Today, the RYA called me.......

[penfold]

RNLI-- Definitely a big NO NO. Fortunately it will never happen & rightly so . I can imagine a real mess if the govt got their hands on the RNLI & decided that it came well down the funding scale when cash was tight Furthermore, I would be worried about some whitehall official deciding the costs that should be applied when aiding a stricken vessel.

I can imagine what the RNLI run by the likes of Serco would be like; no ta.

 

[Stemar]

I can imagine what the RNLI run by the likes of Serco would be like; no ta.

? ?
OTOH, when one sees the job Group 4 or Crapita are doing running our infrastructure, maybe it is possible to do worse than Serco

 

[Daydream believer]

Things aren’t likely to get better until Ted Heath gets back into Number 10

Better still- Dig up Margaret Thatcher.

 

[JumbleDuck]

They have become woke in a very unsatisfactory way. This document has one photo of people on page 4:-
https://assets.rya.org.uk/assetbank...3146722546164075.pdf&contentStoreIdentifier=1
Does that look like a representation of the UK boating population?

Perhaps a bit young. Does anything else about it worry you?

 

[jimi]

I suspect the CA is more helpful to the cruising yachtie

 

[Mark-1]

I suspect the CA is more helpful to the cruising yachtie

I've heard if you live close enough to London to benefit from the library then definately.

 

[Lucy52]

I believe there is reasonable accommodation if you visit, that is if it is open now with Covid.

 

[zoidberg]

As for the dogs home - Glad you expect to have some left in these current time

There's always the alpacas! Something to enliven the dinner party discussions.... Especially if you've served a faintly-exotic meat 'ragout' as a main course!

The RYA's once-upon-a-time leverage was knowing how, when and where to 'schmooze' the small handful of Senior Civil Servants ( SCS ) who could exercise a degree of influence - think 'Yes, Minister' - and the RYA guys who could do that were already part of The Establishment and knew the right people. I recall a pair of Brigadiers..... It's how the Whitehall world works, doacha know!

Much of that was done by means of occasional lunches at the Royal Thames YC in Knightsbridge, following an 'event' such as The State Opening or Trooping The Colour. A stroll up the great staircase, glittering with silverware and royal memorabilia, to the dining room never failed to impress. Nor did the house claret.

I don't think there's anyone in RYA House now with the finely-honed skills to steer conversation to a point where the SCS-guest would raise the thorny topic and ask for 'perspective'. That would be the time to offer points which could later be put to the Junior Minister, at the right moment, which might tip the balance of the application of policy - if there ever was any.

Should there be anyone in the RYA HQ now with such social skills, it might well be Jane Hall, the E-Learning Manager, who replied to me recently with a very courteous note.....

.....for your message..... I can see from our records that..... Based on your request I will go ahead.... will leave.... in place.
Thanks very much for your contribution..... over many years..... is much appreciated and we wish you all the best....

That's a gracious way of saying 'and we're glad to see the back of you'.

 

[Pye_End]

I suspect the CA is more helpful to the cruising yachtie

Any idea what their position is regarding Studland, and if they have been doing any lobbying on behalf of cruising yachtsmen?

 

[jimi]

Any idea what their position is regarding Studland, and if they have been doing any lobbying on behalf of cruising yachtsmen?

Their RATS has been lobbying, a major part of their response has been the necessity to keep Studland as an anchorage for passage & shelter.

 

[WoodyP]

It's all very well to criticize from behind a keyboard but there are opportunities to be involved and to influence. If they weren't there, you would miss them, even if they are not as useful in a crisis as the RNLI, or indeed a chocolate teapot.

 

[Bru]

Indeed so WoodyP

I can't speak for the RYA but I've no doubt it's very much as it was during my many years of involvement with the Inland Waterways Association (at every level up to Trustee)

I can't count how many times I or other senior officers were asked "why isn't the IWA doing something about xxxx"* when, in fact, we were doing all that could be done *and* publicising that fact

And then there was the huge amount of behind the scenes discussion, opinion influencing etc ... not exactly secret as such but much of its effectiveness was that it was informal and off the record**

* My stock response to "what's the IWA doing about ..." was "what are YOU doing about it?". There's nothing stopping people getting involved, putting in the work and ultimately getting elected to the senior roles in such organisations. And when you get there you'll find the reality of dealing with government etc is very different from what you thought

** Numbers matter here. An organisation with 20,000 members quite simply wields more clout in the corridors of power than one with a few hundred. That said, sometimes it's much more effective for a special interest / purpose group to fight a single issue battle (not having to worry about a bigger picture, conflicting interests etc) and this is often welcomed, whether covertly or overtly, by larger organisations

 

[JumbleDuck]

It's all very well to criticize from behind a keyboard but there are opportunities to be involved and to influence. If they weren't there, you would miss them, even if they are not as useful in a crisis as the RNLI, or indeed a chocolate teapot.

