Sailing club/commodore questions

[SailingLoto]

Hello, and thank you for reading this.
I am the new Commodore of a small, and dwindling sailing club on Lake of Ozarks in Missouri. It's an old club, but small.

I am relatively new to the sailing world, and this is my first club to be part of, much less run. At 45, I'm one of the youngest members.

Do any of you have suggestions for growing the club? What activities does your club do? Any advice is appreciated. My goal is to attract a younger crowd, and to have us be more known in the community.

Our members are mostly 70+ with a few my age. We all sail 22-30ft keel boats... catalinas, hunters, a couple 7.9's, a j88 and a few other random boats.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you

 

[dlochner]

The demographic the club is looking for will be young people with stable incomes. These people also have kids. Get the parents to join by getting the kids engaged. Run a week long learn to sail program for kids, the club will need to beg, borrow, or steal some Optis or similar kid sized boats. During the summer, parents are looking for things to keep their kids occupied and out of their hair, that's one opportunity.

Successful clubs have a strong social focus. Regular events, some sailing oriented and many socially oriented. Trivia nights, Stitch and Bitch nights, Mahjohng nights, Summer BBQs, Holiday Parties and so on.

One barrier for many people to joining a club or owning a boat is the cost. Club dues and initiation fees may not be in the household budget. Offer tiered memberships, waive initiation fees, offer payments over time, are a few ways to soften the financial blow joining a club. At one time in our club we had Social Memberships with limited privileges, however, social membership dues could be applied to the initiation fee for full membership.

Think about what the club is trying to sell. What is special about the club? Is it a place people want to visit? Make the club kid friendly with a space for kids to play. For the adults have a couple of club boats they can use. Boats like a Flying Scot are easy to sail family friendly boats. There are a lot of Scots out there, some can be purchased for not much money.

Do things to advertise the club. Does the local community have a parade? Put a float in the parade, aka a boat on a trailer. Is there a weekly Farmer's Market? Put an information table there and talk to people. Sell the club.

There is no magical answer to increasing membership, it takes work. Identify the target population and get out there and sell the club.

Good Luck!

PS: Cheap beer at the Club always goes over big.

 

[PaulK]

@dlochner has some good ideas. What does your club offer to sailors that will attract more of them? What resources do you have available?Our club runs an 8-week junior sailing program (8 full weeks or 2 four-week sessions) each summer that attracts about 200 kids. Non-member children are welcome. That gets their parents more interested in sailing and (potentially) interested in joining the club themselves. In the meantime the program generates revenue that the club can use for equipment and improvements. Are you in a position to host a regatta? That generates activity, revenue, and the parties involved with it boost interest in participating. @dlochner's idea about a club fleet works. We have a fleet of Ideal 18's for members to use with sign-out sheets. A seasonal fee for those who want to use them covers the cost of buying and maintaining them. The boats in the fleet don't need to be new, but do need to be fairly equal in condition so that they can be raced fairly. Are there Flying Scots or some other dinghy on your lake already? To attract a wide range of participants our club runs a variety of different race series using the boats. There are evening sessions for beginner adult sailors with debriefing and goal-setting by the instructor after each session. Another evening is for a non-spinnaker race series. A third evening for races with spinnakers. Rules, tactics and results are discussed at supper afterwards. You could set up different nights for different age groups, or families, or some other target market.
We also promote the club by allowing three local high schools to use our facilities for their sailing teams. Perhaps a "come sailing" event where your members could take townspeople out on their boats would uncover people who'd like to join the club. You don't say if your club runs Wednesday night cruising boat races. We do, and we have a rule that says that anyone who shows up on the dock at race time wanting to crew gets onto a boat. We get new members from people who started that way. Getting a fired-up membership chair is a key component of any successful new-member effort too. Good luck!

 

[Davidasailor26]

To the great advice above I’d just add that it takes more than just the commodore to help grow the club. If you have a few skippers that are eager to give potential new crew a spot and welcome them to the group that can go a long way to building a pipeline of new members.

 

[cephius (Dave)]

Our club has a weekly race that all are invited to. Anybody who shows up is assigned to a boat. The skippers are all very competitive racers, since this race doesn't affect their standing in their class, new things can be tried, potential racing talent can be discovered. Non members can be introduced to the fun of sailing.

We also do an annual bay clean-up in conjuction with other, non-sailing community groups. Our members provide the boats, all of the unusual items found during the clean-up are put on display. An award dinner follows with awards for categories like 'most trash collected,' 'most unusual item found!' This exposes the club to active, caring non boaters.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

There's a thread from a few weeks or months ago about ways to expand membership. Lot's of good info. I imagine a free intro to sailing cruise to bring new people in, boats that they can actually use (for free w/membership or a reasonable fee), a friendly atmosphere and of course, social events. There's a club at my marina but nobody can seem to tell me what's included in a membership.

 

[Rick Webb]

Reach out to other clubs within your area. Actually visit those clubs and others that are in similar socioeconomic situations. See what they offer and what seems to bring in members. One of the big draws for us seems to be the reciprocity we have with other clubs in Florida and the Gulf Coast.

Our club built a pool and our membership spiked even better the age of new members went down.

A survey of members particularly younger newer members would help show what brings folks in.

Invite local media to your regattas although the younger folks do not seem to get their news from print or TV it's cheap if you can get them there.

 

[shemandr]

A pirate cruise for the kids was always a popular event.

