Welcome to NSC
The following information is intended to answer some common questions and help new members become more familiar with the club. For additional help, contact the club office at 613-829-6462 or info@nsc.ca.
Club Governance
NSC is a member-owned, volunteer-based club that rents space from the City of Ottawa. The club’s operations are overseen by a volunteer board of 11 directors who are elected by the membership at the Annual General Meeting each autumn after haul-out. Elsewhere on this site is a list of directors’ responsibilities and contact information for each director.
Volunteering
Volunteerism is at the heart of our club’s success and helps to keep fees as low as possible. Volunteers are welcome and encouraged to participate in any work party or club committee. Find out how to get involved.
Membership Categories
NSC offers a range of membership types to suit individuals and families. NSC’s membership year runs from November 1st to October 31st.
- Full Membership (Family or Adult): Required for wet or dry mooring. No additional charge for children under 18.
- Crewing/Social Membership: For individuals 18 or older who do not keep a boat at the club.
- Student Membership: For individuals aged 10 to 18, or over 18 years in full-time attendance at high school, college or university. Provides dinghy mooring only.
- Out-of-Town Membership: For adults or families who live further than 120 km from NSC and do not keep a boat at the club.
See the list of membership and service fees on this page.
For a table explaining the benefits of the various types of membership.
Membership fee invoices are mailed each year in October and payment is due November 1st. Mooring invoices are mailed in February and payment is due March 1st. If you expect to be away during either of these invoicing periods, please contact the office to arrange payment and to avoid late payment penalties.
Membership dues are non-refundable. To request a refund or credit of any other fee (mooring, storage, launch, etc.), send an email to the Membership Director explaining your situation.
Full and Student memberships include the right to vote at general meetings of the club held in December and April of each fiscal year. These memberships accumulate points at a rate of one point for each year of continuous membership. The points system is used in allocating mooring slips.
Mooring Allocations
With floating dock facilities for 501 boats, NSC’s harbour is among the largest of any Canadian sailing or yacht club. Most of the time our harbour is full or close to full, but like any club, we experience regular turnover in our membership, which means that slips do become available on an ongoing basis. As a result, new members who wish to moor a boat in the harbour rarely wait long for a slip. Depending on the size of your boat and the availability of suitable slips, you may not need to wait at all.
If, when you join the club, no appropriate slip is available for your boat, you will be advised to put your boat on the waiting list. To do so, you must hold a full membership (Adult or Family), and you must have paid the wait list deposit fee, which is currently $100. When a slip becomes available, the fee will be applied to the cost of your mooring.
In general, smaller boats are easier to accommodate than larger vessels. However, the vast majority of members who join during the off-season (and put their names on the waiting list at that time) are allocated a slip before, or early in, the new season. If you join during the season, the Club Manager will attempt to find a temporary mooring for your boat as quickly as possible while respecting the mooring rights of other members.
The maximum vessel dimensions that NSC will accommodate are as follows: Length overall 37′ 6″, beam 12’ 9″, draft 5’ 6”. We define length overall as meaning the full measured length of the vessel from the furthest point forward to the furthest point aft, including fixed items such as a pulpit, outboard motor bracket, rudder, folded davits, and anchor mounts.
For more information about the annual mooring allocation process, eligibility for mooring allocation and members’ mooring rights and responsibilities, please refer to the official Moring Allocation Policy.
Current mooring allocation lists may be found on the bulletin board located outside the club office and on the Mooring Allocation page. Updated lists are posted each spring not less than two weeks prior to the club’s official launch day, which is generally the first Saturday in May.
Moorings must be occupied no later than 21 days after launch day. Failure to occupy a mooring by the specified date may result in the forfeiture of that mooring. After launch day, temporary slips may be assigned based on the best possible use of harbour facilities for all club members, all boat sizes and boat types.
Members who wish to request a change in mooring should submit a written request and explanation to the Rear Commodore/Harbourmaster.
Trailer Launch
Power launch is a mooring category for boats that are stored on a trailer and can be launched on the club crane or at the public launch ramp. The mooring area for boats in this category is inside the compound in several rows, easily accessible by car for trailer hook-up. The mooring fee paid with the membership fee covers the cost of ramp launch/haul-out.
Drysail Area
Cars are not permitted in the Dry Sail area around the dinghy moorings. Dinghies may only be launched with a member’s or club-owned dolly as the ramp cannot sustain the weight of any vehicle. Vehicles are not permitted on the dinghy ramps.
Service Docks
NSC’s service docks are available for members who wish to pump out their holding tanks, recharge batteries, obtain fresh water, wash their boats or refuel. The red hoses provide clean city water and should only be used to fill fresh water tanks. The other hoses supply water pumped directly from the harbour and should be used when washing your boat or flushing a holding tank.
