BOAT RESERVATION RULES AND CONDITIONS

Based on our history and function as a Co-operative, the LMYC Boat Reservation Rules and Conditions intend to clarify the booking system and fairly regulate usage of our boats while recognizing the varied levels of sailing skills and knowledge of our Members.

These Rules and Conditions attempt to maximize and balance usage of and access to our boats. Our goal is to treat Members fairly and provide full value for dues and contributions of time and/or skills.

These Rules and Conditions cannot possibly cover all situations. Members are reminded to continue to resolve matters (as per our club tradition) courteously and co-operatively, asking: ‘Are we treating others as we would have them treat us’. Assistance from the Executive should only be sought if all other attempts to resolve issues have failed.

As a Co-operative, Skippers are encouraged to invite other LMYC members (Full, Alumni Day Sailor, Associate or Social) to join them if space is available aboard a boat (subject to the skipper and/or the invitees having sufficient ‘sailing hours’ available when applicable). While not specifically prohibited, solo pleasure sailing is discouraged for boat and skipper safety due to unpredictable events that can occur.

RULES AND CONDITIONS:

1. These Boat Reservation Rules and Conditions replace all previous rules and conditions relating to the booking of LMYC boats and allotted member hours of usage.
2. A person reserving an LMYC boat shall designate the Skipper who must be a Full Member or Alumni Day Sailor of the Co-op in good standing at the time of reservation (a “Member”) and meet the qualification levels required at the time by the LMYC relative to the boat and its usage.
3. No Member shall use or maintain a LMYC boat without a proper reservation. Any Member planning on using or maintaining a LMYC boat must reserve it in advance using the LMYC reservation system.
4. Executive and Steering Committee arrange Opening of the Booking reservations for LMYC boats commencing in April each year. No Member shall make a reservation beyond the end of March in the following year. Membership commences January 1st of each year. Only Members that have paid dues to continue Full Membership or Alumni Day Sailor shall be permitted to have an active booking after Dec 31st.
5. A Member must include the following with their reservation information online and in the trip log aboard the boat.
   1. The Skipper’s First and Last Name.
   2. All crew & guest first and last names.
   3. Proposed sailing plan (Day Sail, Training, or Cruise Destination), dates and times.
   4. During the High Season months enter into the booking system a breakdown of the hours to be attributed to that Member and/or other Members sailing with them;
   5. If cruising overnight, a sailing plan including proposed destinations, estimated departure and arrival time, and cell phone number should be created and filed with an emergency contact (family member or friend) on shore. LMYC is not responsible for following up on sailing plans, or reviewing trip plans listed on the online booking system, or coordinating search and rescue efforts.
   6. All bookings must have a cell phone number where the Member can be contacted before, during and after the sail and an Emergency contact not on the trip.
6. At any LMYC moorages where applicable, Members shall return any keys to the lockbox immediately on return to the dock.
7. Members shall return the boats on time as per the reservation. Members who are delayed shall make their best effort to contact the next Skipper(s) of the reserved boat, if applicable.
8. Cancellations:
   1. If a member who has reserved a boat for day sailing (single day booking) is more than 1 hour late for the reservation, it may be considered cancelled. Another qualified Member wishing to use the boat for the day or same time slot must contact the Member who booked the original reservation and confirm whether or not it is available that day or reservation time slot.
      
