KWSC Byelaws

Control of Dogs

  1. No dogs, other than guide dogs or dogs trained to assist a physically impaired person, may be brought into the club house.
  2. All dogs must be kept under control at all times and all fouling must be cleared up by the owners.

Control of Car Parking

  1. Cars may only be parked in areas designated for such parking so as not to cause an obstruction to other cars or to the approaches to the club premises. Designated car parking is defined as:

a.      The Tower Knowe lower car park to the south west of the club house. When the club is busy, and particularly at Open Meetings, Members are asked park in the Tower Knowe lower car park to ease congestion for launching and recovering dinghies and rescue craft;

b.      Your boat park space when your boat is in use and where the space is big enough to allow you car to be parked safely;

c.      When accessible, the foreshore area immediately in front of the club house lawn to the North of the club house;

d.      The concreted and hogged area near the foreshore.  However, the foreshore immediately close to the water is to be kept clear to allow boats to be launched and trolleys to be parked.  This area may also be designated out of bounds for Open events.

  1. Cars must be kept clear of slipways and passageways except when launching and retrieving.

Opening of club premises

  1. The club premises shall be open to members at such times as the Committee shall direct. The present hours of opening are currently unlimited.

Trailers

  1. All boat trailers shall either be removed by Members and taken home, or, where possible, left under the boat and trolley in the boat park. They should not impede road or pedestrian access in the boat park.  As a last resort and with the agreement of the Boat Park Manager, a trailer may be left in the designated Trailer Park where it must be left in a tidy manner. Any trailer left in any other position may be removed by the Committee to dispose of as they see fit.

Boat Park

  1. Boats may only be left in Boat Park spaces as designated by the Boat Park Manager at the beginning of each year.
  2. Boat Park spaces are designated on an annual basis and are not perpetual.
  3. A member may be asked to move their boat if parked in a space for which it is not designated or it may be moved at the discretion of the Committee.
  4. Your boat should not be positioned so as to interfere with any other boat.
  5. In lieu of a designated boat park space you may park your boat in a designated holding area as will be shown on a plan in the club house. You must however, make contact with the Boat Park Manager, and seek a designated space as soon as possible.
  6. You should not arrange any swapping of positions in the boat park with other members.  All boat park spaces are managed by the Boat Park Manager.
  7. Boats must be securely tied down so that damage does not occur to adjacent boats.

Term of Office

  1. The Commodore may not serve in office for more than 3 continuous years.
  2. The Vice-Commodore may not serve in office for more than 3 continuous years.

Membership Categories

  1. There shall be the following categories of membership with power to vote at all meetings of the club as indicated hereunder.

a.      A FULL MEMBER - being a person who, at the date of election, shall have attained the age of eighteen years shall have one vote;

b.      A FAMILY MEMBER - which expression shall include one or two co-habiting adults and all children within their guardianship who are under eighteen years of age on the 1st April of the current year. The family unit shall have two votes, exercisable by either adult;

c.      A JUNIOR MEMBER - being a person who, at the date of election, is under the age of eighteen shall have no vote. Such a member shall be one who at the commencement of the subscription year joins the club other than as a full member or a family member. A junior member must have a parent or an appointed responsible adult acting ‘in loco parentis’ when at the sailing club’. A Junior Member shall have no vote.

d.      A STUDENT MEMBER – who are 18 or more years of age on 1st April of the current year and who shall satisfy the committee that they are undergoing full time education or instruction. A Student Member shall have one vote.

e.      An HONORARY MEMBER - who shall have one vote. Honorary Membership may be conferred by the committee and is usually a lifetime nomination.

f.        COUNTRY MEMBER. Country membership may be conferred by the Committee, on a fully paid up full member of another RYA affiliated sailing club where dinghies and small non-cabin keelboats are sailed. Country members may use the facilities of the Club for a limited number of days in the year but have no permanent space in the dinghy park. The Committee is reluctant to specify the exact number of days use of the water to which a Country Member is entitled, but there is an expectation that if use were to be above 8-10 days the Country Member would transfer to Full Membership. A Country Member shall have no vote. Applicants will be approved by the Committee.

g.      GROUP MEMBERSHIP. Available to organised groups by special prior arrangement with the Committee, and reviewed annually. Limitations may be placed upon this category of membership, e.g. a limit to the number of people who may sail or use the facilities of the club. This class of membership shall have no vote.

h.      Two Full members who sail together in one boat and who make a joint application to the Honorary Secretary may pay at the rate of the Family subscription. This shall be deemed JOINT MEMBERSHIP and shall have two votes, exercisable by either adult.

Responsibilities of Officers of the Club

Other than as described in the Constitution the responsibilities of Officers of the Club include as detailed below:

  1. Vice-Commodore

a.      To deputise for the Commodore in his/her absence.

b.      To be a member of the General Committee and an ex-officio member of all other Committees and working parties.

c.      Responsibility for initiating development plans and proposals plus possible funding.

d.      To be responsible for member discipline, including compliance by Members with the Rules and Regulations, and the resolution of disputes between Members.

  1. Rear-Commodore

a.      To deputise for the Commodore in his/her absence.

b.      To be a member of the General Committee and an ex-officio member of all other Committees and working parties.

c.      Responsibility for reviewing development plans and proposals plus possible funding.

d.      To be responsible for junior and young sailors development in the club, to chair the Junior Council.

