Sign Up for a Sail

We want to get you out on the water as often as possible! But it helps to know what you're doing - and the best way to do that is to read the rest of this page.

Common types of sails are:

• Day sails: One day on the water (typically 6 or so hours, no guarantees) costs one sailing credit.
• Overnights at anchor ("Anchor out") are usually two sailing credtsi and last two days and one night.
• Overmights at a marina or yacht club ("Dock & Dine") are usually three sailing credits and last two days and one night. The extra sailing credit helps pay for the boat slip rental.
• Special sails may have other durations, costs, or deadlines.

We discuss, below:

• Who can go sailing
• How to sign up for a sail
• How the crew assignment system works
• Special requests
• Deadlines for signing up and for showing up
• Rules for crew and what to bring
• Dealing with any problems
• Boat locations, maps, specifications

Who can go sailing:

• You must be a Member to participate in a club sponsored sailing event. Your membership application was also your legal liability release.
• You must also file, with the Cruise Coordinator, a sailing registration form. The Cruise Coordinator can do this for you if you call. The Cruise Coordinator will deduct the appropriate number of sailing credits from your electronic account.
• Having an account with unused sailing credits does not, alone, entitle you to go sailing. You must also be a current member.
• To sail, you must use sailing credits. For an explanation of the Sailing-Credit system click here.

How to sign up for a sail:

You may register for a sail in the current or the next month. There are three ways to register for a sail:

• Mail a sailing registration form (there are two blank ones in each newsletter or you may print some from this web site), to the Cruise Coordinator.
• Come to the General Meeting and hand in a sailing registration form to the Cruise Coordinator.
• Telephone to the Cruise Coordinator.

How the crew assignment system works:

Experience: The Cruise Coordinator tries to put at least one experienced crew aboard each boat to assist the skipper. Other crew are then assigned until the boat is full.

First-Come-First-Sail: After experienced crew are assigned, the crew is filled in on the basis who who signed up first, etc.

Bounces: For a variety of reasons, it may not be possible for everyone to go sailing on a specific day. Those who are not assigned to a boat do not get charged for any sailing credits. We try to minimize this but it does sometimes happen. This is a perfect time to ask the Cruise Coordinator to assign you to another sail later this month or next month - which might put you at the front of the line. You may register for a sail in the current or the next month.

With wheel, chartplotter, radio, depth sounder, wind gauge, compass and (non-alcoholic) beverage to contend with, it helps to have an assistant helmsperson.

Special requests:

You may make special requests and there is a space on the sailing registration form to write in your special request. Perhaps you wish to carpool with another member and so go sailing on the same boat. Perhaps you and another member always prefer to sail together. You may not wish to drive to a far-distant boat and so request not to be assigned to that boat.

You may not wish, for whatever reason, to sail with a certain boat or skipper. Be forewarned that this sort of request is considered to be a permanent one. Use it wisely.

The Cruise Coordinator will try to honor such requests. But there are no guarantees and the needs of the skippers and club come first.

Deadlines for signing up and for showing up:

All sails have registration deadlines. Sails scheduled in the newsletter usually have a deadline of the Monday night before the weekend sail. But these may vary in special circumstances. The deadline is the last day you can sign up and also the last day you can cancel and not be charged for a sailing credit(s).

One common exception are occasional "special sails" that are not listed in the newsletter and which are available only at the General Meeting (or listed here on this web site, see the Calendar Page). No matter when those take place, the deadline is the night of the first-Wednesday General Meeting. This is because there is no flexibility afforded the Cruise Coordinator when it comes to replacing crew. So when you sign up, you're committed.

The skipper will call you a day or two before the sail with information as to when to show up and where to show up. Our fleet web page has maps for most our boat locations. If you have not been to a boat before, schedule in enough time to get lost and still be there on time.

Plan to be at the dock a half-hour before scheduled departure. Skippers do not wait for late crew. They are not only instructed to depart on time, but they may need to consider the tide and/or bridge opening schedules. Being late is a Very Bad Idea. Not only do you miss the sail (and get charged for it anyway) but the Cruise Coordinator and skipper will both take this into consideration in the future.

Rules for crew and what to bring:

Visit our information web page for useful tips.

Dealing with any problems:

If you cannot make the sail, call the Cruising Coordinator AND the boat skipper IMMEDIATELY! Someone else may be able to fill your space and, equally importantly, the skipper is counting upon you to help crew his/her boat. But also note that there are no refunds of sailing credits for cancellations made after the deadline. (But it is wise to call anyway; we will remember who did not.)

If the skipper cancels the trip and it is too late to reassign you to another boat, you get your vouchers back. If a skipper aborts a sail already underway, any decision as to whether or not to count that sail as a qualifying sail is up to the skipper.

Boat locations, maps, specifications:

Visit our fleet page for boat locations and specifications.