Club Rules

1. The Name
The name of the Club shall be LLOYD’S YACHT CLUB.

2. The objects of the Club
The objects of the Club are to encourage yachting within Lloyd’s, the London market and the wider insurance community.  In particular the Club works to provide sailing opportunities to young members who would otherwise not be able to participate in the sport.  The Club is not-for-profit: subscriptions and other sundry income ais used to defray the administration costs of the Club and to promote sailing and sailing related events.

3. Qualification of Membership
(i) Members of Lloyd’s.
(ii) Annual Subscribers to Lloyd’s.
(iii) Associates of Lloyd’s.
(iv) Substitutes for the above holding tickets of admission to the Room.
(v) Representatives of Insurance Companies holding tickets of admission to the Room.
(vi) Members of the Clerical Staff of the Corporation of Lloyd’s employed by the Corporation.
(vii) Candidates who are in firms at Lloyd’s.
(viii) Other persons at the discretion or invitation of the Committee of the Club.
(ix) An application for Family Membership may be made by a Full Member on behalf of an individual in his/her immediate family. In the event of the Full Member ceasing to be a Full Member of the Club the Family Membership shall lapse.
(x) Life Membership of the Club is available on payment of a sum calculated on a formula based on consecutive years of membership, and the applicant’s age, to those members who specifically apply to the Committee. Life Membership is primarily intended for those members of long standing, near or at retirement age. However, any application will be considered by the Committee whose decision is final, both on quantum of the sum paid and the eligibility of the applicant. All applicants shall be proposed and seconded by Members of the Club except Members of Lloyd’s who are eligible for Membership of the Club without proposal.

4. Honorary Members
(i) The Club, on the recommendation of the Committee, may in General Meeting elect Honorary Members.
(ii) Rights and Privileges of Honorary Members and ex-officio Members. Honorary Members and ex-officio Members shall not be required to pay any entrance fee or subscription and shall not be entitled to any share or interest in the assets of the Club or to vote upon matters of finance but otherwise shall have all the rights and privileges enjoyed by ordinary Members.

5. Admission of Members
(i) Members other than Honorary Members may be elected either at any meeting of the Committee duly convened for that purpose, when all candidates duly proposed shall be submitted to the Committee for election or by quorum consisting of a Flag Officer, the Honorary Secretary, and one other Member of the Committee.
(ii) The Honorary Secretary shall forthwith notify to an elected candidate that he/she is admitted a Member of the Club, and shall send him/her a copy of these Rules.
(iii) Any new Member failing to pay his/her subscription and entrance fee within a period of six weeks after his/her notification of election shall ipso facto cease to be a Member.

6. Retirement
Any Member desirous of retiring from the Club shall notify his/her intention to the Honorary Secretary in writing on or before the 31st December, otherwise he/she shall be liable for the next year’s subscription.

7. Termination of Membership
Membership may be terminated at the discretion of the Committee when qualification for membership under Rule 3 ceases.

8. Bankruptcy
Any Member who has been adjudicated a bankrupt shall ipso facto cease to be a Member provided that it shall be in the discretion of the Committee to reinstate him/her as a Member if they think fit.

9. Expulsion
Every Member on joining the Club impliedly undertakes to abide by these Rules, and any refusal or neglect to do so, or any conduct injurious to the interests of the Club, shall render a Member liable to expulsion by the Committee provided that before expelling a Member the Committee shall call upon him/her for an explanation and give him/her an opportunity of defending himself/herself or of resigning his/her membership.

10. Entrance Fee and Subscription
(i) An entrance fee shall be payable by all new members in addition to the appropriate member’s fee for that year. The amount of such a fee shall be determined by any general meeting of the club, although with effect from 1 January in any one year the Committee may vary such a fee by up to an amount of 12.5%.
(ii) Members shall pay an annual subscription upon joining the club and annually thereafter.  All members shall set up a direct debit instruction in favour of the club in respect of their annual membership. The amount of such a fee (which may differ for different classes of member) shall be determined by any general meeting of the club, although with effect from 1 January in any one year the Committee may vary such fees by up to an amount of 12.5%.
(iii) Family Members shall pay 50% of the full individual subscription.
(iv) Any Member who has not paid his/her subscription by the Annual General Meeting following the date on which his/her subscription was last due, may be removed from the list of Members at the discretion of the Committee.
(v) No Member shall in any year be entitled to receive any publications or to exercise rights or privileges of membership until his/her subscription for that year and all arrears are paid.
(vi) The Committee may introduce differential entrance and annual fees (or waive the collection of such fees) for new classes of member provided such fees are subsequently ratified by any general meeting of the Club

