"What’s Really Wrong with Yacht Clubs"

CPseudonym said:

For the most part ditto here. Similar effort to reach out, similar outcome. If yacht clubs desire larger membership roles they can try scooting the stick over to one side of their derrière.

Until then TrawlerForum is my yacht club.

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What you aren't part of the SF Yacht club?????

A good word about Yacht Clubs. I miss mine. Was able to stop in for a drink or a meal and always knew someone. Now I do not see these people.

my 2 yacht clubs this virtual one and the marina I am slipped at

refugio said:

I'm having a hard time convincing my club that they need to attract people not exactly like themselves, and I ran across this fascinating piece:
Scuttlebutt News: What’s Really Wrong with Yacht Clubs

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Most of the people I know, and not just in my age group but 20 to 40 something's, too, have little or no interest in joining anything other than perhaps a gym.

I suspect a big reason for this is the internet, particularly Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, and so forth. These have replaced the social get-together aspect of clubs. Now, you can create your own "club" and get together with it whenever you want regardless of the "members" physical location.

I know people who are in hiking clubs, wine clubs, etc. who interact almost entirely via phone and tablet. They physically get together for activities like a hike or a winery visit, but other than that all social interaction is done on the web.

Personally, I think this is great because club "membership" has a minimal impact on one's own schedule.

We joined a boating club back in the early 2000s. They have a monthly potluck meeting which we don't attend because the meetings are on week nights and we live 100 miles from the clubhouse. They sponsor cruises in the islands during the boating season, of which we might participate in just one or two because of my work and travel schedule.

Dues are $70 per year. The membership seems pretty evenly split between power and sail. Membership gets one a not-insignificant discount at the large and well-stocked marine store in the harbor, and reciprocal privileges with a few other yacht clubs at their out-stations in the islands.

The club loses a few members every year and gains a few members every year. Most members are older folks.

We joined because good friends we boat with are members. Had we not had this connection we would never have considered joining a boating club at all. We, like most of the people we know, particularly younger people, are not joiners. We did not get into boating for its social aspect.

We joined our Port Townsend Yacht Club two years ago. The impetus was to gain reciprocal privileges, especially as we were cruising the south sound that summer. However, after meeting club members for the first time at their annual open boat, we realized there were some real nice people who shared similar boating interests. And we were sold after hearing the unofficial club motto: "Until we eat again..." The PTYC also has reasonable fees: $150 to join, $200 a year. We have a modest club house, and a fairly active group of cruisers.

However, we have the same "problem". Although I'm 53, and my wife is 47, we feel like the "new kids". Of course, add in our 4.5 year old daughter and we do skew the median age a bit. The club's board as recently as a few years ago decided to reach out and try to get new members. It seems to be working. When we joined there were approximately 75 member/families, and now we are up to 96. Though the average new member is still our age or older.

I think what Sam said, about his yacht club having reduced prices for younger members, is a great idea. I'm going to bring that up to our club and see what they think.

Moonfish said:

However, we have the same "problem". Although I'm 53, and my wife is 47, we feel like the "new kids". Of course, add in our 4.5 year old daughter and we do skew the median age a bit. The club's board as recently as a few years ago decided to reach out and try to get new members. It seems to be working. When we joined there were approximately 75 member/families, and now we are up to 96. Though the average new member is still our age or older.

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Wifey B: Ok, one day i was asked by a kindly much older woman who were my parents. She thought they were probably the members. I felt complimented. We joined because they have great tennis courts. And reciprocals are good sometimes. We only go during the week and during the day so don't see many other people. But they seem like a friendly group.

It's like any clubs, some good some bad. Those we've been to other places have been the same mostly. Generally nice people. Now there is one high and fancy one not too far from us where basically those who live at the club do not like guests, transients, visitors, kids, or anything that disturbs their little world. It's almost worth it to go there just for the annoyance factor.

Every yacht club has its own "drum beat". Before joining, you need to research them and find the right fit, find what's important to you in a club.

