I was wondering?

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Chrusty 1

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Pardon my intrusion gents and gentesses, but I was wondering how many of you belong to clubs on the Thames, and are there any of you that don't?

What advantages or disadvantages do you think there are from being a club member or not?

I do lurk here from time to time, in the hope of a snippet of two from people that may own classic boats, but I very rarely post anything, as I am a raggie with only a wee boat, and also I sail down in darkest Devon. That doesn't of course mean that I am not interested in what goes on, on any of our inland waterways.

I look forward to your comments with interest.
 
Thanks for the link, I have had a bit of a squint, but when I asked my question perhaps I should have said bricks and mortar clubs, you know, the sort of place where old codgers can lean against the bar and set the world to rights.:)
 
It's very difficult to get an accurate figure - I don't think clubs publish membership numbers, pushed for a wild guess, I'd think 5 - 700, and that could be high.

IMHO folks are members of clubs where the club has mooring facilities - including those "attached" to a marina.

Most people that I've asked have said - "We don't join clubs"

We live a long way from our boat and so there's no point in joining a club as we couldn't take much part in its activities.

So we became members of the TMBA because it was set up to represent like minded people who enjoy the Thames and who want to have their opinions heard.
 
Also members of the TMBA :)

Our lifestyle isn't really conducive to club membership as we work every weekend from April through October with days off in the week. Makes for nicer cruising as we avoid the busy weekends/Bank Holidays but means club activities are a no-no for us. We also start work very early (SWMBO's alarm often goes off at 3am :eek: and I'm not that far behind) so our hours of socialising are out of sync with everyone else except down our local where there's quite a group who work similar ludicrous hours :D .
 
In over 30 years cruising the Thames I have never felt the need to join any of the clubs along the Thames. I have many boaty friends who have encouraged me to join their respective clubs but have so far resisted the urge to dress up like an Admiral:D I'm in for it now. The value of a club as I see it apart from the social events, is the contacts, advice and courses many of them run and the 'in company' cruises. Weybridge Mariners would be my local club and it has very close links with the ADLS if you have a particular interested traditional and historic boats.
For me the Thames itself provides all I need.
I am like many leisure boaters users a member of TMBA which as stated above
is not a club but an assocoation of likeminded users who wish to protect and improve the River Thames as a living working and leisure facility.
You never know however I may join one of the clubs one day.:)
 
Another TMBAer. Boatone is a good chap, and runs it FOC for the benefit of all the Thames motor boating fraternity.

Also a member of the TWYC, which is bricks and mortar, and indeed a large bit of wooden decking over looking the river, which is all very lovely. I'm not moored in Windsor marina, and, indeed, many of the members are not. I also work crazy shifts (like Wavey) and don't attend as many of the events as I would like as I rarely have weekends off.

But, the people at TWYC are a friendly lot, and when we do get to go away cruising with them, much fun is had.

It works for me cos I find pubs quite boring, but here is a bar overlooking the river, frequented by like minded people (I could talk boating forever..) who organise things I'm interested in.

http://www.twyc.co.uk/

Incidentally, I've also made some contacts through the club which has allowed my engineering business to grow, but this is very much a by product of hanging out with so many other boaters, it was never my intention to use it for 'networking' (god I hate management speak!!)
 
I'm not a member of any club, maybe as I believed the boating club set are not my kind of people. Also the wife is not as enthusiastic on boating as me and wouldn't join the club.
That said any club members that I have met are very approachable and friendly people and a long chat has ensued with them.
 
Another member of TMBA.

Also a member of Bray Cruiser Club which is a pretty relaxed and easygoing club (we must be, we let No Regrets in!).

I am also a member of the Thames Scout Cruising Club, but sadly I rarely get a chance to meet up with them owing to working crazy shifts at the airport.
 
Club member

I am a member of a club, I have an old (classic? ) boat. The reason I joined a club was to find out about boating in London. When I had found out enough, I bought the boat I have today. It works for me. The club has advantages, a dry dock, yard and workshop. All cheap for members. My club, Hurlingham Yacht club had a reputation for a while and was known as the Hooligan Yacht club. It is very much a diy club with plenty of members who know how to do things. I am not a member of TMBA because they only invited non tidal Thames boaters.
Our club being in Putney is tidal. Trips in convoy are fun and reassuring in case of breakdowns but always fun, likewise club based events. My boating costs are quite low, ie £1400 per annum, including pontoon mooring and membership fees plus 2 weeks in dry dock.
 
We are members of;

TMBA
NER - Northern Exposure Rescue
RYA - Royal Yachting Association and the
NSSA - National School Sailing Association.

Sounds a lot but we are afloat nearly every weekend doing something so we get a lot out of them all.

CJL
 
Well I am a member of TMBA and a club on the upper Thames and a Thames club in London. All make sense to me and I use them although not as much as some members.

But you join clubs for a reason not just to collect a membership.
 
I am a member of a local club here on the Medway, visit the Thames with my boat and as often as possible boat on the river using other peoples boats when invited,also member of TMBA.
 
I was planning to join a club, however decided not to for 2 reasons, the first being that one of the committee actually had a massive go at me because I was talking to the club commodore (who came over and introduced himself) and didn't come to find him at the appropriate time (the committee member in question, was busy and had asked me to come back in 10 minutes).

At the proposed time, I noticed said committee member was busy and so I carried on chatting to the commodore. The committee member then disappeared so I returned next week and he gave me a full dressing down in front of a lot of people!

I would have told him exactly what I thought, except at the time, we felt we needed a mooring there, so couldn't!

We later got invited to a membership interview, however I couldn't make the date in question and they never sent an alternative.

We felt no great urge to go back and so decided not to bother chasing it. Also they only had swinging moorings available, which wasn't really ideal for us.

From a quick glance at the club website, the committee member in question is no longer there, so I won't name the club as everyone else seemed perfectly pleasant.

But that has put me off joining another club!

As for the RYA, I'm torn, I appreciate they do a lot of good work and will probably join, however I feel very badly let down by the way they handled the implementation of speed limits on the Thames (i.e. not getting an exemption for Advanced Powerboat certificate holders with AIS etc.), so as of yet, I have not.
 
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Thats why I didn't want to name the club, I don't want one bad experience with one (former) committee member to put off anyone else, as for all I know since his departure everything has changed. Also, whilst the usual cliques seemed fairly apparent, anyone we approached seemed perfectly pleasant :-)
 
Thanks for your replies gents, it seems that most are members of the TMBA, but also that most are not members of a bricks and mortar club. I think I at one time had the impression that it was almost de rigour to be a member of a club, don't ask me why.

I am not really a joiner myself, what is it they say, oh yes, "I wouldn't want to be in a club that would have me as a member":)
 
If the rumours going around that certain established clubs and organisations are actively trying to prevent the participation of the TMBA in having an input in the running of the Thames, certainly reveals what sort of clubs they are if they feel threatend by a new and progressive participant on the scene.
 
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