Ways the RYA corporation has failed your club.
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=12380
Printed Date: 07 Jul 25 at 10:10pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Ways the RYA corporation has failed your club.
Posted By: iGRF
Subject: Ways the RYA corporation has failed your club.
Date Posted: 06 May 16 at 9:44am
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I think it's time for a bit more RYA bashing.. Since today my local paper carried a double page spread for push the boat out, something our training guys diligently pursue each year and once again locally we're tied in with the Hythe Festival offering taster courses and the like.
Needless to say every other commercial club/sailing corporation is featured whereas the two genuine local clubs, us and the Redoubt? No mention. Will we be asked to take it up with them? Even if we did what would the jobsworths worry? It's such a shame such a fine body that stood for so long as an amateur committee lead body many of us have served on and supported over the years ,is now just another business with all the incumbent inefficiency such organisations often descend into when employees become transient and or lack the basic enthusiasm for the pursuit in which they are involved. Morning Rant over.. ------------- https://www.corekite.co.uk/snow-accessories-11-c.asp" rel="nofollow - Snow Equipment Deals https://www.corekite.co.uk" rel="nofollow - New Core Kite website |
Replies:
Posted By: davidyacht
Date Posted: 06 May 16 at 10:41am
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Although I often am inclined to take a poke at the RYA, they can offer a lot, but clubs don't know what is on offer or don't ask. And in some cases the general club membership are unaware that their Flag Officers, Committee or Secretariate have not engaged with what is on offer. It might be worth your club touching base with your regional RYA rep to find out how the RYA can help. The RYA also send out an e-letter to club officers which many are oblivious to. It would be interesting to run a thread that does not malign the RYA but asks, what could the RYA do to improve dinghy racing that it is not doing now? There is a chance that they might notice though probably best not to turn it into a PY thread. My personal beef with the RYA is that there is no national scheme to get good coaching to those that are older than 21 or are neither disabled or Olympic aspirants. As a class within a club we have employed coaches directly and this has been very well received. The RYA should facilitate this to keep regular middle aged sailors engaged with the sport. Of course this might already be available but might be poorly communicated. ------------- Happily living in the past |
Posted By: RS400atC
Date Posted: 06 May 16 at 7:52pm
+1. Some classes provide some coaching, but it seems to depend on the goodwill of a small number of individuals. There are not all that many people who are good coaches IMHO, and most of them are very busy people with jobs and their own sailing. I'm very grateful to those who have put effort into RS 400 coaching. I guess it would be quite expensive if someone of such calibre was doing it to pay the mortgage? |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 06 May 16 at 9:41pm
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Those coaches are usually RYA trained. Why should you expect to get them free, when you are pursuing a hobby? Kids are lucky, sailability enabling and the Olympics funded by money that would never be made available to middle-aged weekend sailors. Whether the Olympic money would be better spent elsewhere is certainly open to debate, but I'd suggest that spending it all on us isn't better spending. ------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: davidyacht
Date Posted: 06 May 16 at 11:05pm
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I don't expect coaches to be free, just that the availability of good coaching should be facilitated ... If you golf you engage a pro to improve your game, if you ski you can engage a ski instructor to improve your technique, yet I have only engaged sailing coaches in my 50's on our class/club initiative. I have learnt more in the last 5 years than in the previous 30 due to coaches and a more analytical approach to my sailing. I wish I had known then what I know now ... And I wish that this had been facilitated by the RYA. ------------- Happily living in the past |
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 06 May 16 at 11:32pm
| Club coach scheme? |
Posted By: Bootscooter
Date Posted: 07 May 16 at 12:15am
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http://www.rya.org.uk/coursestraining/coachestrainersinstructors/racecoaches/Pages/Howtobecomearacingcoach.aspx
------------- |
Posted By: Dougaldog
Date Posted: 07 May 16 at 9:21am
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We've now two very similar threads running at the same time - comments made on one are equally valid on t'other. To me it just seems crazy that the RYA will leap through hoops for Youth, Disabled, Olympic and any other subset, but they can seem oblivious to the needs of the great unwashed grassroots. There are a lot of very vocal apologists for this, I can hear the shouts at "look at what they have done for us" from here but in terms of providing some support, direction and understanding, the disconnect between the organisation and the every weekend aspect of the sport is highlighted, as has been said, by the magazine. When did you last see anything containing critical comment in the mag? ------------- Dougal H |
Posted By: zippyRN
Date Posted: 07 May 16 at 6:38pm
and Clubs, RTEs and Class associations have no accountability in this ?
