Boating Anyone?
Published: Monday, October 22, 2018
By: Katie Kolberg Memmel
The members of the Wisconsin Boating Club in southeastern Wisconsin would all raise their hands in a positive salute to that question. The WBC is located in the Milwaukee area, but its members hail from many of the surrounding suburbs and outlying communities.
This family-friendly organization has been in existence for more than 60 years. Having started as an outboard club, it has grown to welcome and embrace powerboats of most shapes and sizes - from inflatable dinghies, to wooden classics, pontoons, and cruisers.
Safety is important to the WBC. Every spring, the club hosts a boat safety inspection. Members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary inspect each vessel, ensuring proper safety equipment is present and accounted for. On club cruises, the group supplies a captain who leads the group, while a co-captain follows, in case anyone develops problems. It’s always fun to boat with others, 
but even more important, there’s safety in numbers.
Wisconsin Boating Club members have cruised many navigable waterways. Those with smaller boats enjoy day trips to inland lakes, such as Oshkosh’s beautiful Lake Winnebago, or Madison’s Mendota and Monona. 
Most boaters will agree there’s no better way to spend a hot summer’s day than rafting together - throwing a football, picnicking, and swimming.
Those with larger boats take longer cruises and often vacation together. The Mississippi River is a favorite destination. The group alternates spending nights on sandbars, sharing s’mores and ghost stories; with nights in marinas, spending days hiking or shopping in the quaint small towns along the way. 
They’ve crossed Lake Michigan, visiting ports such as Grand Haven, Saugatuck, Leland, and Petoskey. Families have trailered up to Bayfield in the Apostle Islands, where they’ve explored beaches, lighthouses, and the famous sea caves. Brave cruisers have boated from Copper Harbor, Michigan, to Isle Royale in Lake Superior. While there, they’ve spotted foxes, bears, and moose in their natural habitats. Members have explored the Straits of Mackinac, as well as the pristine waters of the North Channel, witnessing first hand, the Northern Lights in all their glory.
The club holds ten membership meetings per year, generally on the first Monday of the month (except holidays). Each meeting also has a program, whether a speaker or an activity. There are no meetings in July or August because summer was created for spending time on the water!
Requirements for membership are simple - a love for boating.
If you are interested in more information regarding the Wisconsin Boating Club, please visit www.WisconsinBoatingClub.com.
This article first appeared in the Fall Issue (Sept/Oct) 2018 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine.
tags: Boat Club, Lake Michigan, Lifestyle
