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The State of Club Sailing

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Rupert View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Rupert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: The State of Club Sailing
    Posted: 30 Jun 15 at 8:07am
Outdoor types maybe don't have the imagination to sail. It takes too long to learn, doesn't involve setting fire to small animals and doesn't make you feel like a survivalist.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jun 15 at 8:38am
That's the voice of a lake sailor!
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Rupert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jun 15 at 8:58am
Well, round the world in a cockleshell is a different matter, that does attract the same kind of people as living off bear and honey in the wilds.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Caveman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jun 15 at 10:26am
Originally posted by davidyacht

My point was that most other sports seem to have officers responsible for developing the sport be it the LTA or the RFU, but I am unaware that any one person does this for dinghy sailing, or if they do exist this is poorly communicated.

Back in the day there was a far greater separation between Dinghy Racing Clubs and Sail Training Organisations, now there is more overlap, personally I am more interested in the health of the former.  As the previous poster indicated, the latter will take care of itself.

I also get the impression that the salt water clubs and the pond type clubs are in better shape than the big reservoir clubs, for the reasons that have arisen at Bewl ... If Bewl were a shop, if you could not afford the rent you would move to smaller premises, not try and trade your way out in a market that is limited in size, personally I could never understand the appeal of Bewl when there is so much good sailing to have close by, and if you want inland sailing clubs like Chipstead and Bough Beech offered a better club vibe.

David, I nearly always agree with your posts but, in this case I think you are too harsh on Bewl. 

If the club facility was a nice shop in a prime pitch but the tenant could not afford the rent then the landlord would have two options. They could find a new tenant (difficult if not quite impossible in this case) or they could negotiate terms for a lower rent with the current tenant. 

I am not about to denigrate other nearby clubs / venues. All I will say is that Bewl offers one of the largest and best areas of inland water for sailing in the South-East of England. In short, Bewl should be one of the most popular inland sailing clubs in the country. I am sure the club will go on in some form or other. That is my last post on the subject. 
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Post Options Post Options   Quote kneewrecker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jun 15 at 10:45am
Originally posted by Caveman

Originally posted by davidyacht

My point was that most other sports seem to have officers responsible for developing the sport be it the LTA or the RFU, but I am unaware that any one person does this for dinghy sailing, or if they do exist this is poorly communicated.

Back in the day there was a far greater separation between Dinghy Racing Clubs and Sail Training Organisations, now there is more overlap, personally I am more interested in the health of the former.  As the previous poster indicated, the latter will take care of itself.

I also get the impression that the salt water clubs and the pond type clubs are in better shape than the big reservoir clubs, for the reasons that have arisen at Bewl ... If Bewl were a shop, if you could not afford the rent you would move to smaller premises, not try and trade your way out in a market that is limited in size, personally I could never understand the appeal of Bewl when there is so much good sailing to have close by, and if you want inland sailing clubs like Chipstead and Bough Beech offered a better club vibe.

David, I nearly always agree with your posts but, in this case I think you are too harsh on Bewl. 

If the club facility was a nice shop in a prime pitch but the tenant could not afford the rent then the landlord would have two options. They could find a new tenant (difficult if not quite impossible in this case) or they could negotiate terms for a lower rent with the current tenant. 

I am not about to denigrate other nearby clubs / venues. All I will say is that Bewl offers one of the largest and best areas of inland water for sailing in the South-East of England. In short, Bewl should be one of the most popular inland sailing clubs in the country. I am sure the club will go on in some form or other. That is my last post on the subject. 

nope the landlord has a third option - change it from conventional retail space and lease it / develop it into something more profitable.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote JimC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jun 15 at 10:48am
Originally posted by kneewrecker

nope the landlord has a third option - change it from conventional retail space and lease it / develop it into something more profitable.

But in this case the Landlord is also a tenant of the water company, and their options for alternative uses are going to be strictly limited. They aren't going to be allowed to set up a power boat racing club for instance.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Rupert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jun 15 at 10:59am
But they can set up a country club based by a lake and build holiday homes all round for those who toil in London all week to relax at. Even throw in some simple to sail boats for those who fancy a drift around. Maybe even have a sailing pro to go with the tennis pro and golf pro.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote transient Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jun 15 at 11:33am
...too many clubs now.

six   five within 17 miles of my front door, Bewl not being an option any more.

My local is .7 of a mile away but I travel to one half an hour away because it has better facilities and can be sailed at any state of tide.

I've lived by the sea all my life and had fancied sailing for many years but I had no clue how to get into it. It all looked a bit mysterious so I forgot about it. Several years ago a friend mentioned an adult sailing course at my current club.

Following the current advertising theme several questions spring to mind:
How come I didn't know more about the local sailing scene earlier? I regularly bought the local paper.
Why do so many clubs rely on word of mouth to advertise their presence/training/taster days?
Is it up to the RYA to advertise for the benefit of club membership numbers?

EDIT.
Perhaps clubs need a new type of club Officer responsible for increasing the membership/advertisement etc.....
We could call them the Impressment  Officer. Sounds reasonably Naval don't ya think? Wink



Edited by transient - 30 Jun 15 at 11:45am
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Woodburner Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jun 15 at 11:44am
Originally posted by transient

How come I didn't know more about the local sailing scene earlier? 
Is it up to the RYA to advertise for the benefit of club membership numbers?


The first point is down to the fact that there is probably nobody in the food chain that will directly profit by promoting that activity in your area, the 'market' lacks structure. If there were or had been more dealers with a sensible margin then maybe they might have advertised their wares and the sport more often.

Secondly nobody at the RYA really sees it as their job to market the sport either, there have been attempts down the years to suggest it, but they view that the numerous commercial organisations here and overseas they have fostered will in effect provide what they need, which is instructor validation, course book & certificate sales, they miss the point that being able once having learned something to continue to do it requires equipment and a place at which to use it.




Edited by Woodburner - 30 Jun 15 at 11:44am
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Post Options Post Options   Quote kneewrecker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jun 15 at 12:18pm
Originally posted by JimC

Originally posted by kneewrecker

nope the landlord has a third option - change it from conventional retail space and lease it / develop it into something more profitable.

But in this case the Landlord is also a tenant of the water company, and their options for alternative uses are going to be strictly limited. They aren't going to be allowed to set up a power boat racing club for instance.

over 90 years on the lease left.... holiday homes seem a viable proposition, despite assurances that they are not connected...

new statement below:



Edited by kneewrecker - 30 Jun 15 at 12:18pm
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