I'm fairly disillusioned with "active" recruitment techniques.

Our club used to have demo days, when we'd all take our cats down to the marina and offer people free rides. We'd actually get a pretty good turnout (maybe 20 or 30 people). Take them for a spin around the lake and collect email addresses, send out invitations to come sailing with us again and keep them updated on club activities. But we never saw any of those people again.

We'd also go to the local boat show and set up one of the boats in the convention center. We'd pass out flyers offering free sailing lessons, collect email addresses, etc. But we'd never see any of those people again.

The people we have recruited just show up out of the blue at an event with an old POS boat. You chat them up, help them rig, give them a few parts from your spare parts bin, share your beer, dinner and campsite, and before you know it they've bought a new(er) boat and are the keenest members of the club.