There’s a little spring in her step as Dr. Stephanie Freels rounds the corner of the Indiana marina to the sound of flags whipping in the wind. She’s been looking forward to getting out on Lake Michigan all week and despite the early morning gusts, she walks with determination as she makes her way to her boat. Her strolls down the dock are the best part of her summertime routine, although on this particular August morning the breeze seems to be picking up. Stephanie lives for these boating getaways so a little wind isn’t about to derail those plans, not for this seasoned skipper who feels as comfortable at the helm as she does anywhere.

As she approaches the row of boats, she’s greeted by friendly marina dockhands who have her boat gassed, cleaned and ready for her like they do each time she arrives. She originally considered going out on the Sea Ray deck boat, but her boat of choice today is the Bennington pontoon. Now don’t be quick to assume the Illinois dermatologist owns her own fleet of boats. While she has full access to them, she doesn’t actually own a pontoon, deck boat, center console, or even a sailboat. However, thanks to her membership in the Freedom Boat Club in Michigan City, Ind., Stephanie experiences the best parts of boat ownership without dealing with the maintenance or any of the other hassles.

“In 2016 I was interested in boating, but buying a boat didn’t seem reasonable,” recalls Stephanie. “So I looked into the Freedom Boat Club and have been a member ever since. I wanted to boat without owning a boat.”

Dr. Freels is a long-time resident of Chicago’s western suburbs and specializes in cosmetic dermatology and skin care. She is one of 600 plus members at the Freedom Boat Club in the Michiana area that now has six locations and 60 boats, after a humble beginning of just 12 members and three boats when it first opened in 2015 with one location. Dr. Freels’ short drive to Washington Park Marina takes a little over an hour from her home in Illinois and is well worth the trip.

How The Club Works

Since 1989, Freedom Boat Club has been in business and is now the world’s largest and oldest members-only boat club. Members can reserve boats up to six months in advance with no usage charges and with unlimited use at their home location.

“I’ve talked to plenty of people about the club and it’s really the most economical way to boat,” says Stephanie.

Another major benefit is if your plan includes a reciprocal membership, you can boat at any of the Freedom Boat Club locations in the U.S., Canada and France. Stephanie has taken advantage of this perk by taking out boats in Florida many times while on vacation, or at other marinas in the Lake Michigan area.

“You do have to plan ahead and there have been times when I got to Florida and thought, ‘Oh darn. I forgot to reserve a boat,’ but I’ve usually been able to get one anyway,” says Stephanie. “It’s certainly a nice feature and I hope to use it more often when I retire next year.”

Why Michiana?

Michiana is a region in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan where the Michigan City marina is located. The name is a portmanteau of “Michigan” and “Indiana” and was chosen as the winning entry in the naming contest, purportedly submitted by Indiana politician Thurman C. Crook in 1934.

“We raised our kids boating on Lake Michigan in Michiana and in 2010 my company relocated us to Florida,” says Thomas Armon who co-owns FBC Michigan City with his wife Joni.“We brought our Lake Michigan boat with us down there and realized really quickly it was like a fish out of water in Florida. Our boat was our baby and the barnacles, the sun, the salt water were tearing it up and I knew there had to be a better way.”

Thomas learned about Freedom Boat Club from some people at his church and ended up joining in 2011. Within a few months he knew this was something he had to bring back to southwest Michigan. So in 2014 he started negotiating with the franchise for the territory.

“I happened to get on the retirement track for the company I was working for and the stars just seemed to align,” recalls Thomas. “I exited corporate America and got into something we’re passionate about and brought the brand to Michiana. We were the third location in the Great Lakes and now there’s something like 38 locations. A lot of people said it would never work in the Great Lakes. It absolutely works, the model works and we’re happy to be a part of it.”

Thomas credits his wife Joni and her efforts to not only help grow the business, but to be a major advocate for getting more women on the water. Together they worked tirelessly in the beginning to promote the club and in 2019 received a boost when the Brunswick Corporation acquired Freedom Boat Club, something the Michigan City owners saw as a huge advantage.

“We work really hard and have the personal touch, but we also have all the resources of a massive company such as Brunswick,” explains Thomas. “The club is growing and we have a high member retention rate in excess of 90 percent. So once they join the club they don’t tend to leave.”

Joining The Club

On this day, Stephanie isn’t the only member looking to get out on the water. Teresa Hunt is also a member of the Michigan City location and she and her husband James joined when they realized they spent far more time maintaining their boat than actually being on the water. The couple owned a boat for 16 years, but realized they didn’t get out on it as much as they would have liked, yet were still spending a lot of time and money on the upkeep.

“We were looking at all the time it took to care for it and do maintenance on it and that’s when we saw an advertisement for Freedom,” recalls Teresa. “We decided to go to a members meeting and that’s where we met Tom and his crew and they were just so welcoming and understood what it takes to get out on the water.”

Teresa and her family enjoy the versatility the fleet offers, but most of their time on the water revolves around fishing. But regardless of the activity for that day, being on the water has always been very therapeutic for her.