Some clubs have no amenities and low fees, others have lots of amenities and high fees. As like anything, those kind of things differentiate the membership.

Some clubs have an extensive screening process, and they have it for a reason - their members want it that way. You may think its to maintain some level of exclusivity, but its not. Its for reasons that may not seem evident. The members may have jobs that wreak havoc during the week with people and issues and they just want to go boating, decompress, and maybe have surface-scraper-level socialization (if at all). Which leads to another reason for a screening process- its about trying to avoid the "aggressive entrepreneur" who wants nothing but to walk the dock and network with other club members about having the next best thing since sliced bread. The members get that all week - they want none of that when they're on their boat, and so they shy away from the more aggressive conversationalists and keep to themselves.

To the older members, its about peace and quiet - unfortunately that conflicts with today's younger crowd maybe wanting to join a yacht club that has children. Finding that balance between old vs. young is the challenge - and if it was easy, everybody could do it.

One thing to remember about yacht club initiation fees and yearly dues - whatever assets the club has, it costs to keep the lights on. You can't expect to join a club and "come out ahead of the game". Maybe you'll be able to offset some of those costs with outstations or reciprocals, but its a losing (or diminishing) game - similar to a boat.

Good thread, it got me thinking about our club.

I initially joined many years ago as a social member, because they had great facilities for kids, large heated pool bistro open all hours etc.There were a lot of young families,and being new to the area it was a great way to meet people.

The boat facilities are good, although expensive, about $9K for the berth per year, with membership on top, the wait list for a berth is about 12-15 months or so.The thing is though it's a really laid back & friendly club, especially the staff and that I think makes all the difference.

We have another large club about 500 meters down the waterway, mainly a sailing club for racing yachts and the atmosphere couldn't be more different, chalk and cheese, and I certainly wouldn't consider putting the boat there. Incidentally it's the home club of 'your' America's Cup skipper! :lol:

On balance I think it is the friendliness and acceptance that makes or breaks a club.

Very interesting thread. This year I am the commodore of the Edmonds Yacht Club. We had been starting to decrease in size due to attrition but had a strong membership year last year. I attributed part of the lack of growth to the slowdown of boat sales. Reading this I see other issues as well.

Our active members love boating and we organize cruises throughout the year. Our club-sponsored cruises average around 40 boats and our casual cruises about a dozen or more. Most of our members make lifelong friends and the club becomes a second family.

What I really like about our club is the caring camaraderie. During our first year of boating there were always members to buddy boat with us. It gave us the confidence to cruise to the San Juan's and into canada. When we had boating problems there was always someone with experience to help us out.

The people who tend not to be interested or join and then quit are "self sufficients." They know what they know, don't make an effort to meet new people, and like to boat solo. The people in that group will join for our reciprocals and we get an annual check from them if they stay as members.

The folks who make our club great are the new members who throw themselves into committees, organize cruises, help cook a meal, decorate for a club party, or somehow find a way to pitch in. Each person that does that helps to make our club a little better. The other thing we find is that proximity is important. If you live more than twenty five miles from the club it becomes more difficult to pop in for a quick meeting.

The key is to attend a club meeting and see if you like the group dynamic. You will know when you find the right fit.

I am about to quit a club I've belonged to for 13 years. When I joined it was a club of very active boaters. We had two major cruises a year and several impromptu ones on weekends during the summer. It was fun, the members liked each other and enjoyed each others' company. We had Friday BBQ's and several parties during the year.

Over the past 3-4 years the club has become much less active. I was cruise chair three years ago and couldn't get any interest from ANYONE in going on our annual spring cruise. Since then the parties have continued but the Friday BBQ's have almost ended. There are a few cliques in the club and none of them speak to the others. People don't like each other, nobody goes boating, etc. For me, it became time to quit. BTW, we don't keep our boat there because they have no covered moorage.

We have joined another club. It's fun, the people there are fun, they cruise somewhere every weekend, they have Friday BBQ's, Sunday football parties to watch games, etc. It is costing us about $300/year more to belong to this club but at least we're getting something for our money.

