We joined a (yacht) club

I don't know about you but when I hear the words "Yacht Club" I think, "Oh, no, really?" But I've learned that not all Yacht Clubs are what I thought they were. For example, the Fidalgo Yacht Club. We met a few members on the dock where we keep our boat and decided to check it out. Just like learning to enjoy a 55+ community (which also made me shudder) I'm learning to really like the club. Just not the word "yacht."

Here's why we joined:

1. It's aimed at people who travel up into BC and Alaska, which is what we're doing.
2. There's a lot of focus on planning trips and cruising together. Not drinking or trying to impress one another. (I'm OK at the former, hopeless at the latter.)
3. The people are nice and have fun. Look closely below and you'll see they (metaphorically) murdered the commodore at our first gathering. It's not snooty at all. I just had to buy one pair of black slacks for the monthly dinner meetings. 
4. The yachts run the gamut of sizes and styles, including a 25-foot C-Dory like the last Anita Marie. (See photos below.)
5. The social gatherings are low-key and really affordable.
6. It's right by our boat. In a nice facility nestled on top of a self-storage building.

We just attended our first gathering (they call it a cruise) at one of my favorite places, Roche Harbor. (And yes, it's one of the snootiest places in the Northwest, but honestly, not this past weekend.) I didn't take many pictures of the members as I don't know them very well yet, and the photos I did take were pretty awful thanks to the brilliant Sunday sun. All that said, here's a look at our first cruise.