RYA, why bother?

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Useful if you are wanting an ICC as it is "free" to members which effectively pays one year's subscription in 5.

If the above is true then the RYA's administration of this international qualification is somewhat suspect. When I needed it for chartering I either had to do a two-day course, have passed Coastal Skipper or be an instructor in the ISA's Small Boat Sailing Scheme. I suspect that it is free to RYA members who have the relevant qualifications.

 

[lpdsn]

If the above is true then the RYA's administration of this international qualification is somewhat suspect. When I needed it for chartering I either had to do a two-day course, have passed Coastal Skipper or be an instructor in the ISA's Small Boat Sailing Scheme. I suspect that it is free to RYA members who have the relevant qualifications.

Yes, Day Skipper Practical as a minimum.

 

[Daydream believer]

I have been a member for 55 years. I have free third party insurance for my sailboards which is handy because although I used to windsurfed a lot i can still go once a year & know I am insured. I have had free legal aid when the RYA solicitor got my money back from Goacher sails when they supplied a duff sail. I have the ICC plus discount at Cherbourg. I have been in correspondence over red diesel & feel pleased that we do have at least a voice even if a bit in effective ( or perhaps not, who knows) i am aware of their representation at windfarm planning stages in the early years & the useful input.
I have been to RYA first aid & VHF courses. I have sailboard & cruiser sail numbers issued. I have done the ICC thing &, unlike others, i have been asked for it by officials in France & Holland
So all in all I have found them useful & am happy that there is a point of call if i need help on the odd occasion
I also feel that they support yachting & it is only fair to pay my round

 

[dunedin]

I agree with the others who look at the wider point of supporting the body who we need (increasingly) to represent our interests in terms of:
- legislation impacting marine usage )
- boat finances / taxes ) both increasingly important as we head towards the Brexit uncharted waters
- marine / shore planning
- environmental pressure groups
Etc

Looking at it in terms of personal cash back (boat show tickets etc) or direct usage is, I would argue, a bit narrow / short sighted. We have a lot of legislative challenges and need a representative with real clout and support

 

[eddystone]

Have to have family membership to keep wife and daughters dinghy instructors ticket valid; free boat show tickets useful and free ICC may prove useful sometime. Also if your offspring is in RYA squad system membership compulsory.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Over the years, i have done VHF, Yachtmaster ocean, AstroNavigation, and a number of other sailing courses for me and the family, through RYA and have been a member now and again. Is a usesful and a necessary organisation.

 

[Aurai]

As a member you can also "pick the RYA brains" on any of your boating questions, just email the appropriate team, I.e. Cruising and you may be pleasantly surprised at how helpful they can be. Regards

 

[Daydream believer]

On the subject of discounts. I phoned & asked if any other marinas offered discounts to RYA members in the same way that Cherbourg do.
The answer was a bit disappointing -- " We do not know"
So one can take it that the RYA had little to do with that negotiation. As others have said one just needs to be a member of the Tuffty club to get the Cherbourg discount.
As I cruise along the French coast to the Channel Islands & beyond most years it would be nice if the RYA could negotiate some discounts for its members above & beyond the " stay 3 days & get one free" offers that are available in places like Dieppe etc.
Being an east coast sailor, Boulogne would be a good one for a start.

 

[laika]

Over the years, i have done VHF, Yachtmaster ocean, AstroNavigation, and a number of other sailing courses for me and the family, through RYA and have been a member now and again.

Whenever I've done an RYA course there's ben no discount for being an RYA member. Where were you doing these courses that it was cheaper as a member?

 

[JumbleDuck]

I’ve been a member of RYA for as long as I’ve been sailing and consider it appropriate to support the body governing the recreational activity of my choice.

If the RYA starts trying to govern my sailing I shall have something to say about it.

 

[Thistle]

As others have said, I feel an obligation to support an organisation which supports recreational water use in general and gives users a voice. Again as others have said, they are generally a very good source of information and assistance as and when required.

