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    Posted: 08 Jan 15 at 2:21pm
Originally posted by turnturtle


We don't live in the 70's anymore and no one's heard of Swallows and Amazons.... wooden boats,  wooly jumpers and Douglas Gill spray-suits have their place, just not with newbies and kids imho.  


Worryingly as I have grown older I have found a spot of fresh varnish and a new yellow buoyancy bag or two correctly inflated strangely alluring.

For the record our little Club is self financing, in surplus and I personally do not forsee any need for it in the near future to go cap in hand to Sport England for funding capital projects so I don't see us as a drain on the wider sailing community.

My perception of Lottery funding when it first came on stream was that there was an expectation that Clubs (certainly ours anyway)would have to change their Modus Operandi big time to fit into the Sport England mindset in order for any application to be successful, which then would have been totally unpalatable to us.
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Posts: 2538 		Post Options Post Options   Quote turnturtle Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jan 15 at 1:46pm
Originally posted by Rupert

Or pile them all in an old Mirror on a nice sunny day in shorts and tee shirts (and BAs, I guess) and sail out, anchor and have a picnic.

that works too, if you can ensure the boat rigs up quickly hiccup free, (they don't like standing around) and then guarantee the sunny day when there aren't already loads of other commitments on  LOL
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Posts: 8956 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Rupert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jan 15 at 1:44pm
Or pile them all in an old Mirror on a nice sunny day in shorts and tee shirts (and BAs, I guess) and sail out, anchor and have a picnic.
Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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Posts: 2538 		Post Options Post Options   Quote turnturtle Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jan 15 at 1:26pm
Originally posted by rb_stretch

 

With triplet daughters to contend with I know that I can't afford to buy three sets of proper sailing apparel, so PE kit, BA and thin anorak is probably what mine will be using. 

Wouldn't it be better to de-risk the first few sessions by going to a sailing centre that could provide wetsuits and some Teras or Picos?  

We don't live in the 70's anymore and no one's heard of Swallows and Amazons.... wooden boats,  wooly jumpers and Douglas Gill spray-suits have their place, just not with newbies and kids imho.  
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Posts: 742 		Post Options Post Options   Quote rb_stretch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jan 15 at 12:44pm
Originally posted by turnturtle

 
Whether there will be enough dinghy sailors left to justify all the clubs in this area in say, 20 years will be something we either a) actively manage or b) leave to natural selection. My childrens's school has an active dinghy sailing programme for juniors (Age 7+)- something quite unique in the area - but I can also tell you that most of the children (and parents by association) absolutely hate it- cold, wet and boring are the usual criticisms.... and when you see them head off in the minibus with a big BA over their PE kit and a thin anorak you can't help but empathise.  i'm undecided, well more apprehensive tbh, about whether to 'get involved' when my eldest reaches juniors next year - it could be social suicide given the strength of feeling amongst the other parents and children.  But I can't help but think a change of venue to one with reasonable kit, and possibly a step away from the traditional sailing school approach to more of a T-15 club but with dinghies too, might make it a bit more fun.      


With triplet daughters to contend with I know that I can't afford to buy three sets of proper sailing apparel, so PE kit, BA and thin anorak is probably what mine will be using. That is exactly the kind of kit that I used to have when I first learnt to sail in the late 70s. The difference then was that most boats you sat in rather than on (eg. Mirror) so you got much more natural protection than from the elements. 

I also remember never really going out unless it was nice whether, but nowadays family life seems to have be so pre-planned it is very difficult to change plans. 
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Posts: 2538 		Post Options Post Options   Quote turnturtle Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jan 15 at 12:30pm
Originally posted by ex laser

Do disagree with your last sentence though. My personal experience with different clubs has been that they can be very different.

sorry, I'm not being clear... in anthropological terms it would be highly abnormal for a social group to not sub-divide into cliques and sub-groups.  I don't see Draycote as any different from any other club or society that I have witnessed (indeed 'studied' many moons ago)

 I do agree with you that sailing clubs can carry a different vibe from one another- which may suit one person more than someone else.
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Posts: 8956 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Rupert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jan 15 at 12:21pm
Draycote does sound like a nice place to be. Most clubs do, really, which is, I guess, why my life revolves around sailing.
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Posts: 725 		Post Options Post Options   Quote ex laser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jan 15 at 12:11pm
Glad to hear things are all in hand, James.
Do disagree with your last sentence though. My personal experience with different clubs has been that they can be very different.

Edited by ex laser - 08 Jan 15 at 12:17pm
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Posts: 2538 		Post Options Post Options   Quote turnturtle Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jan 15 at 11:55am
Actually the club made a small profit last year as I understand it... and most of the historic loses occurred with off the water activities.... namely a loss making / subsidised bar, outsourced training, poorly attended opens for classes who weren't represented in membership etc.  Again all revenue streams which have been totally turned around by the current committee.  

It's also not a pay and play club in the full sense (e.g. Whitwell at Rutland) and has recently introduced duty man to streamline the sweat equity each member is oblidged to put into the running of racing (if they use racing).  You cannot windsurf on day tickets at weekends either....  and the windsurfers have histrorically done their own thing regarding working parties etc, which is why there was car park issue a few seasons ago- now resolved satisfactorily imho.

