This is your invitation to join the Diamond Island Yacht Club where members are united by a love of boating and Lake Champlain. The cost is $70 per year if you purchase your membership before March 1, and $80 thereafter. All boaters can find a home here. We have members with little boats and big boats, powerboats and sailboats; members who live year round in Vermont or just come for the summer; members who grew up boating or who just bought their first boat; members who embrace the Do It Yourself mentality or those who prefer to hire out.
You’ll be joining a welcoming, casual, supportive and fun-loving group of boaters, comprised of families, couples, and singles of all ages who enjoy getting together for social activities, boating education, cruising, racing, rafting up and generally enjoying anything having to do with boats. Our mission is to enhance our members’ fun on the lake, first by helping them stay safe through educational activities. Activities both on shore and on the water provide opportunities to meet other boaters, exchange knowledge and have a great time.
We have about 130 members, with a quarter being power boaters and the remainder sailors. Boats range in length from 14 to 44 feet and include everyone from day boaters to long range cruisers. Most members keep their boats at or near Point Bay Marina, but other home ports range from the Champlain Bridge to the Lake Champlain Islands. Our dues are affordable by any boater, and for nearly all will be one of your smallest boating expenses, but will provide one of the biggest payoffs.
To join Diamond Island Yacht Club for the 2023 season, complete the application form below, which works for both new and renewing members. Annual dues are $70 if paid before March 1; thereafter, dues increase to $80.
DIYC Volunteerism
DIYC succeeds because of our members’ willingness to help coordinate and run club events and take care of our facilities. Volunteering enriches your DIYC experience as you make new friends and feel more connected to the club. As you join this year, we’re asking you to choose the activities or events you want to help with. You can use the club calendar and the list of full descriptions for each of the available selections — see links below — to find what best fits your summer plans. Note that we will remove opportunities as options when they fill up, so join early to make sure you get your first choice! Members will also have a chance to volunteer for a second interest. This is great for the Captain who has more than one interest or the Co-captain who has a different interest.
Most volunteer options also have Coordinator roles. Coordinators work with the Board of Directors member responsible for an event to do the pre-work required to make sure events are successful. Please let us know if you’re willing to take on one of these roles.
Last year we piloted the use of iVolunteer. This tool allows us to break events up into many small roles and allows volunteers to select their specific assignments, like “bring a step ladder to the tent raising,” or “pick up charcoal for the Chicken BBQ.” By late winter, you’ll begin to get iVolunteer invitations to select your specific role.
Thanks in advance for your active participation in DIYC! Click on the links below to find out more about the various opportunities. We will mark volunteer opportunities as FULLY STAFFED when we fill the quotas. We look forward to another great season of events and boating activities!
Spring Work Day/Tent Raising | Commodore’s Breakfast | Saturday Morning Coffees | Moorings | Open Boat/Vessel Safety Check | Fast Sail Series | Educational Activities | Power Boat Activities | Cruise/Destination Weekends | Chicken BBQ | Cruise Week | Diamond Island/Split Rock Races | DIR/Lobster Fest/Fundraising | Cidertini Celebration | Fall Work Day/Tent Takedown | Any of the Above
2023 Event & Committee Descriptions
When you join the club, we request you pick at least one event or committee (described below) that you would be interested in helping out with. By late this winter we will have detailed volunteer slots posted on iVolunteer and we will start emailing invites for you to volunteer for specific slots in the events or committees you selected.
There will be a broad variety of tasks all the way from a half-hour serving dessert at the DIR to picking up Lobsters at Ray’s Seafood in Essex Junction, so plenty of variety for you to choose from to match your locale and availability. We are breaking these down into as many small tasks as possible so no one has to miss out on enjoying the event even while they are contributing to the success of the event! Many hands make light work! We are also looking for members to volunteer to work with a board ‘mentor’ to be a coordinator for some of the events and committees.
FULLY STAFFED! Thank you!
Spring Work Day, Tent Raising (12 + 1 Tent Captain trainee)
Always a fun event and a great kickoff to the season. Although strength is needed for some things, there is plenty to do that doesn’t require muscle including: cleaning up the A-Frame, bringing treats and/or coffee, tidying up after. Often takes less than an hour, so plenty of time to socialize! We are looking for one person to volunteer to “learn the ropes” of tent raising so we have a pool of people that can be a tent captain.
Commodore’s Breakfast (3)
Meet the Commodore! This really could just be another Saturday morning coffee, but we try to make it a little extra special with the Commodore’s favored treat.
Saturday Morning Coffees (12 + 1 Coordinator)
Coffees are an easy 2-3 hour commitment and involve making coffee (all supplies are in A-Frame) putting out utensils/goodies/name tags, and cleaning up after. This is a very mellow social event and an opportunity to meet new people (anyone is invited). You can volunteer for just one morning coffee or as many as you want. If you don’t have time to do the full shift, but can bring a goody to drop off, that helps, too! Coordinator makes sure there are enough supplies in the A-Frame and is a contact person for the volunteers.
FULLY STAFFED! Thank you!
Help Monitor and Maintain Moorings (3 + 1 coordinator)
Moorings are one of the great benefits of club membership. Keeping the moorings maintained and safe is a continuous chore, however, as many get damaged and all of them show wear over the season. We need volunteers to help monitor the moorings and do minor maintenance such as replacing lost or broken pickup buoys, re-marking the buoys with DIYC lettering, coordinating with our diver service to repair or replace missing or heavily worn or damaged moorings. It also helps to encourage non-club members using the mooring to please join the club and buy a burgee!
FULLY STAFFED! Thank you!
