Clubs.
Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: Dinghy classes
Forum Name: Dinghy development
Forum Discription: The latest moves in the dinghy market
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11973
Printed Date: 08 Jul 25 at 7:43pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Clubs.
Posted By: Woodburner
Subject: Clubs.
Date Posted: 21 Apr 15 at 6:58pm
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I've just got back from a trip up to Hunts, and I have to say what a delightful place that club is, I've travelled up that end of the M11 hundreds of times over the years on countless trips to Grafham, but nothing until now has ever given me a) cause to drive by that delightful town St Ives and the picturesque view up the river, nor b) to visit that club. OK it was a bright sunny spring day, but nonetheless what a pleasant location for a sailing club, just off a major roundabout, easy access, population centre nearby and a fair sized piece of water.
Got to get a highly recommended that one.
Not to mention Vanessa organising her most hated web warrior a cup of tea..
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Replies:
Posted By: NickA
Date Posted: 21 Apr 15 at 9:40pm
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My first ever go in a sailing boat (a GRP Ent called Zonda) was at what I guess was the original Hunts SC when it was on the Ouse at Hartford. Boy, were we glad when Grafham opened for business!
... having said which, there is indeed something special about small, member run clubs for which a vast area of windy water doesn't always compensate. And if someone had persuaded Redland Quarries to join all those gravel pits together - there'd be a lake bigger than Grafham.
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Javelin 558
Contender 2574
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Posted By: jeffers
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 8:50am
Originally posted by NickA
My first ever go in a sailing boat (a GRP Ent called Zonda) was at what I guess was the original Hunts SC when it was on the Ouse at Hartford. Boy, were we glad when Grafham opened for business!
... having said which, there is indeed something special about small, member run clubs for which a vast area of windy water doesn't always compensate. And if someone had persuaded Redland Quarries to join all those gravel pits together - there'd be a lake bigger than Grafham. |
Correct the original base for the club was on the Houghton Whale (which is now mainly Hartford Marina). The club sold that site some years ago after it was decided that we would never return to there as a base.
As for the gravel pits, nice idea except that some are very shallow and there is a small thing called the Cambridge Busway that now goes through it.
To be fair if we were bigger than Grafham one of the club would struggle to survive. part of the attraction of Hunts and the lake is the fact that it is smaller than Grafham so perceived to be a safer and less scary place for your kids to learn (although my youngest is now champing at the bit to go sailing at Grafham).
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Paul
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D-Zero GBR 74
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Posted By: Woodburner
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 9:15am
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I know which one I'd join if I lived up there, even if it is patrolled by Brienne of Tarth, don't get me wrong Grafham is a great club and the water extensive, but Hunts has just that bucolic welcome and certainly a more tactical water for the sort of 'interesting' sailing that close quarter single handers enjoy.
Grafham is big, littered with Cats, always some open meeting or other going on, I imagine you could rock up there, sail, change and speak to or know no-one other than those who came with you. Whereas Hunts you'd quickly be part of something.
Just a feeling I get, although the new Commodore at Grafham is certainly shaking the tree there, so I guess it depends on what sort of boat you want to sail, 3 sails and your hair on fire aint exactly going anywhere at Hunts, it must be the onset of age.
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Posted By: turnturtle
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 9:39am
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I wouldn't write off Grafham completely.... despite the 'big unfriendly lake' moniker they seem friendly enough to get a new fleet of *eros off the ground- no mean feet. And maintain some excellent racing for asymmetrics, cats and Lasers etc. Their winter event is the BEST in the SJ series by a country mile imho and they have put a lot back into the sailing community hosting all manner of training camps, open meetings and inland championships over the years.
There's also a guy who has intermittently raced a board against dinghies and been welcomed to do so - as have I at our 'big unfriendly club', that just happens to cater for anything from open meeting grade class racing to a menagerie of pretty much anything else you can squeeze on to the water.