As a complete by-product, I have already saved a considerable amount of my annual subscription through the 15% discount I received when buying a new pair of walking boots from Cotswold.

 

[dunedin]

If the RYA starts trying to govern my sailing I shall have something to say about it.

A key reason for joining the RYA is to reduce the very real risk of bureaucrats without boating knowledge imposing excessive new governance rules impacting on sailors and other mariners

 

[Heckler]

That is my main rationale/motivation. In my field of work regulation in the last two decades has impacted hugely - mostly in a negative way to legislate against the few idiots out there. It is industry, and club organisations that have campaigned to help shape and take the rough edges off some of the legislation.
Until now we have quietly got on with out sailing adventures by ourselves, and jolly fine it has been. But joining this forum, and having received so much help has made us consider the bigger picture.
I might be a pain in the butt on here with all the questions I ask - but at least once the yacht is finished you will have less daft questions from me.
For the first time I feel a sense of community with the yachting fraternity beyond a casual wave on the water, and I guess that must be a good thing. That was the reason for the question.

I used to join for just the ICC renewal, I have let the auto renewal go now for the last few years. Much the same as you and others say, sense of belonging, I think they do the biz as far as representation goes, the sense that if the cack hits the fan with us being abroad, they will help us!
Family membership is good with the freebie boat show tickets as well.
Stu

 

[Heckler]

I have been a member for 55 years. I have free third party insurance for my sailboards which is handy because although I used to windsurfed a lot i can still go once a year & know I am insured. I have had free legal aid when the RYA solicitor got my money back from Goacher sails when they supplied a duff sail. I have the ICC plus discount at Cherbourg. I have been in correspondence over red diesel & feel pleased that we do have at least a voice even if a bit in effective ( or perhaps not, who knows) i am aware of their representation at windfarm planning stages in the early years & the useful input.
I have been to RYA first aid & VHF courses. I have sailboard & cruiser sail numbers issued. I have done the ICC thing &, unlike others, i have been asked for it by officials in France & Holland
So all in all I have found them useful & am happy that there is a point of call if i need help on the odd occasion
I also feel that they support yachting & it is only fair to pay my round

Again a big plus one plus I got 15% off my Albufeira marina cost!
Stu

 

[Prasutigus]

If the RYA starts trying to govern my sailing I shall have something to say about it.

Well said! I would add.. not just the RYA, but any other busybodies on the surface of the globe.

However.. the YM theory classes are pretty damn good for the basics, I am grateful for all those blue-blazered committee meetings, agonising about whether the dry adiabatic lapse rate deserves lecture time etc.

 

[Keith 66]

I have been a member of an Rya affilated club for many years, my feeling is the Rya is out of touch with grass roots clubs, yachting as a sport is struggling, look around at any yacht club do, it will be grey hair everywhere. Where are the younger people? Like many clubs we run a great cadet week, its been going 26 years, many hundreds of kids have come & mostly gone, the number of long term full members who started this way is pitiful.
I recently looked at the Rya website needing some basic info, but not available as you are not a member. I gave up & went elsewhere.
Contrast this to British Rowing, a very open organisation which is geared highly towards supporting clubs at the bottom, having been involved with the set up & running of a rowing club some years back the level of support & help was superb, this may explain why rowing as a sport is attracting young people in droves & sailing is not.

 

[maxi77]

I have been a member of an Rya affilated club for many years, my feeling is the Rya is out of touch with grass roots clubs, yachting as a sport is struggling, look around at any yacht club do, it will be grey hair everywhere. Where are the younger people? Like many clubs we run a great cadet week, its been going 26 years, many hundreds of kids have come & mostly gone, the number of long term full members who started this way is pitiful.
I recently looked at the Rya website needing some basic info, but not available as you are not a member. I gave up & went elsewhere.
Contrast this to British Rowing, a very open organisation which is geared highly towards supporting clubs at the bottom, having been involved with the set up & running of a rowing club some years back the level of support & help was superb, this may explain why rowing as a sport is attracting young people in droves & sailing is not.

