Boat Life: We're Progressive Boat Club Members!
I’m so excited to be writing this post as a member of Progressive’s Boat Club, and sharing a little more about our lives as boaters! We’ll be partnering with them for some upcoming posts, including today’s topic about how important it’s been to have our boat covered throughout our journey.
Now that we’re in our second year, we’ve gotten our feet wet (literally and figuratively) and feel more comfortable and confident on the water. There’s a lot to learn beyond just how to care for and operate the boat — I’ve learned more about weather, wind patterns, and the habits of waves than I ever thought possible, and we’re just scratching the surface! It’s super important for us to be knowledgeable and responsible on the water, as you can’t relax and have fun without having safeguards in place.
As much as we feel prepared for everything, there are some things that are beyond our control — mother nature being one of them. We are fortunate to be docked right on Lake Erie, which gives us beautiful views and quick access, but we are not immune to the fast-moving weather patterns that come off the lake. Last October, there was a huge storm that hit Cleveland, and our boat was still in the water, along with many others. Jim and I were both out of town at the time (of course) so we got word of the storm from our dock mates and via email from our yacht club. Talk about feeling helpless! I kept waiting for text updates to see what was going on, hoping that our boat was secure enough to be able to hang on in the storm.
The winds were so strong that one of our lines had been rubbing against a post, it frayed, and then snapped. Fortunately, the damage we had was cosmetic and not structural, but still required us to have the fiberglass patched, repaired, and buffed back to its original state. We are insured by Progressive and can’t say enough about how smooth the process was — they took great care of us during a stressful time in our first year with the boat. We were lucky that the storm hit at the end of the season, so the boat was repaired during the winter months and we didn’t miss a day on the water. I never imagined we’d need our insurance beyond just peace of mind – but like I said, you can’t control everything that’s going to happen.
I’m looking forward to giving you a real life, behind the scenes glimpse at our boating experiences in some upcoming posts. If you have any questions or topics you’re curious about, let me know! You guys can follow along on the blog, and also on Instagram via the hashtag #PGRBoatLife!
Thank you to Progressive for sponsoring this discussion!
