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Home / Terms / Boat Booking Terms and Conditions - Updated 24th Oct 2023
Home / Terms / Boat Booking Terms and Conditions - Updated 24th Oct 2023

Boat Booking Terms and Conditions - Updated 24th Oct 2023

The RAYC currently offers its members bookings for two boats: St Barbara V (Rustler 42 with 9 berths) and Bombardier III (Halberg-Rassy 342 with 6 berths). Both boats are available to be booked by qualified members via our online booking system. The booking system is designed to make boat bookings easier for members, facilitates more efficient Club administration, and ensures the Club complies with legal and insurance conditions.

When making a booking for boat, booking members / skippers need to fully understand and accept the terms and conditions that are listed below. This includes an acceptance of a liability for booking cancellations (para 9) and potential damage liability (see para 18-19). The terms and conditions listed below take full precedent over past Terms and Conditions, or information that may appear in the RAYC Year Book.


1.Boats are allocated on the following priority:

Priority 1 - RA Regiments for Adventurous Training.

Priority 2 - Full and Associate members of the RAYC.

Priority 3 - Other users such as clubs / charities are subject to prior approval by Rear Commodore (Offshore) but booked in line with condition 2 and 3 below.

2. For insurance purposes, only full or associated members of the RAYC (and with the correct qualifications) are authorised to book RAYC yachts. In addition, all other crew members who are not already RAYC members (or part of a RAYC Family Membership), must become RAYC Temporary Members and added to the online crew list form at booking or prior to departure. The current rate for RAYC Temporary Members is £10 for a full calendar year (or the remaining months of the year in which they join). Temporary Membership fees must be paid by the skipper / member PRIOR to departure using the online payment system. Children under the age of 16 are exempt from temporary membership fees but must become junior temporary members to be added to the crew list (or their details are part of a Family Membership).

3. For insurance purposes, the booking member or skipper MUST provide details of the crew at booking, or prior to departure, using the new online booking system / online crew list. In addition, the minimum crew and crew qualifications for each boat MUST be in line with condition 17 below. The Bosun has a duty to check and stop a booking from going ahead if these minimum conditions are not met.

4. To facilitate more effective club administration, all boat bookings must be made and paid for (prior to departure) using the new online booking / payment system. In exceptional circumstances, bookings maybe made and authorised by the Hon Offshore Booking Secretary.

5. A booking reserves a selected yacht for the period from 18:00 on the previous evening of the date booked, until 15:00 on the final date selected for the booking. You do not need to reserve the initial evening of a booking; you have the right to take over the yacht at, or after, 18:00 hrs of the preceding evening, or at any time on the morning of the first full day of your booking. Please confirm your exact requirements with the Bosun once your booking is confirmed

6. To encourage as many members to use the Club boats for private bookings during the peak summer months, individual members are limited to two advanced private bookings (on either of the boats) for dates between 1st April to 30th September. Advance online bookings can include a maximum of 2 weekends, or no more than 14 days in total. For example, a member could make one booking for 7 consecutive days on St B V, and a second booking of 7 consecutive days on Bdr III. During the summer months, bookings are also subject to a minimum of two consecutive days / nights. If there is availability, and with approval of the Booking Secretary, further private bookings can be made within 4 weeks of available dates. These restrictions do not apply for any private bookings during the period 1st October to 31st March. There are no booking limits for RAYC-organised training courses or for Adventurous Training.

BOAT BOOKING RATES / PAYMENTS / CANCELLATION POLICY / SKIPPER LIABILITY FOR BOAT DAMAGE

7. Members private booking rates for club boats are published on the main website. They are set annually and are subject to change following agreement by the Committee. In some cases, boats can be booked for future years before future rates have been agreed. If this is the case, the member booking the boat would be expected to pay any difference in booking rate in line with point 9 below.

8. All bookings made more than 28 days before departure require a 50% deposit to secure the booking (and paid for using the new online booking system). If booked within 28 days of departure, 100% of the booking fee must be paid.

9. Booking payments are fully refundable IF a booking is cancelled more 8 weeks before departure. If the booking is cancelled less than 8 week before departure, a refund will only be given in exceptional circumstances e.g. if the boat is re-booked or at the discretion of the Hon Offshore Booking Secretary (and after consultation with the RC Offshore).

10. For split payment bookings, the final 50% of a booking must be made (using the online booking system) within 28 days of departure (together with any difference in booking fee as per point 6). If final payment is NOT made, the Bosun has the right to stop the booking. The final 50% of a booking is refundable if the booking is cancelled prior to departure for reasons accepted by Hon Offshore Booking Secretary (and after consultation with the RC Offshore).

11. Members booking boats in advance are strongly recommended to take out insurance to cover loss of booking fees in the event of a cancellation. Cancellations due to operational reasons are subject to the same rules.

12. If a booking has to be cancelled due to the non-availability of a boat, a full refund will be paid (although attempts will be made to find another boat that would be acceptable to the booking member).

13. To facilitate more effective club administration, ALL payments (deposits and final payments) must be made using the online booking system e.g. PayPal, Go Cardless. Please note that members do not need to have an account with any of these providers to make a payment.

14. All booking fees include gas usage, oil skins and boots as required. However, if oil skins and boots are required by any member of the crew, the request must be made 48 hours before sailing and added to the online crew list (this provides time for the Bosun to ensure that the right oil skins are available and are clean).

