Propose a Sailing Club Trip

Planning for each sailing season typically begins in the summer of the previous year. We continually collect ideas for new, favorite, or unique destinations, themes, or marketing strategies. Also factored in are prior experiences and charter boat availability. We encourage all members to participate in this process. 

We do not have a pool of “trip leaders” eager to run with your idea. Your trip is more likely to happen if you are willing to be part of the trip leadership. 

Trips are a collaboration between two Club members, one of whom must be a Club certified skipper. The specific duties of each role are agreed by the two leaders. Technically one is the Trip Leader (TL) and the other is the Assistant Trip Leader (ATL). But who does what is up to them. Our Trip leadership guidelines <LINK> provide a summary of all the required tasks. 

If you’re eager to run the trip, but not a Club skipper, your first step might be to recruit a Club skipper to be your ATL. If you are not comfortable stepping into the lead role, you can look at who led recent trips and reach out to recruit an experienced person to be the TL and coach you in the role.

A word of advice for success: Before proposing your trip, contact several Club certified skippers in addition to the one who is your partner (or yourself). If two or more skippers cannot be available when and where you plan to run your trip, you’ll need to consider a different date range. First mates are more plentiful, but you might also reach out to them.

The proposal outline below provides the minimal information that the board will require to consider your trip idea. Use it to document your proposal and email it to the Vice Commodore at vice.commodore@thesailingclub.org.

Sailing boat on the ocean

Your proposal should contain the following information:

General Sailing Area (i.e., Chesapeake Bay, Long Island Sound, Florida, etc.)

  1. Charter companies operating in the area

  1. Proposed Schedule

    1. Time of year (considering seasonal weather and other local factors)

    2. Number of sailing days

  2. Features - include at least one of the following

    1. Destination

    2. Special Event(s)

    3. Overall Theme

    4. Marketing focus

  3. Added Costs (optional)

    1. Group Dinner

    2. Tour

    3. Memento

    4. Slip or mooring fees

    5. Other

  4. Exceptions

    1. Deposit higher than the standard $100. If the trip is particularly costly, or early in the season, you may want a higher deposit. This must be included in the proposal and approved by the board.

    2. Cancellation policy other than the standard 30 days in advance. If the charter company’s cancellation policy is notably different from our standard, you can propose an earlier cancellation date for your trip. This must be included in the proposal and approved by the baord.

  5. Any prior experience in this general sailing area (Club or leadership team member)

  6. Any known "unique" travel logistics (optional)

    1. Are there direct flights?

    2. Is it more than a six hour drive from central New Jersey?

    3. Does it take multiple modes of transport (e.g., flight then bus then ferry)

  7. Leadership contact information

    1. Names

    2. Telephone Numbers

    3. Email addresses

If your proposal fits into the next sailing season as planned so far, you may be invited to make a more detailed presentation to the Board of Trustees. The Vice Commodore can provide you any information you may need should your proposal be selected.

Trip review and approval occurs at regular monthly meetings of the Board of Trustees, with a trip pricing meeting held early in the year. You will be invited to attend meetings when your trip proposal is under discussion.

Flowchart detailing steps for organizing a sailing trip, including planning, recruiting a skipper, submitting proposals, getting approvals, and preparing pricing.
Flowchart for organizing a sailing trip, detailing steps from initial planning to proposal approval and finalizing details.