Rules of The Dittisham Sailing Club
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1. The Club shall be called 'Dittisham Sailing Club', its main object being to encourage amateur sailing at Dittisham.
2. The Officers of the Club shall consist of the Flag Officers (Commodore and Vice Commodore), together with the Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Sailing Secretary, Boat Park Officer, Boatswain, Quartermaster and Social Secretary, all of whom shall be honorary.
3. The Commodore and Vice Commodore shall be elected annually and may hold office for three years, after which, he or she must stand down for one year before becoming eligible for re-election. All the other Offices shall be elected annually and may hold office indefinitely, provided that they are willing to serve and are re-elected.
4. The Management of the Club and election of members shall be vested in a Committee consisting of the Officers and six elected members, one of whom should be a representative of the starting box, one a cruising member and one a junior sailing representative. The Committee has power to fill vacancies on the Committee to form sub-committees and to co-opt ordinary members for any special duty. Co-opted members shall not be eligible to vote. Seven shall form a quorum. The Flag Officers shall be ex-officio members of all sub-committees. A member elected to the Committee shall be eligible to serve for three years. After this period he or she must stand down for a period of one year before being allowed to stand for re-election. The starting box, cruiser and junior sailing representatives may however be immediately re-elected at the end of their three year term if no other representative of their special function is available. A Committee member who wishes to resign at the end of one or two years must give notice of their intention to the Hon. Secretary at least six weeks in advance of the AGM. At each AGM, vacancies shall be filled by members being duly proposed and seconded for nomination to the Committee. No one shall be elected to serve on the management of the Club until he or she has been a member for one year. Any member who does not attend 75% of the Committee meetings without just cause, shall automatically retire at the end of the year.
5. A Sailing Sub-committee shall be elected at the AGM. This Committee shall consist of the Hon. Sailing Secretary, a representative of the starting box, at least two sailing members (preferably regular sailing members) of the general committee. Sailing instructions and instructions necessary for the safe pursuit of dinghy sailing at Dittisham Sailing Club shall be posted by this sub-committee in the boathouse
6. An Annual General Meeting for the election of the Officers and members of the General Committee and the Sailing Committee, the consideration of the accounts, reports and any other general business, shall be held in November every year. The Hon. Secretary shall notify all members of the date of the AGM three weeks in advance, together with the names of all the retiring officers and members of the General Committee.
7. No addition to, or alteration of, these rules shall be made except at the AGM of the Club. Any proposal to change these rules must be forwarded to the Hon. Secretary six weeks before the AGM and circulated to the members with the notification of the AGM, three weeks in advance. Any addition or alteration to these rules must be passed by a majority of not less than two thirds of all those present and eligible to vote. Members under the age of 18 years shall not be eligible to vote at the AGM or Extraordinary General Meetings. A quorum of the AGM and any other general meeting shall be 15. A Special General Meeting of the Club can be called by the Committee of the Club or by a written request of seven members. The Secretary shall give members three weeks notice of this meeting and the matter(s) to be discussed.
8. Membership. Names of candidates for election to the Club must be proposed by a member of more than one year’s standing who must have some personal knowledge of the applicant. Names of proposed members shall be submitted to the Committee for their approval. There shall be the following categories of membership:
i. Sailing Member.
Full adult sailing member, aged 18 and over. Shall be eligible to vote at the AGM and when a boat space is allocated on behalf of the committee to keep a boat in the boat park (full time students under the age of 25 shall pay the same subscription as a Cadet).
ii. Cadet Member.
Must be at least 16 and under 18 years old, shall not be eligible to vote at the AGM, hold keys to the club house nor take out club boats without the direct supervision of an adult. A cadet member may keep a boat in the boat park.
iii. Family Member.
Two adults of the same address and their children under the age of 18. Both adults shall have Sailing Members' rights and all the children shall have Cadet Members' rights.
iv. Social Member.
Non-sailing member. Shall have the right to vote at the AGM but shall not be eligible for a space in the boat park.
v. Honorary Life Member.
A special honour granted for services to the Club. Shall be eligible to vote at the AGM and to keep a boat in the boat park. Life memberships must be approved at an AGM.
vi. Temporary member
The term of a temporary member shall be at the discretion of the committee. A temporary member shall not be eligible to vote at the AGM and shall not be eligible for a space in the boat park.