      If a Member who has reserved a boat for cruising (more than a single day) is late the booking is not considered cancelled. However, another qualified Member wishing to use the boat for day(s) sailing must contact the Member who booked the original reservation and confirm whether or not it is available that day(s). If the Member who booked the original reservation is not planning to use the boat during their reservation, they should cancel the reservation according to rule 8 ii) and 8 iii).
   2. If a Member is unable to use their booked reservation, they must cancel their reservation in the booking system at the earliest possible time so other Members may have access to the boat. The Member should notify the Communications Officer, who will in turn notify the membership of the boat’s availability. The Member should notify the WhatsApp LMYC Full Member group chat concerning the details of the cancellation.
   3. If you cannot cancel the booking or a portion of your booking in the booking system contact the Booking Moderator.
   4. Short-notice cancellations within 14 days of the booking result in boats not being used to their full capacity, booking privileges may be reviewed or revoked for members repeatedly causing these circumstances by the Executive and Booking Moderator. For boats residing in an outstation, the booking member will be responsible for additional moorage costs due to the cancellation.
9. Members shall return the boats clean and tidy inside and out, with the holding tank emptied and rinsed and any consumables (e.g. bbq propane) replaced. Fuel and water tanks should be left full. Fuel docks or nearby on-shore gas stations are available at all of our moorage locations. Under circumstances that prevent refueling, they must leave sufficient fuel money in the money jar to cover the estimated amount of fuel used.
10. If boat equipment or sails are in need of repair before the boat can be taken out again, Members shall:
    1. Make their best efforts to repair the deficiency.
    2. Report the deficiencies in the maintenance log (include your name/date) aboard the boat; ask the Booking Moderator or Fleet Captain to make an “out of service” notation in the reservation system if the deficiency is considered to impair the boat’s safe use.
    3. Inform the Maintenance Leader for that boat via email or phone call
    4. Make their best effort to inform the next Member(s) who have the boat reserved.
11. Bookings:
    1. During the High Season (June 1 to Sept 15), Members may only use LMYC boats to a maximum of (Full Members) 480 berth hours and (Alumni Day Sailors) 240 berth hours as calculated below and reflected in the booking system.
    2. Members shall have no more than three pending bookings at any given time in the Booking Calendar, such bookings not to exceed 10 days in total. This rule applies year-round, not just during Peak Season, except as set out in Rule# 14 (24hr Rule or 72 Hr Rule), 23 and 24.
    3. All year, Alumni Day Sailors are restricted to day sailing on boats that are 28′ or less in length, and can book 3 weeks in advance.
    4. Baca LeLe and Benesse can only be booked by Skippers that have completed the Check Out for Large Boat Maneuvering and Docking.
12. To calculate a Member’s sailing hours during the High Season, the following shall apply:
    1. Baca Lele and Benesse shall be considered to have 6 berths
    2. Lily Dee, Scherzando, and Chili Pepper shall be considered to have 4 berths
    3. Teacher’s Pet shall be considered to have 2 berths and is designated as a day sailing boat or a Training Cruise boat. Teacher’s Pet can only be booked for normal cruising with permission from the Executive.
13. For sailing in High Season, a Member will be charged
    1. 1 berth-hour per berth on any given vessel to a daily maximum of 10 hours per berth per day Monday to Friday
    2. 1.5 berth-hour per berth on any given vessel to a daily maximum of 15 hours per berth per day Saturday, Sunday and Statutory Holidays [1].
    3. Day-sailing hours will be calculated on an hourly basis to the daily maximums noted above.[2]
14. Whether or not a Member has used all allocated hours, and/or the Member has 3 open pending bookings, a member may book any boat they are qualified to sail that is unbooked 24 hours before the proposed departure (the “24 Hour Rule”).
    1. If the boat is unreserved for additional consecutive days, the Member may book up to three consecutive days (two nights) at the time of their initial 24-hour booking. The boat is to be returned no later than 1800 on the last day of the booking or as per Rule 17.
    2. If a boat is moored at an outstation (i.e. outside the Greater Vancouver and Semiahmoo Bay area) then Rule 14 shall apply up to 72 hours prior to the start-time of the booking.
15. Associate and Social Members are not entitled to book or Skipper a boat but may be invited as guests of Full Members.
16. During High Season, Members shall not sail as skipper or crew on any one boat exceeding 10 consecutive days in duration.
17. Members shall return all boats by 1500 hours the day before it is booked for a scheduled club cruise or at least one hour before a scheduled race in order to allow loading and/or rigging.
18. In consideration of other Members, any Member planning to “preload” prior to a reserved cruise should do so after dusk, otherwise the Member may be charged with that early time as being part of their cruise allotted hours.
19. Year around, skippers are encouraged to invite other LMYC Members to join if berths or room is available.
20. Day Sailing: During High Season, Full Members (Cruise & Day Skippers) can pre-book in advance for day-sailing. Members should only book a designated day sailor or other smaller boat for day sailing and not the large boats Baca LeLe and Benesse unless the 24Hr rule can be utilized.
21. No Member shall cruise overnight on a day-sailing boat unless for Cruise Training or specifically permitted by the Executive. Currently our fleet boat Teacher’s Pet is the designated “day-sailing” boat.
22. In addition to the other rules and conditions contained herein, the following specific Rules and Conditions govern the booking of cruises in Desolation Sound (DS) for Full Members:
    1. Members wishing to book a cruise in DS shall do so through the Director for DS Cruising (the “DS Director”).
