Join Us

Increase Your Boating Know-How The Friendly Way

Get more enjoyment from your time on the water. The internet and books are great resources, but nothing beats learning about boating from real people. You can learn a lot hanging around with a group that’s been on the water collectively for as many years as we have. Not to brag, but here you’ll find experienced people who want to see you become safe and competent on the water.

With a USPS boating education, You’ll benefit from quality courses that are still affordable, backed by a national organization that has been doing this since 1914. You’ll combine your classroom study with on-the-water components. And studying together builds camaraderie with fellow students that you can’t find anywhere else.

Boating Is A People Activity. LHS&PS people like to get together year round. We’re on land in the winter, on the water in the summer, and we double-up and do both in the fall and spring. We’ve got raft ups and cruises, dinners and holiday parties, and a speaker series with some top-notch presentations. You can just do the education classes if you want, but we bet you’ll find your way to a social event sooner or later.

Stretch Your Boating Dollar. USPS members enjoy a full locker of discounts. Most insurance companies give discounts to members. And why wouldn’t they? We´re always talking about safer boating. But we´re a pretty big organization nationally, and we’ve got some good product discounts worked out too. From charts to software, online boating stores and PC´s, small boats and even seafood, we probably have a discount program you can really use.

Give Back To The Community. Take advantage of our civic service programs, including helping with the public boating course, keeping our charts accurate with the Cooperative Charting Program, participating in the Vessel Safety Check program, or serving as a Port Captain. We have other activities that raise money for worthy local charities.

Membership Qualification—It’s Easy!

Completing America’s Boating Course or passing the Boat Smart examination is the gateway for anyone 16 and older into the world of USPS. Then, there’s dues. We’re all volunteers, but we still charge annual dues to keep the organization going. The only other requirements for membership are an interest in boating related activities and an eagerness to meet like minded people. You don’t need a boat! Many of our members used to have a boat, are considering buying a boat, or just enjoy other people’s boats. Check our meeting schedule—guests are always welcome to join us for a social event and maybe one of our speaker series.

Ready to apply? We offer both individual active memberships and family memberships (primary active plus members of same household aged 16 and above). Select the membership that applies to you, pay your dues in our online store (PayPal or credit card), and download and complete a membership application, save the completed form to your device, and then email the saved .pdf document to admin@lake-hartwell.org.

USPS History

USPS® was organized in 1914 as a non profit, educational organization with the goal of making boating safer and more enjoyable by teaching a variety of safe boating courses. USPS has nearly 35,000 members organized into over 350 squadrons across the country and in some US territories. USPS is America’s largest non-profit boating organization and has been honored by three US presidents for its civic contributions. You can read about its history here. The USPS web site is here.

LHS&PS History

Formerly known as the Greenville Power Squadron,  the Lake Hartwell Sail & Power Squadron (LHS&PS)  is a unit of  United States Power Squadrons® (USPS®).