The lack of active boaters as opposed to slip-huggers has had a deleterious effect on boating in our club. When the "bite" was on we would be wakened by the sound of sportfishers cranking up and heading out to the grounds. No more. The sail fleet is having a tough time finding enough entrants for a regatta. There was a time when we would have twenty or more boats competing in a Predicted Log race. Now we are averaging eight boats to a contest. All this in an area with all year boating weather.

I would like to support the Longview Club, but we have no need for their facilites. After reading this thread, I would have to be honest in that if we joined, it would be based on social activities. We already know everyone, so is it worth the cost? The Admiral and I agree it does not. Shame though as we would like to be members of the club in an associate manner...

Some folks are "joiners", some are not. A few months ago we stayed as transients at the Capital Yacht Club in Washington, DC. I was a beautiful, but aging facility. The city is renovating the entire waterfront so anything the club might do will be done away with soon.

They had a mahogany bar and a breakfast every Saturday which we were invited to at $7 each. Free coffee and a large laundry facility. Everyone was very friendly even though I'm sure they knew we were transients.

I think many of the members live aboard their vessels and work in DC.

In one of the previous posts, someone complained about $850 to join. It appears joining this club would be more like $ 10K plus slip fees and mandatory expenses.

When I first bought my boat and got a slip at my marina there was an informal "club" that hung around on weekends, went to restaurants together and went on boat trips to nearby cities. That was six year ago and health issues, job transfers and family obligations have pretty much killed the "club".

I guess when you look at other clubs, $850 is that much when compared. However to me $850 is a good chuck of change that is better spent eleswhere.

My history with a yacht club. Last year after saving my coins I decided to purchase a boat. I drug my wife to many boat shows here in the pnw and looked at hundreds of new and used boats. One day on Craigslist i saw a boat style and size i liked. I called the broker to set up an appointment to see it. Turns out it was a yacht club on the Columbia river about an hour from our house. We visited the boat and fell for it. The broker was a member of the club as was the captain she had on board to answer questions as well. Turns out the boat house was for sale also for cheap so we decided to purchase it also. This required us to join the club. Not what i was thinking when i started but it came with extras like inexpensive fuel and moorage. It cost us about $1300 and attending three meetings to join. Yes it was alot of extra money not budgeted but money well spent! We now have a new group of friends from all walks of life and with all sizes and types of power boats that have a like of the water and boating. The club Has between 1 and 2 cruises a month nearly all year round. We have social functions through out the year with the highlight being the commodores ball. We enjoy all the social functions which include bbqs done by each moorage row. We even enjoy our work hours! In our club you need 13.5 hours a year of work hours. Yes there is some politics in the club but that the nature of groups. I for one am glad i joined and have had nothing but fun and look forward to many more years of fun and boating with this club. Remember the club is only as good as its members. Happy member of Tyee Yacht club Portland Or.

PARTSGOD said:

My history with a yacht club. .............

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Your post is a great example of how individuals are different and yacht clubs are different. Some clubs are a good fit for some people and some people are a good fit for some yacht clubs. Anyone who makes a blanket statement about yacht clubs is just not thinking clearly.

As I posted, we socialize with people at our marina but it's too small to have a formal organized club. If there was a club like you describe in my area, I would at least consider joining. I might not join but I would consider it.

This sounds like a Left coast problem I belong to a clin in western NY and visit many clubs in Florida and have had nothing but good times and met mostly good people my cost is about 2400 a year with a slip and storage that also includes 40.00 a month in mandatory spending for food or the bar

Here is a question, does a really nice (few are) Marina replace the need for a yacht club?

And does CCA do the yacht club concept one better?

sunchaser said:

Here is a question, does a really nice (few are) Marina replace the need for a yacht club?...

