Saskatoon Sailing Club Members' Guide

Updated January 22, 2023

The Saskatoon Sailing Club is an informal group of friends who share the common interest of sailing and as such we feel we should enjoy having as few rules as possible, but its always good to know how the club functions. Because of this, there are a few basic guidelines to help us all get the most pleasure and benefits of membership and enjoy each other's company.

The following guide is intended to be helpful information evolving with time in response to members' requests as the club grows. (Also see the Constitution By-laws)

Members have traditionally volunteered their expertise and labor in maintaining buildings and other facilities and while membership fees must rise from time to time due to increasing costs, doing our own work wherever possible is the main reason our yearly fees are not much higher.

Aside from that, members are required to pitch in to help on the annual work weekend and, if possible, on the fall shutdown weekend.

Members are also expected to act as Officer of the Day or help with running the races one weekend during the summer. (See duties of the Officer of the Day)

1. The Clubhouse

This is the social focal point of the club and members are encouraged to meet one another here whenever possible. Bring your beer, games and sailing stories and enjoy the view. Guests of members should be encouraged to sign the guest book.

So we can all enjoy the clubhouse, the executive asks that you help to keep it tidy and clean.

The propane stove can be used for coffee, tea etc but should not be used to cook meals on a regular basis. It is for communal and not individual benefit. The clubhouse must not be used for sleeping.

To operate the refrigerator: Please read the instructions on the wall to the right side of the fridge. It will advise you to first turn on the propane tank located outside the clubhouse, turn on the green valve located to the right side of the fridge and open the refrigerator's bottom panel and follow directions. Do not use a match to lite the pilot. To confirm it is running, feel for heat at the vent at the upper left rear of the unit. Some food may be kept in the refrigerator, however do not monopolize it.

Operation of the wood burning stove is mostly common sense. No plastics or other garbage should be burned and please close the stove doors and make sure the fire is on the wane if you are the last to leave the clubhouse. The stove should not be used by children without adult supervision- and parents should be aware of the danger to small children when the stove is being used.

Wood is stored under the clubhouse is for use in the clubhouse. Please do not take it for use at your campsite or at the beach.

Other Safety Points:

- Each member is entitled to a seasonal boat tie-down spot(s) on the beach, however because sudden violent storms are common in the Redberry Lake area, please remember:

BEFORE LEAVING THE BEACH AREA, MAKE SURE YOUR BOAT IS ANCHORED INTO THE SAND SECURELY to avoid damage to other boats as well as your own.

- Stay off the water and leave the beach area as soon as possible when lightning is seen in the distance.

- First aid kits are placed in the beach sheds and in the clubhouse.

2. The Club Grounds

(a) Each Regular Member is entitled to a campsite. If not available, a site may be cleared, but to avoid conflicting with another possible request for the site, there must be approval from the executive's Membership Chair. When clearing a site, as many trees as possible should be left standing.

(b) Members are expected to keep their campsites clean: IF YOU BRING IT IN -TAKE IT OUT. Garbage/litter must not be thrown into biffies. For larger items not suitable for vehicle transport, the club takes accumulated junk to the Krydor dump each spring.

(c) Upon termination of a membership, members must remove or otherwise dispose of all structures, cabin trailers, boats, dollies and boat trailers. (Conditions regarding this are set out in the club's Bylaws.)

(d) The club's showers. We rely on a limited amount of rainwater which is collected in a large tank at the rear of the clubhouse to feed the main shower. Members are asked to use the water sparingly. In more recent times, the club added a solar collector and hot water tank to make showering even more enjoyable even long after the sun has set, but please think of others: The hot water is limited to 25 gallons.

(e) Dogs owned by members and guests must be under the control and supervision of the owner at all times. For the health and safety of everyone walking on the club's grounds and beach area, its the owner's responsibility to “poop scoop”.

(f) The club gate should be kept locked at all times except when it is certain others will be entering or leaving shortly. The gate is locked after the fall cleanup weekend and remains locked until the work weekend in the spring. If you are visiting off-season, make sure you have obtained a key from one of the executive members.

3. Guests

Personal guests of Regular members are most welcome at the club provided they are accompanied by the member. If possible, the guest should sign the guest book in the clubhouse. It is the responsibility of the introducing member to make sure their guests are informed of club guidelines which might apply: For example, if a guest has a boat, it must be securely lashed down overnight. There is no prescribed restriction on the number of times an individual guest may visit the club however guests that visit more than occasionally should consider a applying for membership.

Visitors from other sailing clubs that are affiliated with the Canadian Yachting Association are most welcome with or without being a guest of a club member provided they introduce themselves to the Officer of the Day (OD) and sign the guest book in the clubhouse.

An individual who attends sail school at Saskatoon Sailing Club shall be permitted use of club facilities and club boats for the remainder of that sailing season, provided that the individual follows all instructions from the Directors to ensure the individual's safe use of club facilities and boats.

