Why join a cruising club ... like SSCA?

We're in Florida at the moment preparing our presentations for the annual Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) gam in Melbourne (Florida, not Australia). We've been members since we bought Nine of Cups in 2000 and over the years we've enjoyed progressing from “newbies” to circumnavigators. Our “just a little further” philosophy has served us well and it's fun to share adventures and experiences with other like-minded folks. We thought it was an appropriate time, once again, to shout the praises of joining a cruising club, like SSCA. Here are our thoughts ...

We’re not usually “club” people. We’re not exactly anti-social. We like to join in once in awhile, but we’re not inveterate “joiners”, if you know what I mean. That said, when we first started living aboard, we joined SSCA … Seven Seas Cruising Association. Quite honestly, we didn’t know such organizations existed until we started chatting with other liveaboards and cruisers and they suggested we check it out. We did, we joined and 12 years later, we’re still active members. Why join a cruising club? Here are the reasons we joined.

1.  Learn from people with more and/or different experience.

Just starting out, there was so much to learn and we were keen to learn everything we could about sailing and “the life”. But we’ve found that no matter how experienced you are, there’s always someone with either more or different experiences. Sometimes gleaning just one little tidbit of useful information is priceless.

2. Share lifestyle notes with folks currently doing what we are doing.

Not everyone embraces this type of alternative lifestyle. It’s interesting to meet other like-minded folks and trade information … and tall tales. “How do you manage your night watches?” “How big was that wave?”

3. Receive ongoing boating/sailing educational opportunities.

A good cruising association will provide opportunities to learn new skills, as well as enhance and hone your current skills whether it be docking, sail trim or engine maintenance. With advances in the internet, many of these learning opportunities are no farther away than your computer. Check out Seven Seas U.

4. Promotes camaraderie.

Again, we’re not party people, but seeing a familiar burgee flying in the anchorage when you first arrive is always a welcome sight. We usually raise our SSCA burgee as soon as we’re settled. Invariably, if there are members around, they’ll stop by to say hi and offer local information. We, of course, reciprocate when we can.

5. Facilitates contacts in new ports.

It’s great to be able to contact people in foreign ports in advance of arrival to find out what services and amenities might be available. If your cruising club is large enough, they’ll have several contacts worldwide that can help you out when you arrive. SSCA has about 150+ Cruising Station Hosts in the USA and abroad and we’ve been in contact with a good many of them.

6. Offers discounts for services, equipment, marinas, etc.

We try to take advantage of every discount opportunity we possibly can. Each shekel saved is a penny for the cruising kitty. Most large organizations can negotiate discounts for their members. We especially like marina discounts, stuff like Sailblogs discounts (25%) and free magazine downloads.

7. Receive unbiased feedback on gear and equipment from other cruisers.

Whenever we’re making a major buying decision for new equipment or gear, David does an inordinate amount of research first. One place he checks is SSCA’s Equipment Survey to see what other cruisers think about we’re thinking of buying. Nothing like getting the skinny from another sailor who’s actually using the stuff.

8. Access to port and destination information.

Commercial cruising guides are great and we use them all the time, but again, there’s nothing like having access to a fellow cruiser who’s been to a port to which you’re heading, especially if he’s documented all the services and amenities he used while there. Using SSCA’s searchable index by geographic location allows us to see what’s been written about a topic or location for the past decade. Quite honestly, it’s a key ingredient to researching where we might go next.

Keep in mind, you tend to get out of something, what you put into it. We’ve remained active with SSCA because we enjoy sharing information as well as getting information. We joined a second, somewhat more exclusive cruising club along the way, but the membership dues were way out of line with our budget. We found that though their quarterly magazines were in beautiful color and on glossy stock, we rarely got to see them because they weren’t digital and we certainly had no intention of paying extra postage to have them mailed to us wherever we were. Before you join, figure out why you’re joining and what you’re hoping to get out of your membership and make sure the cruising organization you choose meets all of your criteria. Also consider what you might contribute to others who follow in your wake.

Heading Back and Hurricane Matthew

Days 14 – 20 – Back to Atlantic Yacht Basin Total mileage for the trip: 429 nm

Our time in Washington, DC was up and we reluctantly made our plans to head back to the Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake, Virginia and put Nine of Cups to bed for a couple of months. We shopped at the local neighborhood Safeway for our return trip provisions and made sure Cups was ready to go. Paul cast off the mooring and we chugged down Washington Channel back into the Potomac River.