    2. Bookings for DS shall commence each year as communicated by the Director for Desolation Sound cruising.
    3. Members must present an application plus any required deposit to the DS Director. If a Member cancels or cannot complete their booking and the boat must be moored at Lund as a result, that Member shall be responsible for the moorage cost. The Executive may authorize the DS Director to request a reimbursable deposit for this purpose.
    4. Members must be Cruise Skippers and must demonstrate the appropriate qualifications to the DS Director (subject to any review by the Executive) before being allowed to reserve a cruise in DS, including, but not limited to, navigational skills particular to the DS area.
    5. Dates of preference will be addressed through a lottery subject to the discretion of the DS Director and any review by the Executive. The lottery will generally proceed according to the following paragraphs f through m, recognizing that there are many sets of circumstances which may require the DS Director to make minor changes with the approval of the Executive.
    6. On or before the second Monday in February or the date specified by the DS Director, qualified Cruise Skippers may submit an application, confirming qualifications and stating their ranked preference for one or more of the weeks available to be booked. If requested by DS Director, the application must be accompanied by a deposit.
    7. Applicants will also identify themselves as having:
       1. Never sailed in Desolation Sound, (A) or
       2. Previously sailed in Desolation Sound (B).
    8. Those skippers who included a week in their ranked preferences which no other skipper has requested will be assigned that week. Those applicants in category A will be placed in the draw for remaining available weeks. Those applicants in category B will be placed in a preliminary draw to determine who gets to join the draw for available weeks. e.g., if there are 11 weeks available and 3 category A qualified skippers plus 12 category B qualified skippers apply then the 3 category A skippers immediately go into the draw, while the preliminary draw is used to determine which 8 of the 12 category B skippers will also go into the draw.
    9. The draw will be conducted at a LMYC Steering Committee meeting and the results will be used to determine priority choice of weeks among those skippers in the draw.
    10. The goals of this process, and any minor modifications proposed by the DS Director to address unique combinations of circumstance are fourfold:
        1. To ensure that all available weeks are filled,
        2. To ensure that as many members as possible get a week of their preference,
        3. To ensure that those skippers who have never sailed in Desolation Sound are given a good chance to do so, and,
        4. To ensure that Desolation Sound bookings are confirmed prior to the Calendar opening for all other bookings.
    11. Those skippers whose names are drawn earliest in this process may not get their first choice of week if it would be possible to satisfy the requests of more skippers by assigning a second or third choice to that skipper.
    12. If all available weeks are not able to be filled by those skippers chosen in the draw, then any remaining weeks will be offered to those skippers who were not part of the draw.
    13. If there are fewer applicants than weeks available or if there are still vacant weeks after the conclusion of this process, then the executive may decide to decrease the number of weeks available.
    14. Normally bookings for DS run from 1200 hours on Saturday at Lund to 1200 hours Saturday at Lund. Members however, may “split weeks” in DS at the discretion of the Director.
    15. The skipper is responsible for the boat in DS until another skipper takes possession of it, including ordinary maintenance. Any significant maintenance issues must be reported to the boat’s ML and Fleet Captain and it is expected that the Member in DS will assist in whatever fashion is reasonably possible as recommended by the boat’s ML or Fleet Captain.
    16. The ‘old’ skipper should pay the Warfinger for short term moorage upon arrival at Lund to allow unloading and reloading. If the ‘new’ skipper has not arrived by 1200 hours for the exchange the old skipper should provide a credit card for any additional moorage charges that may be incurred before they leave Lund and inform the DS Director. The DS Director will resolve responsibility for any further moorage costs.
    17. Members shall return the boat in “better” condition that it was received. It must be clean and tidy inside and out, including but not limited to: head, cabin, V-berth, quarter-berths, storage areas, cooler, floor, sink, cups, dishes and eating utensils. The holding tank must be emptied and rinsed. Fuel and water tank filled. The dinghy should be removed from the water and washed on the dock, and should be left covered on the deck if the next skipper has not arrived for their booking.
23. Members who are instructing, conducting maintenance or are involved in promotional public relations or other activities authorized by the Executive will not be charged sailing hours during these events and are allowed to exceed the three active booking rule.
    1. Trainers are allowed 2 active bookings over and above their three bookings, to be used for training purposes only.
    2. Trainees on Training Cruises shall be charged only one berth per hour, as they do not have the prerogative of choosing either their boat or how many people are on the boat. Club Cruise Volunteer Skippers and Partner will not be charged hours as it is considered a promotional event. Crew Full Members or Crew Alumni Day Sailor Members shall be charged regular berth hours on the club cruise.
24. Exceptions to, or clarifications of, these Rules and Conditions are subject to the discretion of the Executive [3]
25. Any Member who fails to comply with these Boat Reservation Rules and Conditions and/or has not contributed a reasonable amount of time to Coop Operational Tasks (Volunteer Hours) as outlined in the LMYC Volunteer Commitment Form may have their booking privileges suspended or revoked, subject to the discretion of the Executive [3].

