Sussex Sailing Banter

The SYC website has ten questions listed & invites further to be submitted.

Quote from: "robin"The original idea, I understand, was to request members to give advance notice of questions, wherever possible, and that these would be posted on the Noticeboard.  I confess I scan it but hastily, before scuttling to the bar.  Has anybody seen any?

Only those I submitted!

Dear All, Please remember to come along if you can. It would be good to hear your various ideas & even meet you!

I realised I hadn't fully answered the question before hitting the submit button! So: You find a chance by offering some skill / qualification, being willing to help with less attractive aspects (such as scrubbing the hull) build trust by being reliable & helping with costs, then pass on berths you can't use to others you have met who you think will be able to fill them. Hence my enthusiasm for building a strong club base.
Another thought: We all fill out a form which enquires about our interests when joining SYC - what happens to that information? Is it used for strategic development or introductions to other members?

I have put a lot of effort into finding myself berths over the last five years by using contact points at Brighton Marina, SYC & Little Ship Club as well as web sites (Crewseekers etc) & have logged 6000 miles. Next year I will complete Yachtmaster Ocean with a qualifying passage from Bermuda to Dartmouth via the Azores. I would be pleased to help others & want SYC to prosper more than anything else - I will be spending my retirement here!

I have enjoyed this facility - Thanks Barbara & Robin for your efforts.
I think Andie has made a good point about getting members responding in greater numbers by regular e mails from the club - for instance "crew needed urgently" "Lunch menu on Sunday at SYC" or "Quiz night tomorrow" sort of thing. I am sorry that one of my replies was misunderstood but continue to think that we need to find ways of drawing a greater number of members into participation to have a more enjoyable "now" & an assured future for the club. I realise that is beyond your remit but hope these remarks are seen & acted upon!

Hi David & All! We went cruising the southern Irish coast this year & had fantastic welcomes everywhere - especially at Dunmore East SC. A small club with smaller facilities than ours but with fantastic support. They organise twice weekly BBQs through the season & rarely serve less than 100 meals prepared & cooked by volunteers. In my opinion, SYC needs a big development effort to dispell complacency & draw in the new members teetering on the edge of committment. We will all benefit!

I am also a member of Little Ship Club (London) & visited one of its reciprocals - the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron in Halifax NS recently. Very friendly there, not as the name sounds at all! Met Paul Heiney there on his Atlantic circuit in Ayesha of St Mawes (also see his book 'Last Man Over').
On 7 July, they will race another reciprocal - Boston Yacht Club accross the Gulf of Maine. Details can be found at www.marbleheadtohalifax.com and links. Well worth the effort, I thought.
Does SYC have reciprocals apart from across the Channel?

I have crewed for & can recommend a skipper out of Inverkip on the Clyde, who cruises for at least six months each year in these areas, so needs lots of crew. He charges very little for full board & is an easy going fit early retiree. The yacht is a 1989 Moody 376 with single line (new 2006) & jib furler reefing. Marinas are avoided except in gales.
Contact me for details if you are seriously interested & can offer at least two weeks.