Club reciprocals?

[pwilletts]

How do yacht club reciprocals work? Is there a list of clubs that show this..do you just present identification? Do they allow mooring if its available? is each one different?

[donradcliffe]

It depends on where you are. Yes, each club is different. Ask your YC secretary.

If your YC has a "royal" in its name, you are more likely to get reciprocal privileges.

[appick]

I don't know about the Royal part but usually just presenting a burgee or the yacht club sticker on the boat has been enough for us in the past.

[glenn.225]

The way our "Club" works is we send letters(emails) to the other surrounding clubs and offer reciprocal moorings. In turn we get whatever they offer, i.e. first night free or a reduced rate, services vary, but overall a good deal.

[AD28]

Florida yacht clubs, except in the Panhandle, only offer reciprocity with yacht clubs that are in the Florida Council of Yacht Clubs.

[MarkJ]

"Royal" often does not make it easier.
My club is very restrictive on their reciprocal list so there's only a few in each country.
I have to email my club secretary and they email the club I want to go to and then it gets organised. Its not like I can just walk in.
Not only that, our club does not have a membership card (!!) So I can't walk into some normal club and prove I am a member of mine.

[goodnumbers64]

Many US clubs belong to the Yachting Clubs of Americas association. The YCA publishes a book every year for member clubs that lists reciprocity. It is available online for members. The comments above on FL clubs is correct. Often, clubs in frequently visited places such as Nantucket and Annapolis limit reciprocity. Such clubs often has reciprocity agreements with a few clubs on an individual basis. Other than the YCA book it is best to check ahead.

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by AD28

Florida yacht clubs, except in the Panhandle, only offer reciprocity with yacht clubs that are in the Florida Council of Yacht Clubs.

Actually, Clubs that are members of the Florida Council of Yacht Clubs automatically offer reciprocity to members of other Council Clubs as a matter of being a member of the Council. Council member Clubs also extend reciprocity to other non-Council member clubs upon the exchange of Letters of Reciprocity. The difference between the reciprocity extended to Council member Club members and non-Council Club members involves the manner of billing the visitor taking advantage of reciprocal privileges. Members of Council member Clubs can merely sign for their charges which are billed back to the Member's own Club and paid for with his/her monthly charge statement. Non-Council member visitors are normally issued a "Guest Card" upon presenting a valid credit card used to run an open tab. At the conclusion of the visitor's stay, or weekly in some cases if the stay is extended, the visitor's credit card is charged and if he/she is remaining at the Club being visited, he/she is required to sign another open charge receipt. Before we joined our FCYC club here in Florida, we visited the St. Pete YC, Lauderdale YC and several others that the Secretary of our Club in California had exchanged Letters of Reciprocity with. We were generally always treated kindly and we paid our bills/charges at each in the manner described above. If a Club declines reciprocal privileges, it is often because a prior visitor has "stiffed" the Club one wishes to visit. Unfortunately, we have seen that as well and someone running out on a big bar or fuel bill can really sour one on extending courtesies.

FWIW...

[valhalla360]

The obvious answer is check with your YC.

Assuming you are a long distance cruiser thinking to sign up for a cheap YC membership and stay for free everywhere you go...it's rarely worth the trouble. Most offer options for YC in the vicinity. Once you get more than 100miles from the YC, the benefits peter out. If they do offer really good benefits, the membership is usually expensive (more than any savings you are likely to get on the slip fees).

The reason to join a YC is you want to be part of a CLUB and hang out and interact with the members.

Assuming your goal is getting deals on slips a few thoughts:
- Consider joining Boat US. Many marinas offer a substantial discount and it's only like $20 for a years membership.
- Call or email YC and see if you can come in without being YC member. We've done it many times and they often give great deals for a couple nights stay.
- Check into weekly & monthly rates. They are often drastically cheaper than nightly rates. If the nightly rate is $2/ft and the monthly rate is $10/ft, after 5 days, you are getting a discount. Stay 2 weeks and you are effectively paying $0.71/ft/night and no one will stop you if you leave early.

[a64pilot]

Will someone explain the "except for the Panhandle"?
I am not a member of any club, but did look up the Fl council of Yacht clubs and seems both the Pensacola and the Panama City clubs are both members.
I assume they then reciprocate? Or is that not extended to the Panhandle clubs?

[AD28]

Both P'cola and Panama City, although members of FCYC, will reciprocate to clubs which aren't members of the FCYC.

Grand Lagoon, P'cola Beach, Fort Walton (is FCYC iirc), St Andrews Bay, have all been reciprocal to clubs which aren't members of the FCYC.

If you go east and south of that, I think you'll find that the YC, with I understand the exception of St Pete, will NOT reciprocate to clubs which aren't members of the FCYC, regardless whether your YC is in Florida

Ergo, if you aren't from a club which is a member of FCYC, and you try to get reciprocal privileges from clubs in Florida outside the Panhandle, don't be surprised if they send you packing.

Most clubs these days regardless where they are, are happy to sell you food and drink for cash (rather than charge-back, which has gone out of style). As far as getting dock space, that is more difficult and most clubs will expect that you belong to a YC for those particular reciprocal privs.

of course, I'm sure this varies, but the above is my personal experience

[Scott Berg]

My experience is a bit different in that while clubs tend to be sticklers to those who arrive by car and want to come into their bar or restaurant, many, including our club (Capital Yacht Club in Washington, DC) welcomes transients at both our docks and anchorage regardless of affiliation so long as they arrive by boat. We've found others do the same even if they don't advertise this (we do put out a welcome mat). Also, we've been welcomed at pretty much every club we've visited as members of CYC. One note, the current guide to US Clubs permits clubs with no facilities (such as paper small boat racing clubs) to join and doesn't inspect facilities. Because of this, some first tier clubs like Annapolis, St. Pete, California, etc rely upon their own organizations and letters of introduction from club secretaries. YMMV but we've been welcomed pretty much everywhere whether by boat or car...