Wayfarer for a fat bloke

[ylop]

Some good advice there. I am afraid however the fact that the head bloke at most Sailing Clubs is called a Commodore kind of makes me fall about laughing and I cant take them seriously. I trust most clubs know that kind of makes then the laughing stock in the non boating world.

I’m really no fan of pretentious titles, but it’s not like titles used in other “worlds”, like President, are exactly laid back. Now some sailing clubs do pretentious to a whole new level, but there’s certainly plenty where the Commodore is just one of many volunteers who give up huge amounts of time to help others. I’ve never heard anyone outside the boating world give much regard to what the leader of club committees was called. Do you think you are outside the boating world? You own 14 boats - more than some clubs!

 

[Dino]

Some good advice there. I am afraid however the fact that the head bloke at most Sailing Clubs is called a Commodore kind of makes me fall about laughing and I cant take them seriously. I trust most clubs know that kind of makes then the laughing stock in the non boating world.

I’ll try not to take that as an insult as I am currently the commodore of my club.

 

[Bigplumbs]

You ever actually been to a sailing club? I’ve met some of my best mates via dinghy sailing and the beer is cheap. Many a happy memory rolling in at 3am……the commodore was closer to 4am

Yes I have been to a sailing club and been a member, Treasurer and Chairman of many other sorts of clubs. Not overly keen on Beer. Don’t actually like the stuff and neither do many people who for some reason feel compelled to drink it. You seem to think rolling in drunk in the early hours is a good thing.

 

[Bigplumbs]

I’m really no fan of pretentious titles, but it’s not like titles used in other “worlds”, like President, are exactly laid back. Now some sailing clubs do pretentious to a whole new level, but there’s certainly plenty where the Commodore is just one of many volunteers who give up huge amounts of time to help others. I’ve never heard anyone outside the boating world give much regard to what the leader of club committees was called. Do you think you are outside the boating world? You own 14 boats - more than some clubs!

Never said I am outside the boating world but know many people who are. Perhaps with our 14 boats ( I would have 15 but that might be considered excessive). I should call me and her indoors a club and her indoors could be Commodore. Are women allowed in that role

 

[Boathook]

You seem to think rolling in drunk in the early hours is a good thing.

When I was young, but now I'm a lot older I hate the headaches and need my sleep !

 

[Mr Googler]

Yes I have been to a sailing club and been a member, Treasurer and Chairman of many other sorts of clubs. Not overly keen on Beer. Don’t actually like the stuff and neither do many people who for some reason feel compelled to drink it. You seem to think rolling in drunk in the early hours is a good thing.

Not your place to tell me it isn’t a good thing? I’ll remind you of your tag line on every post. Bit of an oxymoron in comparison to what you actually post.

Leave you to it

 

[Hurricane]

I’ll try not to take that as an insult as I am currently the commodore of my club.

I will try not to take it as an insult as well. I was Commodore of Datchet Water Sailing Club which is one of the biggest inland sailing clubs in the country. As said above - lots of volunteering

 

[ylop]

Never said I am outside the boating world but know many people who are. Perhaps with our 14 boats ( I would have 15 but that might be considered excessive). I should call me and her indoors a club and her indoors could be Commodore. Are women allowed in that role

I’m not sure why I am surprised, given the type of conversations you have here, but you have some strange conversations with people outside the boating world. I might be wrong but I don’t think many of my “non-sailing friends” could tell me the title usually given to the official who leads a yacht club; certainly none have ever felt it interesting enough to share their amusement at the nomenclature.

I’m not aware of any men-only clubs remaining in the U.K. but there might still be some. Certainly some have the feeling of being stuffy gentlemen’s clubs but there’s plenty of female commodores, and lots of clubs that are truely welcoming to all. The RYA does have an initiative to drive that - although the usual suspects are outraged at the suggestion they are not already inclusive.

 

[DownWest]

Local French friend's aunt was the first female commodor of the Island Sailing Club, and that was a while back.

 

[The Q]

My own club will have another female commodore in a couple of years, we've had several female commodores.

There are more female only golf clubs in the UK than male only golf clubs

 

[Major_Clanger]

@Bigplumbs you could do a lot worse than nip over to the Ferry sailing club. I'm not a member but pop in occasionally and they're a great bunch of people. They also have a good selection of dinghies and I'm sure someone would be happy to give you a taster on something stable. Talk to Andrew at the yard as well, he often has things for sale. We're both Deben-based so I'll meet you there for a pint if you like.

 

[Greg2]

I will try not to take it as an insult as well. I was Commodore of Datchet Water Sailing Club which is one of the biggest inland sailing clubs in the country. As said above - lots of volunteering

Me too as a former Rear-Commodore of a ‘Royal’ yacht club and several years on the management committee - all voluntary as you say and involved in keeping the club running for the benefit of members, berth holders and visiting boaters.

If that isn’t bad enough I also drink beer and oddly enough I like it despite plums assertion that many beer drinkers don’t like it
.