The Committee shall have the power to call for the immediate resignation of any member whose conduct is, in their opinion, prejudicial to the best interests of the Club. Failing such resignation, the member in question may be expelled by the Committee after being given the opportunity to appear before them and justify his/her conduct.
9. Rescue Boat
i. No member may use the rescue boat until authorised to do so by the Boatswain or a Committee member.
ii. No rescue boat or engine shall be used without the authorisation of the Officer of the Day.
iii. Should a boat or engine be damaged by a member who is not authorised, a very serious view will be taken of the matter and the person concerned may be held responsible for the repair costs involved.
10. Annual Subscription. The subscription rates for the year beginning January 1st following shall be decided at the AGM. Any member who fails to pay his or her subscription by February 14th shall automatically forfeit his or her space in the boat park. Any member who has still not paid by April 1st is deemed to have resigned. Such members may only rejoin the Club by paying all entrance fees at the rates currently in force, in addition to the appropriate subscription. Members will be required to confirm on their annual application renewal form that they have the level of third party insurance cover, agreed by the committee, in respect of any boat they intend to sail from, or keep at, the club.
11. Limitation of Club Liability. Members, their guests and visitors are bound by the following Rule which shall also be exhibited in a prominent place within the Club premises: "Members of the Club, their guests or visitors may use the Club premises, any other facilities of the Club, entirely at their own risk and impliedly accept that:
a) The Club will not accept any liability for damage to or loss of property belonging to members, their guests or visitors to the Club.
b) The Club will not accept any liability for personal injury arising out of the use of the Club premises and any other facilities of the Club either sustained by members, their guests or visitors or caused by the said members, guests or visitors whether or not such damage or injury could have been attributed to or was occasioned by the neglect, default or negligence of any of them, the Officers, Committee or servants of the Club".
12. Trustees. There shall be four Trustees of the Club who shall be appointed from time to time as necessary by the Committee of the Club from among the Full, Family or Honorary Life Members who are willing to be so appointed. A Trustee shall hold office during his lifetime or until he shall resign, by notice in writing given to the Committee, or until a resolution removing him from office shall be passed at a meeting of the Committee by a majority comprising two thirds of the members present and entitled to vote.
All property of the Club, including land and investments shall be held by the Trustees for the time being in their own names so far as is necessary and practicable on trust for the use and benefit of the Club. On the death, resignation of removal from office of a Trustee, the Committee shall nominate a new Trustee in his place and shall, as soon as possible thereafter, take all lawful and practical steps to procure the vesting of the property into the names of the Trustees as constituted after such nomination. For the purpose of giving effect to any such nomination, the Hon. Secretary for the time being, is hereby nominated as the person to appoint new Trustees of the Club within the meaning of Section 36 of the Trustees Act 1925 and shall by deed duly appoint the person or persons so nominated by the Committee.
The Trustees shall in all respects act in regard to any property of the Club held by them in accordance with the directions of the Committee and shall have the power to sell, lease, mortgage or pledge any Club property so held for the purpose of raising or borrowing money for the benefit of the Club in compliance with the Committee's directions (which shall be duly recorded in the minutes of the proceedings of the Committee) but no purchaser, lessee or mortgage shall be concerned to enquire whether any such direction has been given.
The Trustees shall be effectually indemnified by the Committee out of the assets of the Club from and against any liability, costs, expenses and payments whatsoever which may be properly incurred or made by them in exercise of their duties or in relation to any property of the Club vested in them, or in relation to any legal proceedings or which otherwise relate, directly or indirectly to the performance of the functions of a Trustee of the Club.
13. Boat Park Space Allocation. The committee may, if necessary, allocate boat park spaces on the basis of the level of members’ active participation in club activities during the previous year, as reflected in attendance at work parties, safety boat rota and other organised club activities.
14. Abandoned Boats. The procedure recommended by the RYA shall be adopted in full.
15. Where a boat or trailer in the boat park is in the opinion of the committee derelict, the committee may ask the owner to repair or remove it within six weeks.
16. Dissolution of the Club. Any assets remaining at the time of dissolution of the Club shall not be distributed among the members but shall be donated elsewhere in accordance with the guidelines suggested by the RYA.
Last amendment agreed at AGM on 24.11.11
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