New Member's Guide
We know from experience that joining a new club can be quite daunting at times‚ especially if you are new to the area‚ the sport‚or both! You may not know exactly how things are done‚ or who to ask to find out‚ so we have prepared this brief guide to how things generally work and who to get hold of for any more information. Broadstairs is a very friendly club‚ so just about anyone will be able to point you in the right direction‚ just ask!
Clubhouse Management and Facilities
Your club is run entirely by you‚ the membership! Each year the Executive Committee is appointed at the Annual General Meeting to manage the club on your behalf. The Officers and Committee members are shown on the Who’s Who page of this site. If you have questions about club management or would like to get more involved in any areas then all you have to do is contact a Flag Officer or Committee Member‚ drop them an email or‚ better than that‚ catch them in the bar! A suggestions book is also available for ideas and comments and it can be found behind the bar‚ just ask the duty bartender for it.
As you will have no doubt seen‚ the clubhouse incoporates the new bar‚ the next-to-be-redone lounge‚ male and female changing facilities and a fully equipped kitchen. The Club is open every Sunday lunchtime‚ and Thursday evenings. During the sailing season the club will be opened on Saturday afternoons after sailing for a post race drink. The kitchen will offer a selection of hot and cold food after racing on Sundays and Thursday evenings. We would like you to pre-book for Thursday meals in order to making the catering easier and more cost effective. Thanks!
As you’re probably aware the club doesn’t employ any professional staff (apart from the cleaner!)‚ therefore as a member you are expected to take their turn by helping out with various duties from time to time.
The duties include serving behind the bar‚ serving in the galley‚ helping to run races and manning the patrol boats. To ensure fairness‚ rotas are circulated to cover these tasks. We do appreciate that not everyone is suited to every task and so if your forté is whipping up meals for hungry sailors or if you are a qualified race officer‚ then let us know‚ we can use your strengths and bias your duties accordingly. If there’s anything you haven’t done or wouldn’t have a clue about‚ then don’t despair! Training sessions are run during the year for race management and patrol boat duties‚ and when it comes to pulling a pint‚ practice makes perfect!
If you have any preferences or problems with the duties for please let either Jim (Tibbot, bar rota) or Mick (Lawrence, 'on the water' rota) know as soon as possible.
As a member you are welcome to bring your friends and relatives into the clubhouse with you. Non-members will be asked to sign the visitors book‚ just ask the bartender for it. We do ask that non-members are limited to six visits per year (not including paid for social events) and are not allowed to buy alcoholic drinks from the bar (This rule applies to all licensed clubs).
Social Events
As well as the after sailing opening hours‚ the club is host to other excellent social events throughout the year. These usually include: Quizzes‚ Race Nights‚ Burns’ Night Supper‚ and open event socials for which we have a great reputation! The ever popular black tie event‚ the Dinner and Dance is held annually in the Pavilion‚ usually in the Spring.
Barbecues are often organised to coincide with special sailing events such as Long Distance Races or cruises as well as team games on the beach for kids‚ or the kid in all of us!
Booking for any event is as easy as getting hold of the Social Secretary‚ Sheila Holland or the individual event organiser‚ and paying for your place. Phone numbers are printed in the club handbook and on event posters‚ and email addresses are available in the Contacts section.
Social events get booked up very quickly so it is always advisable to book early if you would like to take part.
An initial calendar of social events is printed in the hand book at the beginning of the year‚ but this CAN and DOES CHANGE. For the most up to date list of social events check the Social section of this website regularly and keep and eye out for posters in the clubhouse.
Social events have separate bar rotas written for them usuallt in half hour blocks so as not to take too much out of any one person's evening
Sailing
Our sailing season extends from mid March‚ through the Summer‚ to the end of October. The club organises racing on Saturday afternoons starting at 1430‚ and Sunday mornings from 1000. This season‚ we are going to be running 2 races each day have a look at the sailing claendar in your handbook or in the Sailing section for more details. Between May and August you can race on Thursday evenings and get a hot meal afterwards. What better way to prepare for a Friday?
We run Special races on Bank Holidays usually with some kind of individual prize‚ they could be a long distance trek down to Ramsgate or up towards Margate or even out to the Broadstairs Knoll bouy. It’s just for fun!
Broadstairs is a friendly club‚ almost everyone knows almost everyone else so there’s no need to feel shy about asking for help rigging your boat or about anything else. The race officer can also offer advice if your not sure about the effect of tides or whether the conditions suit your abilities. Now they can’t tell you what to do‚ but they do know what they are talking about and that’s worth bearing in mind.
Before you set off you must remember to ‘sign out’ at the squarehead. If you’re racing then you will want to go up there anyway to see what course you’re sailing‚ so it’s best to do it then. The reasons for signing out are two fold‚ in terms of racing‚ it is a declaration of your intent to race and that you agree to the racing rules‚ sailing instructions and lets the race office know who to watch for counting laps and sailing the right course‚ but more importantly than that it’s a safety precaution. See Safety for why and how.
After you’ve been sailing and been looked after by the patrol boat and its crew you need to show your appreciation by helping pull the safety boat back up onto the pier. The more people there are‚ the easier it is‚ even when its low tide‚ so don’t run off to get changed and leave it to the few that weren’t so quick! (Ed. note: Besides it’s all part of the exercise!)
Be sure to remember to sign in as well!
