Yacht Clubs--good or bad idea

[GFC]

In the past, on BABC and also other boating forums I frequent I've seen threads on yacht clubs where some people think they're the greatest thing on the water and others wouldn't be part of a club for all the tea in China. Some boaters view clubs with disdain, thinking them to be a snooty bunch who own big yachts they drive with their captain's hat on their head, wearing their white slacks and blue blazers.

Our club is nothing like that. We're an average bunch of people who, for the most part, own medium size boats, have kids, and use their boats a lot. We just came out with our event calendar for 2020 and I must admit I was surprised by the variety and number of events. Here’s the rundown:

=Every Wednesday morning there’s a coffee klatch
=every Friday evening there’s a potluck BBQ that is always well attended
=this month there is a charter bus trip to Seattle to go to the boat show
=there are 9 parties scheduled
=next month there’s a crab feed with fresh crab from Seattle
=there are 2 mandatory work parties. You’re fined $250 if you don’t attend at least one
=there are 2 “Sip & Paint” for ladies only. They involve copious amounts of vino and each woman paints a picture
=there is a 4-day membership drive at our local boat show
=there are 7 scheduled cruises to out of town destinations.
=there is the Christmas Lighted Boat Parade, two nights, the first weekend in December.

Now lest you think the cruises are all the same, one of them is quite special. Our area has unlimited hydroplane races and airshow in July. On one of our cruises we host all the pilots on our boats for an evening cruise on the Columbia with snacks and beer provided. On the 2017 pilot’s cruise we were lucky enough to host the pilots and crew from the F22 Raptors that were in the airshow. While talking with the pilot of one of the two planes (call sign “Rock”) I talked him into letting us bring the grandsons out to the airport the following day and getting a personal tour of the planes. The planes were not on display for the general public but here’s the result:
[/SIZE][/FONT][URL="https://i.postimg.cc/y8Sdxk6F/DSCN3383.jpg%5b/img"][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3][COLOR=#1f4e79]https://i.postimg.cc/y8Sdxk6F/DSCN3383.jpg[/img[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/URL][SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]][/FONT][/SIZE]

[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]So, what say you? Are you a member of a club? Have you ever been? What’s your impression of yacht clubs? Good or bad? [/FONT][/SIZE]

[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]GFC[/FONT][/SIZE]

 

[Lou_tribal]

We are now in a Yacht club, a very nice place with pleasant people but I have mix feelings about Yacht Club in general.
I do not like the exclusive aspect of it if entry ticket cost you both of your legs just to be sure that the average boater cannot be part of it. As I don't think wallet thickness does make someone a better boater nor a better person this is the kind of selection criteria I cannot agree with.
However what I like is the existence of rules of entry that make sure that people respect each others.
When we moved from our past marina to this club first thing I asked was "what are your rule?". Not that I wanted things like only multi millions yachts are accepted but more that I wanted rules like you must respect your neighbours and not think you have the right to party till 4AM like if you were in a night club.
What we got with our club now is a nice setup, nice amenities, a clean place, nice environment, with people really taking care of boats and boaters who respect each others, more than where we were before. However I won't pay 5K just to be part of a club and I may find the same thing without being part of a club. For us it was just that we found what we were seeking for just there.

L

 

[RT Firefly]

No. No. Neutral.

 

[menzies]

GFC, we have a yacht club here that we were members of but left last year. We found that the majority of members were non boat owners and therefore the majority of events were drinking party sessions and not cruising events. We can join a wine club if that is what we wanted.

It wasn't a matter of "snootiness" but more that it had become a social club, and even the few cruises were local short social cruises. Compared to the past where there were serious cruises up the east coast to Hilton Head, and like extended trips.

The short boating trips were frankly ones we could informally organize ourselves with people in the community, with less cost.

When I look at your schedule I see the same thing. Mostly social events with minimum actual boating. Now the difference you may have is a younger group with children and getting kids involved is a big plus. But I wonder if you will find, after a while, that it is the same calendar of events every year with the same seven cruises to the same place, and after a few years of that the membership starts to drift away..