And by stating this I'm not knocking the efforts of those involved in smaller operations- quite the contrary.... horses for courses, different strokes for different folks etc. But I know which one I would join if I lived over there, and it would probably be the one where I wouldn't feel like an outsider because I left my wife and kids at home doing what they actually wanted to do with their free time, rather than playing lip service to my own selfish pursuits, or worse, on 'galley duty' with the other lesser-WAGs like something from the 1950s.
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Posted By: JohnJack
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 9:41am
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We did an Open at Grafham two seasons back. We found it a cold, soulless, unwelcoming, unfriendly place and would probably not go back.
In comparison we went to Carsington in the same year and found it very warm, friendly and with a great feel to the place.
I have been to quite a few clubs, and admittedly find the member ran clubs a bit more invested in visitors. Staunton, Pennine, Notts County, Papercourt, Frensham Pond, Elton, Budworth, Both Southport Clubs, West Kirby just to name a few (they all tend to allow you to through a tent up as well, which makes it easier).
Datchet had a very modern feel to it, I kind of liked the place however the wind was pretty torrid, but the novelty of ducking under jumbo's from Heathrow was a bit strange
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Posted By: Woodburner
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 9:52am
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I have the same feeling of Grafham, spent the entire winter of '78 up there training, dinghy's were still in their hey day it was still a relatively new club back then, but all that time,at the end of it I hadn't met and got to know anyone other than the folk I was training with, oh and maybe the bar guy. Then again I suppose you can say that about most of the big clubs, but Hayling, which is the other monster just seems a bit more accommodating, they do at least take you money with a smile and maybe a chat, just Grafham there never seems to be anyone, except on that demo day I did with RS and Rodney, the commodore guy did show up for that for a bit. You kind of expect Sailing Clubs to be up their own dark places, so it's to be expected, which is why when you come across the Hunts and Broxbournes of this world you're pleasantly surprised
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Posted By: turnturtle
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 10:02am
Originally posted by Woodburner
I have the same feeling of Grafham, spent the entire winter of '78 up there training...
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so your entire opinion is based on experiences in 1978? ... long memory, but you are not alone in the 'big unfriendly' perception.
I remember being told that about Grafham in the early 90's, I almost believed it too for a while.... oddly they were unfriendly and unwelcoming enough to let 100 or so kids access to their water, use of their rescue facilities, hot showers and decent catering. We also kipped in their club house, drank ourselves stupid on smuggled-in booze and still 'welcomed' us back, year after year.
How very unwelcoming of them..... and no, I was not in a youth squad, this was just 'regional training'- a pooling of local club sailors who did the odd open or two. Ironically the youth squad were training at the same time as us... they also got access to all of these facilities. I wouldn't want to count how many medals and podiums were reached, in part, as a result of clubs like Grafham providing these vital services in the middle of winter when coastal sailing shuts down.
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Posted By: jeffers
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 10:03am
Originally posted by Woodburner
You kind of expect Sailing Clubs to be up their own dark places, so it's to be expected, which is why when you come across the Hunts and Broxbournes of this world you're pleasantly surprised |
Pleased you liked the club Grumpf. You would be more than welcome to come visit and have your *rse handed to you by the fledgling D-Zero fleet any time you like....
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Paul
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D-Zero GBR 74
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Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 10:25am
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I've never found Grafham unfriendly. But cold? Grief yes, as soon as the air sees that particular reservoir it seems to get an extra 10 degrees of wind chill...
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Posted By: Woodburner
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 10:49am
I wouldn't exactly go as far as to say 'unfriendly' there's a big difference between the two ends, but municipal would probably best describe it, neutral and tolerant. '78 was the first time I've been up there dozens of times at lots of events all through the eighties, nineties and a few noughties, I also used to have to visit a customer I had there over the years. Silliest thing they did was refuse kites, it was a big enough piece of water to get kites on.
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Posted By: Steve411
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 10:57am
Originally posted by JimC
I've never found Grafham unfriendly. But cold? Grief yes, as soon as the air sees that particular reservoir it seems to get an extra 10 degrees of wind chill... |
That's exactly the reason we decided to forgo Grafham for our Winters this year and head off to a smaller club instead. Winters they may be but you can overdo the windchill at times. Grafham in the summer can be outstanding though.
