CUYC Regulations, Revision 1.4, last amended by the CUYC Committee January 2024.
Classes of Membership are as defined in the CUYC Constitution. Supplementary to that the following definitions are given:
The Membership Fee is £30.
Associated Institutions shall be taken to mean those directly linked with the University of Cambridge, for example the Sanger Institute, the Babraham Institute, Wellcome and MRC Research Laboratories based in Cambridge, the British Antarctic Survey and colleges of the Cambridge Theological Foundation. The Committee will decide if any other Institution qualifies.
Membership must either be held, or have been held within the previous 6 months, in order to purchase personal kit, stash, or equipment in Club orders.
All RYA Examiners and external Instructors are understood to be Members for the duration of their activities with the club.
The Trip Fee to be charged to each Member participating in a Trip shall be calculated as follows. The result may then be adjusted by the Commodore and responsible Vice-Commodore to better match the average trip fee for the type of trip and the type of boat sailed.
For trips to be run on a chartered yacht: the charter cost split between the reasonably expected number of participants. If the charter cost is lower than the fees paid by Members (e.g. because more people than expected participate or some reduction in charter fee is obtained) the difference or part thereof may be refunded to the Members at the discretion of the Committee, with consideration as to whether to keep surplus to fund future Charter Subsidies.
For trips to be run on Club-owned yachts: a fee agreed by the Committee.
Instructors do not pay a fee or expenses when instructing a practical course.
Training Course Fees for Senior Members shall be 1.5 x the course fees for Junior Members.
Affiliate Members may be charged higher fees for all types of Events at the discretion of the Committee.
For Events where the Fee is used to pay an external organisation, all Members shall be required to pay the full amount up front.
For every event with a limited number of participants, there shall be one Deadline before which Junior Members are confirmed in order of application and Senior and Affiliate Members are added to a waiting list. When the Deadline is reached, any remaining spaces shall be allocated to any Senior Members on the waiting list, in the order of their application. Any further remaining spaces shall then be allocated to any Affiliate Members on the waiting list, in the order of their application.
When assigning places on Trips, exceptions to the Sign-up Preference Policy can be made at the discretion of the Trip Organiser, in consultation with the Skipper, where the collective experience and safety of the crew are a consideration.
For weekend trips the Deadline shall be no less than one week before the trip. For longer trips the Deadline shall be set by the Trip Organiser in consultation with the responsible Vice-Commodore and shall be no less than three weeks. Trip Organisers should endeavour to find out from Senior and Affiliate Members when they need to know if they will be able to participate in an event.
The Committee reserves the right to allocate a Member a different priority in the Sign-up Preference Policy to that which they would ordinarily receive due to their membership status.
If a Member chooses to cancel a confirmed place on an event, any refund of fees will be entirely at the discretion of the Committee. However, a refund will not be unreasonably withheld.
CUYC Members will not be held financially responsible for costs incurred in the interest of the safety of crew and yacht.
As unsafe weather is to be expected from time to time while sailing, as a guideline, CUYC should consider a refund if it was too dangerous to sail for more than 50% of the trip due to unsafe weather, with a maximum refund of 75% if any sailing has taken place. The Commodore's discretion applies in all situations.
Skippers should not take financial considerations into account when deciding to set sail in unsafe weather.
The hirer of any CUYC equipment shall be liable to CUYC for any costs incurred as a result of damage to or loss of that equipment during the period of hire, excluding circumstances covered by C.1. The Club will ensure that Members are aware of this liability before hiring kit.
Any Damages Charges incurred by a vessel as the result of a Club Trip shall be the responsibility of the Crew of that vessel, excluding circumstances covered by C.1. This includes, but is not limited to, payments from charter damage deposits, the cost of the repair of damages (including labour costs), and third-party insurance claims.
For the purposes of this policy, the Crew is the group of people that appear on the crew list of the affected vessel during the portion of the CUYC Trip when the charge was incurred. This could be the entire duration of the CUYC Trip in the case of certain charges (e.g. wear and tear or unexplained loss).
All situations that could result in a Damages Charge shall be reported as soon as possible by the Skipper to the responsible Vice-Commodore.
All Damages Charges shall be initially split amongst the crew or part thereof, as determined by the Vice-Commodore and Commodore in consultation with the Skipper.
