CVSS is run entirely by volunteers. As a Volunteer, and after initial training, you'll welcome sailors, make sure they're correctly prepared for sailing, help them in and out of boats (using a hoist if required), act as a 'buddy' sailor, helm and crew safety boats, prepare the site, and maintain our boats and equipment.
Our volunteers work in teams under the direction of a Sailing Leader and we are always keen to support newcomers. You do not need to know how to sail to help out at CVSS, we will provide all necessary training. We will always find you a role in your comfort zone, on the water or on the shore.
As a new volunteer we will arrange a DBS check for you if you don't already have one and are over 16 years of age. CVSS arranges this and there are no costs to you. During your first visit, we will introduce you to the team and key staff, as well as provide you with safety information.
About our Volunteers
Our volunteers mostly come from the local area but some travel many miles to support the group. The regular volunteers are aged between 16 and 90 and some are disabled themselves. Some are retired; some are in full-time employment or education, house-husbands, carers, and job-seekers.
You do not need to have worked with disabled people or have sailing experience to volunteer - you just need to want to work in a team, help disabled people sail and enjoy the experience. Some volunteers work 4 days a week during the sailing season and others work 3 hours every fortnight. We accommodate all different levels of availability, and your help is always appreciated.
On the Water
If you want to assist on the water we will first take you sailing in an access dinghy and help build up your skills so that you can become a buddy sailor in no time.You will learn how to moor our access dinghies safely, how to rig them, and how to help disabled sailors board both dinghies and Katakanus. You will also learn about hoisting disabled people and fitting slings.
As you become more familiar with the operation you may be asked to crew a patrol or safety boat (powered boats) with an experienced helm. Of course we do not expect you to gain these skills in a couple of visits!
On Land
Land-based volunteers will become part of our Shore Officers team, meeting and greeting, fitting buoyancy aids, assisting with shore based safety, and keeping our essential records of who is on site and what they are doing. Our land-based jobs are vital for the functioning of CVSS. We cannot offer experiences on the water without the support of our shore-based team.
Other Jobs
In addition to general roles, there are vacancies for administrative positions and social media managers.
Additionally to our general jobs, we liaise with BLYM (our host sailing club), the RYA, Councillors, and local officials; we raise funds, produce publicity material, maintain the website, visit schools, apply for grants, manage our accounts, and give presentations to the public.
Young Volunteers
CVSS welcomes 'Young Volunteers' aged 14 and over; we recognise that these volunteers may have many demands on their time so we ask them to complete 2-hour duty slots (most older volunteers work half or full days). Many of our young volunteers work Saturdays. We provide a lakeside self-recording system so that our young volunteers can keep a record of their duties completed and activities carried out. In this way CVSS can help them develop skills and have a record on which to base references which we are happy to write to support job and college applications. If a young volunteer needs help keeping a written record CVSS can assist. A parent declaration form is required which can be found via the documents library link below (under "Information")
Important Dates 2024
Volunteer Open Day - Saturday 20 April and Monday 22 April 10.00 - 3.00 - Contact cvss@cvssailaors.org.uk if you would like to come along to see what we do.
Volunteer Training Day - Tuesday 30 April 10.00am
Parents, Teachers and Support Staff Training Day - Wednesday 1 May - Contact cvss@cvssailors.org.uk if you would like to attend.
Safety and Safeguarding
CVSS offers Safeguarding and Disability Awareness Training as required by organisational needs. There is comprehensive training provided at the start of each sailing season for all volunteers. Training is provided to match the interests of individual volunteers and the needs of the organisation to ensure the safety of everyone.
Established volunteers may be asked to attend First Aid, Child Protection, and other land-based courses; they may also be offered water-based training such as RYA Powerboat and Safety Boat courses if they wish to helm the safety or patrol boats. These courses are locally-based and funded by CVSS.
CVSS is part of the RYA Sailability Volunteer Development Scheme. Any CVSS volunteer can join this and we would be very happy to support you working your way through the scheme, however there is no requirement on CVSS volunteers to do so.
View our Safety Regulations and Safeguarding documents.
Register to Volunteer
The benefits of volunteering include making friends, caring for others, and learning valuable skills both on the water and on the shore. Hot and cold drinks and biscuits are available to all volunteers on sailing days.
Once registered you will be sent login details for Three Rings, our volunteer booking system. This allows you to book your availability on our CVSS Rota.
If you would like further information please get in touch.