Our plans for exploring were curtailed considerably by big winds, torrential rain and the impending arrival of Category 5 Hurricane Matthew. The heavy downpours caused significant inland flooding and made our transit wet and dreary. We anchored at Banks O'Dee again on our return trip, where it blew and drizzled throughout the night.

We had planned to stop at St. Mary's City since we missed it on the way up, but once again heavy rain changed our minds and we wended our way through the crab pots into Smith Creek for the night. We headed out early the next morning, but after an hour of fighting adverse current, 30 knot winds on the nose and bothersome waves, we hightailed it back into the calm of the creek and tucked in for another night.

It cleared slightly off and on the next day, but the sky remained dark and gray. We noticed a waterspout just off Fishing Bay which caused a bit of excitement on the radio. The spout dissipated after a few minutes and no harm was done.

We had a bit of excitement when a small fishing boat hailed us as we passed by. They had blown a coolant hose and needed fresh water to complete their repairs. David glided up near them and using a monkey fist attached to a line with a plastic water jug, we were able to provide them with the water they needed. We waited till the repair was complete, then recouped the water jug and monkey fist in the same manner. Good practice for throwing lines and recovering stuff at sea. We were hoping for fish for dinner, but they were just heading out, so no such luck.

We saw eagle after eagle on our way south. Sometimes, lone eagles soared above the water scouting for dinner; other times we saw pairs and even parents with an eaglet nesting in a crude nest on the top of a marker.

We had been tracking Hurricane Matthew diligently as he wreaked havoc in Haiti and the Bahamas and headed for the US east coast. We became anxious about getting Nine of Cups to safety before the hurricane's approach. We breathed a sigh of relief as we negotiated the Great Bridge Locks and the Great Bridge and spotted the Atlantic Yacht Basin once again. The place was crazy busy. Everyone had the same idea as we did. Luckily, we had reservations and within a couple of hours Cups was nestled snugly in a protected slip, her docklines doubled up and secure. As it turned out, Matthew took a turn out to sea after passing the Carolinas and Nine of Cups was spared any problems.

We'll be winterizing Nine of Cups and putting her to bed now as we head to Boston and Las Vegas till after the holidays.

By the way, today is Just A Little Further.com's 4th anniversary. Thanks for hanging out with us all these years!

Up the Potomac to Washington, DC

Day 9 – 13 nm (passage total: 236 nm) We could have spent at least another day visiting Mount Vernon, but we were excited about arriving in Washington, DC and wanted to spend as much time in our nation's capital city as possible. As we hauled anchor and rejoined the channel, the views of Mount Vernon were majestic.

It was only 13 miles to DC and we enjoyed the short trip. Not far from Mount Vernon, just around the bend on the opposite shore is Fort Washington Park, Maryland. “Built to defend the river approach to Washington, DC, Fort Washington has stood as silent sentry for over 200 years. As technologies advanced so did Fort Washington, from the brick and stone of the 19th century to the concrete and steel of the 20th century.” Obviously, a strategic place for a fort, but from our vantage point, there wasn't much to see other than walls and a small lighthouse with a designated red marker.

We passed the Spirit of Mount Vernon, headed to Washington's home with a boatload of tourists.

The Woodrow Wilson Bridge, aka I95 lay before us, the last bridge before the city.

There's something very special about arriving by water at a world-famous port city. It's much more exciting than arriving by plane or car - perhaps it's the time it takes to get there and the anticipation that builds en route. We've visited this city many, many times. Perhaps, cities just look differently when approached from the sea. Heading up the Potomac and seeing Washington, DC come into view was awesome. The Washington Monument and the Capitol Building dominated the skyline.

We stayed to port at the fork in the river and headed up the Washington Channel. Our plan was to pick up one of the new moorings at the Gangplank Marina if it was available. The riverfront is being totally “gentrified” in this area and the current anchorage area is further down the river and not as convenient. As luck would have it, a boat that we passed entering the channel had just dropped a mooring that would suit us. We did a quick recon, picked up the mooring and just relaxed in the cockpit for a few minutes, enjoying the view. The location was outstanding … in the shadow of the Washington Monument, only a 15-minute walk to National Mall.

We allowed no moss to gather on our shoes, but that's a story for tomorrow and the days to come. In the meantime, I thought you'd enjoy sharing our view from Nine of Cups' cockpit this evening.