As a courtesy to other members, please minimize your stay at the service docks. Two hours is the maximum stay without special permission. If you need more time, request a “slip ticket” from the office and zip-tie it to your boat.
Special restrictions apply to three slips:
- Slips #7 and #8 are the “express lanes” with a 20-minute stay. These slips are intended for members who need a quick pump-out or a quick fueling or anything else that can be accomplished in 20 minutes.
- Slip #9, beside the south crane well, needs to be available at all times for people who are trailer-launching their boats.
If a service provider is launching your boat, it is still your responsibility to ensure that your boat is moved promptly moved from the Service Docks to your slip.
Pump-out Procedures
(Bear in mind that there is usually at least one experienced member at the service dock, and he or she will likely be happy to help out or offer advice.)
Running the length of the service dock, on the surface of the dock near the wall, is a grey plastic pipe. Extending vertically from the pipe is a series of inlets fitted with red T-valves. You also find a long green hose with clamps on one end and a shut-off valve on the other end. The hose will generally be connected to one of the inlets. To pump out your boat’s holding tank, follow these steps:
- If the hose won’t reach your boat’s waste deck fitting, simply flip open the clamps, disconnect the hose from the inlet and move it to an inlet that is closer to your boat.
- Make sure all of the red T-valves are in the closed (horizontal) position, and then open the one for the inlet you plan to use.
- Close the valve on the pump-out hose nozzle and then insert it into your boat’s waste pump-out deck fitting. Keep a bit of downward pressure on the nozzle so that the rubber end forms a seal against the deck fitting. Then open the valve on the nozzle. There is a good amount of pressure in the system so it won’t take long to empty your holding tank – typically 30-60 seconds at most depending on the size of your holding tank.
- Close the valve on the nozzle before you remove it from the deck fitting. Then carefully lay the nozzle down on your deck.
- Fill your holding tank with water using one of the grey hoses – there are several of them along the service dock so it shouldn’t be difficult to find one that will reach your boat. (Never use one of the red hoses to rinse your holding tank. The red hoses provide clean city water and are only for filling your freshwater tanks. The grey hoses provide water pumped straight from the river. As a courtesy to other members and to avoid contamination, always use a grey hose when flushing your holding tank or washing your boat.)
- When you have finished filling your holding tank, insert the pump-out nozzle and empty the tank again. (Note: many people repeat Steps 5 & 6 to ensure that the holding tank is as clean as possible. At the end of the season, you might flush your holding tank three times just to be sure.)
- Return the green pump-out hose to the dock and shut off the red T-valve. Return the grey river water hose to the dock and coil it neatly around its bracket. Please don’t leave hoses lying uncoiled on the dock.
Refuelling
To protect the environment and the water quality of the Ottawa River, refuelling at your slip is strictly prohibited. All refuelling must be done at the Service Docks, where special equipment is available to deal with accidental spills.
Cranes
There is no charge for the use of the club cranes by members for launching, hauling out and masting throughout the sailing season. However, for safety reasons and to comply with the club’s insurance policy, any member who wishes to use a crane must first complete a crane familiarization session.
The north and south lifting cranes will each lift a maximum safe working load of 10,000 lbs. The load limit on the south masting crane is 300 lbs; on the north masting crane the load limit is 1,000 lbs.
Members who wish to use one of the cranes should book a time slot using the Northstar NSC’s portal for crane bookings.
The Galley
NSC’s restaurant, The Galley, is open seven days a week during boating season, with limited hours in the off-season. View the current hours and menu information.
Social Activities
Lists of the year’s planned social activities are published on the website. Notices of upcoming events are also included in The Telltale, the weekly email news bulletin sent to all members. For more information about the club’s regularly scheduled events, please see the events page on this site.
Racing/Crewing
NSC offers its members a comprehensive sailing program for all levels of sailing ability and boat types, including regular weeknight racing and weekend sailing events throughout the season. Participating in the program is a great way to enhance one’s sailing skills, socialize with other members, and simply get out and enjoy the water and your club on a regular basis.
On weeknights, we offer regular series racing. Mondays are women-only keelboats, Tuesdays are PHRF/handicap keelboats, Wednesdays are dinghies and catamarans, and Thursdays are one-design and whitetail-only keelboats. Boats from other clubs on Lac Deschenes, such as BYC and CVGR, share the same course and start. Weeknight racing usually starts around 6 pm on the water.
On weekends throughout the season, there are long-distance races, specialty fun events, and organized club regattas.
If you are a boat owner you may participate in as few or as many of the organized weeknight races or weekend events as you choose. One simple race registration form covers it all. (For handicap keelboat racing you may also require a PHRF handicap certificate, which can be obtained through the club.) Members are permitted to have guest crew occasionally; however, all regular crew are required to become members of the club. A special Crewing membership is available.
