Why belong to the CA?

[Gunfleet]

The CA has never been exactly a bargain but they've just put the fees up to over £100, making themselves comparable to many East Coast yacht clubs. My yacht club has parking, showers, a good restaurant, boat storage, oar storage, a bar and a members only lounge, panoramic views over God's own Country, £20,000 worth of pontoon I use every time I go to my boat. So it makes me wonder, what do we get for the money from the CA? I get a magazine which is okayish but a long way below professional standards, for a fee I get the use of one of the CA's rather tired and smelly 'cabins' and the last time I went there the bar was closed at lunchtime! Given the state of the food it was hardly surprising. The CA represents yachtsmen on various committees but so does the RYA, and I belong to that too.

Second phase moan

Meanwhile, a certain small Scotsman of my acquaintance was given a free almanac for joining the CA at the boatshow (I should resign and join every year) and members of the Swedish equivalent (all 36,000 of them) have Liberty Hall in CA House in return for which the CA's Baltic section gets two mooring tags and the rest of us get sweet FA. Maybe I'll get lucky and find myself sharing a cabin with a stunning blonde next time I'm there. Knowing my luck it'll probably be called Sven.


ps no, I have no interest in a defaced blue ensign.

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[jimi]

Well I joined cos I wanted to be in the same club as you. It gives me a nice warm feeling.

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[Gunfleet]

Caledonian riff raff

and neo Caledonian riff raff. We should start our own club.

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[Ohdrat]

Re: Caledonian riff raff

CA base way to far away for my benefit.. so I don't belong... I would consider it if I was down souf.. from what I know of it it seems mostly to cater for the med / blue water types and less for us lot languishing in northern waters

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[gjeffery]

Well, at the SBS, the CA said to join to get a blue ensign (they had a prominent sign). I said that was not a good reason, but they explained that they are tryig to attract MoBos, who apparantly are impressed by them.

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[Gunfleet]

Don't think many mobo owners would be impressed by the smelly cabins at Limehouse!

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[Robin]

We used to be members but didn't use the library or the London facilities and also found the local group cliquey and then at least too mobo oriented. Nothing against mobos but organising BBQs where a yacht with a keel could not go except at HW was less than thoughtful! We were also reported in the mag as having left our boat in Holland following my heart attack - we were never in Holland and I trust I will never have a heart attack! Can you imagine receiving concerned phone calls and Get Well cards? However some of their local talk evenings were interesting, but these were open to us anyway as they used our clubhouse for them. We left when they consistantly failed to collect our Direct Debit payment whilst continually telling us we were overdue paying.

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[Gunfleet]

<<Can you imagine receiving concerned phone calls and Get Well cards?>>
No. No one cares about me. Least of all the Dutch.

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[Samphire]

Its hardly any different for any yacht club.Its relevance is proportional to what use you make of the membership.
It does represent cruising sailors in a far more cruising orientated fashion than the RYA,it does have relevance if you live near or visit London,it does have relevance if you join a Section where you can avail of organised events,it does have relevance if you are a cruising sailor (even in "home" waters) where there are local representatives to help you out in hundreds of ports worldwide if you have problems or need advice.
As an overseas member in Ireland ,who is not a member of any other organisation I enjoy meeting other CA members when cruising.

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[Birdseye]

Agree with you. I have just sent in my letter of resignation following the fee increase. Might have coughed up were I London based, but from here in Wales casual visits are out

<hr width=100% size=1>this post is a personal opinion, and you should not base your actions on it.

 

[Gunfleet]

I thought there was an Irish CA.

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[Samphire]

Sort of third rate RCC

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[bedouin]

The serious answer - because CA are about the only organisation in the country that stands up for the interests of the cruising yachtsman. On top of that their library is probably one of the best resources for the cruising sailor anywhere in the world.

If you pop down to CA house during your lunch times you can read the sailing rags (only takes about 30 minutes for each one these days /forums/images/icons/frown.gif) and that saves you most of your subscription /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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[Gunfleet]

I agree with you in theory bedouin but going over £100 has stretched my sense of altruism just a bit too far. I admit jimi and 36,000 Swedes are getting a jolly good bargain. The thousands of cruisers who don't belong are getting a hell of a bargain. But I'm beginning to look at this £100 hole in the sailing budget and think it might be better value spent elsewhere.



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[Mudplugger]

John, However much others wish to justify the proposed increase, I feel that taking the subscription above the £100. is unrealistic for those of us unable to make use of the facilities. Perhaps those that are able influence these things can get the messsage across! However, I'm another one about to cancel my D.Debit,

<hr width=100% size=1>Tony W.