The responsible Vice-Commodore and Purser will ensure that the Committee discusses possible dispensations at the next Committee Meeting in line with the clauses below. Officers who were crew shall not vote on possible waivers or refunds.
Where costs are incurred as a result of negligence on the part of one or more persons, those persons shall be liable for the entire costs.
Where costs are not a result of negligence, the Club may use Club funds to lower all or some of the Members' liability.
The Club shall publish a reasonable summary of its Damages Policy to Members before they confirm their attendance on a CUYC Trip.
The CUYC Safety Policy, CUYC Safeguarding Policy, Equal Opportunities Policy and CUYC Privacy Notice,are incorporated by reference in the CUYC Regulations and shall be made available to all Members.
All Members shall complete a Crew Register before participating in any event, excluding social events. Completion of the Crew Register shall explicitly require, and draw attention to the requirement, that Members abide by the CUYC Safety Policy and the Privacy Notice.
The Club will use its best endeavours to deliver the yacht to the crew at the agreed time and place. If the yacht is delayed more than 12 hours, a pro-rata refund will be made and if necessary, accommodation expenses will be paid at the cheapest prevailing rates. Alternatively, travel expenses at the cheapest prevailing rates will be paid to transfer the crew to the actual location of the yacht.
At the commencement of a trip, the Skipper shall satisfy themselves as to the seaworthiness and safety of the yacht, with reference to the safety inventory and vital equipment list of the yacht. If they are not satisfied they shall make contact with the Vice-Commodore Sailing or Commodore who shall at their discretion provide:
Authorisation to purchase replacement equipment.
Authorisation to undertake repairs or contract professional repair services.
Where such purchases or repairs cause a delay to the trip, clause F.3 (immediately below) shall apply.
If the yacht is rendered unavailable for a trip due to breakdown or unserviceability during a trip, the Commodore or Vice-Commodore Sailing shall use their discretion to provide:
A pro-rata refund for the period during which the yacht is unserviceable.
Travel and accommodation costs whilst waiting for the yacht to become serviceable or to return the crew home, each in the event that the yacht is not habitable for the remainder of the trip duration.
A replacement charter yacht at no extra cost.
If the yacht is rendered unavailable for a trip before its commencement due to breakdown or unserviceability on a previous trip, the Commodore or Vice-Commodore Sailing shall use their discretion to provide:
A full refund, or pro-rata refund in the case that the yacht should be available for a reduced period.
A refund for travel costs rendered unusable or, in the case that the yacht is available for a reduced period, the costs of transferring booked travel to new dates.
A replacement charter yacht at the following trip fees:
Before the Club considers a refund, crew members who hold travel insurance will be required to declare this and make use of it.
In the following events:
any grounding (whether or not damage was caused);
damage to or failure of the yacht;
alteration of Skipper or other crew change which affects the level of the collective crew's experience;
any incident involving a third party;
the Skipper shall at the earliest opportunity report such occurrence to the Shore Contact and shall comply with any instructions given by them.
At the end of the trip the Skipper shall deliver the yacht to the next departure point, cleaned, in the condition as upon delivery (reasonable wear and tear excepted) and with the yacht's inventory complete. Fuel and water tanks to be filled at trip expense; gas to be replenished and charged to the Club.
The Skipper shall report promptly to the responsible Vice-Commodore at the end of the trip, or if possible beforehand, any defects, losses or damages, without thought to blame or embarrassment. In the event of any repairs being needed the Skipper should contact the responsible Vice-Commodore or Bosun as soon as it becomes known that repair or replacement will be needed and before commencing to undertake or authorise any repairs.
On any trip involving an immediate handover to another crew at the end of the trip, the Skipper must contact the Shore Contact (or a person appointed by the responsible Vice-Commodore or Commodore) two days before the end of the trip to report their current whereabouts. If they are unable to do this (e.g. due to a final long offshore passage) they should contact their Shore Contact earlier, though as close to two days before the end of the trip as possible. If the Skipper decides that it is not possible to get to the handover destination in time they must inform the Shore Contact or Commodore immediately when this becomes clear in order that arrangements for the new crew can be made at least cost.
The following clauses apply to all trips which involve travel outside of the UK, including trips across the English Channel.
All crew must carry a valid passport or EU identity card and any documents (such as visas) that they may require for entry to countries on the trip itinerary. If a crew member arrives at the port of departure without these then the Skipper will refuse to allow them to board the Yacht and they will be deemed to have cancelled without notice and will not receive a refund of any fees paid.
