Oxford Ditch

DogsBody said:
I should think most (all?) clubs could say that - problem being that very few people with children can actually afford to go boating these days...
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I see plenty of smaller boats, Shetland 535s and the like with families on board. Maybe Clubs should be aiming to recruit these folk. I do know from chatting to people on little Freemans and the like that they are somewhat over awed by the big boats that dominate most clubs. This is why I like the trend towards smaller boats which seems to be taking place.
 
I passed the Oxford Ditch meeting at Ashford on the weekend with all the family aboard, and gave them a wave, but strangley didnt get any wave back, didnt think much of it maybe they didnt see me, over the weekend I googled the link above to get more information and was thinking about joining, on the way home again with all the children on the deck, we all gave a wave and we where totally ignored again. Dont think thats a good advert for a club looking for members espcially with children, count me out!!!
 
balinahone said:
I passed the Oxford Ditch meeting at Ashford on the weekend with all the family aboard, and gave them a wave, but strangley didnt get any wave back, didnt think much of it maybe they didnt see me, over the weekend I googled the link above to get more information and was thinking about joining, on the way home again with all the children on the deck, we all gave a wave and we where totally ignored again. Dont think thats a good advert for a club looking for members espcially with children, count me out!!!
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I think you mean Ashmount rather than Ashford but that's beside the point. I am responding to your post above as Commodore of the ODCC and must admit I find your account more than a little strange. The Club met at Byron's over the weekend and had boats moored bankside for about 200 feet downstream from the boathouse with one pair double-banked. Since most members were sat down enjoying the sunshine (its what we tend to do!), you would have had more than a little difficulty in seeing anyone other than, perhaps, the occasional person who might have been stood up and moving around. Members collapsed in their chairs would have had even more difficulty seeing boats passing. This does not make us bad people!

The Ditch is known as perhaps the friendliest club on the river and I can assure you that had you been seen to wave, it would certainly been answered. We've even been known to wave at narrowboats!!

Unfounded criticism based on misconception is unfair to both individuals and to organisations when posted on open forums such as this. Could I ask that if you think you have reason to criticise The Ditch (or indeed any Club) in future, you first address your complaint to the respective Commodore, Secretary or nominated contact when, in our case, at least, we will do our best to resolve it. ODCC details are on our website. If, after reflection, you are still interested in joining the Club, please give the Secretary a ring. You and yours would be more than welcome to come along to our next gathering on a 'suck it and see basis' with no obligation. Thank you.
 
I am mortified. The Ditch is a very friendly club with a well deserved reputation for its hospitality. Waving back when someone waves is an almost a reflex action so I must assume you just weren't seen. There are several Ditch members on this Forum including Tony (Boat 1) and Chris D.
 
There has been a definite increase in the numbers of peeps with more modest boats joining our ranks, many with young families.Most will have probably seen the serried rows of Gin Palaces on our moorings and formed an opinion on that first impression.
Virtually all those boats are the final stage of perhaps 50 years of boating,most all will have started out with something a great deal more modest indeed.
What have you got to lose by going along one day and confirming your suspicions about of what a bunch of toffee nosed blazer wearing pretend boaters they all are.
Not proper boaters like you me. :)
The problem is they are mostly ordinary folks who do all sorts of jobs who enjoy boating and the ladies do enjoy the social side of things, which by the way bores me to tears.
Fortunately our social do lady has no idea this form exists.
Go along and give it a try, they might learn something from you. :)
 
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I have said it time and time again. The average 30 something with kids either has a house or a boat. Very few have both. Small / day boating is the only thing that will save the Thames. Get used to it as that's where it's going ! There was another post on getting into boating I dumped some further thoughts.

Most folks mortgages are now inline with the cost of a new 40 something sports cruiser ...
 