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Posted By: Daniel Holman
Date Posted: 07 May 16 at 7:56pm
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What exactly have the Romans ever done for us!? |
Posted By: iiiiticki
Date Posted: 07 May 16 at 11:21pm
| ...a fair bit of torture and enslavement, but it got things done. |
Posted By: Late starter
Date Posted: 08 May 16 at 4:11pm
| In my experience those clubs that have made an effort to engage with the RYA have got more from it than those who sit back and wait. The Regional Development Officers are pretty good at aiming clubs at training and grants etc, but there aren't many of them around so those clubs that ask/cajole/build relationships etc with the RYA do better than those that don't. |
Posted By: davidyacht
Date Posted: 08 May 16 at 4:23pm
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I think that was why I started the other thread, I think that the OP is wrong in his assertion because the RYA does a lot of positive stuff, however it is not very good at communicating what it does and can do. There is also more that it could do to help the aspirations of grass roots club sailors who do not fit the Olympic, Youth or Disabled template at a sporting level. The alternative thread was intended to identify how it could go about addressing this percieved weakness. ------------- Happily living in the past |
Posted By: iGRF
Date Posted: 08 May 16 at 8:04pm
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Well as the OP, the point I was trying to make was that a)The RYA is too corporate and b)Is ridiculously inefficient and c)lacks accountability so if you want to wax poetic about all the good things it does, then use the other thread, this one is designed to extract the bad stuff and there is plenty of it, even at Olympic level, my nephew being prevented from going to Rio to sail for Ireland being one particular case to point, they don't want him but they won't let anyone else have him, his crime? He sought coaching elsewhere, much much better coaching at that. ------------- https://www.corekite.co.uk/snow-accessories-11-c.asp" rel="nofollow - Snow Equipment Deals https://www.corekite.co.uk" rel="nofollow - New Core Kite website |
Posted By: jeffers
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 7:44am
It is, speak to your local RDO they can provide you with a list of local coaches. Get a group of 10-15 of you together and the coach cost comes out around £20-£25 a head. All you then need to do is make sure your club is happy to host a coaching event. The other way is to get the 'top' sailors at your club to offer coaching down the fleet, this works really well as people may take advice from someone they know is better than them rather than an outsider... ------------- Paul ---------------------- D-Zero GBR 74 |
Posted By: jeffers
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 7:45am
So join up and go to the AGM and raise your concerns.... ------------- Paul ---------------------- D-Zero GBR 74 |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 8:06am
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That the RYA represents so many disparate and even conflicting water users is certainly a concern that I have. That dinghy sailing appears to rank low in their concerns overall as an organisation is also something to worry us. However, the vast majority of the people I have met who's job is to promote grass roots sailing are passionate about it. There just aren't enough of them to be able to do all the legwork. Try going to them, lay out what it is you actually want support from the RYA for, and see what happens.
Actually knowing what you want, barring a good whinge, could be an issue, of course, judging by this thread. Personally, I think the government has got its funding model for sport totally screwed up, simply because they like the reflected glory of gold medals. That the RYA milk this isn't surprising. Shame that that particular gravy train can't be derailed enough for more funding for sailing club background support, so more people would be available at a reasonable price to help out middle-aged men in neoprene. As a coach/instructor, it would certainly suit me. ------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: iGRF
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 10:35am
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Well like it sounds like lots of others, I have been an almost life long member of the RYA, and like others served voluntarily on committees back in the day, so as it became more corporate and commercial one begins to wonder why I/we/you worked for nothing whilst others get paid for doing it often very wrongly.
