Visited MDL Bray today.Musings.

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oldgit

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To see a chum.Of course had to wander over to look at the river flow.Would guess it has subsided a bit but pretty powerful flow all the same.Few hardy souls washing their boats on pontoon "B".not suprisng considering the amount of that green muck covering many boats.
Noticed several forumite craft both floating and on the hard.
Treated to slap up dinner in some pub about 20 mins away if you turn right err left actually out of marina.
It seems to be a curiously english failing that many pubs will spend a fortune on their decor and to get the right ambiance out front but visit the loo and you are instantly transported back 100 years. Yuk.


Ps the loos at Bray were clean warm and immaculate,a credit to the company.
PPs.Isnt it about time one of the premier clubs on the Thames in one of the best Marinas on the Thames got itself a proper clubhouse. ?
 
Bray CC

oldgit said:
PPs.Isnt it about time one of the premier clubs on the Thames in one of the best Marinas on the Thames got itself a proper clubhouse. ?
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Just a small matter of money! That aside, Yes, we'd love a new clubhouse! Perhaps we need a wealthy sponser? Anyone you know?
 
Sleeping dogs !

My She said:
Just a small matter of money! That aside, Yes, we'd love a new clubhouse! Perhaps we need a wealthy sponser? Anyone you know?
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H,mm. A good debate on a cold foggy Jan morning and remembering that OG is outside the tent.
How many members has the club got and just how many of the moorers at the marina are club members.Pretty certain not a large proportion ? Why.
Club fees.My club charges £150.00 PA with a £100 joining fee my local sailing club just down the road charges quite a bit more,most of the members of our local clubs will certainly be boating on a far more modest budget than those in Bray.

"We are a boating not a social club " Many people enjoy the social side of boating as much as (if not more) than the boating side and suspect having somewhere conjucive to having a drink and a chat would encourage greater inter action among boaters and perhaps greater participation in club cruises.
From my club experience there is nothing like being forced to mingle that can make you gain some new friends. . TBC.:

Ps. your boat looks gorgeous.
 
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When we had our first boat on the Thames, we kept it at Bray. In those days, what is now the restaurant, was a chandlery and cafe. A fair few of us used that as a social club. Guess that was late eighties.
I seem to remember Chris Atterton? Being the marina manager and a young Domonic (Thames Boat Sales), the assistant manager. :D
 
I don't "do" clubs.
I know my place.
I look up to Windsor because they have a nice clubhouse.
I look down to H***** because they don't have a clubhouse (AFAIK).

My club is a long way away. Excellent premises, good food but under used.
Strong social side - probably because you need to use the facilities to change after getting wet.

To my mind the actual bulding is not too important, more so the welcome, friendliness and the quality of the beer. None of which pays the rent or staff (if any) costs. This latter depends on how local the membership is. Most folks live some way away from their boat so joining a club is harder to justify.
 
Bray membership costs are £60 for the forthcoming year, with no joining fee!

Whats more, they let anybody join :D

We pride ourselves on the quality of our cruises, and events, and have been highly successful in many boat handling events up and down the Thames in recent years, so we're obviously attracting the right kind of people.

While we enjoy a limited number of 'Blazer and Tie*' events, most are informal and fun, with a relative lack of cliques.

*Or in Apollo talk 'Fenders up' events :D
 
oldgit said:
Ps the loos at Bray were clean warm and immaculate,a credit to the company.
PPs.Isnt it about time one of the premier clubs on the Thames in one of the best Marinas on the Thames got itself a proper clubhouse. ?
Click to expand...

You raise some good points :) but I think at Bray CC we have the best of both worlds in that we really do have an excellent calendar of boating events, and we regularly get to socialise in the clubhouse. Historically the building isn’t as comfortable as Windsor but we meet there regularly for drinks and food. As many of members live quite far away I think we’d find it difficult to man the bar etc of a larger clubhouse and I don’t believe the membership particularly want that. To make the jump from that building to something more upmarket is a tall order in these financial times, too. Mind you it would be nice if Bray Marina could help out! We have approx 60 members – many are quite young – and I actually find them a very vibrant group. For those of us who would like a Windsor type clubhouse we do have the option, of course, of joining both clubs (both fees together amounting to only slightly more than your club OG) or visiting as ‘guests’. So I think the message is, that old cliché, don’t judge a book by its cover – and get B1 to bring you to our New Years Social on the 26th, to see for yourself! S
 
Thread drift but,

it's heartening to see the growth of micro breweries now; vast array of flavours. Got a good one near me.

Also discovered some nice cider when attending an apple howling yesterday evening.
 
I am shocked and surprised that the subject of alcohol should arise on a thread in which the Bray Cruiser Club is mentioned......

:eek::eek::eek:
 
So you found our cabin hiding amoungst the boats on the hard standing...

oldgit said:
PPs.Isnt it about time one of the premier clubs on the Thames in one of the best Marinas on the Thames got itself a proper clubhouse. ?
Click to expand...

While its true that BCC’s club house doesn’t measure up to those of certain other boating clubs, it really isn’t the club’s primary focus. So if a club where you can spend Friday evening / Saturday afternoon enjoying cheep booze at the bar every weekend is what you are after, I dare say there are other clubs out there that would suit you better.

If however, you are interested in a club to get you boating with good company, then I think you’d be hard pressed to better BCC – there’s a hint in the name Bray CRUISING Club! Not having a big expensive club house means that on a nice summer’s day, we don’t have to worry about manning a club house (and making enough money for its upkeep!) and can instead get out on our boats and enjoy the river, which is after all why most of us bought a boat in the first place.

That’s not to say we don’t have events in and around the club house, as we do throughout the year and despite being basically a porta cabin, the club house is well maintained and a cosy place to meet friendly and welcoming club members. Personally, I’d rather have a club house such as ours, located where it is in a lively marina such as Bray, than one twice the size in a run down or deserted marina on a not so pretty stretch of river.

Don’t judge us by the club house, come along to one of the events and meet the friendly and welcoming members who frequent the club house and BCC’s other events.
 
DogsBody said:
While its true that BCC’s club house doesn’t measure up to those of certain other boating clubs, it really isn’t the club’s primary focus. So if a club where you can spend Friday evening / Saturday afternoon enjoying cheep booze at the bar every weekend is what you are after, I dare say there are other clubs out there that would suit you better.

If however, you are interested in a club to get you boating with good company, then I think you’d be hard pressed to better BCC – there’s a hint in the name Bray CRUISING Club! Not having a big expensive club house means that on a nice summer’s day, we don’t have to worry about manning a club house (and making enough money for its upkeep!) and can instead get out on our boats and enjoy the river, which is after all why most of us bought a boat in the first place.

That’s not to say we don’t have events in and around the club house, as we do throughout the year and despite being basically a porta cabin, the club house is well maintained and a cosy place to meet friendly and welcoming club members. Personally, I’d rather have a club house such as ours, located where it is in a lively marina such as Bray, than one twice the size in a run down or deserted marina on a not so pretty stretch of river.

Don’t judge us by the club house, come along to one of the events and meet the friendly and welcoming members who frequent the club house and BCC’s other events.
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Sounds fair enough to me. Anyway I like sheds.:)
 
" we enjoy a limited number of 'Blazer and Tie*' events"




and I have the photos to prove it !

boatone said:
I have to ask ...... no, I shouldn't .... oh to hell with it, I will anyway.....
Do you have a particular club in mind ? :D :D :D :D
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C,mon . Fess up :)
 
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