Personal Group Row Policy
Personal Group Row Policy
Boat Use Policy & Procedure
If a group of DV rowing members wish to take a boat out for a group row the process is the following:
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.