The agreement
A booking is accepted when the club confirms it by email or at the clubhouse, 21 Adams Avenue, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga 3116. These terms, the safety briefing on the day, and the guide rates on our official site form the agreement.
A hire is a boat and kit for you to sail. It includes a skipper only when the confirmation says so, for example a lesson or a rostered club day.
Who can hire
- You can swim 50 metres in the clothes you will sail in. Tell us if you cannot. We will keep a non-swimmer off a solo hire.
- A dinghy or keelboat on your own requires a club sign-off, or a certificate we accept, plus a harbour familiarisation if you have not sailed here before.
- Beginners sail in a lesson, or with a competent helm we have approved.
- If the sailor is under 18, a parent or guardian agrees to these terms and is responsible for the hire. Children under 12 sail with an adult in the boat, or in a lesson.
Rates and payment
Guide rates are in New Zealand dollars and include GST. Season members pay 15% less than the visitor rate. The rate you will pay is the one in the confirmation.
Pay at the clubhouse before you launch, by card or cash. The website does not take payment.
Cancel more than 48 hours before the start and we refund the hire fee. Inside 48 hours the fee stands, unless we re-let the boat, in which case we refund you. For gear-only hire, cancel by 6.00pm the day before for a full refund.
Gear we provide
A lifejacket is part of every boat hire and is fitted before you leave. You wear it, fastened, from the time you are on the boat until you are back on the beach.
The boat is supplied with a paddle, bailer, anchor, warp, and tow line. Spray gear, gloves, booties, and a handheld VHF are separate hires at the guide rate, unless the confirmation includes them. Return every item the same day, to the clubhouse.
On the water
- Follow the briefing. Dinghy hires stay on Pilot Bay and the inner harbour. The harbour entrance and the open bay are outside a dinghy hire.
- A keelboat goes only where the briefing allows.
- Be back at the ramp at the agreed time. If we have to retrieve the boat, a recovery fee of $80, GST inclusive, applies.
- Leave alcohol and other drugs off the boat. We can refuse a launch if a sailor is unfit to go.
- You are the person in charge of the boat once you leave the beach, unless a club instructor or skipper is aboard.
Weather and club cancellations
Tauranga Harbour is sheltered. The entrance and the Mount can still be fresh. If we judge the wind, the sea, or the forecast unsafe, we cancel or shorten the hire before you leave. The fee is moved to another day or refunded in full.
If conditions change while you are out, come in when we call you on the VHF or when the briefing says to.
Care, damage, and loss
Use the boat and kit with ordinary care and return them in the condition you took them, fair wear excepted. You pay for loss, or for damage beyond fair wear, up to the reasonable cost of repair or replacement. We will tell you the amount and what it covers.
Tell the duty officer straight away if you hit something, lose a piece of kit, or take on water.
Pokies in the lounge
The clubhouse has pokies, also called slot machines, for adults 18 and over. You can play them indoors while you wait for a boat, a lesson, or a change in the weather. Gaming is separate from a boat hire: the hire fee does not include play, and play does not hold a boat. If you want help to stop, call the Gambling Helpline on 0800 654 655.
Membership and club days
Day hire does not require membership. A season membership lets you join club days and take the member rate. The season fee is quoted at the clubhouse when you join. Wednesday evening sailing runs from October to April. Weekend sails run when a skipper is rostered.
These are the club’s visitor terms. They are the rules of a hire with us. A dispute is dealt with under New Zealand law.
Questions: [email protected], or the clubhouse at 21 Adams Avenue, Mount Maunganui.