Club motto

I have thought about that, I can walk to this one,plus indoor boat storage, would have left years ago else.

You've just got to explain to them a bloody sailing club is not a collection of individuals who happen to sail boats, it's a team of owners of boats who have clubbed together for their own mutual interest, safety and race competition and in order to do that we need to rotate the bits we don't like doing.

Or f**k off somewhere else.

I tried to get our club to not have none racers, and if they didn't ante up for duty they can't join, the end, piss off and sail somewhere on your own without rescue boats, winches and all the paraphanalia we have managed through clubbing together our resources, to provide.

Originally posted by iGRF You've just got to explain to them a bloody sailing club is not a collection of individuals who happen to sail boats, it's a team of owners of boats who have clubbed together for their own mutual interest, safety and race competition and in order to do that we need to rotate the bits we don't like doing. Or f**k off somewhere else. I tried to get our club to not have none racers, and if they didn't ante up for duty they can't join, the end, piss off and sail somewhere on your own without rescue boats, winches and all the paraphanalia we have managed through clubbing together our resources, to provide.

Well said iGRF, perfect

Do you use Dutyman so that individuals confirm to accept the duty? That way, the OOD can see in advance who has not yet confirmed they are turning up and phone them to remind them. If they fail to turn up after confirming they will, that is a pretty miserable state of affairs.

I generally find most people actually quite enjoy their duties if/when they turn up, provided they aren't too frequent (couple of times a year). Those that sail regularly accept that it is just part of deal and those that are less frequent sailors can often be re-invigorated by an enforced trip to the club.

However, I fully understand TT's point. I have a work colleague who has sailed as a crewing guest at the local club a few times this year (not for me). He has now exceeded his quota and has been asked to join if he wants to carry on sailing. He has enjoyed the sailing, but it is something he would only do 5-6 more times this year and he is up to his eyes in student fees, saving for a house deposit, wedding planning etc. But equally, he is used to being footloose and fancy-free and doesn't want to tie himself to one hobby. He feels that joining a club, having to do duties, care for a boat etc would commit him to sailing, and the sailing club, more than he is willing to do. And so he will leave, and probably take up kliteboarding as it is more casual and not club based. To an extent, I think this is an age thing. When you are in your 20s and 30s there is a whole world to explore, and tieing yourself to an expensive and time consuming hobby seems very constraining. When you have settled down and had kids, your sense of community and society changes and it can feel very rewarding to undertake selfless acts to support others.