If you want to get your boat off the lift and enjoy the surrounding waters, there is no better way than to join a cruising club. These clubs run frequent group cruises, ranging from day trips for lunch to three-month stays in the Bahamas. In between are those great overnighters than run from one to five days while visiting local marinas. There are many fine cruising destinations within a six-hour cruise from Charlotte Harbor. Learning where they are and how to get there is just one of the advantages of belonging to a cruising club.

If you are like a lot of us — leaving your boat on the lift because the open water is too intimidating — then you are a perfect candidate for a cruising club. There is no better way to become familiar with what our local waters have to offer as well as how to safely make the initial voyage to these fun places. A cruising club typically holds a captains’ meeting in advance of the trip. At this meeting, boaters learn what the destination offers, what provisions will be required, what facilities are available and the plot of the course to get there. Better yet, you meet all of the other captains making the cruise and pre-arrange a radio frequency so everyone can stay in communication during the cruise.