Well, maybe. I think they suffer from being pulled four ways: in no particular order they represent cruising sailors, claim to be the cruising sailors' governing body, dish out Olympic money and act as a trade association for sailing schools.

It's the latter where I think potentially they do us disservice: they are so keen to state the perils of the deep and the need for voluntary training that I fear politicians and civil servants don't hear the word "voluntary" and just think "even the governing body says it's dangerous and qualifications are a good thing". But if they don't drum up custom for sailing schools and qualifications, bing goes a lot of income, and they have a loooooong track record of going where the money is.

 

[Bru]

Well, maybe. I think they suffer from being pulled four ways: in no particular order they represent cruising sailors, claim to be the cruising sailors' governing body, dish out Olympic money and act as a trade association for sailing schools.

It's the latter where I think potentially they do us disservice: they are so keen to state the perils of the deep and the need for voluntary training that I fear politicians and civil servants don't hear the word "voluntary" and just think "even the governing body says it's dangerous and qualifications are a good thing". But if they don't drum up custom for sailing schools and qualifications, bing goes a lot of income, and they have a loooooong track record of going where the money is.

The first para highlights a perennial problem for large organisations representing a diverse range of "users" - its almost impossible to please all of the people all of the time

A counter argument to the second para is that without the RYA pushing the voluntary training message so hard, we'd probably have compulsory qualifications required in the UK by now

Playing devil's advocate is so much fun

 

[Mark-1]

A counter argument to the second para is that without the RYA pushing the voluntary training message so hard, we'd probably have compulsory qualifications required in the UK by now

Of course we don't have compulsory quals for cycling or horse riding, for instance.

 

[JumbleDuck]

A counter argument to the second para is that without the RYA pushing the voluntary training message so hard, we'd probably have compulsory qualifications required in the UK by now

That, of course, is a possibility.

 

[NealB]

Well, maybe. I think they suffer from being pulled four ways: in no particular order they represent cruising sailors, claim to be the cruising sailors' governing body, dish out Olympic money and act as a trade association for sailing schools.

It's the latter where I think potentially they do us disservice: they are so keen to state the perils of the deep and the need for voluntary training that I fear politicians and civil servants don't hear the word "voluntary" and just think "even the governing body says it's dangerous and qualifications are a good thing". But if they don't drum up custom for sailing schools and qualifications, bing goes a lot of income, and they have a loooooong track record of going where the money is.

Yes........ an absolutely clear-cut case of multiple constraints and conflicting objectives.

I don't feel they represent me and my boating objectives: I'm too far down on their priority list.

 

[capnsensible]

Here's some numbers for those that like that kinda thing.

The RYA has been going since 1970.

This I copied:

Each year over 250,000 people take an RYA training course through our network of over 2,500 RYA Recognised Training Centres in 58 countries. Our courses are highly regarded worldwide due to the high standards maintained by those training centres and our instructors.

Which I believe is true. It's also voluntary and not cheap.

So it seems to me that mostly, those with 'skin in the game' are largely satisfied. The Grumbles are mostly from the outside. Why, I don't know. What motivates them?

However, the serious point from the OP is a legitimate....in my mind.......complaint. Now whether it's right to do that on a public forum or best addressed to the source of dissatisfaction is another matter. Does give the Internet forum take offence on others behalf sub species a chance to sound off though. Is that a bad thing?

For sure things don't improve with silence............?

 

[st599]

Classic RYA subject to address would be sailing in and out of Europe . Buying in Europe . Staying on board in Europe , keeping a boat in Europe . Selling to Europe .. double vat and taxes
On the basis of addressing the problem right in front of your eyes , like !
Could’ve been popular with the membership base ?

I attended a 4 hour session going over the rules at the Cruising Conference and then earlier this year our club committee attended a Brexit webinar and had a 1 to 1 with them. The 1 to 1 was great - the others were ruined by infuriated people who were seeing their retirement plans ruined - which was hardly the RYA's fault.

Their RATS has been lobbying, a major part of their response has been the necessity to keep Studland as an anchorage for passage & shelter.

The UK is not going to change its Carbon Sequestration scheme using sea grass to capture carbon - RYA and others should be investigating mitigation measures - or this will roll out across large areas of the country with no mitigation for boats.

 

[NealB]

Bugger!

(Later edit to explan my earlier, totally out of character, outburst: I'd buggered up the 'quote' function, yet again, and briefly lost the will to live).