Future of Sailing Clubs...

Big mistake going for social members, we got to exactly that point this summer when the 'cheap Beach Hut by the sea only minutes from town' element voted overwhelmingly to stay put in our constricted old wooden shack and refused to even entertain the possibility of a brand new club with more facilities and boat storage.

Like rs400atC said, you can get meals, social stuff everywhere but somewhere to launch and race boats are fast dilapidating or disappearing.

Edited by iGRF - 06 Mar 17 at 7:06pm

In the UK most (if not all) sailing clubs only allow sailing members to vote. I suppose if enough social members joind as sailors and paid the higher sub they could do just that. Plenty of clubs at the moment though so if it happened at yours or mine we'd have little trouble finding an alternative (or we could do what several yacht clubs did back in the 1800s and start up a new club just around the corner (source - the paper linked to in the first post of this thread).

Edited by Sam.Spoons - 06 Mar 17 at 6:36pm

I'm sure there's a role for clubs that offer a wider social side to those who don't race - and in particular for those who want to sail other than to race. But the danger is that the club can end up being run primarily for the social side and not the sailing. At which point it stops really being a sailing club. I'm sure some clubs manage the balancing act and manage to provide a bar and food and the chance to sail when you want, as well as a more regular sailing program, but it's really only an option open to clubs of a fair size, with a clubhouse in a good location - and I suspect it needs some serious thinking by the senior officers to keep the balance right. There's a club near me that seems to manage it, though I'm not a member since the club at the end of my road suits me well. If the distance issue was different I suspect I would join, and I'd probably enjoy being a member.

I agree with you in part Blueboy, but the topic is about the future of Sailing Clubs, how membership and sailors have diminished, how sailing as a sport will need to change. Whilst my own type of participation in sailing has changed, I dont think I am alone, and that was the point I was making - make your club a "destination" to go to - not just somewhere to store the boat and go racing. It is not the only solution, but I believe it is part of the overall jigsaw puzzle.

Edited by ttc546 - 06 Mar 17 at 2:16pm

After a gap of 20yrs, I returned to dinghy sailing at the beginning of last year. 20+ years ago, I would sail every weekend, either at the club or at various Opens. Sailing was my life and what I did at weekends. It was corinthian and everyone mucked in.