A Yacht Club Membership question.

[wambam]

This site is absolutely amazing and I am so delighted to read and learn from so many old salts (and young salts). I will be, (all things considered), selling up and buying a Catalac 9M either this Autumn or next Spring,2013.

Re. Yacht Club membership, I read in another thread the following:.
" . . .We've found a great investment is Yacht Club membership.. Year befor last, we tracked our usage... our Membership is $225.00 a year.. and in the summer of 08, we spent 114 days tyed to a dock belonging to another club, at no charge under "Reciprocals' Used the showers and the washers and dryers.. . . . Yacht Clubs cater to other clubs, And St Francis is a member of PICYA.. the only stipulation is that your club must be over 50 miles from theirs.. This is common amoung many clubs. Before you go cruising, you have your club draft a letter stating you are a member in good standing. and if you know your planned route, you send out a simple card to the club you plan on visiting, anouncing that you may be stopping in and an estamated arrival.. ( like the third week in july).
Most all will give you at least one night up to about two weeks to stay and at times we've stayed, we've been asked to give a talk to the membership about our travels or to answer questions..
Remember that the expierance you gain while traveling is worth something to others and they are willing to pay for it.. Many times in free dock space... . . " This relates, I think, from the post, more to the East coast of America etc. but -

I would like to hear from someone how that might work in the U.K. and Europe. Also, do yearly fees differ re. which area you live in. I know nothing about membership of Yacht Clubs and would appreciate any advice or pointers in the right direction (links?).

Once we have the cat. rigged up and ready we intend cruising from the U.K. to the Med. over a few months, then further west to the West Indies.

Thank you very much for advice.