So why would you continue to contribute to the payrole of some thing so badly deranged that physically acts contrary to your leisure interests? ------------- https://www.corekite.co.uk/snow-accessories-11-c.asp" rel="nofollow - Snow Equipment Deals https://www.corekite.co.uk" rel="nofollow - New Core Kite website |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 11:01am
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I'm in this position every Wednesday. I get paid to take people sailing, while many others are there as volunteers. The answer as far as I'm concerned is that I'm offering a skilled service, and if there wasn't payment, I'd have to be working elsewhere in order to get by. Surely the same applies to the paid employees of the RYA? Trouble comes when they aren't worth the money, of course, or offering value for money. Then volunteers get really peeved off. ------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: Late starter
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 11:37am
I can sort of get that there could be an inherent conflict of interest, aspiration or whatever between volunteers at individual club and class level and paid employees of the RYA, such as the RDOs. But on the other hand quite a few of my pals over the years have ended up working for boat builders, sail makers, chandlers, commercial sailing schools, and even the RYA. And I guess the reason they do that is because they are sailing nuts like the rest of us, and have looked to widen their participation in the sport into their work as well as leisure environments. So I value their contribution, I don't particularly want to work in the sport myself (can't afford to for one thing) but I don't have a problem with those that do. The challenge is to engage the "paid" types (RDOs, professional coaches etc) without de-motivating club and class volunteers, as IMHO they all have a role to play. |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 12:20pm
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The remits of the RYA and World Sailing are not that closely aligned.
From the WS website: World Sailing is responsible for: • the promotion of the sport internationally; • managing sailing at the Olympic and Paralympic Games; • developing the Racing Rules of Sailing and regulations for all sailing competitions; • the training of judges, umpires and other administrators; • the development of the sport around the world; and • representing the sailors in all matters concerning the sport. The principle members of World Sailing are the 'Member National Authorities' (MNAs) and the 'Class Associations'. From the RYA website: The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is the national body for all forms of boating, including dinghy and yacht racing, motor and sail cruising, RIBs and sports boats, powerboat racing, windsurfing, canal and river boat cruising, and personal watercraft. I think it is right and proper that the RYA do represent all forms of boating, however it is clear that the RYA is not a national equivalent of WS, and I wonder if it would be beneficial for such an organisation to exist in parallel with the RYA. e.g. UK Sailing is responsible for: • the promotion of the sport nationally; • managing sailing at National Championships; • developing the regulations and NORs for sailing competitions; • the training of judges, umpires and other administrators; • the development of the sport around the country; and • representing the sailors in all matters concerning the sport. The principle members of UK Sailing are the Clubs and the Class Associations. What this means in practice is a body that co-ordinates the activities of the clubs and classes so that there is clarity and structure to the season, events don't have a calendar clash, status is bestowed upon certain events, smaller classes can 'buddy up' to get economies of scale, etc. I would also like to see an effort to increase the number of less competitive, mass participation events, the equivalent of fun runs of cycling sportives, where the majority enter for the fun of the challenge, rather than endless triangles in back-to-back racing. |
Posted By: realnutter
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 12:40pm
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The RYA doesn't appear to cover canoeing... The BCU does that instead... A strange historic quirk, or smart thinking by the canoeists? |
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 1:14pm
Basically historical quirk. The earlier sporting national authorities weren't generally top down creations, but tended to coalesce from local and regional ones. The Canoe Club was founded in 1866, and became the Royal Canoe Club in 1874. At this stage there was no distinction between paddlers and sailors, and what they did was quite different to what went on with the Royal Yacht Squadron for example. The Yacht Racing Association was founded in 1874 and was a sort of umbrella for yachting clubs, small sailboat racing scarcely existed other than the canoes. The Royal Canoe Club tended to be basically a regional organisation as it still is, although it had some influence (but not authority) over other regional Canoe Clubs. The British Canoe Union was set up in 1936 to create a National team for the Olympics. The Yacht Racing Association was mainly concerned with yachts, but steadily moved down in size so that by the 20s it encompassed what is now the International 14, but I'm not sure there was much international small boat racing before that other than the Canoes. A parallel UK sailing to the RYA doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Turf wars! |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 1:17pm
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Doesn't cover rowing, either.
British canoeing, as it is now, dates from 1936, the Yacht Racing Association from 1875. I think Canoes were beneath their notice,though. ------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: iiiiticki
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 1:46pm
Yes Rupert. I agree.
