Volunteer duties
All members who are 17 years and older on 1st January (unless exempt) are expected to undertake three duties each year – some members undertake more.
These duties could be for Race Management, Support Boat Crew, Bar (over 18yrs), or in the Galley.
Before the season starts you will have the opportunity to ‘Self-Allocate’ duties on DutyMan – you will receive an email reminder to prompt you to do this. If you have not Self-Allocated before the Active Roster is published (usually late February/early March), duties will then be assigned to you by Club Officers.
When the roster is published, you will then be sent a notification by email from DutyMan informing you of your duties. If you then find that you cannot make your allocated duty you can arrange a swap using DutyMan. It is your responsibility to make sure that the duty is fulfilled.
If you are joining mid-year, you may be asked to stand in for a duty.
Any member performing a duty may claim average points for the corresponding races by signing on as (Assistant) Race Officer on the declaration sheets.
Junior members volunteering
We recognise that it is not always easy for our junior members to be available to volunteer for Club duties due to travelling or weekend employment – junior volunteering is not mandatory. However, if they can, we would encourage all junior members from 16yrs upwards to try out helping with one or two duties during the year. It is a great way to learn what goes on behind the scenes, either on the Support Boats, Committee Boat or in the Galley. For the keen racers, helping with the Race Committee is a great opportunity to view experienced sailors execute skilful starts and occasionally some not so skilful ones! The Galley is a very useful way to learn about some aspects of catering and meet other club members.
DutyMan is the system we use to manage volunteer duties.
Find out more about DutyMan
Race management duties
Members who are asked to do a race management duty can find race management instructions at the Race Management Folder 2020. Normally, races will be started from the committee boat, so bring your buoyancy aid, wellington boots and suitable wet weather/cold gear. Please report for duty at least one hour before the start of the first race (see sailing programme for times).
Support Boat Crew
As with race management, bring your buoyancy aid, wellington boots and suitable wet weather/cold gear. Please report for duty at least one hour before the start of the first race (see sailing programme for times).
This duty does not require previous experience and is suitable for beginners and non-sailors. It is a very useful way to observe racing up close.
Bar Duty
Galley Helper
Under normal circumstances, a galley duty involves showing up at the appointed time (communicated to you beforehand). Heidi or Val will normally be in charge.
This duty is open to members age 16 and above, and may be a useful way for younger members to learn how a catering kitchen operates.
Duties may include:
- Handing cash and/or operating the card payment system (training is given on the day).
- Cleaning plates and loading/unloading the dish washer.
- Helping prepare food e.g. making up rolls, cooking bacon, and presenting some of the baked items.
- Cleaning work surfaces and clearing away any items of food at the end of the day and putting cutlery and crockery away. General cleaning duties during quieter times.
- Disposal of waste food waste to the Hot Bin in the top car park and any black bin rubbish to the large green waste bin in the top car park.
- To ensure all recycling is washed and disposed of as per instructions in the galley.
- To ensure the Hot water tank (tea/coffee) receptacle/drip tray is emptied and washed and the socket switch is turned off at the end of the session.
Safety
- Please wear sensible shoes – you will be on your feet for most of the time.
- Ensure loose hair and clothing are secured.
- Avoid wearing any outdoor clothing in the kitchen (e.g. wetsuits, drysuits etc.)
- Wear an apron and wash hands frequently – aprons and gloves (if preferred) are provided.
- Be mindful to avoid actions that could result in cross contamination of food e.g. nut allergens, gluten free and vegetarian/vegan food.
Galley Helper – Wednesday evening
This duty is new from 2022 and is to help the Galley Manager with preparing the food and helping to clear up afterwards. The duty is from 6pm to 9:15pm and will include a free meal.
Car Park Supervisor
This duty is to direct/advise the arriving cars on the first day of our busiest events (usually Easter Egg, Regatta and Cartoon) to park in a an efficient manner (some visitors will not be familiar with the best way to utilise our car park space). Also important is the need to direct any campers to the very top of the field so that they do not encroach on the car parking area.
There will be two volunteers on duty and they need to arrive by 8am to collect the box of kit and instructions from the foyer cupboard.
The duty will initially involve staking out an area for trailers and erecting one-way signs (see Aide Memoir link below) so that by 8:30 the volunteers will be ready to greet and manage the arriving cars..
A link to the Aide Memoir for Car Park Supervision is here.
Course Advisor
The ‘Course Advisors’ are drawn from a small group of regular Race Officers with very good knowledge of racing in the river, the individual issues with each racing mark and depth of water, the options for going behind the island, the boat yard, river traffic and other considerations. This duty does not count toward the three duties expected per year.
The ‘Course advisor’ duty is to help the Race Officer set a course. This help is required on-shore and on-the-water, just before and inbetween races. Please turn up in good time for race planning on shore and then be on the water in good time to test the first beat and give feedback to the committee boat. In between races, you will also be expected to give some feedback. Some ROs will not need too much help, others will welcome more input.