15. For ALL bookings (even for single day sailing), it is the responsibility of the skipper to return the boat with a full tank of diesel. Skippers are also requested to provide a copy of the receipt / details of amount of fuel purchased in the logbook.

16. After the booking is complete, it is the Skippers / Booking Members responsibility to make any further payments that are linked to the booking e.g. extension to the booking period etc. These payments must be added to the original booking and paid using the online booking system.

17. For racing, 50% of race entry fees will be paid by members of the crew and 50% by the Club when RAYC yachts are entered as the RAYC Offshore Racing Team in races approved by the Committee. There is also a 30% discount of the booking fee when competing in races approved by the Rear Commodore Offshore.

BOAT DAMAGE AND SKIPPER'S LIABILITY

18a. The skipper must record any damage incurred to the boat in the Log Book / Snag Book, and to report the damage immediately to the Bosun on return to Gosport. If the RAYC Committee adjudges that the damage was caused due to the skipper's negligence (or the negligence of their crew), the skipper will be held personally liable for the first £1,500 of any repair, or for the full amount of any loss or damage below £1,500. However, to maintain our policy of encouraging young officers and junior soldiers to skipper our boats, the RAYC Committee will use discretion in the final charge that is made against the negligent skipper.

18b. The skipper MAY also be fully liable for ALL damage repair costs beyond £1,500 (including cancelled bookings whilst the damage is made good), if the damage was incurred as a result of using the boat outside of the conditions set out in para 20 below.

19. To help reduce their own levels of liability, as with insurance for potential boat booking cancellation (para 11), all skippers are recommended to take out individual damage liability protection insurance (although this is not a mandatory requirement to skipper one of our boats).

SAILING QUALIFICATIONS / CREW REQUIREMENTS

20. The skipper qualifications and minimum crew list for both boats is listed as follows:

St Barbara V
Skippers must be an RYA Yachtmaster (either Ocean, Offshore or Coastal) and to have received the necessary familiarisation of the boat to support their intended sailing plans. The minimum crew is 2 (including the skipper) and the second crew member's qualification should be linked to the skipper's qualification and to the expected passage / sailing conditions as follows:

Unrestricted Sailing - YM Ocean. Second crew with minimum YM Offshore
150nm from the coast / passages outside the Solent - YM Offshore. Second crew with minimum Yachtmaster Coastal.
Along coast by day or night / within 6 hours of refuge - YM Coastal. Second crew with minimum Yachtmaster Coastal.
Along coast by day or night / wind not forecast to exceed force 6 - YM Coastal. Second crew with minimum Yachtmaster Coastal.
Sail in familiar waters / forecast not to exceed force 5 - YM Coastal. Second crew to be a least Day Skipper.

Bombardier III
Skippers must be a minimum RYA Day Skipper. The minimum crew is 2 (including the skipper) and the second crew member's qualification should be linked to the skipper's qualification and to the expected passage / sailing conditions as follows:
Unrestricted Sailing - Skipper YM Ocean. Second crew with minimum YM Offshore
150nm from the coast / passages outside the Solent - Skipper YM Offshore. Second crew with minimum YM Coastal.
Along coast by day or night / within 6 hours of refuge - YM Coastal. Second crew to be at least Day Skipper.
Along coast by day or night / wind not forecast to exceed force 6 - YM Coastal. Second crew to be at least Day Skipper.
Sail in familiar waters / forecast not to exceed force 5 - Skipper Day Skipper. Second crew to be familiar with the yacht.

21. Units undertaking adventurous training are bound by Service Regulations. It is the responsibility of the Exercise Leader to ensure that the minimum crew requirements are met, although the RAYC's minimum crew requirements must always be met. When the yachts are used for AT they are normally subject to further MOD policy and regulations, which should complement but not replace RAYC regulations for use. Additional Exercise direction and SOPs will normally be issued for AT.

22. For each voyage / passage, it is the sole responsibility of the skipper whether to sail or not. Prior to sailing the skipper is charged with preparing a passage plan (SOLAS Regulation 34). Skippers are charged with being familiar with the current Customs and Immigration Laws with respect to foreign ports visited and visas required for nationals and non-nationals in on the yacht's crew list.

OTHER CONDITIONS / JOINING INSTRUCTIONS / BOAT HAND OVER / TAKE OVER

23. It is a condition of a boat booking that the Skipper is fully familiar and follow the direction and rules in yacht SOPs, (online and hard copy onboard). SOPs only cover yacht specific issues, including Takeover and Handback and actions to be taken in the case of yacht incidents e.g. accidental damage and breakdown.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPROVED BY THE RAYC COMMITTEE 24th OCT 2023

T&Cs update history: 1. 7th May 2019 to reflect changes to the membership year; 2. 15th Jan 2020 to clarify the 2 night minimum Summer booking and to highlight Skipper's potential liability for boat damage; 3. 12th June 2020 to restrict advanced bookings to 14 days to encourage wider use of boats for private bookings in peak months; 4. 26th October 2020 to reflect changes in the Club's insurance policy / revised excess levels to £1,500; 5. 17th February 2021 to reflect updates to boat booking cancellation policy and sailing limits for Day Skippers. 6. 24th Oct 2023 to remove C* requirement to book St Barbara V.

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