Open Boat/Vessel Safety Check (3 + 1 Coordinator)
This involves getting the word out to all club members to sign up for a slot, monitoring signups, and helping catch boats on the docks. The Coordinator works with PBM and the Coast Guard for arranging dock space and date and works with volunteers for advertising, signups, and day-of dock work. This is a great free service and safety initiative that is part of our mission to promote boating safety. Also on this morning is the annual Open Boat event, a chance for members to show their boats to the public. Coordinated with PBM, which provides available slips for the morning.
FULLY STAFFED! Thank you!
Fast Sail Series (3 + 1 Fast Sail Captain)
Fast sails are a very popular racing event and unique on the lake as we have a “soft” starting window that avoids the most terrifying part of sailboat racing: the classic windward start. This makes it easier not only for beginner racers, but also the fast sail race crew. Volunteering means that you will help monitor the start window, monitor the start line, and help collect elapsed times from participants and score the races. It would be useful to have a power boater to set marks for some races and maybe carry a photographer from time-to-time.
FULLY STAFFED! Thank you!
Educational Activities (Committee) (3 + 1 Coordinator)
Our education focus this year is going to be boater safety! We have a great resource in Kurt Hagis on the board who has been instrumental in creating safety programs at the Community Sailing Center. If you are interested in helping Kurt and the club promote safe boating skills and survival basics through seminars and workshops, dive into this committee!
FULLY STAFFED! Thank you!
New Power Boat Activities (Committee) (3 + 1 Coordinator)
We are always looking for new powerboat activities as our events tend to be sail boat heavy and 25% of our members are powerboaters. Plus many sailors eventually become power boaters as the hair gets grayer!
Cruise/Destination Weekends (Committee) (5 weekends) (4 + 1 Coordinator)
We have two destination weekends (Westport and Burlington) that are combined with fast sails, and then three cruise weekends. This involves advertising the events to members, coordinating with Westport and Burlington marinas, coordinating with Fast Sail captain, picking ad-hoc destinations and dates and then, of course enjoying them and organizing fun activities and weather decisions. Coordinator would run committee meetings. Committee members attend meetings and do assigned tasks as they come up, including selecting and communicating destinations and activities for cruise weekends based on weekend weather forecasts.
Chicken BBQ & Vessel Christening (12 + 1 Coordinator + 1 Apprentice Cook)
This is one of our biggest signature events and always sells out. The Coordinator monitors the volunteer tasks, gets quotes for food and supplies and arranges ordering and/or delivery. The volunteer work involves tasks such as: picking up supplies; setting up; cleaning up; serving (in shifts); doing advertising; and monitoring signups. These many small tasks together make for a great evening everyone can enjoy even if they are volunteering! So if you plan to attend for the chicken and socializing, add to the fun by volunteering to do a serving shift or pick up supplies or help with set-up or clean-up. We are also looking for apprentice cooks! This is also the morning of the Vessel Christening ceremony, performed by the Commodore for boats receiving new names. Involves Champagne!
Cruise Week (Committee) (3 + 2 coordinators)
Cruise week is another signature event and is a chance for power boaters and sailors to share and explore the great destinations of our great lake! Some of the tasks and roles: Watching the weather and helping plan destinations; reserving docks at destination marinas; coordinating pot-luck meals; coordinating fun events like dinghy races; scavenger hunts; prizes.
Diamond Island and Split Rock Races (5 + 1 coordinator)
The DIR and SR Races are two of the best attended races in the official Lake Champlain Championship Series and Cannon Series. As hosts, we provide a committee boat (power cruiser), mark boat (runabout), and photographer boat (power boat). Other tasks include: cleaning and maintaining the mark buoys; Bum boat or dinghy for visiting racers anchored or mooring; registering racers; putting together race packets; scoring the race!
DIR Dinner & Fund Raising (Breakfast, Raffle, Happy Hour) (18 + 3 coordinators)
Yep, this is the biggie. The fullest event day of the year. Starting with the DIR breakfast for crews and captains and then phasing into the happy hour after the race and the renowned Diamond Island Regatta Lobster Fest, there is plenty to do. The good news is that a lot of the organization is cut-and-paste from last year and primarily what we need is many hands to do many very well defined tasks. They range from being a server for a short shift to checking people in to setting up the buffet to cleaning dishes to picking up the pre-ordered food to taking out the trash and recycling after. There is also soliciting donations for the raffle and setting up the AV equipment for the slide show and many other tasks. The key here is that volunteering for this does not mean you have to miss event! Just putting in your oar for a stroke helps us get past the finish line! (How is that for a metaphor?)
Cidertini Post Race Celebration (3 + 1 coordinator)
This is a nice mellow afterparty for the final race of the season – the Cidertini. A nice friendly race with fierce competition and great camaraderie after. What can be easier than mixing drinks, making treats, and trading yarns with fellow boaters on a fall afternoon?
FULLY STAFFED! Thank you!
Fall Work Day, Tent Take Down (12 + 1 Tent Captain trainee)
Always a sad yet fun event marking the very end of the season (except for the Change of Watch Dinner!). Although strength is needed for some things, there is plenty to do that doesn’t require muscle including: winterizing the A-Frame, bringing treats and/or coffee, tidying up after, and trucking the tent to its storage location. We are looking for one person to volunteer to “learn the ropes” of tent dousing so we have a pool of people that can be a tent captain in subsequent years.
Any or All of the Above
If you don’t know when or what you can volunteer for right now, select this option and we will fit you in as the season approaches. Be forewarned: You will be getting email invites to volunteer for every event this spring and summer (at least until you’ve volunteered!).