Discover Boating this Summer!! #DiscoverBoating (sponsored)

I’m so thrilled to be a Discover Boating Ambassador!  When I was initially asked if I was someone who did any boating, my first thought was “no”.  I typically think of “boaters” as people who own a boat and have a slip at a local dock or yacht club.  But the more I thought about it, I realized that I am actually a “boater” in that I love to spend time on the water and have for as long as I can remember.

Maybe it started as a result of living on the Connecticut shore as an infant. (Okay, maybe not since I don’t really remember those years!)

But I did spend most of my formative years never really more than about 20 minutes from the coast.  We went canoeing and deep sea fishing (my favorite!) and I loved every minute of it.

When we went out to the West Coast to visit my aunt and uncle, we got to go out on his boat (he’s a professional fisherman) and go herring fishing in the wee hours of the morning.  My grandmother even painted a picture of his boat – it was like a member of the family!

Later, I would actually meet my husband on a boat (okay, a cruise ship – but it’s really just a big boat) and when I eventually moved to the Midwest, I was sad to leave the coast and figured my boating days were over.  I couldn’t have been more wrong!  My father-in-law has a boat and loves to go out fishing.  LJ has already been on several trips around our local lakes.  My dad even let him steer a boat around until they ran out of gas and had to row back.  LJ still loves to tell that story!

Are you one of the 88 million Americans who went boating in 2012?  If not, why not?  Maybe boating seems to complicated or you’re not sure where to turn for information.  Discover Boating is a nonprofit program supported by the U.S. Recreational Boating Industry to help provide people the tools and information they need to start boating.  Check out DiscoverBoating.com and you will find: a boat selector guide, cost comparison tool, renting information, links to educational courses – even how to videos and nautical lingo!

Ninety percent of Americans live within an hour’s drive of a navigable body of water – which ones have you explored??