Clubs Within the Club

Whether you’re an expert or a novice, newcomer or old salt, meet new friends who share your interests

At Naples Yacht Club, you’re sure to meet people who share your pastimes and passions through an interesting variety of “clubs within the club.” Learn fresh tricks and tips to expand your expertise, discover unexpected locales in the region, or simply take the plunge into new experiences. When you join a social club, you are sure to make new friends and create more indelible club memories.

NYC Car Club

Revvin’ it up

In 2018, a small group of members with an interest in cars thought it would be fun to arrange activities to bring together members with similar interests. It led to visits to local car collections, driving trips to regional points of interest, discussion meetings, visits to car events and, of course, our very own car show at the club.

This season, NYC Car Club activities will be restarted. A car show is planned for spring as well as other activities, depending on the level of member interest. The NYC Car Club is looking for more members to join now that things are getting back to normal. It is a very informal group. You do not need to be a collector or own cars to participate. All you need is an interest in things automotive, making friends, and having fun with your fellow members. All NYC members are welcome to participate. If you are interested in joining the group, contact the club or call Don Wingard. We look forward to hearing from you.

Bocce

A timeless tradition

Bocce is more popular than ever in Southwest Florida, with many clubs and communities offering league and social play. The beauty of bocce is that anyone can play, no matter their athletic skill level, gender, or age.

Bocce is a great way to socialize and to meet club members. Games can be played as singles or couples. One reason this ancient game of skill and strategy has been passed through the ages is due to its simplicity. All you need is a court to play on, something to sip and nibble, and, yes, a bocce ball. Bocce is not just a great game to play with friends, it is a tradition—one that will continue to thrive at Naples Yacht Club.

Sailing (Catalina Racing)

Seasonal competition

During the winter, NYC’s fleet of Catalina sailboats takes to Naples Bay for an annual race. Held every Monday following the Boaters’ Lunch, 12 to 14 members typically sail out for some serious—but friendly—competition. There is always room for more (ladies, too!) to join the fun.

Fishing

Drop a line

The club’s fishing enthusiasts who come together will find several opportunities throughout the season to take guided fishing trips with fellow members. Past destinations have been as close as Pine Island Sound and as far as Ninilchik, Alaska.

Cruising

By land or sea

Club cruises are an integral part of NYC’s social life. Cruise Leaders put together an extensive itinerary of activities, excursions, and dining events at each destination. Don’t own a boat? Cruisers often host members on their vessels, and many local destinations can be reached overland.

Sign-up is easy. Visit the Naples Yacht Club website, log in and click on the “Cruising” tab. This is the main hub of information for cruisers where you will sign up, view itineraries, and make meal and activity selections—all in one convenient location. See page XX for the Cruising Calendar for more details on this season’s ports of call.

TYPES OF CRUISES

Lunch Cruises: Spend a morning on the water, followed by lunch at a local yacht club or restaurant with slip availability. Lunch Cruises are the perfect opportunity to join by land and drive to the destination instead of cruising by boat.

Cruise Lite: Take time for a quick jaunt to a nearby club or marina. Cruise Lites offer a onenight stay at your destination, often accompanied by a group dinner and daytime group activities.

Overnight Cruises: Pack your bags for a short get-away to a fun, regional destination, such as Boca Grande, St. Petersburg, or Ocean Reef. Trips include time to relax, explore landmarks or attractions, dine, and shop.

International Cruises: Each year, Preferred Travel of Naples coordinates a special international cruise package for Naples Yacht Club members. The October 2022 cruise sold out quickly, and spaces are filling for the 2023 Japan cruise. If you are interested in learning more about the trip or securing a reservation, please contact Karen Kelly at Preferred Travel of Naples at (239) 261-1177.

Stay in the Know

There are many ways to get the latest information on clubs and events:

The Rudder Weekly email blasts Online calendar at naplesyc.com Naples Yacht Club App

Register: Register online for some events or contact (239) 262-6647 or reservations@naplesyc.com.

Ladies’ Book Club

Celebrating our 13th season

The Ladies’ Book Club is a special time for NYC ladies to gather in an informal setting and enjoy the company of fellow booklovers. We are treated to a unique, chef-prepared luncheon along with a thoughtful, lively discussion of the selected book. We look forward to another wonderful season for this “club within the club.”

November 18, 2022

Lessons in Chemistry

By Bonnie Garmus

This 2022 debut novel—an instant New York Times bestseller—tells the story of a female scientist in 1960s California who becomes the unlikely star of America’s most popular TV cooking show. Elizabeth Zott falls in love with a colleague, later becoming a single mother and the revolutionary host of Supper at Six who teaches her female audiences how to change the status quo.

January 20, 2023

Among the Beautiful Beasts

By Lori McMullen

Another fi rst-time novel, Among the Beautiful Beasts explores the early life of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the Miami journalist who became a tireless activist for the Florida Everglades, which she christened the “River of Grass” through her own book of that name. Author Lori McMullen grew up in Dade County understanding the immense impact Douglas had in the conservation movement. Her novel—told in suspenseful chapters that alternate between the wilds of the wetlands and narrative fl ashbacks—delves into Douglas’ formative years: her familial relationships, early marriage to a swindler 30 years her senior, move to Miami, and the passions she embraced along the way.