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Posted By: Presuming Ed
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 2:06pm
Absolutely. Who would affiliate to WS? But who would lobby government? Looks like I would just have to joint 2 organisations. Don't see the point. Why (for example) hive the race officials department off to a separate organisation?
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 2:37pm
| It wouldn't be a rival organisation, it could even be an RYA department, though I doubt they would want it. Rivalling the RYA would be doomed to fail, but clearly the RYA takes a laissez faire attitude to non Olympic/Youth dinghy racing and I think they may welcome the support so that they can focus on the big picture. |
Posted By: iGRF
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 3:00pm
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When we were talking about an organisation to look after the interests of Handicap racers, it occurred to me said organisation could well if it chose so to do, affiliate to the RYA if guilt needed to be assuaged, so the same could occurr to UK sailing, the fact is the more 'they' let a vacuum spread, the more likely something would come along to fill it. ------------- https://www.corekite.co.uk/snow-accessories-11-c.asp" rel="nofollow - Snow Equipment Deals https://www.corekite.co.uk" rel="nofollow - New Core Kite website |
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 3:04pm
And they could call it, say, the "Racing department", and have alongside it other departments like "Cruising", "Training", "Powerboat Racing" and "Legal"? |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 3:15pm
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The different departments may well be one of the issues with the RYA. Things fall down the gaps between them, I think. Training is pretty well sorted at clubs for beginners. I've been race coaching for years, but rarely run an actual RYA racing course. Class associations, often with RYA support in the background, run training days, but for the great unwashed, non travelling handicap sailing generation, the reliance is on clubs helping out. Racing and Training departments within the RYA could maybe do more to show how they are working together outside the squad systems. Or maybe I should just ask my RDO! ------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 4:19pm
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If the RYA (Racing dept) did the job I want, then events like the Endeavour, the Sailjuice series, Sailfest etc would have been their idea, not left to enterprising individuals to make happen and other events like the BM, the Round Sheppey, POSH, Camel Week etc would be endorsed and promoted by the RYA. Indeed websites like Sailracer and even this forum need not exist if a single, dedicated, authority managed and supported the sport properly.
We need a website, preferably an official one from our governing body, that lists events, provides race news, allows coaches to advertise, lists winners of major (endorsed?) events, etc. Drive traffic to the website and then you can communicate with and enthuse your audience. Is there an official RYA attendance at any event outside of Youth and Olympic class events? Perhaps they could offer half price entry to the Solo Inlands with the membership fee, thereby influencing people to drop the Europe, Byte, Lightning etc and avoiding the need to generate pesky PY numbers for them ;-) This relates only to the sport side of sailing. The RYA probably does a fine and dandy job of supporting clubs with grants, qualifying sailing schools and establishing best practise instructing methods. These are vital activities that support sailing, but are not related (directly) to racing. Maybe "UK Sailing" is little more than a lobby group, representing disparate groups of clubs and classes to the RYA in a unified manner – united we stand and all that – representing enough people that the RYA listen to it and take it seriously. Or perhaps it does actually take on aspects of work that the RYA does, or should do. |
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 4:45pm
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That sort of prescriptive, top down, authoritarian approach sounds like my idea of hell! I don't want the RYA turning up at my class Champs and telling us we're doing it wrong, or saying that unless you're on such and such a list you're not allowed to call your Nationals a National champs and all that sort of nonsense...
I reluctantly accept that in the current ambulance chasing journo and lawyer environment we've got to accept a lot more prescription in how we run training than there used to be, but apart from Olympic classes and pathway youth classes I like it just fine that the RYA stays out unless we specifically ask them in. |
Posted By: Presuming Ed
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 4:48pm
| All sounds impressively stalinist to me, but i can't really see a point? |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 5:34pm
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I think you are probably the first person ever to call me Stalinist! I'm not saying other resources should be closed, merely that an organisation that is well run should be able to, well, organise and communicate. Doesn't sound too radical to me. I guess if you think that the sport is already as well run and supported as it could be though, then indeed there would be little point.