There are of course professional administration and rescue services, both fundamental to deliver a quality of service the membership have come to expect.   The training is back in-house and self financing.  In fact it's a net contributor in fiscal terms and membership gain.  I think I've been clear on the Rescue Facilities (and water management) - they are excellent, professional, friendly, consultative  and combine to make an open water location one of the most benign sailing environments I've ever experienced.    

I have my own views on the duty aspects which don't necessarily fall in line with current policies, (which are designed to encourage volunteerism and that aforementioned 'club spirit') but taken in the round, the club pretty much operates like any other amateur corinthian sailing club - that being a small committee do a lot of hard work for a large membership, and slightly larger core make things happen on week-to-week basis for those who want structured sailing (racing).    

You are quite right- the class racing remains very, very attractive.  The growth in the Laser fleet has been achieved with minimal loses to other classes.  Sure, there's been a slight hit in the handicap racing numbers, the Dart 15 is also a tad responsible there, and it's with regret that some of us didn't stick it with the 300 and make that something more permanent.  There's currently no singlehanded fleet for the guy who has had enough of his Laser sailing...  

But we all live and learn- there's a newish chap heading up the handicap side of things, taking a much more 'come out and play' approach, rather than serious racing; which I think should appeal to some, especially newcomers and returners.  I don't think anyone is deluding themselves that handicap racing is the sharp end of the club offering- if anything, softening it up, making it more accessible is probably the right approach.  The acid test will be come the spring, expecting too much now in the middle of winter is not a good benchmark.  

It's a good patch of water, the best around here anyway.  And I really struggle to find it any more or less cliquey and unfriendly than many other sailing clubs I've visited or been a member of.... they're all much of a muchness I'm afraid, as are most sports and social clubs!


Edited by turnturtle - 08 Jan 15 at 12:11pm
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Posts: 725 		Post Options Post Options   Quote ex laser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jan 15 at 11:43am
Originally posted by turnturtle



Originally posted by getafix

All very English and, well, Corinthian and that, but I can't help thinking we need to be a bit more (hate to say it a bit) Antipodean, or even, deep breath, American, about this and be more ruthless in the long term interests and competitiveness of our sport....so what if it's elitist or not all inclusive, what really is anyhow? I can't think of a single sport.  In the meantime this level playing field funding available to all stuff is just dragging out the death throes and needs knocking on the bonce, IMO

definitely on track for taking the top two posts of 2015....
I do find it amusing to see Draycote positioned as some big, impersonal club.  That might have been the situation 10, maybe 15 years ago; I know when I first walked in there and was essentially turned away because I said I wanted to bring a Lark... 'ooh, we don't sail them round here'.... but really now, it's just the same as any other sailing club with all the same problems many face.... oddly enough, it turned out there would have been no problem with a Lark, I just happened to meet the wrong old giffer at the gates.
However unlike some of the other options, it has the best rescue facilities of any club I know in the UK (was it last year or the year before when the guys breathed life back into a young woman who had become entrapped on her Dad's fireball?).  I've lost count of the financial savings I've had when windsurfing went wrong and there was someone to pick up the bits rather than paddle a board in, rig off downwind to Belgium.....   Try as I might to bitch about the membership fee, every year it has been more or less cost neutral when you factor in everything the guys who run the place do for the members.  
Coupled with the open water experience; a sheltered corner for beginners; cleanish winds (for a puddle); a choice of proper racing or the shandicapping for the eclectic, windsurfing, kayaking and of course, an active youth section, I think it's fair to say it offers the broadest, therefore best spectrum of sailing available in the area.  Other factors like a beautiful country park setting (have you seen the new playground with the childrens cycle track?);  a broad mix of ages and skill levels; first rate training and of course, enough karaoke and quiz night specials for all those who are fond of that sort of butt clenchingly awkward social engagement, I really think its time the old perception of a big, impersonal club died off a bit.  Unlikely to happen though when there's other local clubs snipping in the background with what comes across as nothing more than sour grapes and envy... oh well, what is it they say, survival of the fittest n' all that.    
Sure, I really really wish there was a group of 20+ members identified who were willing to run a consecutive demo on Aeros, Zeros and possibly Blazes... with the sole intention that we bought en masse, using some group purchasing power; I'd even be willing to compromise and have a bog standard colour.  I'm confident that it could even attract new members too- it certainly the case at graham where the D-Zero fleet is pulling in new members eager to get involved.  But pipe dreaming about that doesn't detract from everything else the club offers.
and if I haven't been clear enough, that's catering for anything from Moths, Cats, 49ers right through to fleet racing in Fireballs, 15s, Solos, Lasers, Miracles and a small, but gradually improving handicap fleet for anyone else with some weird or newfangled contraption.  There's also training on tap, informal sailing/training sessions that aren't advertised, an on site chandlery, showers that are professionally cleaned (no 'house' duties!), a new bar and the biggest selling point, 100% rescue cover for when it goes to sh*t with your kids onboard.      
Any other local sailors would be more than welcome to come along... in fact there are a few posters on here I could almost guarantee would be willing to sign you in for a day's racing.  It's not as big and scary as you might think....  



Couldn't agree more James, draycote is a club that's transformed its self in so many ways in recent years. Especially if you want class racing, it's with out equal in the area.

My only concern for it is, can it afford to continue as a pay to play professional type club? It's been a few years since it made a profit, you cannot keep dipping into reserves for ever.

Edited by ex laser - 08 Jan 15 at 11:49am
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