That may be a regional thing, where I used to sail the RYA actively worked to make sailing inclusive taking taster sessions to children who had no other chance of trying sailing. They also provided assistance to clubs in ways to attract new members. Yes training weeks are often seen by many parents as cheap babysitting but at my old club many of the current office bearers came to us through our training week. At the end of the day retaining young sailors after training courses is down to the club not the RYA. They can help with ideas and and schemes but the club has to make it work. The resources are there but they have to be worked on by the clubs.

 

[Flica]

It's a cheaper way of getting discounts from Med marinas than the Cruising Association, having a free ICC is useful: but it's mainly inertia - I've been a member since 1978.
As far as "yottie" discounts are concerned you're much better conducting your own negotiations.
One grandson benefitted from their child training, but the other 3 are outside the UK.
Look on it as a union mebership fee!!!

 

[Daydream believer]

I have been a member of an Rya affilated club for many years, my feeling is the Rya is out of touch with grass roots clubs, yachting as a sport is struggling, look around at any yacht club do, it will be grey hair everywhere. Where are the younger people? Like many clubs we run a great cadet week, its been going 26 years, many hundreds of kids have come & mostly gone, the number of long term full members who started this way is pitiful.
I recently looked at the Rya website needing some basic info, but not available as you are not a member. I

You really miss understand the role of the RYA. It is not the job of the RYA to find members for your club. That is up to the club so stop whinging & go out & find them & create an environment that people will want to come back to.
They are certainly NOT out of touch. The RYA will give massive support to you. It will provide masses of training opportunities to those people, whatever level of sailing skills they have & whatever age they are. They have training schemes for thousands of youngsters & will help clubs run their own schemes in house. They will help train club members so they have the skills to train others to learn to sail. They run courses for club members to run racing, giving lessons on how to organise & run club races as well as open meetings which help finance the clubs funds if done sensibly
The RYA help with legal matters & give all sorts of advice to clubs on the best way to administer their affairs correctly.
For older members - who tend to move to cruisers- they run all levels of cruiser training schemes & have schemes for training instructors so that they can pass skills on. These skills spread from VHF to first aid to safety & so on.
As for what happens to kids. Well as you all know they learn to sail then leave home to go to university, (miles from their club) where - if they have not already done so- learn about the other sex. Can you really not understand why sailing takes second fiddle to a young man when he meets a young filly !!! ( Or vice versa so as not to be considered sexist!!!)
After that we all know the pressures of life & the pressures on finances . It is hardly surprising that they do not return to sailing for some years.
As for members who started as cadets- well i started in my club at 16 years of age & some of my best friends at the club sailed with me at that age. Many of the club members still talk about the fun they had in cadets. They are still there.
Are youngsters coming forward? this years we have had between 20 & 40 kids sailing on Saturdays throughout the year & the club is thinking of buying a cruiser for a few that want to develop their skills in that direction. I will be racing again this year after a lay off from it for many years & already i have a queue of youngsters wanting to come along.
So finally - do not complain about access to a website because you are not a member - Pay your dues to the sailing fraternity, stop criticising & then you might find out what you are missing

 

[Martin&Rene]

Our local Council tried to increase our very old lease rent at my local Sailing Club of a few hundred pounds to over £13,000. The RYA gave us the starting legal information that allowed us to achieve a rent of around £3k, which actually was about in line with the rate of inflation. Good value there.

They also work to keep our sailing regime as unregulated as possible so that we do not end up with the stupid situation as in Australia, where the Prime Minister was fined $250 for moving a few metres in a dinghy whilst not wearing a lifejacket.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...ister-malcolm-turnbull-fined-250-not-wearing/

So if you want to enjoy your freedom in sailing, then the cost of a subscription to the RYA seems good value.