Footnotes:

[1] For example, if a Member takes out a 6 berth-hour boat on a 4 day cruise from Thursday to Sunday during High Season (without other Members aboard) he or she would be charged as follows:

Thursday 10 hours x 6 berths (60 berth-hours),
Friday 10 hours x 6 berths (60 berth hours),
Saturday 15 hours x 6 berths (90 berth-hours) and Sunday 15 hours x 6 berths (90 berth hours)
For a total of 300 berth-hours. By comparison, the same trip on Chili Pepper (4 berth boat) would use 200 berth-hours.

[2] For example, if a Member takes out Scherzando (a 4 berth boat) on a 5 hour sail on a regular weekday in High Season, (without other Members aboard), he or she will be charged as follows:

5 hours x 4 berths = 20 berth-hours.

[3] The LMYC recognizes that these Rules and Conditions are to serve our membership and not the reverse. There are undoubtedly going to be situations where flexibility is required and decisions will need to be made in the interest of the Co-op to address specific concerns, conflicts or problems.

Update History

Original document created 2012

Updated Feb 2015 by the LMYC Executive: Marnie Bragg, Wayne Linehan, Joe Kugler, Claude Guetta, Deborah Cliffe, Peter Maitland

Updated Feb 2016 by the LMYC Executive: Wayne Linehan, Susan Manz, Claude Guetta, Deborah Cliffe, Marnie Bragg

Updated Feb 2017 by LMYC Executive: Susan Manz, Claude Guetta, John Mitchell, Denise Dolnik

Updated Oct 18, 2018 by LMYC Executive: Henry Lazar. Presented at the GM Oct 18, 2018

Updated Dec 10, 2020 by LMYC Executive John Pilling, Dave Senkler

Updated March 2023 LMYC Executive, Approved at GM March 16, 2023

Updated Dec 20 2024 LMYC Executive: Mark Loenen

Updated Dec 30 2024-Jan 28 2025 LMYC Members: Mark Loenen, Ulrich Paschen, Geoff Killam, Aren Tulchinsky, Richard Beddoes

Update Reviewed By LMYC Executive & Steering Committee Round Tables Feb 13-16 2025

Updated Reviewed Final Updates Approved by LMYC Members March 20, 2025 GM Meeting