Regardless of all that, the bottom line is: if you enjoy it, and you get great camraderie out of it and you feel it is really worth it - then by all means keep going. We just got to the stage that it was the same faces in the same places doing the same drinking.

So, while we have absolutely nothing against yacht clubs, we moved along.

BTW, I grew up in yacht clubs - sailing clubs with serious round the buoy series racing and offshore multi-day races in the North Atlantic. Those were real yacht clubs. And maybe that's what I hanker for.

 

[jimdavi]

We are members of a yacht club, ( not at our marina) and use the card at many participating clubs/marinas. It gives us good access.

 

[GFC]

BTW, I grew up in yacht clubs - sailing clubs with serious round the buoy series racing and offshore multi-day races in the North Atlantic. Those were real yacht clubs. And maybe that's what I hanker for.

Menzies, hush yo mouth for speaking bad words like going back to being a blow boater!

Our schedule is much the same year to year, but we do add a couple of new parties and new cruises each year and drop off the ones that people didn't enjoy as much. An example: this year we held a fancy, dress up New Year's Eve party. All the gals decked out in their finest, the guys duded up. It was the most fun of all the parties.

This year we added a kid's Christmas Party that will have a Santa and gifts for the kids, and a Halloween party for the bigger kids.

 

[BHBCO]

The Wife and I went to a open house at the VYC, we signed up with two sponsors for a trial membership. That was 5 years ago. We've met a lot of nice people and have many new friends. We do things with and without the club. I vote yes for yacht clubs.

 

[tiltrider1]

Wow, we’re to start with our yacht club. First we have 10 outstations in the PNW. Most of the outstations guarantee access to ports that are otherwise sold out 6 months in advance. Then we have our home marina for discounted moorage. We have a world class restaurant and banquet hall. We put on a world class sailing program and sponsor a great number of sailing events.

Our restaurant alone holds more special events than I can remember. Valentine Dinner, Lobster fest, Holiday Season Candlelight dinner, once a month we have a theme dinner (Turkish, Cajun, French,Scandinavian, etc)

Then there are the education class(rules of the road, engine maintenance, corrosion, electrical)

Next are special travel events/tours to everything like Control tower tours, wineries,museums, even foreign countries.

I don’t even know how to classify things like chart exchange night or visits from Olympic athletes or the Americas Cup her self.

There are even special invites by other Yacht Clubs around the world to participate in their traditional events.

Yes there are reciprocals, something I put the least value on.

Then we have cruises. The Garlic cruise, the chili cook off cruise, the golf cruise, the Alaska cruise, Desolation Sound cruise, there are more but I don’t have all night.

Yes there are parties, family parties, adult parties, holiday parties,

There is a ham radio group, predicted log group, sport fishing group, even an RC sailor group.

There is still more but I’m done typing.

Nothing about our yacht club is snooty, it’s a tremendous value but no one is going to hand you the keys to $50,000,000 in assets for nothing. All this takes money.

 

[ssobol]

The only thing that has any appeal for me would be the outstation thing. All the other social stuff kind of makes my skin crawl.

 

[drb1025]

We joined a yacht club for the outstations. Now four years later I’m on their board, we go to every dinner if available, happy hour, several cruises, and volunteer to help on many events. It also helps to live near the club house and being retired. We are glad we joined.

 

[O C Diver]

My winter dockage is at a very nice yacht club. It's a golf and yachting gated community with numerous homes and million dollar condominiums. The facility is spectacular! Probably the nicest, most protected dockage within 100 miles. Staff and members couldn't be nicer. You either rent a slip or buy a slip, they're all privately owned. Transient dockage is competitive and not the most expensive. The monthly social parties are nice, but clearly an older crowd with many who don't appear to boat anymore. Not really a lot of boating activities. While I'm not a member yet, I have considered joining to guarantee future rental dockage. Seems like a poor reason to join a club, but then I'm more about leaving the facility to go boating than going to the facility to enjoy boat ownership.

Ted

 

[catalinajack]

Solomons Island (MD) Yacht Club is much like yours. Same for Selby Bay (MD) Yacht Club.

