Could RYA implode?

[Guest]

Very recent news sent out in RYA's own colour illustrated 'briefing brochure'.
The staff has grown from 60 to 90. For instance the government and legal post held by Jerry Eardley who will soon retire, is to be split into two appointments of quite highly qualified persons. No doubt each will have a secretary or more.
Let's hope (?) that when RYA enters its new 'purpose made' building, there are not yet more meetings and memos to fill the time of all these people.
Is someone in close control of finances and what is the rule about the extent of expenditure of club and member subscriptions?

 

[philmarks]

A bureaucracy has one fundamental objective - expansion.

 

[Guest]

Well I for one think they are a waste of time the way they operate. I can guarantee you if you want any books in March / April they will moan they are understaffed and it will be months before you get them. How can Amazon and other book sellers despatch the same day, why do they not sub contract the work. This is a reply to an e-mail I sent yesterday, received today :-

REPLY
It is clear from your comments that you are unhappy with the service the RYA delivers and complaints such as this are taken seriously. If you could provide me with further details of the issues you raise, I will ensure they are investigated and addressed.
1. The web site is under a constant development program and is regularly reviewed. It isn't perfect, but we are working hard to improve it. If you would like to offer some constructive suggestions or advice, we would welcome your input and it will be considered.
2. If you could provide me with more information on the calls/messages you have left which have not been responded to, these will be investigated and responded to.
3. Although our standard terms for delivery of orders is 28 days, we aim to despatch all orders within 48 hours of receipt and our records show that over 95% of all orders are despatched within this 48 hour time scale. Again, if you could provide some additional information on any particular order which has been delayed, I will ensure this is investigated.

I have copied my response to the Chief Executive so that he is aware of your dissatisfaction and if you could e-mail me with your Membership Number, this will help me to start tracing the history of your communications regarding orders etc.

Regards
Bill Baillie
Information Systems Manager

 

[coachone]

A few facts;

The staff has grown, but over the last 14years the majority of the growth has been due to an increase in the racing staff who are paid entirely out of government lottery funding. i.e. not members or club subs.

Jerry Eardley's job has been split to provide a better service to cruising yachtsmen.The amount of planning and environmental work has escalated rapidly in the last few years to the extent that the legal advice available to members and clubs was beginning to suffer....solution, split the job and appoint knowledgeable, qualified persons.Neither post will have secretarial support.

Meetings...there has been a huge decrease [following the Mckinsey report] in the number of meetings and the size/number of committees in the last few months.As for memos - they are not used.

Finance....the Associations finances are closely monitored by a number of qualified accountants, they are audited regularly, published and available to all members.

The association could have stayed in its current offices, a converted Victorian house.....it was decided that in order to be more efficient and to provide better service to its members, it should move to a more modern building....hardly a radical idea.

 

[maxi]

Hope so.

 

[jamesjermain]

I ordered a book through Amazon which took 6 months to arrive. Aren't they busy going bust at the moment?

JJ

 

[jamesjermain]

Then what?

What would you put in its place?

JJ

 

[Twister_Ken]

Re: Then what?

From out of the ashes, a host of smaller organisations might emerge, each dedicated to dealing in depth with one particular branch of water-borne leisure.

 

[jamesjermain]

Re: Then what?

None with any clout or resources and all arguing among each other while government and the MCA did what it liked.

If the RYA did not exist it would have to be invented, probably warts and all.

JJ

 

[kimhollamby]

A practical example of small = not perhaps best

Ken- with your knowledge of human nature (I think boats are great places to contemplate writing books on psychology) do you really think the members of those smaller bodies would ultimately be happy with them, or each other?

I posted it before but the Caravan Club has 850,000 members and the RSPB (with Royal in its name /forums/images/icons/smile.gif) over 1 million. There's two interest groups that manage to be big and look after their own. You gave me the stats the other day for the Cruising Association - 5000; if the RYA dissolved I venture to suggest there would be any number of pretenders to the throne, otherwise perhaps the CA would grow so large that it too would be faced by this type of comment in a few years' time - that is if it doesn't already when the nights are long and the bar has been occupied for hours.

I'm not defending the RYA per se and not criticising the CA either - but I do personally find the notion that small is better to provide not much comfort at a time when we need weight and momentum to protect interests.

I remember very well from a few years back when Dutch barges became a trendy thing to buy. Up sprang an okay association with a small membership of no more than three figures who were quite industrious in their own way and very focused on their interest. Then someone fell out with someone else and suddenly there were two UK-based Dutch barge associations! In writing about it in the magazines even we got caught in the crossfire and so we didn't bother any longer. I think the rift has been healed now but how much effort went into the negative aspects of that and what got missed?

 

[Toutvabien]

some example of small changes that people may want

But is there not an arguement that the RYA, of which I have been a member for several years, could look at the sort of services that it provides to members. Trade unions have had to face up to the notion of developing services that members actually want, alongside their "political" role. This has on the whole been successful, it attracts and keeps members. The bits that the RYA have already developed, such as legal advice to individual members works well in my experience. I do not however know why the RYA has not sought to develop other services.

Some ideas might include:

A British version of something like the Dutch Boat Bank to enable members to buy and sell boats.

Pilotage and cruising information on the website.

A library of Boat Tests available to members,

Chart Corrections on the website,

Real discounts on supplies and services,

I am sure others could think of some really inovative ideas.

 

[Guest]

Don't get wrong I am all for the principle of the RYA, it is just the arrogance of what seems to be useless management, that do nothing to sort things out. I am a payed up member and expect a service, not the nonsense of a service I am getting at the moment. I do sometimes think the members get a raw deal. I see the same all over this country in other businesses and public service, what is going on?

 

[Cornishman]

What's this government lottery of which you write?

 

[Trevor_swfyc]

Without the RYA legislation would flood onto us until we drowned in it.

We have S.S.S.I. Sites of Special Scientific Interest, would we be allowed anywhere near them?

The R.S.P.B. I have been told already you can't anchor there you are upsetting the birds and all I could see were seagulls.

The M.C.A. we would have all the regs that apply to the professionals so we would spend our time keeping up with all the regs no time to go sailing. I'm not arguing against safety but its got to be practical and applicable.

The new regulations about Harbours, they now have to be run as ports, loads more regs.

So please consider where we would be without the work of the RYA and yes I am a member.

Perhaps they do not wave the flag enough so please look at the link below.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.rya.org.uk/cruising/safetyinfo/default.asp?contentid=1316297>RYA</A>

Trevor

 

[Cornishman]

Well said, Trevor, and I hope you don't mind me adding that the RYA has successfully held off several attempts at making us pay light dues.