“Teresa is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet in the world,” explains Thomas. “She works in hospice care so you can imagine the type of stress she deals with on a day in and day out basis. She says if it wasn’t for her time on the water she doesn’t know how she’d be able to handle the pressure of hospice work.”

“Life has a lot of storms that happen and to be able to get out on the peacefulness of the lake and the water helps bring calm, peace and joy to the soul,” explains Teresa when asked what she loves about boating. “We all have the training and Tom is really good about making sure we have the confidence to be able to drive the boat. Compared to the time and money it takes to own your own boat, being a club member costs so much less. Time is money so there’s really no comparison. We recommend the club to everybody because of how convenient it really is.”

Training Captains

The club is also a major proponent of boater education and safety and offers free training to its local members regarding the safe use and operation of your home club fleet. This generally includes classroom and on-water training activities; members must complete this training course before they can start reserving boats. This training helps its members feel comfortable taking the boat out.

“Making it simple is what Freedom Boat Club does,” says Thomas. “We do all the maintenance, we do all the cleaning, we have concierge service at the dock, and we do all the training. It’s very similar to a country club on the water where we’re responsible for your boating skills, your mariner skills, and your quality time on the water.”

Stephanie is quick to point out how helpful the dockhands are, especially on windy days like this one when she’s coming back into the slip.

“I feel confident, well-trained, safe, and comfortable,” says the dermatologist. “They tell me I can go out alone if I want but I don’t. I usually take someone with me. I’m single so I usually go out with my friends or my kids and I designate the one with the most experience to be my lookout.

Women In Boating

The Freedom Boat Club has opened up the world of boating to many, but has also played an important role in attracting more women to the captain’s chair. With more than 90,000 members worldwide, an estimated 35 percent of those members are women. For some women it can be intimidating or at times they may feel like they’re being discriminated against when it comes to boating, but that’s not the case with the Freedom Boat Club.

“It’s a man’s world but run by women,” says Stephanie with a smile. “I’ve never felt slighted here at the club because I was a woman. This year I’ve seen quite a few women who have been dockhands and they were much more knowledgeable than I was.”

Adds Thomas, “A lot of the decision makers are women in our club; they understand quality family time and are very much involved in the decision process of moving forward. Whenever they’re uncomfortable on the water our job is to make them comfortable.”

The Freedom Boat Club through its training has helped a lot of new boaters become comfortable and that’s something Stephanie feels more of her friends should take advantage of.

“I certainly don’t feel hampered from going out as a woman. I feel pretty comfortable,” says Stephanie. “I have some friends with boats and they don’t bother learning, but I think it’s important to know the safety features and know what you’re supposed to be doing because you’re responsible for everyone on the boat.”

Teresa is also interested in helping more women feel comfortable at the helm and is always encouraging her daughters-in-law to be more involved. She said, “They love getting on the boat and are always wanting to drive when we’re out and about.”

The Fleet

“At least in our world in Michiana I believe most people join the Freedom Boat Club for exactly the boat we’re on,” says Thomas as he stretches out on a Sea Ray SPX 230 deck boat, powered with a Mercury 200hp outboard. “These are the classic fun-in-the-sun vessels. We’ve got the turn-it-up stereos, the platform for sunning yourself and we’ve got the power tower for water sports. This is primarily what people join Freedom Boat Club for.”

Most of the boats in the fleet are upscale deck boats such as the Sea Ray that handle nicely in Lake Michigan. The next most popular boat is the triple pontoon lineup.

“Pontoons are basically your floating living rooms and they also handle Lake Michigan really well,” adds Thomas. “With that third `toon they’re very stable and I like to say they are the most stable boat on the water. Families like it because you can close all the access doors and the kids are in an enclosed environment.”

The third most popular boat offered at this Michiana location are the center console boats that are quite versatile, but are used primarily for fishing. The final boat offered is the sailing vessels that complete the fleet in the Michigan City location.

Availability

“They’ve always kept enough boats that you don’t have to really worry about it,” says Stephanie. “If you’re trying to get a boat for July 4 on July 3 you’re probably not going to get it, but for the most part it’s been much easier than expected and there’s so much you can do.”

Teresa admits that she’s not always good about planning ahead, yet still doesn’t have a problem getting a boat most of the time.

“We’re very last minute people, so a typical day for us is calling and seeing if a boat is available and 90 percent of the time there is,” says Teresa. “We’ll have dinner on the boat or we’ll go fishing, but whatever we do it’s relaxing.

Precious Time

Boating made simple is probably the most popular tagline for Freedom Boat Club, but for Thomas he likes to think of the club as friendly people dedicated to your precious time on the water.

“Time on the water is very precious,” concludes Thomas. “There’s an old saying that time on the water cannot be subtracted from a person’s life so if that’s true, just how valuable is our time on the water?”

For Stephanie, Teresa and the other members, time is extremely important; joining the club is the only way to experience the freedom of boating and getting out to enjoy the water.