Alternative to sailing clubs?

Originally posted by davidyacht

Originally posted by davidyacht

I also found during lockdown that I did not really need the benefits of being a member of a club in order to go sailing, however I am looking forward to getting back to club racing soon, as well as drinking a beer from a barrel with my mates.
My concern for your plan is that if we all do it the club structure will collapse, resulting in no club racing, no open meetings and no championships.  Bit like nomadic sailors who enter competitions as RYA but make no contribution to the infrastructure that they take advantage of.  

Also many clubs are sitting in really nice locations with good access to the water, and if these fail, then the sites will get redeveloped and those stretches of water will be lost forever to the dinghy community.

Good points - having a few beers on the beach or at a nearby pub does not require a sailing club to exist and frankly, I probably prefer drinking outside of most sailing clubs which tend to be rather dead socially. However - I do take your point that being a member helps maintain an infrastructure that we all need for opens and championships to take place. Perhaps under my vision some of these current clubs might transition to being boat storage rather than sailing clubs - people will still need somewhere to keep their boats after all  