Crew who do not hold a valid passport or EU identity card or necessary documents must apply for them in good time. If these documents are not available in time for the trip (including as a result of delays caused by processing at passport offices, embassies etc.) then the crew member will be deemed to have cancelled their place at the time that they inform the trip organiser of the situation. The Club's Refund Policy then applies.
Members are individually responsible for determining if visas or other documents are necessary and for all fees incurred in applying for all kinds of travel documents.
Members are individually responsible for their own medical coverage and should seek travel insurance as appropriate.
The CUYC Committee shall be divided into Operations, Sailing, Training and Racing divisions for the purposes of functional management and communication.
The Operations division shall consist of:
The Sailing division shall consist of:
The Training division shall consist of:
The Racing division shall consist of:
At the discretion of the Committee, Officers may be appointed who have novel roles or share or take over roles and responsibilities from those Officers listed in the previous clause. The Commodore shall ensure that if the role persists, the CUYC Regulations are updated accordingly.
All decisions made by Officers of the Committee as part of the running of the Club shall fall under one of the following categories, which shall indicate the nature of the decision:
Officers of the Committee may individually make decisions on matters directly relating to their area of responsibility (job description) which are established Club policy or for which there is a specific mandate or action given at a prior Committee meeting as recorded in the Minutes of said meeting.
Officers of the Committee may make interim decisions on matters within their area of responsibility (job description) but for which there is no specific mandate/action from a CUYC Committee Meeting or the matter is not one of established policy, provided the decision is made in consultation with the Vice-Commodore of their division.
In the case of all matters relating to external organisations and companies, interim decisions must be taken in consultation with the Commodore and the specific Officers of the Committee whom the matter concerns.
All other matters of new decisions or policies shall be taken exclusively by the CUYC Committee.
The Commodore shall be responsible for the frequency, format and conduct of Committee Meetings. In carrying out these responsibilities, consideration shall be given to the efficient running of the Club and to maximising participation at Meetings.
When an issue of sensitivity and privacy is involved and at the request of the Commodore, part of a Meeting may be restricted to only Officers of the Committee. In such circumstances, efforts shall be made to explain the need for such restrictions and limit the restriction to only discussions in which it is felt to be needed.
Members of the Committee shall declare any conflicts of interest and be encouraged to abstain from any votes on related matters.
A simple majority of Officers or a simple majority of Vice-Commodores may force a Committee Meeting to be convened or force an item to be discussed at a meeting.
Minutes of Committee Meetings shall be available to all Committee members.
The duties and responsibilities of the Officers shall be as follows:
Commodore
Head of the Club: Overall responsibility for all the activities of CUYC; authorises all activities, finances and external communication on behalf of the Club.
Safety: Overall responsibility for ensuring the correct discharge of duty of care and Club Safety Policy implementation.
Committee Chair: Chairs all meetings of the Committee and General Meetings of the Club.
Development: Organisation of long-term development plans for the Club.
Vice-Commodore Operations
Management of Operations division: Authorises the activities of all Officers of the Operations division and ensures they have details of their responsibilities and that they are properly informed and supported in their positions.
Legal: Ensures CUYC obtains and sustains insurance policies appropriate to Club activities. Monitors details of charter agreements. Manages contractual disputes with charterers. Liaises with Club legal contacts.
Documentation: Ensures CUYC Regulations, CUYC Crew Register, Safety Policy, Skipper Manual, Agenda and Minutes of Committee Meetings and any other key Club documentation stay up-to-date.
Purser
Financial management: Processing all payments and receipts for activities and permanent funds. Upon completion of events ensures expenses are collated in liaison with the Event Organiser.
Preparing the Budget, Half Year Report and End of Year Summary of Accounts.
Membership: Management of membership.
Publicity Officer
Organises publicity articles and campaigns: Organisation of Freshers' Fair and Squash as well as ongoing publicity throughout the year. Collation of photos from events.
Manages relations with alumni.
Social Officer
Social programme: Submission of dates for socials to the Vice-Commodore Operations, and planning of socials, including end-of-term dinner.
New & potential members introduction: Acting at socials to welcome new & potential members and inform them about Club activities.