4. Officer of the Day Duties

One of the requirements of membership is that all members participate in Officer of the Day duties one weekend during the summer. A roster is arranged each season to share out weekend duties. Members are assigned to be on duty for each weekend during the season when racing is scheduled; For each weekend, one of the group is named Officer of the Day (OD). The officer of the day is the Commodore’s nominee for management of the club for the weekend and is responsible for seeing that all duties are carried out. Newer members acting as OD will be assisted by a more seasoned member. This is especially important when it comes to setting up for and conducting the series of races each weekend.

A member may fulfil their Officer of the Day Duties by taking responsibility for the barbecue at a weekend regatta, including the Annual Regatta or Short Course Regatta. The barbecue responsibilities shall include organizing and taking barbecue orders from the membership, organizing the purchase of food and supplies, arranging for the delivery of food and supplies to the club, and arranging for the lighting of the club BBQ.

With respect to the scheduling of the officer of the day duties:

  1. All members shall provide their weekend availability when completing their annual membership forms;
  2. All members shall also provide their weekend availability to the race director upon receipt of notice from the race director;
  3. In the event that a member fails to provide their weekend availability, the Directors may assign the member to a weekend and provide notice to the member of their assigned weekend.

If a member is unable to attend on the assigned weekend it is the responsibility of that member to find a substitute and inform the OD. The executive may, at its discretion, assign penalties for members ignoring these responsibilities, including the removal of membership as outlined in the bylaws.

The OD and helpers are responsible for the following duties:

  1. Check the Clubhouse propane supply (ask a senior Club member where the key is kept). Make note of any clubhouse requirements and later notify the House and Grounds Chairman.
  2. Hoist the Canadian and Club flags, which are kept in the left (north) drawer in the clubhouse island counter. Tidy and lock the clubhouse at the end of the weekend.
  3. Check all biffies and supply with toilet tissue and hand sanitizer where necessary. Tissue and sanitizer is kept in a clubhouse lower cupboard. Also stored in that location is shampoo and body soap which should be placed in the main shower when required.
  4. Check the club boats, equipment and gas supplies in the storage sheds. Prepare the committee boat with supplies needed to act as Race Officer. Make sure that the rescue boat is ready for immediate use in the event of an emergency.

The club boats and equipment must be well secured overnight and stowed/locked safely in the beach sheds at the end of the weekend.

The first of three races each day should start promptly: Saturdays at 1:00 pm and Sundays at 11:00 am (Additional races may be run but they will not be considered as part of the club series.)

The OD is responsible for setting out the marks and deciding if the current weather conditions are suitable for racing. The only cause for postponement is weather that, in the opinion of the OD, is too dangerous for racing. In most cases this will be restricted to impending storms (lightning) and very high winds.

If any boat presents at the starting line at the appointed time, the race must be started and considered official. A single entrant is not a cause for postponement, abandonment or non-starting. It is important to make sure that each person on the committee boat has a life jacket or PFD. The RCMP enforce this. If a race is postponed, an attempt should be made to sail it later in the day.

In the event of a postponement of more than one half hour, the OD must make every effort to inform all skippers of the new starting times.

If a race cannot be sailed it will be considered cancelled. Following the races, the recorded results shall be supplied to the race director.

It is the responsibility of the OD to become familiar with the procedure for running the races in advance.

5. Summary of Equipment List and Location

KEYS: Clubhouse key – please ask when joining the club. Universal keys for all other locks- with each member.

BIFFY SUPPLIES: Stored in the clubhouse cupboards, any deficiencies notify the House and Grounds chairman.

GAS and OTHER EQUIPMENT associated with the motors are stored in the safety boat shed at the beach and in the brown metal shed.

Any deficiencies or problems should be brought to the attention of the Harbour Master.

MOTORS: 40 hp mounted on the committee boat, 15 hp mounted on the Zodiac inflatable.

RACING EQUIPMENT:

The following items are stored in the safety boat beach shed:

Marks, anchors for marks, Danforth anchors for boats. These anchors are sometimes stored in the respective boats.

Flags on a staff, M flag (blue with white X), S flag (white border blue rectangle), First Substitute (blue and yellow triangle)

Life jackets.

The following are stored in the sail equipment beach shed:

Plastic storage container with air horn, stopwatch, race sheets, pens, committee boat key.(may also be stored in boat shed)

The following is stored on the committee boat:

Committee boat anchor, boat hook, flags on a staff for starting races, burgee. All other flags for hoisting are kept in a blue pouch.

The following are stored in the clubhouse: (far left drawer in the island counter)

Extra recording sheets, protest forms, answering pennant, calculators, chalk.

Please remember- Except in emergency or unusual situations, the Committee boat is to be used for racing events, Sailing School or rescue only and the Zodiac is likewise for use only within the scope of race management or training as a mark setting and emergency rescue boat. If the boat(s) must be used for any other reason, special permission from the Officer of the Day or member of the executive must been obtained.

Please become familiar with the operation of the Committee boat and Safety boat motors.

Instructions for the operation of motors and boats is posted in the boat shed at the beach.

If problems occur during a period when the Harbour Master/ Racing Chair is not available, please contact the following:

Pally Performance Products 110 60th St. West (Saskatoon, SK S7R 1E1 (306)-244-4469 pallyperformance@sasktel.net)

We hope this bit of information will help you to enjoy your time at Redberry. Your suggestions of other things to include in a future Members Guide would be welcome.