Personal Group & Guest Row Policies
Personal Group Row & Guest Row
Boat Use Policy & Procedure
A DV Community Row ‘Well Seasoned’ Coxswain* may request a boat for a particular date and time between dawn and dusk on a first come, first serve basis, other than at the time when boats are scheduled for regular Dharma Voyage programs.
The boat request will be made to the Row Scheduling Coordinator, Don Dufault at: ddufault52@gmail.com, and include the requested boat, date, and time.
The coxswain must assure all rowers are members in good standing. The personal group row is primarily intended for rowing members to use the boats at non regularly scheduled times. Occasional guests may be included but need, before boarding a boat, to sign a DV Liability Disclaimer, and place it in the storage box in the Liability Forms folder.
The coxswain must report to their designee** before the start of the row:
the boat,
the number of occupants,
direction of the row,
tide direction and
wind direction speed estimate
and report back to their designee at the culmination of the row, when the boat has been returned to the mooring and the punt is secured at its land base.
Prior to the personal guest row, the cox should also record in a Personal Group Row Log Book, located in the rowing box, the names of rowers, cox and their designee’s phone number.
If there are any issues with the boat or equipment the coxswain must report that to the Maintenance Coordinators, phone numbers are posted in the orange box.
The coxswain is responsible to ensure the boat is equipped with all safety equipment for the row and assure the safety box is returned to the orange box, the boat is reasonably clean and ‘put to bed’ as we do for Community rows.
*A well-seasoned coxswain is someone who regularly coxes for Dharma Voyage and therefore familiar with the punt and lock up procedure, is competent to bring the boat to and from the mooring in secure fashion, is comfortable taking off and landing at the dock, knows how to read the tides, wind and river, keeping all rowers safe in the process.
**A designee (“designated worrier”) is an onshore partner keeping track of the row and capable of alerting assistance if the boat does not return when expected.
Dharma Voyage Community Rowing
Guest Rower Policy 2024
These guidelines aim to strike a balance that allows members the benefit of sharing their passion for rowing with family and friends while protecting members’ current opportunities to row.
To this end:
● Members may invite two (2) guests per year to join them in a scheduled community open row. Guest rowers may not join endurance rows or Skills Training Sessions.
● Prior rowing experience is not required. To minimize the impact of an untrained guest on others in the boat, the guest rower will take the bow seat and the host member rows the number 2 oar.
● Limit: one guest per scheduled row.
When hosting a guest, it is the host member’s responsibility to:
1. Enter Guest in Sign Up Genius:
● A guest rower may be added to Sign Up Genius if there are still open seats ONLY AFTER 12PM and BY NO LATER THAN 6PM the day before ascheduled row. This allows members first priority to fill empty seats and boat steerers to know which boats to bring to the dock.
● When signing up a guest, enter “Guest” as first name and use the host’s last name and email address.
2. Be sure you receive a confirmation email indicating that the sign up was successful.
3. Carpool with your guest. A guest may not use a Dharma Voyage Hixbridge Landing parking pass.
4. A Waiver of Liability signed by the guest must be handed to the coxswain before the row begins (Copies in orange box at landing).