February 17, 2023

Their Eyes Were Watching God

By Zora Neale Hurston

This enduring work by the renowned AfricanAmerican Florida author is a Southern love story that follows the fortunes of Janie Crawford, a woman living in the black town of Eaton, Florida. While Zora Neale Hurston was the preeminent black female writer during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1930s, Their Eyes Were Watching God (published in 1937) became a controversial outcast because it wasn’t written explicitly about black people in the context of a white world, as her contemporaries were doing. It fell into oblivion until writer Alice Walker revived interest in the work in 1975 and it was reissued in 1978; it has since been called “one of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century.”

March 17, 2023

The Diamond Eye

by Kate Quinn

This novel is based on the true story of a quiet bookworm who becomes history’s deadliest female sniper in World War II. Mila Pavlichenko, a studious librarian and single mother, is given a rifl e to join the fi ght against the Nazis in 1937 in Ukraine and Russia. A lethal Nazi hunter known as Lady Death, she becomes a national heroine and visits America on a goodwill tour, becoming unexpected friends with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and facing an enemy from her past.

April 21, 2023

Bestseller TBA

May 12, 2023

Bestseller TBA

Men’s Book Club

Join us for our 2nd season

December 6, 2022

Buried at the Lake: A Luca Mystery

By Dan Petrosini

The latest in the Luca Mystery Series by Naples author Dan Petrosini is focused on the mysterious death of an innocent woman at a lakefront property 10 years prior. What was the motive? Mistaken identity? Or something sinister? This fourteenth book in the series— set in Collier County—alternates narration between Detective Frank Luca and a possible person of interest in the homicide. Petrosini is a USA Today bestselling author.

January 3, 2023

Butcher’s Crossing

By John Williams

In this 1960 classic set in the 1870s, Harvard student Will Andrews—inspired by Ralph Wado Emerson’s call to return to nature—drops out of school and heads West. After landing in the small Kansas town of Butcher’s Crossing, he joins a fellow pioneer to track herds of bu alo in the Colorado Rockies, where he confronts nature’s brutal realities in a struggle to survive. A fi lm based on the novel currently under production will star Nicholas Cage.

February 7, 2023

Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World

By Chris Wallace

In Countdown 1945, the veteran journalist and anchor of Fox News Sunday takes readers behind the scenes of the 116 days leading up to the American attack on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The No. 1 national bestseller has been called “the defi nitive account of one of the most signifi cant moments in history.”

March 7, 2023

1984

By George Orwell

This cautionary tale is set in a dystopian London in the totalitarian state of Oceania where Big Brother watches you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. The novel remains as potent today as it was following its publication in 1949. The New Yorker has said of this PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick: “Orwell saw, to his credit, that the act of falsifying reality is only secondarily a way of changing perceptions. It is, above all, a way of asserting power.”

April 4, 2023

Ready Player One

By Ernest Cline

This No. 1 New York Times bestseller is also set in the future—the year 2045. Most of humanity spends their days in a virtual world called OASIS trying to solve fi endish puzzles, based on its creator’s obsession with decades of pop culture. Hu Post calls it “the grown-up’s Harry Potter” while CNN says it’s “an addictive read . . . part intergalactic scavenger hunt, part romance, and all heart.” Steven Spielberg transformed it into a 2018 fi lm.

2023 Speaker Dinner Series

Cocktails, dinner, and conversation

Mark your calendars for Naples Yacht Club’s stimulating Speaker Dinner Series. For each event, a cocktail reception with the speaker begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Ballroom. Dinner is served at 6 p.m., when the speaker takes the podium. We look forward to seeing you at one—or all—of these special speaking events.

Learning Luncheons

Join us this season for NYC’s Learning Luncheons to consider a range of topics. See the Social Calendar beginning on page 45 for details.

January 13

Leslie Frecon Managing Partner LFE Capital

Topics: Impact investing, female entrepreneurship

February 16

Michael Katz Executive Chef Naples Yacht Club

Topics: The benefi ts of organic food

March 14

Restaurateur Panel Discussion

Topic: Naples’ delicious restaurant scene

January 12

Michael Pillsbury

Michael Pillsbury, a leading authority on China, has been a consultant at the U.S. Department of Defense since 2004. Pillsbury has held 11 positions with the United States since government since 1981. He is the director for Chinese strategy at the Hudson Institute and the author of The HundredYear Marathon: China’s Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower.

February 2

Michael Wynn

Michael Wynn grew up around the family’s Naples business, Wynn’s Family Market, founded by his grandfather, Don Wynn. As president of Sunshine Ace Hardware, he has overseen its continual evolution and expansive growth. Wynn is also CEO of Wynn Family Companies. A leader in business and civic organizations, he was named Collier County Outstanding Citizen of the Year 2019.

March 7

Fabien Cousteau

A third-generation ocean explorer, conservationist, and documentary fi lmmaker, Fabien Cousteau shares his father’s and grandfather’s love of ocean adventure and protection. The fi rst grandson of Jacques Cousteau, he is an expedition member of the nonprofi t Ocean Futures Society and the founder of the Ocean Learning Center in New York City.

March 16

Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore is an economics journalist, author, and nationally syndicated political columnist. He is a regular contributor at The Wall Street Journal and other outlets, such as Fox News, CNN, and CNBC. He is the chief economist for the Institute for Economic Freedom and Opportunity and has co-authored several books.

April 11

Nick Nicholson

Nick Nicholson is the former president/CEO of Keeneland Association in Lexington, Ky. It has two distinct divisions: a Thoroughbred racing facility and a horse auction complex. Nicholson’s talk is in conjunction with a Kentucky Derby-themed event.