If you are looking to crew on another member’s boat, you can explore potential opportunities by speaking with your fellow members or the designated Fleet representative for the night you are interested in. There is also an online NSC Crew Bank page where you can post your interest, experience, and contact details for skippers who are seeking crew.
To learn more about the program and how to participate, the full program overview – including schedules, available race fleets, registration, and tips to getting started – is available at nsc.ca/racing/.
Boating/Sailing Lessons
NSC offers a wide range of sail-training programs for children, teens, adults and sailors with physical disabilities. For more information, see the Sail Training Center and the Able Sail web pages.
Sail Share Program
NSC promotes a Sail Share Program managed by Advantage Boating. In this program, NSC members who have completed their Basic Sail Canada training (or can demonstrate equivalent ability) can share the use of program boats with other participants. This provides an excellent opportunity for those who want to keep sailing after they have completed their lessons but want to gain more confidence and find out “what it’s all about” before becoming boat owners.
Popular, safe and comfortable, entry-level one-design keelboats like the Tanzer 22 and Shark (24 feet) are used for this program. Visit the Sail Share Program web page, or see the Sail Share Program brochure located at NSC for additional information on this program.
Members’ Database
The NSC Bluebook is a database of members’ information such as address, phone number, boat name and model, mooring, etc. Visit the Member Area webpage for a link to the Bluebook and other resources. To log in, enter your last name and your membership number. After logging in, you can verify that the club has your correct contact details by clicking “View/Update your personal information”. If any of the details are wrong, enter the correct information and click the button to send your changes to the database administrator. The database is updated once a month.
Marine Emergencies
Please see the Marine Emergencies page on this site for more information.
Identifying Boats, Cradles and Trailers
All boats, tenders, trailers, cradles and dollies will be issued NSC identification numbers. It is imperative that these identification numbers be displayed clearly for documentation by our computer system. Boat ID stickers are available from the front office and must be placed on the Starboard Bow well above the water line. Trailer numbers will be painted on the trailer tongue and cradle numbers will be painted on both ends of the cradle. In addition, we request that cradles, trailers and dollies be clearly labelled with both the boat and owner’s name.
Access Cards
Access to the docks, compound and side pedestrian gates is controlled through the use of security proximity cards. Members are issued one card when they join (two cards in the case of family memberships). If you lose your card, make sure you notify the office so it can be deactivated. You can request a replacement for a $10.00 fee.
Members’ Lounge
The members’ lounge is open year-round with reduced hours during the off-season. Bar and galley hours are posted on the bulletin board in the front lobby and on the website. The lounge area is open to members and their guests when the building is open. In the LLBO-licensed area, no one is permitted to consume alcoholic beverages not purchased from the NSC bar. Members may purchase and bring non-NSC alcoholic beverages to their boats for personal consumption.
Harbourview Hall Rentals
The Harbourview Hall (formerly known as “the East Room”) is available for rentals by members and the general public Monday to Friday (8 am – 5 pm) during the boating season, and seven days a week in other months. For events requiring tables and chairs, the room has a maximum capacity of 120 persons. For standing events or theatre-style seating, the capacity is 145 persons. All food requirements can be met by our in-house chef. The club is fully licensed by the LLBO and alcohol may not be brought into the premises unless purchased through the club. For information on rental policies, rates and availability, contact the Hospitality Manager.
Regalia
Regalia is a collection of clothing and other items made expressly for NSC. Orders may be placed using the online form or with the Regalia primes. Regular stock items are on sale periodically throughout the year at the club. Special order deliveries are available a few weeks after being ordered. Orders are payable by cash, cheque or credit card at the time of pickup.
Boats/Equipment for Sale
Members who wish to buy or sell boats or boating-related items can post notices for free on the club’s online classified ad page. The club also keeps a FOR SALE binder in the front lobby. Please do not post ads on the bulletin boards.
Ice
Ice cubes and blocks are available to members from the ice machines located on the deck and on the ground level on the west side of the building. To obtain ice, payment must be made at either the office or bar.
Hauling Carts
The club provides hauling carts to transport gear to the docks. The carts are located just inside the side gate under the deck area. Carts must be returned to this area after use.
Theft/Damage
In the event of boat theft or damage, members should notify the club office and file an Incident Report filed which is passed on to the Board of Directors. In addition, the member should contact the Ottawa Police Service and his/her insurance agent.
Vending Machine
A soft drink/juice machine is located under the deck on the harbour side of the clubhouse.
Showers
Shower facilities are available in both washrooms, which are available 24 hours a day during the sailing season. For security, the washrooms are locked between 10 pm and 8 am. During these hours, members can access the washrooms by using their gate access cards. The washrooms are wheelchair-accessible.
Non-Smoking Policy
Nepean Sailing Club is a non-smoking facility. Smoking is not permitted inside or within 9 metres of any club building.