Choosing a club

no worries.....and I am also missing the water.  The boat is in the front garden right now and is the weather stays decent ie no more snow I will be hoping to get to Grafham for a blast! 

No, absolutely right, but I think I was guilty of tunnel vision because I already knew Grafham, plus I was a bit preoccupied by the house move.

I think the thing is that like all things, whether or not you get on at a club is totally dependent on personal tastes.  If you're not too competitive you won't like a club where racing is the be-all and end-all.  Likewise if you're young and outgoing you won't get on at a morris traveller type club (presumbaly, according to grumpf, populated by solo, ent and gp sailors)

What I have found just lately is that there are far more many clubs to choose from than you might first think.  If it weren't for Jeffers I would not have found Hunts, if I hadn't bought a trolley off ebay I would not have found Paxton Lakes.  I have even also found a club on the Cam, also very close to here.  So I might just have joined Grafham and struggled to find spaces for the rest of the fleet.

Above all though I think you just can't judge by appearances or hearsay.  You have to go along and see for yourself, meet some people, look at the facilities, then go to another club and compare.  I've done this this week with looking for a gym and found the best one for my needs.  A sailing club should be the same. 

An offer of a coffee and a bacon butty seems like a great starting point!

 


Edited by GregKI

It does seem that at this time of year many clubs offer cheap winter membership, with either free or reduced boat storage.  They also usually waive the entry fee -  I know Farmoor does this, as do Datchet and Grafham.  A good way in at this time of year, especially for the bigger clubs with higher entry fees.