Club membership fees

Crosby, I don't know to what extent you have negotiated with the operator, but if you haven't had specific meetings
with them regarding water access and fees then it's probably time you did. From my direct experience, I know that
organisations like the one you are dealing with are often very ignorant of what dinghy sailors need and what they can
reasonably afford to pay. You may find that if you can present them with the facts regarding what similar sized clubs
are paying and what they get for it, they will rapidly realise that they've been wrong.

If it helps, we pay £320 for a family membership plus £110 for the first boat, and this gets us 364 days a year
sailing on 650 acres with professionally run rescue facilities, catering and bar. The club fees include the club
purchasing, running and maintaining rescue RIBs, committee boats etc. All we have to do by way of voluntary services
is the OOD duty.

So your deal sounds a bit duff considering that those fees are presumably before your club starts buying and running
rescue boats, committee boats etc.

Your operator (being a charity rather than a money grubbing plc) will probably be reasonable if they can be made to
understand that your club can't really function if they demand that much cash.

Good luck with it.

Originally posted by crosby mafia We have a new £8 million building, to replace our old clubhouse ( council owned ). It is to be run by a charity ,it has access for persons with disablities, accomodation rooms, restaurant, wet cafe shared clubroom with other watersports clubs. Classrooms etc. We are to be asked £400 a year for a family of four + £100 boat berthing per boat.

That's roughly comparable to Hayling Island SC. It's not inconceivable that members will pay that, for a very good professionally-run club with the best facilities, great sailing waters and great racing. But.....

There will be a users forum to decide who get to use the lake and when, so racing may not happen on Sundays as we did.

You've got to be kidding. Top-flight prices but I can't sail some Sundays?

Edited by Stefan Lloyd

If I was going to pay that much, I'd want access to the club facilities and
water EVERY DAY at the very least. I pay £70 a year for that privelage as it
is.
As far as I'm concerned, water is what I like to think of as one of the very few
freedoms in the world, so I wouldn't join anywhere that would restrict when
I can be out sailing.

Doug H

As well as comparing other local sailing club's fees, I would also look into the other local sports club's fees (rowing, canoe etc.).  As an ex rower, the rowing club fees look very cheap to me. 
Most rowing clubs supply boats and equipment for members to use as part of the membership (at least for crew boats - doubles, fours and eights) .  Sailors generally have to provide all their own kit - perhaps some invalid assumptions have been made in the pricing?

My old rowing club charges £290 per year for an adult and £155 for a junior (family £600)
My sailing club charges £105 for a family (but the clubhouse is not as impressive).

Its easy to say, hard to do. The building was owned by the council who let it run down, then got grants to re develop the whole area. They will soon have a new prefered 'charity' who will run the whole thing, handed over on a peppercorn rent. We had no choice and had the lease terminated and moved in to a portacabin in a car park.

Things have been rattled within the council, my latest letter from the council CEO to the man at the charity states " there must be a misunderstanding re fees", how handed out at a meeting on a paper with tarrifs written on, that ain't no misunderstanding !!

We've got to stick and try to persuade a lower cost. I want a Southern coast style club at realistic Northern prices.