11. Annual General Meeting
(i) The Annual General Meeting shall be held at some place in London to be named and on some day prior to 30 April each year, such date to be set by the Commodore. The Honorary Secretary shall at least fourteen days before the date of such meeting deliver notice thereof by email to all members for whom the club holds an email address as well as giving notice by one or more of the club’s usual social media outlets (Twitter, Facebook and the Website).   Such notice shall make clear the business to be brought forward thereat which shall consist of the passing of the accounts and the election of the Officers and Committee. No other business shall be discussed than that on the agenda for the meeting.
(ii) Every question shall be determined by a majority of votes. Each Member shall have one vote and the Chairman an additional casting vote. 
(iii) Members absent from an Annual or other General Meeting may vote either by proxy or by previously sending their vote in writing to the Honorary Secretary.

12. General Meetings
The Committee, may, on giving fourteen days notice, call a General Meeting of the Club for any specific business, the nature of which shall be stated in the summons convening the Meeting, and the discussion at such Meeting shall be confined to that business only. The Committee shall also call a General Meeting on the written recommendation of twelve Members, provided the objects of such General Meeting be not to reverse or alter any Rule or By-law of the Club.

13. Officers
i) The Flag Officers of the Club shall consist of a Commodore, a Vice-Commodore and two Rear-Commodores (one responsible for sailing and one for club affairs).
ii) The Officers of the Club shall consist of an Honorary Secretary, an Honorary Treasurer, and an Honorary Solicitor and any such others as may from time to time be specially appointed.
iii) The Ex-officio Officers of the club shall consist of a Patron, President, Admiral and Vice Admiral. The Patron of the Club shall be the Chairman of Lloyd’s. The other Ex officio Officers of the club will have been previously Flag Officers of the Club.

14. Assistant Secretary
The Committee shall be empowered, if they think fit, to appoint a paid secretary to assist the Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer.

15. Powers of the Committee
The Committee shall manage the affairs of the Club according to the rules and shall apply the funds of the Club to the objects of the Club, or to such other purposes as the Committee shall deem expedient in the interests of the Club. Inter alia this shall include the management of all affairs with respect to any boats owned or chartered to the Club (either directly or through Lutine Yachts Limited, a company set up by the Members for the purpose of holding such interests and other purposes), arranging various sailing and social events, communicating with members and other interested parties through electronic and paper medium and the provision of merchandise to Club members and other parties. The Committee has the authority to set up any number of sub committees from its members and Members of the Club as co-opted.

16. Election of Flag Officers
(i) Flag Officers, Officers and Ex-officio Officers shall be elected to hold office for up to two years and shall be eligible for re-election annually thereafter for further one year terms.
(ii) Candidates for election to any office must be proposed and seconded by Members of the Club. The name of every candidate, with the names of his/her proposer and seconder must be received by the Honorary Secretary 14 days before the Annual General Meeting.
(iii) Other Officers may from time to time be specially appointed.

17. Casual Vacancies (Officers)
In the case of any casual vacancy in the office of Commodore, Vice-Commodore, Rear-Commodore, Honorary Secretary or Honorary Treasurer, as the case may be the Committee may appoint one of themselves or some other member of the Club, to act as Commodore, Vice-Commodore, Rear-Commodore, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, as the case may be, until the next Annual General Meeting.

18. Election of Committee
(i) There shall be a Committee consisting of the Flag Officers, Officers and of not more than ten Members of the Club elected by the Club in the Annual General Meeting in the following manner:-


(a) At every Annual General Meeting up to fifteen Members shall be elected to hold office for one year. At the end of their term of office they shall retire, and shall be eligible for re-election.
(b) If a casual vacancy occurs by the death, resignation or expulsion of a Member of the Committee, the Committee may co-opt a Member to fill the vacancy.
(c) Candidates for election to the Committee must be proposed and seconded by Members of the Club. The name of every candidate, with the names of his/her proposer and seconder, must be received by the Honorary Secretary 14 days before the Annual General Meeting.
(d) If the number of candidates duly proposed and seconded exceeds the number of vacancies to be filled, the election shall be by ballot.

(ii) The expression “year” in this rule means the interval between one Annual General Meeting and the next following Annual General Meeting.
(iii) The Commodore may from time to time invite any Member of the Club to be present at a meeting or meetings of the Committee to advise and assist in its deliberations.
(iv) The Committee may at any time co-opt further Members for such periods as they may think fit, but not beyond the next Annual General Meeting after their co-option.

19. Meetings of the Committee 

Meetings of the Committee may be convened by any Officer or any two Committee Members. A Flag Officer and four Committee Members shall constitute a quorum, and if votes be equal, the Flag Officer shall have the casting vote.  Any member may attend any committee meeting as an observer should they so wish.