  1. Sailing Secretary

a.      To formulate the sailing programme.

b.      To be responsible for the tone and culture of Club organised sailing events, the Club sailing programme and the balance between Club events and Open Meetings or external class, national and international events.

c.      To liaise with the Social Secretary and Cruising Representative in the planning of the club sailing programme.

d.      Identification of sponsorship opportunities and their effective development and control.

e.      To support the promotion of the Club as a venue for sailing.

f.        To liaise with House Committee Chairperson to ensure appropriate “House” support for sailing events.

g.      To encourage and support the training and involvement of member volunteers to help with sailing events and to facilitate the co-operation of such volunteers and Club staff.

h.      Act as a point of contact for members wishing to raise issues relating to sailing events or the Club’s support of sailing generally.

  1. House Committee Chairperson

a.      To liaise with the Secretary and other Officers on matters regarding catering functions, social programme, including social aspects of sailing events, and the maintenance and development of the Clubhouse in so far as it affects catering and social aspects of the Club.

b.      To be responsible through the General Committee for the range, quality and pricing, in line with parameters set by the General Committee, of food and drink supplied in the Club, subject to the approval of the General Committee in respect of prices set for alcoholic beverages.

c.      Liaise with Sailing Secretary to ensure appropriate “House” support for sailing events.

d.      Act as a point of contact for members wishing to raise issues relating to House, bar or catering matters.

  1. Social Secretary

a.      To be responsible for the tone and culture of Club organised social events and the Club’s social programme. To formulate through the Committee the social programme, to book music, venues and arrange associated events.

  1. Boatswain

a.      To be responsible for the management and maintenance of all club equipment.

b.      To plan for the adequate provision of equipment in the club in line with its development plans and to seek approval for such provision from the General Committee.

  1. Training Officer

a.      To be responsible for liaison with the Principal and Training Team where the Training Officer is not the Principal.

b.      To be responsible for the strategic development of formal RYA training at the club subject to the approval of the General Committee.

c.      To be responsible for the development of non RYA training.

  1. Cruising Representative

a.      To represent the cruising members of the Club and to provide adequate activities on the Club programme in conjunction with the Sailing Secretary.

  1. Members of the General Committee - duties include:

a.      To actively participate in meetings of the General Committee and to consider, and if thought fit, approve papers and matters brought to the General Committee, taking account of the needs and interests of all sections of the Club, its ethos and future needs.

b.      To represent the general interests of members on the Committee, rather than any sectional allegiance.

c.      To act as a channel of communication between members generally and the Committee and vice versa, and for this purpose to make themselves available in the Club at reasonable times.

d.      To support the General Committee in ensuring that members, their guests and other visitors comply with the Club’s Rules and Regulations, custom and practice.

Sanctions for Misconduct of Members

  1. The Commodore, through the agreement of the Committee, may use a range of sanctions should a member be the subject of a misconduct enquiry:

a.      Temporary suspension (without prejudice and pending investigation);

b.      Verbal warnings;

c.      Written warnings;

d.      Final written warnings;

e.      Fixed term suspensions and

f.        Expulsion from the Club.

Camping

  1. Members may camp in the Sailing Club grounds in either the lawned area around the clubhouse or in the small lawned area to the South West of the boat park close to Tower Knowe.
  2. Members may not sleep in the club house overnight; this is a condition of the club lease.

Exhibiting of Notices

  1. A member may exhibit notices on club notice boards or premises without permission. However, the Committee may remove, or move, without notice any notices at the discretion of a member of the General Committee.

Sailing Instructions

  1. Only paid up members of KWSC may sail or race on Kielder Water other than when permitted as guests or visitors.
  2. All boats, sailing or in the boat park, must be covered by third party indemnity insurance of at least £2,000,000.
  3. When racing members of the Club are bound by the KWSC Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions including the RYA Racing Charter.
  4. Members must also comply with the Northumbrian Water Rules & Regulations, a copy of which will be displayed on the Club Notice Board

Others

  1. Trolleys are to be kept clear of immediate foreshore area to allow others to launch and recover without hindrance.
  2. Members’ dinghies should not be tethered to the jetty where they would cause obstruction to the launch or recovery of keel boats, patrol craft or dinghies being used for training. When not in use dinghies should be preferably brought ashore rather than tethered to the jetty.
  3. Members or their guests are not allowed on the jetty without an appropriate buoyancy aid or life jacket.
  4. Membership of the Club requires each adult member to undertake at least one duty per year where that duty may be galley, patrol or Officer of the Day. This includes all adult members of the full and family membership categories.
  5. All members using the Club premises are required to ensure the premises are properly locked and secured before leaving where they are the last member to leave.  This includes closing all doors and windows and ensuring they are locked and ensuring the gate to the Club premises is also securely padlocked.  If it is late at night members must also ensure the NWA ‘top gate’ is relocked if they had to open it to exit the premises.
  6. Members are required to take all gear home with them at the end of the day; it may otherwise be treated as Lost Property, disposed of or otherwise sold. The Focsle, main club house room, members’ galley and changing rooms should all be left in a clean and tidy state by any members using these facilities.
  7. Members may not use the club house, the garage, the secure containers or the training shed for storage of personal property or boat equipment.

Dated: 5 November 2007 (version 1.0)