What club

R

Relax.A

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On Thames near windsor
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Hi i wonder if you could recomend a boat club worth joining?
We are based on the thames near Windsor and i have often wonderd which club would be best for us. Our main reson for joining would be for the social side and also any organised events that would push our boating past Tedington. We do have young children who are very much part of our boating life.

The location of the clubhouse is not to important as long as its in our main cruising area between Teddington - Goring

Also what are the costs involved?

Many thanks.
 
Lots of choice!!!

Hi. Well I expect by the time you check back here tomorrow, there will probably be lots of recommendations, from members of various clubs. All good, too:)

I would say the best advice would be to check out the clubs against your on personal requirements, as well as personal recommendations. And don't feel you are confined either ,as there are folks here hat are active members of more than one club.

The ATYC web site (Associaton of Thames Yacht Clubs www.atyc.co.uk ) I think lists most clubs, and their web site addresses too. Checking the individual web sites you should be able to check their social and cruising diaries to get a feel for what the particular club is about. Many of these are based in Thames marinas (Harleford ,Bray, Windsor, Penton Hook, etc.). Most will offer a mix of both tidal and non-tidal cruises. Fees are normally listed somewhere on the individual web sites too, and if not then their contact details are there and ou should get a quick answer to any questions ou might have.

OK, I have resisted long enough!... Bray Cruiser Club has its annual cruise planning meeting at their club house in Bray Marina this coming Saturday evening, 8pm. You would be very welcome to come along and see what's on offer - perfect timing!;). There will be up-river cruises this year to Medenham, Henley, Child Beal etc and tidal cruises to London, Rochester and Burnham. We are a family-friendly club and happy to welcome new members with families (and pets!). <sales pitch over!>

Good luck and happy boating whatever you choose :)
 
I put a similar question on the Honeymommy thread before I saw this one.

I'm not a club person, mainly because we live a fair distance away from the River. However, Bray is very active - whenever we go out, we see lots of orangey burgees flying and as you can see if you lurk on this forum there's a lot of input from BrayCC members. It's a good place to start and I think there's some interaction with Windsor as well.

Thinks - whilst on the subject of clubs - is there anything at Penton Hook (the other two MDL marinas have boat clubs....)

In th end it makes more sense to join a club that's near to your mooring.
 
In answer to your question, yes there is a club at Penton Hook and it's proabably bigger than both Windsor and Bray clubs, certainly their clubhouse is bigger. They also have visitor moorings for those who do not moor in the marina.
 
Brayman said:
In answer to your question, yes there is a club at Penton Hook and it's proabably bigger than both Windsor and Bray clubs, certainly their clubhouse is bigger. They also have visitor moorings for those who do not moor in the marina.
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Seems sensible - It's a very big marina, but "we" never hear anything from them, or at least nobody declares themselves as such.
 
Good recomendation

BCC is indeed a good club and active with it. Based where you are it seems a good choice.
Best bet, as suggested earlier on, is to take a look at the ATYC website and see who is where and then look at their websites to see if their activities meet your requirements. But please do visit any clubs you think suitable. They all encourage it. You may even be invited to join in one of the socials as guest to get the full flavour.
The clubs closest to the tidal Thames tend to spend more time on the estuary and coastal but many other clubs will organise tidal trips at least once during the year.
My 1st Club is Upper Thames Motor Yacht Club, but our clubhouse is at Sonning, so probably to far upriver. It is however in a beautiful location with grounds of about an acre and jettee moorings for 20+ members. Don't join just for the mooring as there is a long waiting list! We also encourage members of other ATYC affiliated clubs to visit, when passing, so long as arranged in advance.
Good luck in making your choice. With a young family you will be in demand!
 
All good recomendations so far, however I can't stop myself and feel the need to put a pitch in for TWYC (Windsor). We have an active calendar with socials, up river and down river cruises planned. New potential members are always welcome to come in to see what we are like!

Which ever club you choose to join I can recomend it as a way of getting to know like minded boaters, having fun and doing some great boat trips in company to places you may not feel comfortable going by yourself especially down river.

If you fancy have a look at TWYC you can PM me and I can introduce you. BCC have definitely offered a warm welcome so far! :D
 
I would recommend you go to more than one club to an event from each (which most clubs will be fine with) before you pays your money.

As others have said, all clubs will be desperate to be your best friend.

Pay particular interest to how many folks there are of your age group and with children.

Also have a look at the events calendar, do they actually go anywhere?

Do the events on the calendar cater for children?

How formal is it? Will you have to buy a Blazer?

I am sure it will come as no surprise that boating is an expensive hobby and hence it does tend to attract folks from an older age group..... sadly getting close to that end of the spectrum myself, but I do still have one child below teenager age.