 

[john6206]

Junior sailing class?

I signed my kids up for a class when they were 8. Oldest took classes for several years.

Again, it might require an investment. A fleet of picos.
I like picos better than optis because they are indestructible - but I haven't priced them.

You'd also need a good teacher.

 

[Terry Cox]

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

We've been an inactive member of the Mukilteo Yacht Club for years. We did many of their cruises as new members, but moved to a more challenging cruising plan later on. Our club ratio of power to sail is maybe 80/20. Our website is here: Welcome to Mukilteo Yacht Club

 

[higgs]

You don't indicate what your club offers - slips? restaurant? bar? I was on the BOD for 5 years (serving as Commodore for one) at a small club on Lake Ontario that has no slips, but we have a restaurant and bar which is supported by 150 memberships. It is down from decades ago, but seems to maintain that number from year to year. We do have a racing program, but also run adult sailing classes and junior sailing classes, both inviting non members to partake. Those programs usually bring in several new members each year. We offer winter storage at a cut rate price for members and slightly more for reciprocals. We were able to purchase a travel lift by selling shares to members. It is an important money maker for us. All labor is voluntary and we have a work hour requirement of all members. We also actively encourage the fishing fleet in the harbor to join, giving them good winter storage rates and a welcoming atmosphere from the sailors at the club.

 

[SailingLoto]

You all have much more advanced clubs that we do. We are down to about 15 members, 10 boats. We do not own a facility, or a fleet of dinghys or keel boats. We are the only sailing club on the Lake.

We offer very little, other than being in the club. We do host races. We do have socials. We are open to the public, anyone can show up and race. Anyone can show up and crew. We are very welcoming to new participants.

After some though and review of the comments, the final determining factor would be slip availability. This is a powerboat lake. There is a definite lack of slips for sailboats here. Docks a primarily covered, full, and expensive, or privately owned. We are welcome to use a couple marinas facilities, which we do use, and appreciate.

I think the best thing for us at the moment is just become more known, more visible.
Possibly organize a dinner cruise to a lake bar/restaurant. A half dozen sailboats tied up at a bar here is a very unusual sight. While 30 go fast boats is the norm.

That's my goal for now, to get us noticed and recognized.

From there, more events and races. Draw some attention to ourselves.

Our dues this year are nearly nonexistent. We have a couple thousand in the account to cover our expenses this season.

We shall see where it goes from there.

Thank you for all the responses. It's good to know what other clubs offer.

 

[shemandr]

Don't fret over trying to make it something it isn't. Enjoy your year as Commodore and the people in the club.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I like your idea of the bar/restaurant cruise. I've projected on to sails before. It'd be a good way to tell onlookers why there's half a dozen sailboats tied up. PM me if you want to explore that option more.

Around here, a lot of marine related businesses have bulletin boards and don't seem to mind when amateur competition posts their services. Any community involvement will help get your name out there. Perhaps there's opportunities to sponsor or collaborate on events with other organizations.
Contact local publications. They get the opportunity to write an article about an upcoming event (such as a free intro to sailing or restaurant cruise), you get free advertising and they could even do a follow up article.

Partner up with other boating clubs. It's like targeted advertising. I've met quite a few power boaters and kayakers that are curious about sailing and vise versa.

 

[kclancy]

Our clubs are very similar. I am the captain of a club whose average age is increasing and member participation is declining. We once had over 70 memberships, now we have 12 - 15. It's a one-fleet club, Catalina 22 Fleet 4, but our membership includes all types of sailboats. We don't own boats, restaurants, or slips. It's an inland sailing club on Folsom Lake in California. Once upon a time, there were a lot of sailboats on the lake. Now it is primarily powerboats. We have a cruising calendar and piggy-back with a local yacht club for racing events. Our members are more interested in BBQ's, ice cream social, end-of-year banquet than they are about cruising and racing. It's a challenge finding, keeping, and getting new members involved. There are a lot of competing interests on people's time, especially those with young children.

You might consider a website. We just did a new website in hopes of converting some desk clickers into sailors. Check it out at catalina22fleet4.org. It's a work in progress. I'm 60 years young, one of the youngest members, and trying to figure it out.

Quarterly member pizza or BBQs are a good way to get everyone together and a chance to put some sailing dates on the calendar.

A cruise or sailing calendar is another good way to keep people focused on upcoming opportunities. Even just a couple of group sailing days or a couple of overnight trips help to keep people excited. Plus, if you encourage your members to bring friends, you can possibly increase your memberships.

Good luck!

 

[rgranger]

A lot of great advice already. I would add... EXPLOIT HABITS AND TRADITIONS

For example, I used to be on the leadership team for a local boy scout troup and my wife was the troop leader of the local girl scout troup. I would suggest partnering with something like that and organize a weekend where the scouts can earn their SMALL-BOAT SAILING BADGE. A few weeks later host a regatta on a weekend and get the parents to host a cookout for after... Then a week or so later follow that by something @cephius (Dave) suggested (...a clean up day) and host another opportunity to earn another merit badge. Repeat the cycle... more boat training sessions... followed by another regatta... etc.

The scouts are always looking for service activities to earn badges and... you can use each events to advertise the date of the NEXT event. Get the kids (and parents) in the habit of interacting with you. Ask anyone who understand marketing... habits are POWERFUL. Build the habit and your job is done. You will hook a few individuals and if you are lucky they will hook their friends.