Finding parking can be a lot like going to the dentist.
Few of us enjoy the experience, but we all have to do it.
Bearing that in mind, consider parking options for boats across southern Vancouver Island.
This can be truly nightmare territory, where moorage is virtually unattainable anywhere you look.
Club YOLO, however, is the elixir to cure all that ails the boating community across the Gulf Islands.
How?
No storage, insurance or moorage fees, no requirements to clean the vessel, nor even a need to own a boat. All you do is show up and enjoy your day on the ocean.
An offshoot of the Mill Bay Marine Group (MBMG), Club YOLO is a membership-based boat club that allows members to take in all the grandeur of the Gulf Islands on brand new boats outfitted for fishing, pleasure or however you choose to spend your day.
And it starts on April 1.
“A lot of people can’t get moorage where they want moorage, so it’s really inconvenient,” explains MBMG marketing coordinator Marlese Plater. “Some people can’t get moorage at all and they’re trailering they’re boat in and out. They’re not using their boat as much as they would like. There are a lot of downsides here.”
Club YOLO turns those downsides into upsides with ease, practicality and significant cost savings.
Consider that moorage costs anywhere from $200 to $1,000 per month at marinas across the south Island.
Club YOLO members, on the other hand, are only responsible for a one-time payment, alongside monthly rates and fuel used. Club YOLO fees are roughly the equivalent cost of moorage and insurance on anybody’s boat.
“The reality is that for many people, Club YOLO is a very, very worthwhile option as opposed to owning your own boat,” says MBMG president Duane Shaw. “And even if you do get moorage, the cost of moorage is, give or take, what it costs to be a Club YOLO member. And that doesn’t include the payments boat owners need to make for owning their boat.”
Offered out of Mill Bay and Port Sidney marinas, the club’s six boats are roughly 22 feet in length and outfitted to the gills: fish finders, downrigger mounts, navigational equipment, chart plotters and all the requisite safety gear.
So, what awaits you once you head out on the water?
Some of the calmest and best boating happens during the winter and spring because there are no thermal winds; the water is clearer and fresher because sea life isn’t growing. And traffic on the water is virtually non-existent.
Native spring salmon stocks are present year-round, while both crabbing and prawning in Saanich Inlet are excellent.
And you might even see some orcas.
“Travelling through the waters of the Gulf Islands at this time of year is calm and beautiful,” Plater says.
