Setting up a sailing club

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YKPLondon

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Hello,

can anyone offer some legal advice on setting up of a club? Myself and a few friends want to set up a sailing club. The general idea is we allow people to become members through application or be referral and collect an annual membership fee of around 50 pounds to cover admin and some entertainment. We then want to organise various events, such as weekend or weekly cruises for which participants would share costs. Seems straightforward, but am wondering what the best (and cheapest) way of doing this from a legal standpoint would be? One thing we are wondering about in particular is where the thin line between being just a group of friends and being a commercial operation lies? In particular we would not want skippers to have to hold a commercial endorsement. Some of us do have their own boats, is there any way of reimbursing part of their costs (e.g. marina fees) without treating it as a charter and requiring MCA Coding of the vessel?

I would appreciate if you could share your experience or point me to some information.


Best Regards,

YKPLondon
 
Thanks sarabande,

I have seen the RYA pages and affiliation is something we will definitely think about. But I am looking on information regarding the 'first steps' of setting up a club.

YKPLondon
 
YKPLondon said:
I have seen the RYA pages and affiliation is something we will definitely think about. But I am looking on information regarding the 'first steps' of setting up a club.
Click to expand...
Have a chat with the RYA if they don't know they will know somebody who does.
 
What type of sailing are you and your friends interested in mostly?

Why not join an already established sailing club?

What is it you want from a newly started club that others don't offer already?


Many clubs were originally formed in post war years by friendships being made at RYA courses.

Inland 'offshore clubs' are really struggling to keep their membership numbers up and some have 'folded' due mostly I believe

because of the lack of RYA courses being part funded by local authorities at night school, for it was from those courses that

membership came.

S.
 
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I founded a cruising club a few years ago. You need to create a constitution and have an inaugural meeting to agree the constitution. You will need to appoint officers and create a bank account and provide proof of an appointed treasurer and provide sample signatures and a copy of the inaugural meeting appointing the treasurer. You will also need to have public liability insurance to indemnify the officers. This is normally a requirement in the constitution. This is just to get started.
 
Its easy enough to form a members club - the old salt has given you the basics. And all that a members club is in legal terms is a group of people with a common interest - the club has no existance other than that. Any club property is held by trustees on behalf of the members.

The issue of chartering is a seperate one and would apply whether you formed a club or not. Its fairly normal for several pals to go off sailing on a boat owned by one of them and to share the costs of the cruise equally between them. If thats chartering then we are all charterers. If you as the boat owner start charging the others on board as opposed to simply sharing costs then you are chartering.

Might be worth talking to the MCA since they are the ones that get all uppity if you are chartering without certificate etc.
 
Hello YKP,
Im not qualified to answer you legally but what you describe is exactly what our club does. The Royal County of Berkshire YC. www.therbyc.co.uk.
It was set up 20 years ago by a group of friends who had done day skipper. We are RYA affiliated and use the RYA for insurance.
Our Club skippers, who skipper the charter boats, these days need to have RYA YM Offshore though that is an internal guideline, we used to say Coastal Skipper. They dont all have commercial endorsement.
We welcome new members, have social events, run RYA training and charter boats each month if anyone would like to come along. Club Nights are the first Tuesday of the month in the Jack O Newbury pub in Binfield Berkshire. Details all on the website
 
The key as far making contributions to cost is that provided they only relate to expenses incurred during the sailing trip then it's not chartering, simply shared expenses. That's fine as far as the MCA is concerned. What's not on is to get folks to make contributions towards overall running costs. So, for example, it's ok to get people to pay a share of marina charges when staying away from your home berth but it's not ok to ask for a contribution towards your home berth costs.

The old salt has it as far as setting up a club is concerned. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
 
If your club becomes RYA affiliated and purchases indemnity your £50 a year membership fee will soon be swallowed up lining others' pockets...
Joining an existing club might be the best option.
 
I'd be very wary of setting up an actual club unless you're really willing to go through all the rules & regulations, of which there are many.

How about forming it on the lines of a class association, just with various boats, you could have a yahoo website or a proper one if you feel like building it.

I'd check out the unpleasant liability side if someone hurt themselves while on a trip organised through your club etc, sad but nowadays one has to think of these things; ' Good Old Fred ' might turn into a Great White Shark if ' ambulance chasers are us ' tell him he could sue you for megabucks...
 
YKPLondon said:
Hello,

can anyone offer some legal advice on setting up of a club? Myself and a few friends want to set up a sailing club. The general idea is we allow people to become members through application or be referral and collect an annual membership fee of around 50 pounds to cover admin and some entertainment. We then want to organise various events, such as weekend or weekly cruises for which participants would share costs. Seems straightforward, but am wondering what the best (and cheapest) way of doing this from a legal standpoint would be? One thing we are wondering about in particular is where the thin line between being just a group of friends and being a commercial operation lies? In particular we would not want skippers to have to hold a commercial endorsement. Some of us do have their own boats, is there any way of reimbursing part of their costs (e.g. marina fees) without treating it as a charter and requiring MCA Coding of the vessel?

I would appreciate if you could share your experience or point me to some information.


Best Regards,

YKPLondon
Click to expand...
I went to the RYA site, downloaded a generic constitution, amended it to suit, sent it back to the RYA and that was that, elected the officers. Pay £120 a year now for affiliation.
S
 
I'm a member of two 'Offshore' clubs inland.

One does only winter talks and is held in a golf club which has insurance for 3rd party risk etc.. and does not have RYA affiliation any more as deemed as not required.

The other is an active club all the year round with rallies, meetings ashore and trips away and is affiliated to the RYA with an active RYA course teacher. It is covered for risk to some extent by RYA affiliation.

S.
 
Scotty,

do you get any night schools or rather links to them ? Does anyone do RYA night classes anymore ?

When I did my RYA Nav 2 night school with the redoubtable Colin we had a very enjoyable quiz night versus the Horsham Cruising Club, but I fear the HCC has petered out, another inland club gone.

A shame, as I met Sir Alec Rose through them, when I was a boy they organised him to come and give a talk about his round the world trip, proceeds going to the RNLI.

The only autograph I've ever asked for...
 
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Scotty,

fair enough thanks; I had no idea you were so close, somehow had you down as a distant or East Coast type; must read below names more, though I suspect it's changed; anyway bump into you one day.

Andy
 
Seajet said:
I'd be very wary of setting up an actual club unless you're really willing to go through all the rules & regulations, of which there are many.
Click to expand...

There aren't really. It depends what you want to do. If all you want is to meet and have some funds, all you need is whatever constitution your bank needs to open a treasurer's account. Several insurance companies specialise in public liability cover for non-profit groups - I use Zurich Municipal. As a general guide I'd say have the absolute minimum of rules you need to do what you want to do, and avoid creeping constitutionalism.
 
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