Well I'm afraid that the response from the Commodore has done little in the way of encouragement to join as far as I can see.
Somehow I doubt that balinahone would have been offended that a load of people he couldn’t see weren’t waving back, but then I don’t know him so who knows
Whilst the tone only really reinforces what the uninitiated may think of clubs in the first place


Richard may have something, the river has been quiet so far this year, but the day hire boats seem to be doing well
 
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pheran said:
Could I ask that if you think you have reason to criticise The Ditch (or indeed any Club) in future, you first address your complaint to the respective Commodore, Secretary or nominated contact when, in our case, at least, we will do our best to resolve it.
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No horse in this race, but I hope you can see how funny that looks from the outside. Are you seriously suggesting that someone would be sensibly advised to contact a club commodore or secretary because someone didn't wave back at them?
Tell me honestly, that if you got a 'Sir, I waved at someone (I don't know who) while passing on my boat and they didn't wave back...' letter, you and your club's members wouldn't find the needless-angry-letter-writing more than just a little funny? 'Who on earth would complain about that?'

I mean of ALL the things to think someone would put pen to paper about... or look up names and contact details about... maybe for someone flying a club burgee while charging through a starboard fleet on port tack with nobody at the helm... but not waving? Really?

I'm not saying complaining about it on a forum is much better, but at least it has context from the OP.

Let's get real. ;)
 
"I'm sorry your wave wasn't returned and can only assume the recipient of your wave either didn't see it or was having a bad day or a stressful moment. Please let me assure you our club takes great pride in our friendliness. Please come along to the club some time, you can find our contact details here... Let us know when you're coming and we'll make sure there's someone to meet and show you around."

Just a thought. Seems a bit friendlier than popping at the slighted sailor in question about 'in future' criticisms.

Nobody sensible is writing the no wave complaint letter. Nobody. Not unless they are already invested. Most people will see a claim (friendly), see a perceived contradiction of that claim (didn't wave, twice) and just get on with their lives... Maybe making a passing comment now and then.

Hell, most people won't complain when they go to a restaurant and get served poor food. They even pay their full bill without complaint. They aren't going to go out of their way to complain to a club they've never even visited.
 
I agree that quite a few 30 something's or 20 something's with young children may have a mortgage that prevents regular cruising, but there's plenty of 40 something's with young children in a position to do both. Have you seen how much those old VW campervans cost? They're no bigger than a little Freeman.
There are a lot of families with static caravans too and site fees for those things are Marina money.
We haven't been abroad since buying a boat, every holiday has been on the Thames and it's one of the best things we've done. My 8 year old loves it and usually pals up with someone, but I wish there were more young kids on the river. New campaign for the EA perhaps? They've got to get new revenue from somewhere (although they'll have to provide more moorings).

I'm not convinced that day boating is the way things will go. It's not exactly exhilarating at a brisk walking speed and I'd get bored if I was limited to the same few locks up and back in a day. It's the getting away from it aspect for us, a bottle of wine on the back of the boat, no baby sitter required and being buzzed by bats. Brilliant.

I wish I could persuade my wife to buy a smaller house and a bigger boat.....
 
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prof pat pending said:
Well I'm afraid that the response from the Commodore has done little in the way of encouragement to join as far as I can see.
Somehow I doubt that [FONT=&]balinahone would have been offended that a load of people he couldn’t see weren’t waving back, but then I don’t know him so who knows[/FONT]
Whilst the tone only really reinforces what the uninitiated may think of clubs in the first place

Have to agree. Rather pompous reply that should have been addressed to 'the family' and not to 'you and yours'. Who uses that terminology nowadays? Reads like a paragraph from their 'terms and conditions'
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I can assure the new member that not only is the ODCC a very friendly club with many down-to-earth members you could have lots of fun with, but most Thames clubs are similar!

Waving is all very well, but you really need to catch somebodyes eye first, as it's easy to miss people due to reflections in the water, the sun being behind the waver, or simply becuase people are not looking at you.

See if you can get a guest invite to one of their events or cruises. You'll join. :)

PS I am not a member...:p
 
I am an ex member of the Oxford Ditch, and can confirm they are a very friendly & welcoming bunch. Always get a wave from those members who remember me, and when I was a member we had young children (they always looked forward to playing with the member's dogs at events, particularly Byron's three or four, with Oi! (sp?) being their favourite). When there's a club event on at Byron's and we go past I often look out to wave a members, but it's just the way the boats are moored and the members sitting in the gazebo behind means they probably don't see the boats going past. If I was at a club event I would want to do whatever is going on there, and not have to station myself to be able to wave at passing boats. My strong suggestion is pull up & go and say hello, you would like to join etc, I'm sure somebody will offer you a beer/glass of wine, ask about your boat, etc etc. Really worth trying!
 
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