If the galley is open then all those on duty are entitled to a free breakfast roll. It is your responsibility to ensure that your name is recorded against your duty in DutyMan or you will not get credited. If it is not then email with name, date and duty and we will get it updated.
Safetyboat Helm (SBH)
As Safetyboat Helm you might be responsible for opening up the club and ensuring the club is secured at the end of the day. On a Sunday one duty is usually covered by someone from the Safetyboat Specialist team, so they will usually lead. Otherwise you are responsible, so you might need keys. You must have an RYA Powerboat Level 2 certificate to do this duty. You and your crew need to be there early enough to be ready to provide safety cover for the advertised period. Club policy is that there should be two RIBs on the water for safety in case there is a mechanical issue with a sole RIB, so if you are the only boat on duty then you should still prepare and launch a second RIB and leave it moored on the pontoon. The duty is usually 10am until 30 mins before the end of club opening time, so 5:00pm (4:00pm Nov to Mar) or until the last water users come ashore. In the summer Wednesday evening cover is from 5:30pm until end of racing around 8:30pm and there are some other periods like Members’ Week or Wednesday afternoons in the school summer holidays. It should state the timings in your duty title on DutyMan. As a rule of thumb it usually takes at least an hour to get set up if you are efficient.
If there is no racing on then the Safetyboat Helm has the overall responsibility for activities at the club. If there is racing on then the Race Officer has overall responsibility.
There is a Safetyboat Checklist with detailed instructions for RIB preparation and launch, so please look at it if you are unfamiliar to avoid issues or damage, and a Safetyboat Good Practice sheet which you should have read. Check the RIBs for fuel and safety gear. Launch the RIBs onto water ready for use. Man the RIB out on the water to assist any craft having problems. If there is only one RIB on duty let water users know when you are going in to lunch so that they know buddy sailing rules apply. If there are two or more boats, arrange between you to stagger so one boat stays out whilst the other gets early or late lunch and swap. RIB crew should be dressed appropriately and prepared to enter the water if need be. If it is quiet then it is fine to sit in the moored boat on the pontoon to save fuel.
At the end of the day either secure the clubhouse and Equipment store or get explicit agreement from someone with keys that they will do it for you.
Safetyboat Assistant (SBA)
Your role is to help the Safetyboat Helm. You don’t need any experience. Ideally you should agree with the helm when to turn up, but if not, aim to arrive an hour before your duty cover starts. Help the helm prepare and launch the RIB as directed and then man the boat as his crew. RIB crew should be dressed appropriately and prepared to enter the water if need be.
Race Officer (RO)
There will only be a Race Officer and Assistant Race Officer on duty if racing is taking place that day. If so, the Race Officer has overall responsibility for activities at the club. You need race officer experience to do this duty, or an experienced mentor available to help if you are just starting. Arrive in time to arrange racing to start at the right time (typically 11:00 in the summer, 11:30 in the winter unless it is for an Open Meeting or between 7pm and 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings). We suggest you try to arrive at least 45 minutes before racing starts to accommodate any unexpected events/conditions/circumstances. Liaise with the galley about times of races so they are prepared when sailors come in. Organise and run the race and ensure times and positions are recorded. At the end of the day take a photograph of the results sheet on your phone and send to
Assistant Race Officer (ARO)
Your role is to assist the Race Officer as directed. You don’t need experience to do this duty. You might be stationed on the committee boat on the water for this duty or it might be shore based for smaller races, so you might need wet gear. This is an ideal duty for up and coming racers to start to get Race officer experience.
Other Duties
There are other roles for some of the bigger races and open meetings like Results Officer, Mark Layer and Shore Officer amongst others. These are usually allocated to individuals with known experience. You should not be allocated one of these if you don’t know what is involved.