Now you can go and get a hot shower‚ dry clothes and go get a drink in the bar and discuss how much better you could have sailed.
Boat Park
The club provides parking spaces for boats on a first come‚ first served basis. The boat park has been completely full for the last few years so it’s important to get your payment in early! If you’ve not already seen them‚ the current rates are shown under the Boat Park tab in this section.
As space is at a premium‚ please don’t put your boat in the boat park unless you have been allocated a space for it by Boat Park Officer‚ Peter Binskin-Barnes. Phone numbers for all Officers are in the handbook and email addresses are in the Contact section.
After you have contacted ‘Binsk’ and been allocated a numbered space you will be issued with a ‘BSC’ sticker with your space number on it. Put this sticker on your boat as a sort of receipt‚ and make sure you only put your boat in YOUR space!
The chain that runs along each side of the dinghy park is for tying your boats to. In the event of a storm with high tides and higher waves‚ it’s boats floating around hitting others that do more damage than the weather itself. The chain is NOT designed as a security feature‚ so don’t chain your boat to it and lock it. Sometimes boats are required to be moved around to accomodate visitors during opens or to make space on the inshore side during a storm. We have bolt croppers to cut locks off and will use them‚ but it would be nicer for everyone if we didn’t have to.
The boat park is for boats. It is not called a car park‚ so don’t put your cars in it! Also on car parking‚ please avoid parking cars immediately outside the boat park where they will obstruct the barrier onto the promenade‚ as it’s used for emergency vehicle access to Stone Bay.
Pier‚ Harbour and Beach Etiquette
The pier‚ harbour and beach are public places and so we must take care to make sure that we respect the access and safety of all the other users as well as us sailors.
Sails flapping on the harbour can be a hazard to everyone‚ those hard eyes in the corners hurt when they make contact with your head! So we ask you to only hoist your sails when your boat is on the beach and to lower them before pulling your boat onto the pier or if you’re leaving your boat unattended on the beach.
After launching your boat to go off for a sail‚ you need to think about your launching trolley. You need to move it high enough up the beach so that the tide water won’t cover it if the tides going to come in while your out there! A good indication is to look at where other members have put their trolleys. Thet should be left together if possible and not left scattered around the beach as each one is a trip hazard and it’s no fun to have to pick your way round them.
When your trolley is in a safe place and your sailing away from the beach keep a careful eye out for any swimmers or other beach users‚ try to sail out keeping the yellows buoys to starboard (on your right) as this delineates the swimming area (from what I have never been to sure as the swimmers don’t seem to take any notice of them). Bear in mind that any swimmers or people waiting to get blown out to sea on an inflatable‚ probably don’t understand boats‚ and won’t anticipate your movements. Oddly enough‚ a lot of people expect you to have brakes and to be able to stop instantly! (I told you they didn’t understand) Although you may not be able to stop instantly you may well be moving faster and be a lot more manoeuvrable than they are.
The same applies to coming in. Look for them early and scream and yell in plenty of time so they can stand still and stare at you for even longer.
After sailing there is a hosepipe that can be used to wash off your gear (assuming theres not a ban in place). Please take care when hosing down your boat and anything else after sailing‚ you may already be wet‚ but the guy pushing the pram with an ice cream cone almost certainly isn’t‚ and doesn’t want to be either!
So that he can get through with his pram‚ try and position your boat so that it doesn’t obstruct the marked walkway next to the barrier.
Safety
First and foremost‚ we should say that Broadstairs Sailing Club has an excellent safety record.
But this is only thanks to the sensible attitudes of everyone involved from race management to individual sailors. So if you’re not sure if the conditions are for you‚ go and ask at the squarehead for advice. Remember though that they can only advise so it’s ultimately up to you to then either err on the side of caution and stay ashore or take the challenge and give it a go.
But please be prepared to retire if you find you can’t cope. "No race may take place‚ or continue if already started‚ without the provision and maintenance of adequate patrol boat facilities" (that’s from the clubs Sailing Instructions‚ para. 4.1)‚ so if the patrol boat is tied up dealing with you‚ then we would have to stop the racing or others may be put at risk‚ and we don’t want that if we can help it.
When the weather looks unfavourable the Race Officer may recommend that less experienced sailors stay ashore.
The club has 3 patrol boats with outboard motors‚ 2 RIBs and a “cathedral hulled” dory. The two RIBs are a 4m Narwhal with a 25hp motor‚ and a 5.1m Tornado with a 50hp motor. The dory has a 35hp motor.
If you want to learn how to be a crew or helm for one of these boats for your duties then get in touch with Training Officer Dave Adams. Contact phone numbers are in the handbook‚ and emails are on the » Contacts page.
During racing the club will try to supervise all sailors that are on the water‚ but if you’re a parent we must remind you that you are ultimately responsible for the safety of your children while sailing.
When taking a boat on the water during normal club racing you must ‘sign out’ even if you are not racing. It’s important for racing (See Sailing) but it is also important for the race office to know how many boats are on the water so they can be sure that all boats are accounted for at all times and keep an eye in case of difficulty.
Don’t forget to sign back in again when you return ashore so that we aren’t looking for you and worrying that we can’t see you!
We hope you find this information helpful but if there is anything you are concerned about please contact a member of the committee. If there’s anything you think could be added to this little guide then either let us know‚ or write it yourself and send it to the