Unified Cruising Reciprocal Policy for Lake Ontario YCs
The American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) conducted a comprehensive review of reciprocal policies across Lake Ontario. One key outcome of this study is that approximately 75% of yacht clubs in Lake Ontario and the Eastern St. Lawrence now follow a consistent reciprocal policy framework (see definition below).
A number of clubs, however, continue to operate under a “True Reciprocal” policy. Under this approach, a visiting yacht club member is granted the same reciprocal privileges that their home club extends to visiting members.
For example, if a member from Island Yacht Club visits a club operating under a True Reciprocal policy, they would be subject to the same first-night fee that Island Yacht Club charges to its visiting members.
While this model aims to ensure fairness, LOCCA recognizes that True Reciprocal arrangements can be complex to administer. They often require harbour staff to verify and interpret the reciprocal policies of each visiting member’s home club, which can create operational challenges.
Electronic Reciprocal Letters
LOCCA has redesigned their website to include a dedicated section where all YCs can have their reciprocal policies posted. This rids the YCs of the onerous obligation of sending out approximately 60 reciprocal letters per year and receiving and summarizing 60 inbound reciprocal letters.
We estimate that clubs save approximately $500 per year in materials and labour to complete this process. All LOCCA members can contact Ontario Sailing at execdir@ontariosailing.ca for their username and password allowing them to update their YC’s information on the website.
Evergreen Reciprocal Policy
- First 2 nights free
- 3rd night at a fee per foot (i.e. $1.00 per linear foot) or a flat rate
- Up to 5 consecutive nights at any YC.
- No reciprocal privileges will be granted to marinas
- If a marina desires to offer reciprocal privileges then they can do so with other like-minded marinas.
- The number of times a YC member can visit a reciprocal YC will be at the discretion of that YC.
