Inland vs Sea

Lots of clubs in that area are more diverse than you might think.

I have friends who were members at one of those dinghy/cat only clubs, but also owned a yacht in Gosport. It's quite common for people on the coast to be members of more than one club, to cover their interests. My coastal club is 'dinghy only' but I think more than half our Laser fleet either own a yacht of some sort or regularly sail on one. A lot of members of Stokes and Weston seem to live miles away, if you did  live in that Netley to Gosport area, you'd probably keep a yacht in Portsmouth Harbour or up Southampton way, or even on the IoW. It's an exposed coast with only a small harbour at Titchfield Haven? Some would say it's also a fair distance from the actual Sea, which starts at Hurst or the Forts, but that's another conversation.

Conversely, I think some of the 'Floating Caravan' Clubs are reasonably active in dinghies for kids and/or Dayboat racing? I suspect that those which don't offer anything other than yachts or keelboats (squadron, Royal London, Royal Corinthian)....?  aren't really locals' clubs, but some 'owners' will have a third home nearby. The Solent area is a bit different from many coastal areas.