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When the world shut down for COVID-19 in 2020, Teresa Camden and her husband, Christopher, were looking for something fun that they could do safely with their family. Christopher wanted to buy a boat, but Teresa knew that boat ownership entailed hard work and expenses, too.
“It looks really luxurious when you’re walking on the river trails and you see people out on the water,” she says. “But you might know the old phrase, ‘When you own a boat, the best two days are when you buy it and when you sell it.’ ”
Then a friend told the Camdens about Carefree Boat Club.
The club touts itself as offering “boating without owning” at 155 locations, including the chapter the Camdens use at Virginia Beach. Like a country club, members pay an initiation fee and a monthly fee. In exchange, they can access boats at any club location. The boat club provides maintenance and repairs.
“Somebody that wants to get out on the water and has no experience whatsoever, we give them the opportunity to get training and experience,” says Tim Baker, co-owner and managing partner of the Central Virginia chapter. “After a few years, some members find a boat they like and want to buy one; others say they enjoy the club atmosphere and continue. So it’s good for people who want to explore something new, get some basic training and decide if boating is something they enjoy.”
The first order of business is acquiring a boater safety card through online coursework, followed by a training class. “Some will go through that process more quickly, because of their experience on boats,” Baker says. “It can be a great option for people who are getting into RVs and may have given up their boats. Not only do they have access to boats, they have destination locations.”
The Carefree Boat Club operates at four spots in Central Virginia, including Kingsland Reach Marina on the James River in Henrico County, Anchor Point Marina on the Appomattox River in Hopewell, Sturgeon Creek Marina on Lake Anna, and Urbanna Boatyard and Marina on Urbanna Creek off the Rappahannock River. Nicknamed Urbby, the marina was purchased in April by Andy and Amy Anderson, and the club began operations there in June.
The Andersons expect that opening the marina to club members in Central Virginia will bring business to Urbanna, a town of about 340. “Marinas are privately owned, and people aren’t always open to letting other people do things on their property,” Andy Anderson says. “But we’ve got a big property here, and there’s a lot of vacancies. We want to fill that with marine-oriented business. ... The more successful the Carefree Boat Club is here, the more successful we are — they will rent more slips, buy more gas and benefit the local restaurants and stores.”
Startup fees vary from $3,000 to $5,000, with monthly fees ranging from $250 to $450. Fees include insurance with a deductible for damaging a boat.
Freedom Boat Club offers similar services for a similar price. They have 285 locations, including one at Rocketts Landing on the James in Richmond and another at Mineral Anna Marina on Lake Anna.
The Camdens enjoy their time on the water. “We try to go twice a week, once on a weekday and once on a weekend,” says Teresa Camden. “Weekdays are my favorite — I like to whip 180s and figure eights and pull the kids behind us on a tube. That’s not so easy on a narrow river when there’s a bunch of traffic. But on the weekends, we run into people we know, and we swim across and share beverages. We go to a quiet cove and anchor with a few other boats. You can jump in the water and go for a swim. It’s a blast.”
