Is HISC the UK's most expensive sailing club to join?

Check out http://www.hisc.co.uk/fees.html - http://www.hisc.co.uk/fees.html  - can anyone beat this?

Is it really worth all that money? What do you think?

I think they are full ... that is why they can charge ...

Maybe not old fashioned but not in the same league as HISC.

Admitidly I woul dnever think of paying that much for HI since last time i was there we had to climb in and ou tof scafolding poles and those poles that you can put extra tension on were holding the roof up.

HISC is in a stunning location and certainly the best dinghy club I've ever been to: and I've been to quite a few. I've done a lot of opens there: great facilities, great sailing water inside and outside the harbour and invariably well-run events. I also used to crew regularly for someone at HISC and if there had been an affordable crewing membership I'd have joined: funnily enough I never did. That was well before the new building: it was always an expensive club. That said, the old clubhouse was falling down and the new one has to be paid for somehow.

For those who want smaller and/or cheaper clubs, well there are half a dozen alternatives around Chichester Harbour.

The old business adage "if your too busy your not charging enough" comes to mind here. Very smart new building, great sailing and if people will pay that much fair play to the club. As Stefan says thers plenty of cheaper clubs around to cater for us Shoe string sailors.

I've never sailed from Itchenor SC but I believe you can launch any time. I'm fairly sure all the other clubs are, as you say, tidal.

How did you find Langstone SC? A long time ago, a friend of mine who was a member was told off for turning up in the changing rooms in sailing gear while there was a social event going on. He was seriously unimpressed by that. I went there a few times and I can't say I found it a very welcoming club, but this was many years ago.

You can get good racing though at clubs on the sea that cost less than £100 to join, as the racing is a result of the enthusiasm of the members. As for the water, it's naturally occurring so doesn't cost anything to maintain, bar a small amount to keep the slipways in good condition etc.

If you compare the cost of it to some of the bigger inland clubs, it is still way higher, and the inland clubs have to pay significant amounts of rent to the water board.

But if there are enough people willing to pay that much, why should the club charge less......

The scottish club I belong to costs around £350 per year for a couple to sail and store their boat there.  I had a long, boring look round to see if that was the most expensive and only found HI to be more.

The club has over 300 members but struggles to get 10 dinghies racing at the weekend.  The committee cannot see why this is so.  Up until this year it charged members more to sail than those who drunk in the bar.  I couldn't quite get my head round being charged a premium to sail at a sailing club

That said it is in a beautiful location with a great clubhouse but there are several clubs that offer dinghy sailing for £100 ish who get 20 boats out week in week out within 1 hours drive.

Like someone said above the enthusiam comes from the members and it seems there are alot of people willing to pay hugh amount to join sailing clubs and not sail

Ever been there Ian? Ever been on Hayling during a southerly or south-easterly gale? If you have, think about why the site, clubhouse and access road, totally exposed to the elements, are unlikely to cost only a "small amount" to maintain.

I've never belonged to HISC but I've belonged to other clubs in the area and I don't know any charging only £100 for membership. Something more like three times that for an adult single membership will be more average. The annual fee is pretty similar to other clubs like Itchenor or CYC: it's the entrance fee that is steep.

They also have a professional secretariat and, I think, a full-time bosun. Whether you think these are worth paying for depends on your earnings and how much free time you have, but it doesn't surprise me that plenty of people are prepared to pay for it.

I'd agree that the clubhouse is very expensive to maintain, mainly due to its size. The site is basically a load of sand and shingle which probably moves around a bit in a storm, but doesn't really need much maintenance.

People must have too much money down there though, try moving far east or far west and you'll easily find sea sailing under £100....

Single Membership Fees:

Brightlingsea - £89

Isle of Sheppey - £96

Great Yarmouth & Gorleston - £95

Porthpean - £70

Ah yes, Porthpean for example. I grew up within walking distance and I'd like to live there now. Almost nobody I knew at school lives around there now. Why? No decent jobs, that's why.

Try Mount's Bay sailing Club.  This from the web site, http://www.mbsc.org - www.mbsc.org

Current annual subscription rates are as follows:

• Single member - £35
• Joint members - £60
• Out of port member - £16
• Junior member - £10

• Single member - £35
• Joint members - £60
• Out of port member - £16

Small additional fees are payable for the use of the dinghy pen and the car park alongside the dinghy pen.

And under 12 year old kids are free when their parents join.

And.. great sailing water ( Int 14 Nationals this year ) and mostly rubbish jobs.

Steve

What is the point of joining fees?

I can see why you would want to encorage people to stay members and not leave for a year every few years but why the penalty for new members? That just puts people off the sport.

You can't have it all! We went to Porthpean late May and we had a wonderful time... at least, if we stayed in the clubhouse  People there were wonderful and the scenery was

GREAT! 

Oh yeah... they said the sailing wasn't bad either

I don't think anyone would dispute Cornwall is a good place to go for your sailing holidays, and it was a lovely place to grow up when making money was my parents' concern, not mine. However it is economically pretty grim, not helped by the fact that large numbers of people buy holiday or retirement homes there, so property is quite expensive even though salaries are low. Most people might think the poorest area in England is somewhere in the NE but it is Cornwall and has been for decades. As I said, I'd like to move back to the W country if I could find a way of earning a reasonable living.

HISC are only applying the fairly well tested laws of supply and demand - you put your prices up until your membership starts decreasing and that's about right, you might have to tinker with it so you retain your optimum level. Up in the North East (and probably the South West) there isn't the customers so most clubs are cheaper than the South Coast and have capacity to spare. It probably vaguely follows house prices.

The thing about HISC is that because of the location they can't expand any further so the maximum number of members at least is fixed. In theory inland clubs could expand if demand was high.

I've never sailed at Hayling but I've been plenty of times to visit mates who are at opens there and although the sailing is supposed to be great, getting on and off the island is a nightmare in the summer and would put me off. Last time I went it took over an hour to get from the club to the mainland on the way home - I could have got home to Southampton in that time with no cars on the road!

But if they are full and charging those prices they must be something right.