I personally wouldn't mind at all if there was some sort of qualification about what could be deemed a National championship. It wouldn't need to be as rigid as a committee selecting classes, it could be that over 30 entries are required, or more than 100 boats exist, or more than 5 clubs are represented etc. Not much too ask to maintain the value and prestige for more competitve Nationals. |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 9:19pm
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Do the RYA sue you if you call your event a Nationals, then? ------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 09 May 16 at 10:32pm
| No, they just stop giving you a PY number and charge you more for a Dinghy Show stand! |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 7:36am
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Peaky, flippant comment last night aside, I mostly agree on the National Champion thing. Revamp the National classes. If you are champ of one of those, or a international class which is sailed in the UK, then you are a National Champion. If not, you sail in the Class Championships, and you are Class Champion. I am proud to be Minisail Class Champion, embarrassed to be Minisail National Champion! ------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 8:58am
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I appreciate that Jim, PE etc do not want to be dictated to as to what they can sail, when or where. And that was not my suggestion. However, the current system sees the governing body take no interest or role whatsoever in organising, endorsing or promoting the events we take part in. Is that normal in other sports?
Leaving it all to the free market to figure out what works and what doesn't is all well and good, but it does lead to fragmentation and lack of clarity, which makes accessibility difficult. I would just like the RYA to take the best ideas and give them some official support. |
Posted By: blueboy
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 9:00am
I can think of one that does that, somewhat close to home for this forum. Why do you think the RYA should compete with it? |
Posted By: davidyacht
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 9:39am
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The National class scheme could do this, but it requires an overhaul and for RYA Technical to work with RYA Racing, but of course they are diferent cost centres, and there are pensions to pay for ... ------------- Happily living in the past |
Posted By: Presuming Ed
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 11:18am
When I was rowing, the ARA (as it was then) only organised one regatta a year - the nat champs. Everything else was done by clubs. The calendar was mostly a result of history: in the run up to Henley, the big regattas would always be on the same respective weekends. E.g. (IIRC) Marlow 2 weeks before Henley, Metropolitan 1st weekend of June etc. And if I was a (say) Solo sailor, I don't see why I should have any interest in the Fireball open circuit. But the one thing I do know is that databases/calendars like that take a significant amount of maintenance, best done by the most interested parties - the class associations, and without that will probably be less than rigorously up to date E.g. the British Rowing website calendar seems to have no events listed within 70 miles of London for June. Shome mishtake shurely?
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Posted By: Presuming Ed
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 11:21am
Minor difficulty in that you would only know if your event qualified as a nationals at the event, when everybody's turned up. Might matter, might not. But I do think that nationals should be a big thing.
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Posted By: Chris 249
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 11:40am
Well said.
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Posted By: Chris 249
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 11:43am
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Obviously I'm not as cluey as you guys about the RYA, but in several of my old books from the '50s and '60s there's evidence that the RYA once did the sort of things Peaky would like to see. Although there are obvious issues with such centralised control, maybe it was one reason the sport was doing better then? I seem to recall that the RYA fixtures list was only for the National classes. Perhaps an "opt in" system where becoming a National class means giving up some measure of control to the National body would work these days?
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Posted By: Presuming Ed
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 12:07pm
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Yup, used to be that only National classes could hold nationals. National 12, National Hornet etc. I suppose there is also a copyright issue too. Nobody has copyright on the phrase 'National Championships'. So how to enforce? " RYA National Championships" I suppose. See WS Worlds.
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Posted By: RS400atC
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 2:08pm
Just to be clear, are you UK Champion or merely All England? Well done anyway! I think it's fine for even small classes to have one meeting in the year designated as their championships. Lots of sports have national rankings of obscure disciplines and age/weight categories. It's when your local paper starts calling you 'national sailing champion' we'll start to take the mick.... |
Posted By: iiiiticki
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 2:17pm
| Someone very close to me was offered sponsorship by the American company he works for. He was reluctant to accept, and did not accept in fact, the offer. He did not wish to give a false impression of his achievements which are very much of a small British system magnitude.....silly sod, it was quite a lot of money! |
Posted By: RS400atC
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 3:24pm
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I've heard of certain people getting extra leave to 'compete in a national championships'... That's quite a few quid in itself. |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 5:36pm
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Entries from Belgium, the Netherlands and the rest of Europe were scuppered by the migrant crisis, but most years we have a very multinational fleet, including cornwall. But Scotland and Wales? Not so far! ------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: realnutter
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 8:26pm
Not to mention the Australian entry.... 
