notify all cruisers signed up for the cruise, will issue a “Weather Cancelation Notice” on the Cruise Website, will advise staff, and will assist with notifying service providers.

Reservations: sign up & Confirmation

In order to plan, reserve for and execute "group" cruise events it is sometimes necessary to place advance reservation deposits for moorings, slips, dinners and events. Therefore we should encourage cruise participants to:

1.Signup on the website as early as possible to assist the Committee’s planning.

2.Confirm cruise commitment before a Reservation Confirmation Date, by completing a Reservation Form that has been prepared and sent by the Club General Manager.

A.Return the Reservations Form, which may include a reservation fee, late fee and selected events, details and costs, before the Confirmation Date noted.
B.In order to encourage timely commitments there will be a small additional late fee. Late reservations are subject to event availability, etc. and will be reviewed before acceptance.
C.Confirmed cruise events selected in your returned Reservation Form will be charged to the member’s club account when submitted (email or hard copy sent to the office).

3.Notify the Club Manager of all cancelations and requests for changes as soon as possible. All questions related to reservations, cancelations and changes should be addressed to the Club Manager.

4.Refunds for the event costs of all or part of a cruise will be dependent on the cruise circumstances, forfeiture of reservation deposits or charges to the club, the cancelation agreements negotiated, the club’s ability to change the number of participants for the events and when the request for cancelation or changes have been made.

5.The club manager will advise the Cruise Leader and Harbor Captains. The Club Manager together with the Cruise Leader and Harbor Captains will then determine what event costs can be refunded. The skipper is then responsible for any remaining amounts.

Reservation Fees

1.Reservation Fee: $30/boat forGoWest, Maine & GoEast, $20/boat for all other cruises.

2.Late Reservation Fee: Add $15/boat. These may vary year to year.

Cruise Management & Coordination: Cruise committee & General Manager

1.Cruise Preparation and Cruise Guides

A.Fleet Captain and Committee determine schedule during January-February.
B.Harbor Captains scout out harbors, plan and prepare group events and a harbor sheet which will become a part of the Cruise Guide. The harbor sheets will be added to the web site.
C.Cruise Flyers (email and posted) may be necessary.
D.The committee will prepare a Cruise Guide for the primary cruises to be printed and handed out to participants.

2.Reservation Form

A.The Cruise Leaders with Harbor Captains will prepare a single document listing harbors and specific event details and costs which are to be included in the Reservation Form email.
B.This document will be sent to the Club Generaly Manager a minimum of six weeks before the Cruise.
C.The Club Manager will notify all cruising skippers listed on the Club’s Cruising List preferably 5 weeks before the cruise with a final confirmation date four weeks before the event.
D.The Club Manager will tally and collect all responses to the Reservations Form.

3.The Cruise

A.The club manager will prepare a spreadsheet which summarizes the “Confirmations’” and participation in the harbors and events and give this to the Cruise Leaders and harbor captains before the cruise start.

B.During the Cruise, Leaders and Harbor Captains will note all changes in anticipated participation for various events and advise the Club Manager.

Cruise Committee Yearly Accounting

1.At the end of the year and from time to time during the season, the Club Treasurer will show Cruise Committee accounting in detail, with expenses and receipts (fees, dinner, events, etc) and advise the Cruise Committee.

2.The remaining balance (positive or negative) from the previous year will be allocated to the next year's operating budget. If the committee is fiscally responsible, the committee will have funds available for planning and necessary early reservations the next year.

3.The committee is self-funding and has been given a $1000 float limit which must be brought back to $0 at the end of each year.

COMMITTEE GOALS

1.Develop a strong active committee, with working members. Encourage an environment where more experienced members guide new members in the planning process.

2.Involve as many as possible in the planning with the hope that they too will cruise.

3.Plan realistic cruise schedules and cruises to meet the needs and interests of the members and to encourage participation of cruisers: new and old, long and short, shallow and deep. Promote cruising through camaraderie, fun and safety. Encourage new sailors and power boaters with mentoring and guidance.

