For reasons that are too boring to recite I have been looking into a wide spread of yacht clubs recently.
And I am struck by the number that are called Royal something-or-other Yacht Club.
I am not sure how many there are. But there are a lot. At least 50.
Now as seasoned Boaters we will all have heard of the Royal Yacht Squadron.
And the Royal Thames Yacht Club, the oldest continuously sailing yacht club in the world.
And we may even have heard of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.
But there are some amazing places that have Royal Yacht Clubs. Places you will never have thought likely.
Now you would have expected places like Plymouth and Southampton, with their long and fine maritime tradition, to be favoured by the royals.
But what did Portsmouth do that was so wrong that it has not been so favoured. It is after all the home of Her Maj’s fleet. Or what’s left of it these days.
This slight is even more surprising when you consider that the yacht clubs at Gourock and Harwich are preceded by the magic word. Have you ever been there? I would doubt very much if Her Maj or any of her predecessors have paid more than a fleeting visit there either.
Sure they are on the coast but they do somewhat lack the ritz and glamour of Cowes.
But this has got me thinking.
Don’t you think that the Royal Bromsgrove Boaters Yacht Club has got a nice ring to it?
I think we should get the Committee onto this and make it a priority . Never mind the polo shirts, gilets and caps. Make us Royal.
If the yachties of Gourock can become a Royal so can the Boaters of Bromsgrove.
But how do you apply? Do you download an application form from somewhere? How much is the subscription?
This is not all clear. Association or some sort of linkage with the Royals is about all I have been able to uncover.
My research that has highlighted that Bromsgrove does boast ‘The Queens Head’ and it does overlook water, albeit the canal.
And The Princess Royal, that’s Ann, once came to the town.
And many Boaters have worked On Her Majesty’s Service, in one guise or another. Say no more. Wink, wink.
So it should be a dawdle for the Committee to get us into the Royal Family.
I am practising my curtsy skills already.
