" We had done a couple of RYA sailing courses and were starting to think about buying our first boat. One of our RYA instructors had told us that we should join a sailing club so as we could meet other sailors, do a bit of crewing and get lots of advice before we invested in a boat. We were apprehensive about approaching a sailing club as we had an impression that they were the sort of clubs where you were only allowed in if you knew the right sort of people but our instructor had assured us that this wasnt always the case. I searched the internet for suitable clubs and came across the GCCC website. With such a cheap subscription fee and no complicated joining procedure I figured they must be pretty easy going so I phoned the membership secretary to ask him about joining. He was very pleasant and after explaining what the club does he offered to meet us down at the clubhouse the following Tuesday evening and introduce us to whoever was there. There was no pressure to sign up and if we felt the club wasn't for us then we could walk away having lost nothing.

" We had a great time in the clubhouse. We were made to feel really welcome and even though we were the youngest there (we were in our mid 20's at the time) we didnt feel out of place. In fact we got the impression that the other members were quite excited about us buying our first boat as the ideal boat for us became the hot topic of choice. Over that first year of our membership we made many friends, attended quite a few rallies (either as crew on members' boats or just turning up by car) and got lots of advice. Now we have our own boat, the club has helped us in other ways. Be it maintenance tips, hands on help or sending over some cake by dinghy (We once misjudged the depth in Keyhaven and had to wait to refloat) the club's support has been invaluable. "