In the past, on BABC and also other boating forums I frequent I've seen threads on yacht clubs where some people think they're the greatest thing on the water and others wouldn't be part of a club for all the tea in China. Some boaters view clubs with disdain, thinking them to be a snooty bunch who own big yachts they drive with their captain's hat on their head, wearing their white slacks and blue blazers.

Our club is nothing like that. We're an average bunch of people who, for the most part, own medium size boats, have kids, and use their boats a lot. We just came out with our event calendar for 2020 and I must admit I was surprised by the variety and number of events. Here’s the rundown:

=Every Wednesday morning there’s a coffee klatch
=every Friday evening there’s a potluck BBQ that is always well attended
=this month there is a charter bus trip to Seattle to go to the boat show
=there are 9 parties scheduled
=next month there’s a crab feed with fresh crab from Seattle
=there are 2 mandatory work parties. You’re fined $250 if you don’t attend at least one
=there are 2 “Sip & Paint” for ladies only. They involve copious amounts of vino and each woman paints a picture
=there is a 4-day membership drive at our local boat show
=there are 7 scheduled cruises to out of town destinations.
=there is the Christmas Lighted Boat Parade, two nights, the first weekend in December.

Now lest you think the cruises are all the same, one of them is quite special. Our area has unlimited hydroplane races and airshow in July. On one of our cruises we host all the pilots on our boats for an evening cruise on the Columbia with snacks and beer provided. On the 2017 pilot’s cruise we were lucky enough to host the pilots and crew from the F22 Raptors that were in the airshow. While talking with the pilot of one of the two planes (call sign “Rock”) I talked him into letting us bring the grandsons out to the airport the following day and getting a personal tour of the planes. The planes were not on display for the general public but here’s the result:
[/SIZE][/FONT][URL="https://i.postimg.cc/y8Sdxk6F/DSCN3383.jpg%5b/img"][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3][COLOR=#1f4e79]https://i.postimg.cc/y8Sdxk6F/DSCN3383.jpg[/img[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/URL][SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]][/FONT][/SIZE]

[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]So, what say you? Are you a member of a club? Have you ever been? What’s your impression of yacht clubs? Good or bad? [/FONT][/SIZE]

[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]GFC[/FONT][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

 

[menzies]

Menzies, hush yo mouth for speaking bad words like going back to being a blow boater!:banghead.

Nah, too old and unfit to be pulling sheets and going up a mast in a bosun's chair. I'll stick to the simple action of turning my wrist and pushing a throttle to move the boat!

 

[catalinajack]

Are you willing to share the name of this club?

My winter dockage is at a very nice yacht club. It's a golf and yachting gated community with numerous homes and million dollar condominiums. The facility is spectacular! Probably the nicest, most protected dockage within 100 miles. Staff and members couldn't be nicer. You either rent a slip or buy a slip, they're all privately owned. Transient dockage is competitive and not the most expensive. The monthly social parties are nice, but clearly an older crowd with many who don't appear to boat anymore. Not really a lot of boating activities. While I'm not a member yet, I have considered joining to guarantee future rental dockage. Seems like a poor reason to join a club, but then I'm more about leaving the facility to go boating than going to the facility to enjoy boat ownership.

Ted

 

[Seevee]

I've got mixed feelings about yacht clubs. Overall, it's probably not for me just because I wouldn't get the value out of it. There are none that are close to me, however, there's a nice one about an hour away (by car).



Now, I've spent a lot of time at them with friends. Some are nice and have fun activities, some are snooty, but I have yet to find one where the food and beverages are any bargain at all. I can do much better at local restaurants and have a lot more choice.



I've had more fun going to a friends trailer park and partying in their club pool. Bring your own stuff, no dress code or crazy rules... and one heck of a lot cheaper.


However, I could be swayed.....

 

[Pau Hana]

I'm Past Commodore of our Yacht Club (Tyee Yacht Club in Seattle), and vote yes for participation in yacht clubs.

The key is to join one that meets your needs. There are many clubs here in the Puget Sound, with offerings from barebones to extravagant; some offer mooring and a full time social calendar, while others offer far less.