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Guess it depends on the marina and the club. Our club operates within a marina run by an operator under a long term lease from the state. In my mind our club does three things that simply would not happen otherwise. First, the club arranges a long list of events each year -- sailboat races, social events, dinners, sailing classes for kids, fundraisers for charities, lots of stuff. The marina simply would not do that on its own initiative -- no incentive, no reason to bother. Second, the club gives slip owners an opportunity to mix and get to know each other beyond our immediate slip neighbors -- another thing that would be far less likely the happen otherwise. Without the club's work we would normally just connect with our immediate slip or dock neighbors, and the sail and power people would seldom cross that great divide. Finally -- and here's probably the biggest reason the marina itself has no incentive to promote activities itself -- the club gives us the one and only collective voice we have in marina management and in resolving issues and problems. Without that club, it would mostly be each slip owner for himself in a debate with marina management -- a marina with a years-long waiting list and no reason whatsoever to be cooperative with anybody.

sunchaser said:

Here is a question, does a really nice (few are) Marina replace the need for a yacht club?

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Probably depends on what a person wants out of boating. If the social aspect is real important to them, then a club is probably what they might want even if the marina is great in terms of facilities, upkeep, etc. Some people enjoy meetings and being on committees and organizing BBQs and cruises and hanging out with other boaters and whatnot. Some if not most clubs in this area, get involved with projects to improve the marine parks, which is certainly a worthwhile undertaking.

And there are a lot of boaters who have no interest socializing to the the extent one does in a club. We are prime examples of this. I get more than enough interaction with people in my work. For us, one reason we bought a boat is to not have to deal with people when we're on our own time.

So to us being in a well-run, well-maintained marina is far more important than being in a club.

We did join a small boating club because some friends of ours are in it, but we're not active other than one or two cruises a year and the marine park workparties if I'm not on travel at the time. There is a much larger, more formal yacht club in our marina with fairly substantial membership fees and organzed events like sailing races and whatnot, but I don't know what their membership figure is like.

From what I have observed, the boaters in our 2000+ boat harbor seem to be pretty independent. By which I mean they seem to pretty much do their own things and keep to themselves. It's not that they're not friendly, but I don't see much socializing on the docks with the exception of the ones used by the charter companies.

Our own dock has about 35 boats on it, all of them between 36 and 45 feet long, with a big commerical fish processor buy boat taking up the end tie. The number is fairly evenly split between power and sail. And while some owners know other owners well enough to have a casual conversation with them, everyone does their own thing with little or no interaction between the other owers on the dock outside of a "hi, how's it going?"

I have no idea if this sort of thing is a "left coast" characteristic. It could be, I suppose. My own theory is that because this area (WA/BC/SE Alaska) offers so much in the way of cruising destinations and year-round boating opportunities that the primary reason for owning a boat here is to get out in the maze of islands, bays, sounds and fjords that stretch 1,000 miles from here up through SE Alaska and have whatever adventures and experiences each individual boat owner is hoping to have.

When we're out, the vast majority of boaters-- power and sail--- we see in the anchorages, marine parks, and even the harbors, are doing their own thing. Very few raft-ups, very few dock parties, and not much visiting between boats at anchor or on moorings.

So------ some people here like the clubs, no question. Particulalry in the cities where the expensive and exclusive clubs like the Seattle Yacht Club, Queen City Yacht Club, etc. seem to enjoy large and active memberships. But I think most boaters here are in it just for the boating and no so much the socializing outside of their own families and circle of immediate friends.

It's an amazing experience to be up the Passage on your own, no other boats around, just the two of us, the mountains, the currents, the wind, and the sky. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Healhustler hit the nail on the head for Florida Yacht Clubs. They are expensive and, most importantly, many have no pool of young affluent people to recruit. In the case of my now ex club, there were no young people at all to recruit. The average age of residents in Charlotte County is in the mid 60's. In my neighborhood the only time we see young people is this time of the year when they fly in to visit their retired parents.

My ex club loses slightly more members than it gains over a year's time. The total membership is around 700 and it sustains this number through the tireless efforts of one member who is very effective at recruiting. Many are there for the tennis, the billiards, and the card games, in addition to the boating. A club's membership in the somewhat unique Florida Council of Yacht Clubs is the reason that many give for remaining in a yacht club. Three or four club boats are usually off receiving reciprocity at another FCYC club at any given time. And, a well attended club cruise might draw 10-15 boats which makes we wonder if they are going to have to change the club's name someday.