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Posted By: iiiiticki
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 10:15pm
| Many years ago I used to go stock car racing at White City Stadium in Manchester. it was all noise, smell and smoke. One weekend it was billed as the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS and I went. They flew flags of many nations and had some rather drab fireworks. A girl in a stetson and little else was driven round on a pick up truck. The international element was represented however by a lone American (probably on holiday) driving a rather slow borrowed car. All other contestants came from Rochdale or Oldham etc. It was fun though...are the minisail 'Worlds' a bit like that? |
Posted By: 423zero
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 11:11pm
| No, their at least a quater of participants european, we do not hold either a Worlds or official europeans, though when the continental members hold an event, they call it " The Europeans". |
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 10 May 16 at 11:38pm
| In recent years a "not allowed to be called a worlds" has been called an intergalactic championship. The 1996 Cherub Worlds were the first I recall being given the name, although there may have been earlier examples. |
Posted By: Cirrus
Date Posted: 11 May 16 at 12:21am
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Let us not further encourage any
self-appointed presumptuous 'organisation' to believe they have some sort of
monopoly over the use of words belonging to the English Language.... They need to be reminded that they should have better things to do ... regularly. |
Posted By: 423zero
Date Posted: 11 May 16 at 5:50pm
| What are requirements to be able to call your event "Worlds" ? |
Posted By: sandgrounder
Date Posted: 11 May 16 at 6:46pm
You need to be on one of these lists:- http://www.sailing.org/classesandequipment/centreboard/index.php http://www.sailing.org/classesandequipment/multihull/index.php |
Posted By: iiiiticki
Date Posted: 21 May 16 at 6:12pm
| Wet miserable 'push the boat out day'..... |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 21 May 16 at 6:34pm
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Ours was lovely last weekend!
Was running a Level 2 course today with 4 enthusiastic students. Good framework for getting people able to sail independently and think for themselves. Looking forward to tomorrow. ------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: iiiiticki
Date Posted: 21 May 16 at 6:47pm
| The only people we had down looked more interested in cake than sailing..... |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 21 May 16 at 7:25pm
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Who isn't more interested in cake than sailing? ------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: 423zero
Date Posted: 21 May 16 at 7:39pm
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Ditto, Push the boat out, cold, wet and very windy, 2 capsizes fortunately no customers on board. Nasty lee shore, we had to take trialers out to boats, I think this added to excitement though, everyone said they enjoyed it, and they ate all the cakes.
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Posted By: maxibuddah
Date Posted: 21 May 16 at 11:24pm
Sail a phantom and you can have both, and you can eat it too ------------- Everything I say is my opinion, honest |
Posted By: jeffers
Date Posted: 22 May 16 at 8:06am
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Hunts was absolutely buzzing all day yesterday for push the boat out. We could offer joyrides in the morning but when the wind dropped in the afternoon we had 6 boats constantly out on the water giving joyrides and the local Guides were selling cake too. We may not get a flood of new members out of it but the club profile has definitely been raised locally. ------------- Paul ---------------------- D-Zero GBR 74 |
Posted By: iiiiticki
Date Posted: 22 May 16 at 9:15am
| We gave quite a lot of rides but I didn't detect any real enthusiasim for it as a sport or a pastime. When the sun shines we have queues of punters and happy families picknicking on the grass. |
Posted By: jeffers
Date Posted: 22 May 16 at 2:36pm
We saw plenty, especially from the kids which was amazing given then weather. See the club FB page for examples: http://www.facebook.com/Hunts-Sailing-Club-160349837365993/?fref=ts" rel="nofollow - https://www.facebook.com/Hunts-Sailing-Club-160349837365993/?fref=ts ------------- Paul ---------------------- D-Zero GBR 74 |
Posted By: Pierre
Date Posted: 22 May 16 at 4:58pm
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We had 265 visitors on the day (7th May) at Weir Wood SC, and 20 new memberships signed on the day. So not bad at all. Great work by everyone concerned. More memberships will roll in from it over the next couple of months. |