We joined Tyee because of the people; we wanted to be around boaters, but not be burdened with excessive costs (as clubs with full time bar/restaurant service, moorage, sailing schools, etc have) or obligations. The point of joining the club was not to take on another full time job, or to add mandatory events (work parties, social events) to our calendar. The club have an active yearly calendarr, yet the cost are very minimal (perhaps $20-40 per weekend event) and always fun. There are no separate sub-clubs (power, sail, junior)- we are one club.

Our club is the perfect balance for us (and I'm hoping a few other TF members who are part of Tyee will chime in with the opinions). We love the people, and the club volunteerism rate is high because of a lack of required participation.

In the 8 years we've been members, I've been thru the leadership, on the board, and Kathy has been active on different committees and projects.

AND- the dress code is ...wear clothes

 

[firehoser75]

To each his/her own. We looked into joining the local yacht club. At the time, we were out on the boat for 3 months (or more) each summer, and went "snow birding" in an RV for 3 - 4 months each winter. So the social aspects didn't seem worth the costs to us, mainly because we aren't really partiers and we would not be around for at least half the year. Discounted moorage offered by the club was however attractive, but they told us (thank you for the up front honesty) we would be on an at least 9-10 year wait list for moorage. To boot, they had a policy where any "senior" (member longer than you) could "leap frog" you on the list at any time, so the list could actually be longer. It's a nice club, and we associate with them from time to time through the local Power Squadron, but I am glad we decided not to join. I don't think for us the value was there.

 

[MYTraveler]

Particularly in areas with many clubs in close proximity, individual clubs seem to develop personalities. We found one that suits us to a Tee, and now recognize that the runner up club would have been a bad fit. So, I don't think that the "good or bad" question can be fairly answered without reference to a particular club and a particular prospective member.

 

[Group9]

Particularly in areas with many clubs in close proximity, individual clubs seem to develop personalities. We found one that suits us to a Tee, and now recognize that the runner up club would have been a bad fit. So, I don't think that the "good or bad" question can be fairly answered without reference to a particular club and a particular prospective member.

We've seen that, too. The first yacht club we belonged to, one of the oldest in the country, was a really fun place. None of snootiness that I suspected we would find. Just the opposite, really. When we moved, I was sorry to leave that club.

Our next one, we left after two years. It was divided into several different cliques and we just couldn't find one we wanted to be a part of.

 

[Ken E.]

Wow, we’re to start with our yacht club. First we have 10 outstations in the PNW. Most of the outstations guarantee access to ports that are otherwise sold out 6 months in advance. Then we have our home marina for discounted moorage. We have a world class restaurant and banquet hall. We put on a world class sailing program and sponsor a great number of sailing events.

Our restaurant alone holds more special events than I can remember. Valentine Dinner, Lobster fest, Holiday Season Candlelight dinner, once a month we have a theme dinner (Turkish, Cajun, French,Scandinavian, etc)

Then there are the education class(rules of the road, engine maintenance, corrosion, electrical)

Next are special travel events/tours to everything like Control tower tours, wineries,museums, even foreign countries.

I don’t even know how to classify things like chart exchange night or visits from Olympic athletes or the Americas Cup her self.

There are even special invites by other Yacht Clubs around the world to participate in their traditional events.

Yes there are reciprocals, something I put the least value on.

Then we have cruises. The Garlic cruise, the chili cook off cruise, the golf cruise, the Alaska cruise, Desolation Sound cruise, there are more but I don’t have all night.

Yes there are parties, family parties, adult parties, holiday parties,

There is a ham radio group, predicted log group, sport fishing group, even an RC sailor group.

There is still more but I’m done typing.

Nothing about our yacht club is snooty, it’s a tremendous value but no one is going to hand you the keys to $50,000,000 in assets for nothing. All this takes money.

Just guessing but with all those oustations, is this SYC?

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

For ASD we have belonged to 2 yacht clubs. In both instances we came to the conclusion we don't need a yacht club.

