In 2020 alone, Freedom Boat Club members took more than 400,000 boat trips throughout North America, Canada, and France. With more than 40,000 active members who regularly bring friends and family along for their excursions, that’s a lot of people enjoying the boating lifestyle! 

At Freedom Boat Club, we’re passionate about creating access to the water. But, an equally important part of our agenda centers on the foundation of boating safety. 

Freedom Boat Club provides free and unlimited training and education to help and ensure that our members are safe and feel confident when they go boating. Our safety program and boating training/educational component is very popular with our members. They can sign up for as many free 1:1 training classes as they need to work on the skills to become a stronger, more confident, boater.  

To that end, every Freedom Boat Club member must first participate in a New Member Orientation (NMO) with our licensed Coast Guard captains prior to making their first reservation. 

Unlike some outside classes that only require cursory bookwork, our NMO is a blend of classroom and on-water training. Our captains cover a detailed, prescribed course of instruction. 

Following successful review and completion, our members may then reserve boats and sign up for additional training as needed or desired. In addition, some of our club locations may offer intermediate or advanced classes, the latter for offshore access.  

At Freedom Boat Club, our focus on boating safety is not a one-time thing. It is an important, ongoing initiative that receives ongoing focus at all levels within the Club. Initiatives include: 

• • On-going partnership with the Sea Tow Foundation to designate observers and sober skippers. We have and continue to educate our members who take pledges to be part of this safety effort. 
• • Checkout procedures before each trip out to ensure members have – and know how to access – all safety equipment onboard their vessel. 
• • Produce and share boating safety content from our captains for on-going education and reminders of proper boating etiquette.  

We hope you will join us in raising awareness for boating safety and in practicing safe boating activities, whatever your port of call.