Cody Sailing Club joined in with the RYA’s nationwide Push the Boat Out event with a good ol’ fashioned Beach Day at Stokes Bay. The plan for the day was to greet and welcome potential new members, to offer them a taster sail and to talk to them about the club. In preparation for this some efforts had been made to promote the event, via our own website and (with the support of the RYA) via press releases to newspapers along the south coast.
A slightly misty start developed into an almost perfect day – Sunny with a fresh, moderate F4 south-easterly. A small fleet of dinghies (2 club Trios, 2 members’ Trios, a Vision, a GP14 and a National 18) gathered at the top of the slip. These were joined around lunchtime by two cruisers, anchored a little off-shore.
As boats were being rigged we received a visit from the Coast Guard, who having seen the flags flying atop the tall National 18 mast (see right), pulled in to the car park to see what was happening. After passing the time of day, and with encouraging words they left us to it.
With no feel for how many potential newcomers we would be hosting there was no sense of urgency in taking to the water. The result was a rather more ‘chilled’ beach day than normal, with opportunity being taken for teas, coffees, a sit down and a bit of a chinwag. It soon became clear that we were not going to be inundated with enquiries, but with some interest shown by a few people who had been tipped-off about the event, a sailing plan started to materialise.
A pleasant morning was spent on the beach and the water, with some taster sails being arranged for those wanting them, and a chance to blow away a few cobwebs for those of us who hadn’t been on the water for a while (myself included!). A couple of enterprising dinghy sailors invited themselves onto the cruisers for a cheeky drink.
As the afternoon drew on, the wind dropped as the high tide approached. We brought the last of the boats back up the beach and began the pack-up. By the time we had put the boats away the wind had died completely and, with the cafe closed, we almost had the car-park to ourselves for a lovely calm summers evening. And, after many years of sailing from Stokes Bay, we have found a chip-shop which, whilst not quite within walking distance, is close enough for a quick trip to pick up a chip supper to be eaten on the beach.
Reflecting on very pleasant day’s sailing, it is perhaps a little disappointing that we didn’t generate more interest from potential new members – particularly having made efforts to promote the event. But we were able to welcome some people who had come along on the basis of word-of-mouth recommendation. Hopefully this personal touch maximises the chances that these people will decide to get further involved with the club.