20. Ensign and Burgee
(i) The Club Ensign is a red ensign of Her Majesty’s Fleet defaced by the shield of the coat of arms of the Corporation of Lloyd’s.
(ii) The Club Burgee is white with a blue St. George’s Cross and the shield of the coat of arms of the Corporation of Lloyd’s in the upper corner.
(iii) Any Member of the Club who contravenes the following rules concerning the Club Ensign and the Ministry of Defence warrants for it, shall be required to offer an explanation and, if necessary, an apology to the Committee, and shall be required to resign from the Club if so demanded by the Committee :

(a) The Ensign shall be worn according to the regulations made by the Ministry of Defence from time to time. The holder of the Ministry Defence warrant must acquaint himself/herself with such regulations.
(b) The Ensign shall be worn only if the owner holds a Ministry of Defence warrant to be obtained through the Club provided that the owner and such warrant are on board the vessel when the Ensign is worn. When the yacht is in harbour or at anchor near the shore, the owner need not be on board but must be in effective control of the yacht.
(c) When a vessel belonging to a Member is wearing the defaced red Ensign on the authority of a warrant obtained through the Club, that vessel shall also wear the Club’s Burgee at the masthead. Conversely, the Club Burgee shall not be worn in conjunction with a privileged Ensign agreeable to a warrant obtained through another Club.

21. Officers’ Flag
The Commodore’s flag is the Club Burgee in the form of a broad pennant or swallow-tail. The Vice-Commodore’s flag is the same as the Commodore’s with the addition of a blue ball over the crest. The Rear-Commodore’s flag is the same but with two blue balls over the crest.

22. Club Button
The Club Button is of black bone plastic bearing the intertwined Lloyd’s “L”.

23. Amendment of Rules 

These Rules may be altered, added to or subtracted from, at the Annual General Meeting or at a General Meeting specially convened for that purpose.

24. Limitation of Club liability 

Members, their guests and visitors are bound by the following: Members of the Club, their guests or visitors may use the facilities of the club and participate in events organised by the club, entirely at their own risk and impliedly accept to the fullest extent permitted by law that:

(a) The Club will not accept any liability for any damage to or loss of property belonging to members, their guests or visitors arising from their use of the Club’s facilities or through participation in events organised by the Club.
(b) The Club will not accept any liability of personal injury arising out of the use of the facilities of the Club or from participating in events organised by the Club either sustained by Members, their guests or visitors or caused by the said Members, guests or visitors whether or not such damage or injury could have been attributed to or was occasioned by the neglect, default or negligence of any of them, the Ex officio Officers, Flag Officers, Officers, Committee or servants of the Club. Membership of the Club and acceptance of these rules by the Member will be deemed to constitute consent to the holding of relevant personal data for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1984.

25. Limitation of Member’s liability
The Committee, or any person or sub-committee delegated by the Committee to act as agent for the Club or its Members, shall enter into contract only as far as expressly authorised, or authorised by implication, by the members. No one shall, without the express authority of the membership in General Meeting, pledge the credit of the membership.

26. Members indemnification of Committee
In pursuance of the authority vested in the Ex officio Officers, Flag Officers, Officers, and Committee by Members of the Club, such officers and members of the Committee are entitled to be indemnified by the Members of the club against any liabilities properly incurred by them or any one of them on behalf of the club wherever the contract is of a duly authorised nature or could be assumed to be of a duly authorised nature and entered into on behalf of the club. The limit of any individual member’s indemnity in this respect shall be a sum equal to one year’s subscription at the then current rate of that category of membership unless the Committee has been authorised to exceed such limit by a General Meeting of the club.

27. Lutine Yachts Limited
All Members shall be deemed to have applied for membership of Lutine Yachts Limited in accordance with the Articles of the Company and shall be entered on the Register of Members of the Company and any member ceasing to a member of the Club shall cease to be a member of the Company and be removed from the Register save that he shall continue to be a contributory of the Company for twelve months after such removal. Certain Members shall become officers and directors of Lutine Yachts Limited. The Flag Officers, Officers and Committee are to oversee the management of Lutine Yachts Limited through these Members. The Club will indemnify such Members for the actions they may take in connection with Lutine Yachts Limited.

28. Serving Notice by written or electronic means 

For the purposes of these rules notice is deemed to be adequately served if either a Member is sent written documentation to their last known residential or business address or an e-mail is sent to their last known e-mail address.

The last amendments to these rules were approved by the Annual General Meeting of the Club held on 3 April 2019.