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Steve B
RS300 411
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Posted By: turnturtle
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 11:16am
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can't argue with that- it's always feckin' cold there in winter!!!
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Posted By: Dougal
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 11:25am
Originally posted by JimC
I've never found Grafham unfriendly. But cold? Grief yes, as soon as the air sees that particular reservoir it seems to get an extra 10 degrees of wind chill... |
Yes, spot on!
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What could possibly go wrong?
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Posted By: gordon1277
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 11:48am
First 505 world qualifiers used to at Grafham there in April and it was always freezing compared to the south coast.
Club was good unless you parked in the wrong place!
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Gordon
Lossc
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Posted By: jeffers
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 12:20pm
Everywhere is cold compared to the south coast. When I did the Activate launch event at WPNSA the water was very warm and it was shorty wetsuit conditions on the water. the next day at Grafham it was drysuit and thermals weather!
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Paul
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D-Zero GBR 74
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Posted By: winging it
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 12:21pm
I am a member of Hunts and Grafham. Hunts is my preferred club for instructing, because the water is safe and rarely gets too breezy for sailing. I joined Grafham to supposedly race my faster boats and because the size of the water is perfect for training, plus there is supposedly safety cover every day. My membership is now due and I'm considering not rejoining because the safety cover doesn't live up to expectations when you need it most, and the asymmetric fleet barely ever reaches double figures.
It is the usual story of there being plenty of boats in the boat park, but they are never all on the water at the same time. They cannot achieve the critical mass which would ensure good turn out every week, and no one seems to have taken any initiative to resolve this. A shame.
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the same, but different...
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Posted By: tickel
Date Posted: 22 Apr 15 at 11:10pm
Sailing this evening as the sun set over Whaley Moor, then the pub. I cannot imagine anything better.....
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tickel
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Posted By: patj
Date Posted: 23 Apr 15 at 6:39am
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Hunts was voted Inland Nationals Venue of the year recently because of the friendly welcome and hospitality and close racing they gave the cvrda and it's well deserved. I'm sorry we have to miss this year's event, but anyone with a pre-1985 boat of a classic class (pre 1965) should go to Hunts for the 2nd and 3rd of May (shameless event plug). If you aren't sure you qualify, contact Nessa (Winging It).
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Posted By: laser4000
Date Posted: 28 Apr 15 at 9:06pm
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I went to Notts County SC for the first time just after for the BUCS / BUSA Team Championships (sadly I was an organiser rather than competitor)
blown away by what a great club it is, super friendly welcome, real 'hands-on' officials, clearly quite progressive and struck me as it'd be a great place to race if I lived a little closer. The Uni club did themselves proud too, put on a good event.
definitely worth a visit if your looking for a club around that area.
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Posted By: NickA
Date Posted: 05 May 15 at 5:10pm
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... and a mention here for Middle Nene Sailing Club in Thrapston, Northamptonshire. Lovely friendly club with a huge grass rigging and launching area and on site camping. The water area isn't huge, but it's big enough for 6 Javelins to have a lot of fun and has local fleets of Flying Fifteens and RS200s (at least).
What's more, entry fees were £20 a boat and the evening curry a fiver!!!! Compare that to Rutland.
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Javelin 558
Contender 2574
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Posted By: Noah
Date Posted: 05 May 15 at 6:33pm
Do you still have to rig up on the 'wrong' side of the water if you're visiting Middle Nene? I seem to recall doing this and sailing across to the boat park / clubhouse area about a zillion years ago...
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Nick
D-Zero 316
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Posted By: jeffers
Date Posted: 06 May 15 at 7:03am
I remember sailing on Middle Nene when they still had the gravel bar at the top end of the lake.....
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Paul
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D-Zero GBR 74
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Posted By: NickA
Date Posted: 15 May 15 at 10:14pm
There are indeed some shallow spots, but that adds to the fun.
.. and you can now drive to the boat park and launch area.
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Javelin 558
Contender 2574
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