Welfare Officer
Ensure that the Club's Safeguarding and Equal Opportunities Policies are kept up to date
Advise the committee on welfare issues.
Be the first point of contact for any concerns and allegations or complaints
Consult with the Commodore to ensure that complaints are dealt with appropriately and in line with the Clib policy [CUYC Regulations Section E]
Webmaster
Database, Website and mailing lists development and administration.
Control and maintenance of style, scripts and code validity.
Liaison with SRCF host: Ensuring compliance with data regulations and other regulations and maintenance of filespace.
Bosun
Preparation of CUYC yachts so that they are ready to be safely sailed when required for CUYC trips.
Providing Skippers of CUYC yachts with information to allow them to make safe decisions about sailing.
Long-term management of CUYC yachts so that they continue to be safe to sail and retain their value.
Secretary
Takes minutes at meetings, circulates them and adds them to the wiki for future reference.
Ensures that website/wiki are up-to-date and reflect policy changes decided at meetings.
Handles paperwork and the archives.
Vice-Commodore Sailing
Management of Sailing division: Authorises the activities of all Cruising Officers and ensures they have details of their responsibilities and that they are properly informed and supported in their positions.
Management and delegation of tasks to the Cruising Officers.
Cruising Officer
Event Management: Manages the programme of CUYC Cruising Events. Ensures a proper and accurate record is kept of Event information, both before and after the Event. Upon completion of Trip ensures defects, incident reports, and damage charges are collated as needed.
Yacht Charter: Liaises with yacht charter companies to book yachts for Trips.
Skipper Management: Ensures Skippers of upcoming Trips are aware of standard Club procedures detailed in the CUYC Manual and that they have the necessary information and equipment. Ensures that the crew have completed Crew Registers. Ensures records are taken of travel arrangements to and from Trip locations.
CUYC Kit Management: Manages Club kit hire. Ensures that Club kit is returned and verifies condition of kit upon return.
Vice-Commodore Training
Management of Training division: Authorises the activities of Practical Training Officer and Theory Training Officer and ensures they have details of their responsibilities and that they are properly informed and supported in their positions.
Management and delegation of tasks to the Practical Training Officer and Theory Training Officer.
Development and Evaluation of the CUYC Training Scheme and of courses run within the scheme.
Ensures compliance with RYA and CUYC standards as set out in the Training section of the CUYC Manual and in the RYA Regulations.
Liaises with Instructors to ensure effective implementation of the Training Programme.
Theory Training Officer
Administration of the Theory Courses and Specialist Courses run by CUYC.
Investigation and procurement of training equipment and resources.
Practical Training Officer
Organisation of Practical Training Trips.
Management and development of CUYC First Mates & Acting Skippers.
RYA Principal
Ensures a high standard of RYA training and compliance with RYA Regulations.
Vice-Commodore Racing
Management of Racing division: Authorises the activities of all Racing Officers and ensures they have details of their responsibilities and that they are properly informed and supported in their positions.
Management and delegation of tasks to the Racing Officers.
Racing Officer
CUYC Racing Squad training and development: Improving racing knowledge and skills.
Race selection and entry management.
Varsity Yacht Race: Organising an annual race with Oxford as part of a RORC/JOG or similar offshore/coastal/inshore race.
BUSA Student Yachting Nationals: Selecting teams and organising the Club's involvement in the event.
The duties and responsibilities of the Skippers shall be as follows:
Executing their trip, including being responsible for all proper aspects of seamanship and skippering, abiding by the CUYC Safety Policy and taking heed of the Trip Management Guidelines contained within the CUYC Skippers Manual, and in addition ensuring a proper and timely handover and handback of the yacht using the Club's handover/handback checklist.
Giving details of any damages, incidents or yacht defects promptly to the Shore Contact and the responsible Vice-Commodore. For trips on a Club-owned yacht, details should also be given to the Bosun. For trips on a chartered yacht, details should also be given to the charter company, but no admission of responsibility should be made to the yacht charter company.
All Skippers must have signed the CUYC Skipper Registration Document which reminds them of these Duties. This Document is valid for one calendar year from the date of signing, and must be updated every year to remain active. The Committee shall maintain a list of currently active, registered CUYC Skippers.
The CUYC Committee shall appoint a Trip Organiser for each CUYC Trip or Event. The Trip Organiser shall be a member of the CUYC Committee and be responsible for pre- and post-trip or event administration.
