Due to family and work commitments, I have had no time to consider, think about or blog about my boat and the upcoming boating season. That is, until yesterday!
Work is a good thing and is the vehicle needed to support my boating, but I digress.
Yesterday,a friend invited me to join him at his yacht club. He was preparing a meal for the club. Apparently, all the club members pitch in to do all the work. Dock install, repairs & grounds keeping. This keeps their costs of slips, repairs and general boat ownership very affordable.
The club is right on the river and has a good balance of sail & power boats. I met a few of the members and the commandant; they could have not been more gracious. Most of my time was spent in the kitchen with some of the admirals while their husbands were out tending the docks & grounds. As mentioned, we were there to supply the chow!
I did have time, while manning the outdoor grill to speak with one of the gents about the club, boats and my home port. I explained, that although I love our home port, the area and the sailing it offers, it has some drawbacks, mainly financial. I went on to tell about the cost of mooring, maintenance, launching & hauling. He explained that many of his friends belong to clubs on rivers here in NY & CT. He told of how belonging to the clubs on the river, especially local to your home, offers many benefits. First off, was the much lower costs, close to your own home, tools & equipment and as in the case of their club access to the machine shop.
He offered up a good suggestion, especially if I am ever to get a bigger boat! Join the club here on the river so as to be able to store, repair, launch & haul her locally. Enjoy the other benefits of the club: new friends, functions & more time spent with other boaters.
Looking forward, joining would make it possible to get a boat ready and in with very low costs then the adventure & fun of sailing to my home port in R.I. and our summer mooring.
In closing, I never gave the river much credit, having lived on the East End of L.I. and now having my home port in R.I. I felt that the river could not compete with the bays, beaches and the oceans of the Northeast. However, you live, you learn and find out that different waters have much to offer!
In fact, this could be a great start towards becoming a better sailor, eventually getting a bigger boat and most important finding & enjoying many new friends.
To all my new friends at the 'Club' thanks for the insight & education.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
