Freedom Boat Club offers hassle-free boating

For someone who loves boating, but not the repairs and maintenance that come with it, Freedom Boat Club might just be the answer.

With locations at Anglers Marina and Riverside Business Park, the new boating club offers members access to a boat for any activity. 

“It’s less than a third of the cost of owning your own boat,” said Tom Rosella, who owns the business with his wife Bev and nephew Josh. “You have none of the hassle. We maintain, clean, do all of the repairs, winterization and storage.”

There are three membership options available – weekday only, seven-day and holiday and multi-family. Each membership option has unlimited access to the boats, but members may only have four standing reservations at one time. 

The club has four boats to start, with plans to add to the fleet as membership grows. Each new member pays an initiation fee and a monthly fee. The one-time initiation fees are pooled and used to purchase new boats, Bev said. 

“As we grow the membership, we’ll look at both the usage of the fleet and what our members are telling us, and we’ll use that to determine what we’ll buy next,” she said. 

The existing fleet consists of a 2018 Hurricane SD217, Sweetwater Freedom tritoon, Cobia 220 center console and Cobia 220 dual console. 

Bev said the variety in boats provides members with an unlimited list of possible activities. 

“We wanted a deepwater boat to go out fishing, watch dolphins or water skiing and tubing out in the bay,” she said. “The pontoon picnic is the most popular thing to do in the Rehoboth Bay and the inland waters, so we needed a pontoon too.”

In addition to unlimited access to boats, Tom said, Freedom is also a social club. A social gathering is held monthly to get members together to get to know each other and become friends. 

New members are required to take orientation training provided by Freedom Boat Club. Members born before 1977 are also required to take an boating education class and obtain a Delaware Boating Safety Education Certificate. 

Bev said she encourages members to take the course even if they are exempt. Freedom Boat Club also offers supplemental courses, including intermediate and offshore training. 

“You can’t know too much out there,” Bev said. “We want everyone to know as much as they can and be as safe as they can be out on the water.” 

Bev and Tom were introduced to Freedom Boat Club by a friend who owns several locations on both the Long Island and Connecticut sides of the Long Island Sound. The couple had initially looked into opening up a club in New Jersey, but landed on Delaware after relocating to Lewes. 

They, along with their nephew, own the rights to the entire State of Delaware. They plan to expand the club to Indian River Inlet and a location upstate in the future. 

One of the benefits included in a membership is access to every other Freedom Boat Club in the country. Whether it’s at one of Delaware’s future locations or in Florida, Texas or California, a member can take advantage of their membership and reserve a boat while traveling. 

Freedom Boat Club was founded in Sarasota, Fla., in 1989. It has grown to more than 150 locations throughout the country, with a high concentration along the East Coast.

The two Lewes locations are at Anglers Marina, 400 Anglers Road, and Riverside Business Park & Marina, 909 Pilottown Road.   

To learn more about Freedom Boat Club, go to www.freedomboatclub.com.