The duties and responsibilities of Trip Organisers shall be as follows:
Planning the trip, including sending an e-mail to the mailing list, publishing a webpage with information about the trip, and maintaining up-to-date information about sign-ups on the trip page, all in liaison with the responsible Vice-Commodore and the Skipper.
Organising the trip, including liaising with the Commodore regarding the safety and standards for collective crew experience, and with the responsible Vice-Commodore and the Skipper regarding the yacht, travel, shopping, Club kit, Crew Registers and Membership Fees.
Compiling accurate expenses for the trip and giving these to the Purser promptly after the trip.
The Trip Organiser shall ensure that any trip has a crew with sufficient collective experience. Advice shall be sought from the responsible Vice-Commodore or Commodore. As a guideline, there shall be at least 3 experienced crew on board (including at least one CUYC Skipper), with no fewer than 5 crew on vessels over 35 feet and no fewer than 4 crew on vessels under 35 feet.
For each Trip, the Trip Organiser will appoint a Shore Contact. They shall ensure they are available for the full duration of the trip and are normally the responsible Vice-Commodore, the Commodore or a suitably experienced Skipper.
The duties and responsibilities of the Shore Contact shall be as follows:
Ensuring they are aware, for the duration of the trip, of the expected location of the boat and the prevailing conditions expected.
Ensuring that the Safety Email has been sent and that all data contained therein is correct, and sending any updates to the recipients of the Safety Email.
Advising Skippers on safe practice and liaising with any shore-based services. They act as a point of contact between the Skipper and the Club.
In the event of any damage or injury they will inform the Commodore at the first opportunity.
The duties and responsibilities of the Instructors shall be as follows:
Instructing on training courses as required by the Theory and Practical Officers.
Ensuring quality of Instruction is as expected by the RYA and CUYC.
All Instructors must have signed the CUYC Instructor Registration Document which clearly states the relationship between CUYC and Instructors. This Document is valid for one calendar year from the date of signing, and must be updated every year to remain active. The Committee shall maintain a list of currently active, registered CUYC Instructors. This Document sets out the expectations of Instructors and the expectations Instructors may have of CUYC.
The Club's Financial Year starts on 1 April and ends on 31 March. The Purser will produce a complete Financial Statement for the year to this date and issue it to the Committee by the end of the following Easter term.
The Purser will produce a Half Year Report by the end of Michaelmas Term.
The Income over Expenditure from the current year shall be transferred to a “Capital Reserve Fund”. This will be used for any large purchases that the Committee wishes to make for human or material assets that will last more than one Financial Year.
No Member shall be liable for any financial debt or other financial obligation incurred whilst acting on behalf of the Club, except as provided in the Damages Policy and Safety Policy.
For the purpose of this clause, Members are acting “on behalf of the Club” when they have been authorised to undertake such liabilities or obligations by a Purser, a Vice-Commodore or the Commodore prior to the undertaking. Exceptions are made for the safe running of Club activities and when authorisation is not received, Committee discretion applies.
The signatories of the Club's bank accounts will be appointed by the Committee and shall normally be the Commodore, Vice-Commodore Operations and the Pursers.
Other Members may hold debit cards linked to the Club's bank accounts at the discretion of the Committee.
Debit card holders must check the bank balance with the Purser before making large transactions or multiple transactions in a short space of time (e.g. more than £1000 total in a week) to avoid any possibility of bank accounts becoming overdrawn.
An honorarium may be offered to Instructors by the Vice-Commodore Training. The Vice-Commodore Training shall refer the matter to the Committee where a conflict of interest exists.
A nominated Club Instructor shall be on board during any RYA Yachtmaster Examination conducted on board a Club Yacht or any yacht chartered by the Club. The Club Instructor shall not interfere with or participate in the examination save that they shall ensure the safety of the yacht and liaise with the examiner to avoid groundings or serious damage to the yacht.
The Club offers to loan Members the cost of training to become an Instructor under the following conditions:
The role and powers of the Trustees of CUYC are defined in the Constitution. Without superseding the Constitution and/or Trust Deed, it should be further emphasised that:
The Trustees' sole role is to hold the assets of CUYC.
There is no expectation that the Trustees will have operational familiarity with the Club's activities.
Trustees, acting in their role as a trustee, are neither requested nor expected to oversee any aspect of the Club's activities.