Yacht Club visitors

[PhilipStapleton]

You are cruising and decide to visit the local yacht club for a drink and a shower. They welcome you politely and ask you to sign the visitors book. There is a column for "Own club", but you do not belong to one. Do you ...
a) Make an excuse and slink off
b) Leave it blank and outstare the Vice Commodore
c) Scribble "RYS" and stand straighter
d) Print "R" and "YC" with some random initials inbetween?

If you do belong, what's your club's attitude to un-clubbed visitors?

 

[DoctorD]

Before I was in a club - I always used to ask if I could use the facilities before signing in. Normally there was no problem. Sailors tend to look kindly on windswept and wet visitors! Being in the RNLI is definitely a help too.

 

[billmacfarlane]

This sounds like a discussion carried over from the BYM forum. My club , Chichester YC has a policy of welcoming visitors from other yacht clubs who will reciprocate and welcome Chichester members in their clubs. I've been in a fair few clubs in the UK , Royal and otherwise , and while I mention I'm from Chichester YC , I've never been asked to prove it. So I guess you could bluff your way into practically any YC in the country , with of course the exception being the RYS who famously rejected Ted Heath in his sailing days when he was PM.

 

[ToMo]

I've recently joined the Quay Sailing Club at St Germans Cornwall, whilst it's not strictly speaking a Yacht Club have members from both fraternities would this count in the scheme of things you refer to?
I do know that we have a reciprical arrangement re hospitatility with a couple of Devon yacht clubs.

 

[davidhand]

What is the difference between a sailing club and a yacht club? Out here in California a sailing club does not have actual premises. But having been to Portchester Sailing Club, which has a very nice clubhouse (and a castle in the back yard) and a friendly membership I know that's not the case in the UK.

 

[WayneS]

Hey, That's my club.

Thanks for the nice comments

Wayne

 

[Chris_Stannard]

It does depend very much on the club. I know for example that many of the Yacht Clubs with Royal infront of their names only welcome members from clubs with whom they have a reciprocal arrangement, the Royal Southampton, Thames, London, Southern etc.
The Island Yacht Club on the other hand welcomes all visiting yachtsmen who arrive in by yacht.
I guess the solution is to ask, these days you can always phone, since most of clubs numbers are in the pilot or reed Macmillan.
As far as I know there is no actual difference between yacht clubs and sailing clubs, I think it depends on their origins. I guess the Island Sailing Club started in dinghies and day boats when the rich were sailing big boats with large crews. Today the Island organises the Round the Island Race, which with nearly 2000 entries must be one of the biggest races in the world.


Chris Stannard

 

[hlb]

I've always wondered this too. Especialy being a stinky. No ones ever refused, but then again I haven't tried to get into that many. But is just having a boat good enough for most of them to accept my money!!

No one can force me to come here-----------
----- I'm a Volunteer!!!

Haydn

 

[Guest]

I've trailed and sailed a 'cruising' Wayfarer dinghy to many parts of the UK and Irish coasts over the last 6 or so years and in the process have 'sought refuge' in many yacht and sailing clubs. I've always asked before signing in as a 'visiting yachtsman' and have without exception been made welcome and allowed to use the facilities. I do belong to a Yacht Club and have signed in as a member of that club but have never been asked to prove membership.
There's been a few raised eyebrows when bar conversation turns to the type, length etc of my boat but in most cases there has been a genuine interest.
I now own a 'proper' pocket cruiser but fully expect to be able to use other club facilities when required.
I think this arrangement is very commendable and my own Yacht Club welcomes all genuine and well behaved visitors, whether visiting yachtsmen or otherwise.
The only problem I can forsee with this arrangement is the possability of abuse by unscrupulous people. I haven't heard of any examples yet but life being life there's bound to be some selfish individual minority who'll spoil it for the majority.
Always offer to pay for use of facilities (in most cases it's gratis) and show respect to its members and guests.

An Ron Beag

 

[DanTribe]

I see that you share my hobby of "getting away with it without paying".Perhaps we should form the Royal Freeloaders Yacht Club.

 

[Twister_Ken]

As I now belong to a 'proper' club I certainly wouldn't admit to ever having used subterfuge to get into them. If that was the sort of thing that I would once have got up to, I would probably have used the initials BSC, which stand for Bosham Sailing Club, Broadwater Sailing Club (a gravel pit near Uxbridge) or an undistinguished degree from a minor university.

Once you're in, if you buy your rounds, are nice about their steak and kidney pudding, tell a good joke, don't spit on the carpet, and don't grope the sailing secretary's wife (or worse still, the sailing secretary) no one will mind.

I admired the spirit of one club, who sent us away becasue we weren't wearing ties, but let us in when we came back with assorted sail ties knotted around our throats. God bless the Royal Corinthian!

 

[Viking]

I know Chichester YC welcomes visitoring yacht club members. But how do they get in now, with their new secuity 'swipe' membership card system on the door?

 

[david_e]

Re: Sailing v Yacht clubs

Not sure what the difference is, suspect that the Yacht Clubs think they are superior in some way 'cause a Yacht is in theory bigger then a saily boat and can include big MB's as well)

Could just be that the name Yacht or Sailing fits nicely with the title of the place it is situated in.

Some of them could be re-named IMHO. I am a member of PSC (Pwllheli Sailing Club) which is a superb club for all types. But the main activites there lend me to think it could be re-named PSCBC (Pwllheli Sailing, Cruising & Boozing Club))

 

[ccscott49]

I've never been a member of any yacht/sailing club, but have always recieved services from them when needed, but I always make sure that I try and pay my way, if the showers etc. are free, then I always have a couple of drinks and sometimes a meal there, you were going to the pub anyway! But don't do as I did in Dartmouth, get drunk and tell the commodore his boat is a plastic bathtub!!!!! We are actually great friends now, but it's still a plastic bathtub! Martin Williams was/is his name! Hope he's well!

 

[david_e]

Re: Paying your way

We welcome visitors, and have alot of the major "National" sailing events through the year and to help them pay their way have just introduced a swipe/credit type card for members only which you put dosh on and then spend over the bar. Prices for visitors are higher which helps to contribute etc, good idea I think. Also means you don't need to carry cash to get well oiled!

Famous Quotation - "Rich people never carry cash, and neither do poor people" )

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Paying your way

That is a good idea, as long as the visitor prices are less than the pub, as in most yacht clubs, for me it's just a way of saying thankyou for welcoming me!

 

[david_e]

Re: Pub prices

Now it all depends on which pub, a real pub and they are similar, a rip of chain and we are cheaper, in general they are OK, so you are welcome to mooch on up from Portugal to theWelsh Riviera anytime!

 

[halcyon]

Re: Paying your way

We do not have a column for club ( well last time I looked we hadn't ), but charge members and visistors excesive bar prices equally, if we had a card it would have to be gold minimum.