XVIII  –  EPILOGUE : THE CLUB

The Club is an anonymous term in the same way that the word Church is used.

Most often it is taken to mean a building, a material thing that can be altered,

refined, used or not. But again, like the Church, this would be to misinterpret its

real meaning. In the case of the Ocean Cruising Club it has no home, no building,

no premises or moorings. The Club is the members, on land or at sea, where

two or more are gathered together. The Club is what the members make it.

This is at once its strength and its weakness. To be congenial takes an effort. It

is not possible just to pop in for a drink and a yarn. One must plan a meeting

and often sail to that rendezvous with considerable effort. But when there the

Club comes alive. Old acquaintances are renewed, new ones are made, yarns

are spun and lies are told. And above all brave new plans are laid.

The OCC, whilst having its foundations firmly laid by it founders, has

since developed empirically. It is now a loose fraternity of some 1800

members spread across almost 50 countries. It has some ten land-based

flag officers and numerous peripatetic members carrying their flags across the

oceans. It has 90-odd Port Officers spread across 29 countries which embrace

the seven seas and the five continents. The Club has robustness simply because

of the qualifying requirements. To be a member is not just to be a keen sailor,

one must have made a tough ocean passage, and those who contribute the

most are those who go on crossing the oceans. It is also strong because of the

international mix, and the opportunities which that affords to sail almost anywhere

in the world and still find a welcome from fellow members poking about in

their cruising boats.

The Club is not a dead building, it is a living entity that grows and matures,

prospers or declines, but is never static. It is real yet it is a ‘will o’ the wisp’. It is

in the mind yet it is palpable. It is what you want it to be and what you make it.

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