 

[Hurricane]

Me too as a former Rear-Commodore of a ‘Royal’ yacht club and several years on the management committee - all voluntary as you say and involved in keeping the club running for the benefit of members, berth holders and visiting boaters.

If that isn’t bad enough I also drink beer and oddly enough I like it despite plums assertion that many beer drinkers don’t like it
.

Despite being voluntary, it is quite a lot of fun.
Probably the same as most sailing clubs, DWSC has 2 Rear Commodores a Vice Commodore and a Commodore.
The Vice Commodore organises all the sailing events
The two Rear Commodores - one for house (social events) and one for harbour (Rear Commodore Harbour).
The Harbour Rear Commodore gets to organise all the safety boats, moorings. ground tackle - in fact all the practical stuff.
I never did Rear Commodore Harbour (I went straight to Commodore) but harhour was a lot of fun - we had a fleet of 4 RIBS and 4 rigid rescue boats.
Along with 2 committee boats and other craft.
Being an inland reservoir, we had to maintain our own race marks etc.

 

[benjenbav]

Despite being voluntary, it is quite a lot of fun.
Probably the same as most sailing clubs, DWSC has 2 Rear Commodores a Vice Commodore and a Commodore.
The Vice Commodore organises all the sailing events
The two Rear Commodores - one for house (social events) and one for harbour (Rear Commodore Harbour).
The Harbour Rear Commodore gets to organise all the safety boats, moorings. ground tackle - in fact all the practical stuff.
I never did Rear Commodore Harbour (I went straight to Commodore) but harhour was a lot of fun - we had a fleet of 4 RIBS and 4 rigid rescue boats.
Along with 2 committee boats and other craft.
Being an inland reservoir, we had to maintain our own race marks etc.

I know this is away from the original topic but wondered if you had found that, in your experience, enthusiasm for clubs had decreased over time?

I think it is a generational thing where my father’s generation did a lot more joining in and volunteering for club duties than my generation.

Or maybe it’s just me? I certainly relate much more to the OP’s disinclination to get involved with a sailing club than I would to joining one nowadays, although I was a fleet captain in one club many years ago and the commodore of my university’s sailing club - also some years ago!

They may be fine organisations but there’s also an appeal to just pottering about in boats on one’s own.

 

[Bigplumbs]

Not your place to tell me it isn’t a good thing? I’ll remind you of your tag line on every post. Bit of an oxymoron in comparison to what you actually post.

Leave you to it

There are many ways to bend down and pick people up. That is often what has to be done with drunks

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Are folks seriously recommending poor Plums a boat designed before he was born that is well known to sink at any opportunity, has chronic weather helm, and will require a winch for recovery? Dozens of more modern designs do the same job better these days.

 

[Bigplumbs]

Are folks seriously recommending poor Plums a boat designed before he was born that is well known to sink at any opportunity, has chronic weather helm, and will require a winch for recovery? Dozens of more modern designs do the same job better these days.

I am fairly sure I will get a Wayfarer. I have no idea what a weather helm is and don't want to know. I will call the sails sails, It will be left and right. The things you pull will be called ropes. Now lets be serious. If I told her indoors or any other normal person to pull the sheets she/they would be certain I meant the sails.

We just want to give it a go sailing slowly up the River

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I am fairly sure I will get a Wayfarer. I have no idea what a weather helm is and don't want to know. I will call the sails sails, It will be left and right. The things you pull will be called ropes. Now lets be serious. If I told her indoors or any other normal person to pull the sheets she/they would be certain I meant the sails

Best of luck, mate. Do not sail where there’s no rescue cover. It's rare to self right a capsised Wayfarer, unless it’s a newish one. I don’t care what you call the bits of the boat, and weather helm is the tendency of a boat to round up into the wind, necessitating the tiller to be permanently offset to counter it. It's slow, it reduces control, and it’s bloody exhausting. I've sailed plenty of Wayfarers as a dinghy instructor, and grew to despise them.

 

[ylop]

Are folks seriously recommending poor Plums a boat designed before he was born that is well known to sink at any opportunity, has chronic weather helm, and will require a winch for recovery? Dozens of more modern designs do the same job better these days.

I’ve never heard of a wayfarer actually sinking, but I have seen them floating very low in the water. No need for a winch to recover with plumbs experience launching ribs and a decent slipway.

Best of luck, mate. Do not sail where there’s no rescue cover.

It's rare to self right a capsised Wayfarer, unless it’s a newish one.

I’d dispute that, provided you know what you are doing and practice it. Which is why almost everyone suggested some training or joining a club. In some ways recovering a wayfarer was easier (it’s at least 10 years since I capsized a dinghy and nearer 30 since I capsized a wayfarer) compared to many dinghies when capsized it was easier to get up onto the centreboard. But some weight definitely helped.

I don’t care what you call the bits of the boat,

My neither but it will be a lot easier to understand and books, videos etc if he can read the language. To genuinely self teach yourself to sail without any training, books, videos etc in your 60s would be both really impressive and incredibly silly.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Don’t worry. If Bigplums becomes a raggie, the sky will fall on all our heads.