We travel all summer long. Most clubs have attendance requirements, or work parties etc. What can a yacht club offer us that we don't already have? We don't need dockage, we have our own dock. We have water and electricity too. One club actually told us that they had an ice machine! We have an ice machine. Well then what about recpiosity?(sp) We have found that we anchor more and when we do stop at a marina, the local yacht club is either full or the slip is in an almost impossible way to get to it.

Don't get us wrong we have lots of yacht club member friends and are invited to attend many gatherings. So membership for us anyway is a waste of money and time.

 

[tiltrider1]

Just guessing but with all those oustations, is this SYC?

Yes

 

[rsn48]

Where my boat is located in Comox BC I have the choice of two clubs, the Comox Club and Deep Bay club. I haven't joined either as of yet. Both are very small with Comox not having any building and Deep Bay sharing a building with a rescue society. Their portion is slightly larger than the average double car parking space, maybe a little smaller.... lol. They are both cheap. And one has much better reciprocal agreements which is what will probably tilt me in their direction.

The chief reason I would join is to get local knowledge faster. I know I could go to the club and say I'm planning to cruise to such and such an area, are there any out of the way spots I can hit up when it gets busy in the summer? And loads of questions like that.

 

[Prospective]

I'll chime in to say my family and I have very much enjoyed our 12 years of membership in our local club. To me it was a way to meet, talk to, and learn from people who have a common interest. As a club in the community I live, most members are neighbors and several have become good friends. My kids all learned to sail at the club and 3 of them now work there as instructors and lifeguards. I also enjoy our club cruises to popular local destinations.

But yacht clubs vary greatly in terms of membership and personality. So there's no one right answer to this questions. On one extreme would be a place like New York YC or Annapolis and on the other are "name only" clubs with no real physical location. All offer their members different things.

 

[syjos]

We joined a yacht club in 1990 to buy friends. Best decision ever made. We are life members!

We consider the yacht club as our family. Many lifelong friends

This yacht club has no bar or restaurant but a lot of boating and non boating activities.

The YC is not snooty. We are a fun loving bunch.

Whenever we are out cruising, we join up with members for a raft up.

We used to cruise the Broughtons in a group of 6 to 12 boats.

We moved approximately 50 miles from where the YC is located in 2003 but are still active members.

We joined a second yacht club near where we moved for inexpensive moorage and to own a boathouse.

Between the two yacht clubs, we have a lot of reciprocal available in the PNW and plenty of cruises.

 

[Pdxstriper]

A great way to make great boating friends. Just avoid the politics.

 

[Seevee]

I see some clubs REQUIRE some attendance, and even fine you if you can't make it. Or require your to buy so many meals there.



Is this common?



Would have a hard time living with restrictions like that.


I guess... to each his own. I'll probably just never join, don't have the need or time right now and probably never will, however, I reserve the right to change my mind......

 

[psneeld]

Clubs are all over the map I have experience from friendly, inexpensive , easy going to expensive, snooty, harsh, etc.

Some have lots of rules, some not so much.

Some have changed for better or worse.

Just have to check them out as you go and hopefully get good recommendations right here.

 

[rsn48]

Or require your to buy so many meals there.



Is this common?

Royal Vancouver Yacht Club is or was like that. It is to ensure the restaurant continues in the black. The food is reasonable and the view is great. But most yacht clubs don't have a restaurant.

 

[GFC]

Our club doesn't have a restaurant (we do potlucks) or a bar (BYOB). The dues are $850/year plus an $850 initiation fee. We don't keep our boat there because they don't have big enough slips or boat houses so we keep it about 1/4 mile away at the Port of Kennewick marina.


Meeting attendance is NOT mandatory unless you're on the board, then you can only miss a meeting or two a year. We go south for the winter so that keeps me from having to serve as a board member.


We used to belong to another local club but PDXStriper nailed the reason we left when he said "Just avoid the politics." That club's rules and bylaws were about 1.5" thick. Our club puts the rules and bylaws, plus a list of all members with their contact information, plus everyone's boat info, all into a booklet that is a half page size and about 1/4" thick. Rules? We don't need no stinkin' rules!