Are Florida yacht clubs snooty, one might ask? If you are a cruising boater from a yacht club that is not a member of the FCYC... in Florida or out of state...good luck on setting foot on the property.

Just the opposite here in southern California. Our club has recips with all the other clubs so we get a guest slip whenever we travel up the coast. As a member of the International Order of Blue Gavel we have access to every yacht club in the world. In order to be a member of Blue Gavel, your yacht club or racing association must have a Blue Gavel charter, and you must have served as commodore of your organization.
P.S. We do get a "free" guest slip but then the Sicilian visits their yacht club store and it ain't free anymore.

My former club does have a monthly Blue Gavel group luncheon and, as I think about it, several members of the club are past commodores of out of state clubs and thus get the little flags on their tables at dinner. I have no idea how much reciprocity a Blue Gavel person who is a not a current member of a FCYC club would be afforded outside of lunch. I was not the commodore so I did not have the occasion to ask.

My former club does have a monthly Blue Gavel group luncheon and, as I think about it, several members of the club are past commodores of out of state clubs and thus get the little flags on their tables at dinner. I have no idea how much reciprocity a Blue Gavel person who is a not a current member of a FCYC club would be afforded outside of lunch. I was not the commodore so I did not have the occasion to ask.

BTW, the reason that I am a former member is that we are on the verge of moving out of town. If that happens I will more than likely find another FCYC Club to join. If for some reason we do not move, I have three years to rejoin my old club at a greatly reduced rate.

My club is basically a marina. When I suggest we seek out reciprocity with other clubs, I'm told that it really doesn't mean anything in the Northeast any more. If you're lucky, a reciprocating club MIGHT let you use one of their open moorings - for full price. Slips? Forget it!

Is this true? I've always just used guides and Active Captain to find good anchorages or transient slips and moorings; never experienced reciprocity so I don't know if it's worth pursuing.

We're planning a spring run from Newport to Buffalo and so I wondered whether reciprocity really meant anything myself. So far I found one marina (club) on Long Island that offers transient slips for $3.25 per foot to the general public in April, but lowers that to $3.00 for members of reciprocal clubs. For me that would be a difference of around $10 on about a $125 bill - so it does mean a little. It'll buy me the martini in the clubhouse to celebrate that I did't hit anybody's million dollar yacht getting into an unfamiliar slip.

We pay nothing for a guest slip at a reciprocating yacht club. Our yacht club goes out of it's way to accommodate boaters from recip clubs. Besides the two 80' guest docks, the club utilizes any empty slips for transient boaters. As a last resort, boaters are allowed to raft-up to boats on end ties. There is always room at this inn.

If any visiting boat ever wanted to use our club we'd take you to dinner and let you stay in our guestroom at home and maybe help you buff your hull - but first you'd have to figure out a way to get your boat above the first dam going upstream on the Missouri River.

The club that GW and I joined this summer seems to be doing many of the right things. Several people have mentioned that the clubs they belong to are suffering from dwindling membership as the members get older and younger members aren't joining the club.

Clover Island Yacht Club doesn't seem to suffer from that malaise. Here's a Christmas Party for Kids that was held yesterday. There are about 20-25 kids there, ranging in age from about 6 months to 10 years, and about 40 parents and grand parents.

The club furnished cookies for the kids to decorate complete with small "jello shots" size plastic cups with 3 different colors of frosting, plus several kinds of toppings for the cookies. Also furnished was an assortment of pizzas for the kids and turkey enchiladas for the adults. Santa made a guest appearance and gave each of the kids a gift, all paid for by the club.

From these pics you'll see that a good time was had by kids of all ages.








CIYC is very proactive in recruiting young members. Several events are planned each summer aimed primarily at the people who own wakeboard boats and other types of smaller boats. It appears to be working.

It looks like that approach is working very well!


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