4.Work to coordinate Cruise and Power Squadron's trips together, remembering that distances, current and tides effect sailors differently than Powerboats. Independent transit, cruise extensions, day power trips and interleaving planned harbors and unplanned harbors are some of the techniques which make this work for everyone.

5.Based upon committee efforts and interest, planning the "Primary Cruises" is first priority, then the "Secondary Weekend Cruises". Leave room for Informal Cruises.

6.Membership Outreach

A.Get more members active and out on the water through Club Member Information, Process and Mechanics - Interests checkboxes for "Cruising" "Power" "Cruise News".

B.Membership Committee should advise us of any new members who have shown an interest in cruising so we can contact them.

7.Plan for the Future

A.Transfer the maintenance of the Cruise Website to SHYC staff.

B.Have a succession plan in place to be able to hand off leadership responsibilities to new active and enthusiastic members in the future Harbor or Cruise documents to the Cruise Committee Webmaster.

8.Stay within budget.

TYPICAL HARBOR CAPTAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

1.Harbor Captains are essential to any Cruise. Harbor Captains are the source of information for everything associated with a harbor, navigation to the harbor, dockage, moorings, dinner and events. They one source of source of information about the harbor. It is important to direct and inform cruisers regarding mooring and dock reservations at an early date.

2.Ideally the Harbor Captain has “scouted” a Harbor and prepared a Harbor sheet with information about the harbor by mid March, see the Sample Harbor Sheet. The Harbor Sheet is made available on the website towards the end of March and becomes a part of a Cruise Guide handed out at the beginning of longer cruises.

3.Harbor arrangements should be completed by the beginning of March if possible.

4.Generally each cruiser or vessel is responsible for reserving their own mooring or dockage and dinners are to be "a la carte" if at all possible.

5.There are times however when a group of moorings must be reserved, for example, to ensure a cruise will be possible in a popular harbor during high season, or in order to have a reasonable number of group gatherings during the cruise, or you have a great idea for a gathering, then a reservation deposit may be needed (e.g.: Pizza Truck in Coecles Harbor or reservations for 25 at a restaurant during high season).

6.Reservations can become an issue, as we are dependent on weather. Therefore Harbor Captains are asked to negotiate reservations using the written SHYC Weather Policy in consultation with the Fleet Captain. See the Sample Service Provider Weather Policy Agreement.

7.In the event of bad weather, assist with the necessary notifications, calls and arrangements needed to accommodate the Cruisers and the changed plans.

8.Run a cost effective program, with the least accounting troubles possible, including trying to reduce club risk due to reservations and inclement weather, while still keeping the cruise fun.

9.Harbor Accounting, keep records signups, reservations, who attended events, dinners, etc and review any changes with the General Manager.

Promote your Cruise

1.Your enthusiasm and energy is what makes the Cruise and Committee so effective, and in the process you also involve others who become more interested.

2.Promote your cruise with your friends, by email links, and in whatever way you can. It works!

3.Cruises are an excellent way to get to know people in the club. Your active involvement in preparing for a harbor or cruise, will inevitably lead to more friendships.

TYPICAL CRUISE PROCEDURES

1.Cruise Start Cocktail/Dinner Party at the Club. Distribute Cruise Guides.

2.Try to have a Fleet Start at the Breakwater with Date and Time in Cruise Guide.

3.Fly the Club Burgee.

4.0800 hour VHF Call by Cruise Leader, individual boats check in, then weather and days events.

5.1800 hour VHF Call by Cruise Leader, check in, then evening events.

6.Monitor Channel 16 and switch and answer when called. Try to institute use of MMSI.

7.Often there are Informal Races to the next Harbor.

WHY CRUISE TOGETHER

1.To promote our club with other clubs. Exchange of flags.

2.Safer cruises, for a number of reasons, including the communications network, morning and evening calls with weather, tides and routing,

3.Shared experience nearby, learning is easier (you just ask), sailing together.

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Stonington Harbor Yacht Club- Cruise Committee Goals, Policies and Operations May-2010