Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes – Now, we’re on really sensitive territory! For me, sail boating wasn’t part of my dream, ever. I love and adore sailboats, I love looking at them and visiting them, but they are not for me. To have my kind of fun, I would need a 45’ – 50’ sailboat, but then dealing with it would no longer be fun for me. As far as I am concerned, it is too much work to pilot a sailboat.  I deeply respect those who are doing it. Although they have fuel engines, they are primarily designed for wind, need I say more? 

Sailboat Race on the Chesapeake. The Wednesday Night Races on the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, MD, a historic town, the capital of Maryland, the home of the United States Naval Academy, and a major sailing and boating center. The Wednesday Night Races are conducted by the Annapolis Yacht Club.

I prefer to enjoy sailboating vicariously, through my one and only most favorite TV sailboating show, Distant Shores by Paul and Sheryl Shard, a great Canadian couple who set sail from Lake Ontario with a dream of sailing south when they were in their early 30’s. Apparently, they have sailed and lived aboard since 1989 and traveled the world. Talk about making memories! If you want to have a great actual experience and join them in their brand new boat, Distant Shores III, that, too, is possible. Check this out: Distant Shores Sail Away Weeks.  I love it.

For me, I have been dreaming of doing a round trip Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) journey from the Chesapeake Bay to the Florida Keys — yes, with our 26’ SeaRay, a powerboat.  While I can make no recommendation on power vs sail boating, one of my favorite boating articles on the topic is titled, Goodnight, Boom written by Jody Argo Schroath in the Chesapeake Bay Magazine. I’ll have you know that I am an unapologetic line-of-sight, fair-weather boater. I need to see the shore at all times, preferably not too far away. I need to anchor in a marina, preferably having high-end amenities and perhaps with a great B&B or a good hotel in it or nearby.

I am the type of power boater who enjoys relatively short trips to a destination, with 100 miles or less to go. Although I have done it myself a few times, primarily I’m not interested in taking a trip to nowhere and then back to our home port. Yep, I do not fish, but I love eating fish. Although I enjoy sleeping and waking up in our boat, the additional amenities provided by destination marinas with an enhanced boating lifestyle are very alluring to me and I enjoy them. Marina Life is a great resource to orient yourself with facilities that offer a lot of my type of recreational boating possibilities.  If you have cost considerations and wonder how much a day or weekend for a boat slip would cost for your boat, no worries, try Snag-A-Slip. It’s a great service, just like Booking.com or Hotels.com, but tailored just for boaters. Or, simply just call the marina and ask for their rates.

4 things I learned

• Having a lifestyle that includes boating is not necessarily a rich person’s privilege.
• To call yourself a recreational boater, you do not have to be a captain or own a boat, some captains are looking for crew members for their trips. You’ll meet them in your local boating clubs.
• You can fit recreational boating into almost all budgets.  Can’t afford anything, no problem, borrow a canoe or a kayak to start boating.
• Boating is only huge fun when it is done safely. You will hear this from all the serious, experienced boaters around you. I wholeheartedly believe in boating safety as well.

5 things I recommend

• Don’t wait, go out there and enjoy yourself on the water! Do it now, It will change your life.
• Join your local boating club of America’s Boating Club. You do not need to have a boat.
• Subscribe to the boating magazine of your choice that matches your lifestyle and preferences.
• It is not a must, but you may want to familiarize yourself with these 15 boating terms so if you hear them, you would understand what they mean.
• If you are about to do any kind of boating, make sure to take a boating safety class before you do it. It is also a law in many states. Online safety training is free on the BoatUS Foundation site.  Of course, there are other boating safety classes available on the internet, such as the US Coast Guard site listing, plus many more.

How easy?