Keyport Yacht Club on Raritan Bay, NJ has been sailing with Summer Sailstice for many years, and each June the members discover new reasons to celebrate.
This year the club saw an increase in their already good-looking participation numbers, a new partnership with the Keyport Bayfront Business Cooperative, and a great Summer Sailstice prize win for the club.
Read their story to learn about Keyport YC's Summer Sailstice event and how they reap the rewards for the club, its members, and for sailing...
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Keyport Yacht Club 2019 Sailstice Open House Report
On-the-Water Boat Tours Very Popular; PEEK Polish Gifted to Skippers
Keyport Yacht Club is located on the shore of Raritan Bay, NJ and has been in operation since 1908. Our 2019 Sailstice Open House was a solid success. We opt to hold ours on Sunday afternoon from 2 to 5 PM, the theory being that many families are active in sports like soccer and baseball on Saturdays. We had 112 visitors this year versus 80 visitors last year — a 40% increase.
For the past few years a dozen or so of our members have cheerfully donated their time to welcome curious visitors aboard their boats, where they answer questions and share the joy of sailing. We call these volunteers our Sailstice Skippers. Our two launches ply throughout the 120 boat anchorage, delivering guests to the yachts. Many visit more than one boat.
Boat owners and skippers were kept busy as they ferried more than 100 passengers througout the fleet.
As visitors arrive, we ask them how they heard about our event, where they are from, and what they are interested in. What we learned may be of use to other clubs who are contemplating holding an Open House.
In descending order, here's what they told us: Not surprisingly 89% wanted to "learn abut the club." Keep in mind that a visitor can have more than one reason to come. So 50% wanted to visit a sailboat, 37% were interested in adult sailing lessons, 11% in membership, 9% in our boat share program, 6% in crewing and 3% chose Junior Sailing.
For the first time this year, we joined forces with the Keyport Bayfront Business Cooperative. They provided $10 Keyport Kash coupons that could be spent at participating businesses in town.
Thanks to Summer Sailstice and their prizes, this year we were awarded a carton of 20 tubes of PEEK Polish. These made perfect gifts for our volunteer Sailstice Skippers. "Extras" were distributed to our Race Committee, House Committee, and Launch Committees for maintenance and beautification duties throughout the club.
Winners are grinners: KYC's 'Sailstice Skippers' and committee members will have shiny boats indeed!
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Thanks to Jess Gregory and the Keyport Yacht Club for this excellent breakdown of their Sailstice event. It's certainly inspiring to read about so many people taking an interest in sailing and in the club. And to then win a prize that has multiple recipients — even better!
Thanks to Peek Polish for donating the goods!
Thanks Peek Polish for your many years of support for Summer Sailstice!
This is a fantastic example of what Summer Sailstice is all about — sailors and sailing businesses collaborating and bringing more people to the sport.
We're looking forward to seeing how the global sailing community will celebrate on June 20, 2020 — the 20th Anniversary Summer Sailstice.
See you on the water, wherever you sail!