I have been and in one case still am member of couple of the clubs mentioned and in general what has been said is true.

But dont be pressured into making a rush decision, there is no rush!
 
PHYC

I thought this might be a good opportunity for me to chip in, I have actually been a member of YBW for a while but tend to lurk about soaking up the (considerable) knowledge on the forums.
SWMBO and I purchased a cruiser a few years ago ('Phoenician Princess' a Fairline Turbo 36) and liked PH's flexibility for tidal as well as upriver work. We joined the club quickly through next door and have been totally suckered in, I am in my second year on the committee and she is now the Hon. Secretary!
We have about 120 members of all ages, ability and boat sizes. We run a number of cruises both upriver and down each year, and have just agreed our itinery for the year to include 11 upriver cruises and 2 down (less than last year given restrictions for 2012), including our visit to Windsor MDL to reclaim our boat handling trophy (Windsor I await your banter!)
We have a large club house and a full time steward and cook which allows us the opportunity to stick to opening hours all through the year (Wed eve, Fri PM, Sat lunch + Eve and Sun Avo)
We also carry RYA training centre status and offer a decent range of specialist short courses as well as practical and theory based certificates. Not too much of a plug we have a VHF course booked for March 3rd with a couple of spaces left if anyone is interested.
The club itself is very open and relaxed, whilst still maintaining much of the tradition that makes boating on the Thames so special. Our events calendar is fairly full for the year and ranges from sit down meals to karaoke (our commodores favourite!) We had a cracking mod's and rockers themed party a couple of weeks ago and have more lined up.
ok sales pitch over! (Well nearly)

We also have our own club visitor moorings so if any of you fancy a weekend down our way, drop us a line we'd love to see you (I take it you drink beer?)

By the way now I have introduced myself to the forum if you ever see us cruising during the summer please stop and say hello, always nice to put a face to the avatar!
 
We are out on the hard at Penton Hook at the moment.

Before we bought her Silver Dragon was a PHYC boat, owned by a former Commodore there.

We will certainly wave if we see you!
 
Deffo worth visiting as many clubs as you feel fit, as they all have slightly different flavours.

Some are very easy going, others quite the opposite. You'll get an idea where you feel comfortable and welcome.

For the record, although a Bray member, and not planning to move, the Windsor lot always made us exceptionally welcome at events we held there, and most of the other clubs members I have met are top notch people too.

We joined Bray because of the friendly easy going attitude, acceptance of small Dogs, the odd children here and there (Most gaining experience quickly due to the in house training!) and many varied events.

I have met some exceptionally good friends over the last four years actually! :)

Choice is down to your preferences really :p
 
No Regrets said:
We joined Bray because of the friendly easy going attitude, acceptance of small Dogs, the odd children here and there
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You saying my kids are odd dude?

laughing_cats-323.jpg
 
Many thanks, I will try and pop over next time I am down....

At the moment I am sitting in the lounge at Phoenix airport, secure in the knowledge that we are expecting at least a two hour delay (the aircraft is still on its way from LHR).

Alex and I are ( of course) wearing our BCC ties.....:)
 
Thank you all for your advice i shall let the season get started and see if there is enough water left in the thames to even move the boat. out of intrest how will the olympics affect the clubs on its doorstep if at all?
thanks again.
 
Relax.A said:
out of intrest how will the olympics affect the clubs on its doorstep if at all?
thanks again.
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Couple of ways, 'on our doorstep', really. During the Olympics there will be a channel cordoned off down half the river between Queens Eyot (by Bray Marina) and Boveney Lock, so that rowers competing at Dorney Lake can practice on the Thames. And there will be a 'one way' system enforced around Queens Eyot. Also, you will not be able to use the public moorings upstream of Boveney lock during the Olympics, and there will be no anchoring allowed either.

If you plan to go tidal during this period, then there are restirctions in place passing through London - basically, no stopping and you need to be able to prove that you have booked a destination mooring outside of the London Olympics 'zone'.

There are a few threads here that cover it nicely in more detail...
 
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thames cruiser said:
During the Olympics there will be a channel cordoned off down half the river between Queens Eyot (by Bray Marina) and Boveney Lock, so that rowers competing at Dorney Lake can practice on the Thames. And there will be a 'one way' system enforced around Queens Eyot.
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Info recently received suggests that the special channel for canoes to practice will not now be needed but there will be a 10 metre exclusion zone on the Bucks side of the river from Boveney to the Sumerleaze Bridge at Bray.

Also possible that one way system round Queens Eyot may not be required but that has still to be confirmed.
 
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