I joined the local yacht club in order to get mast up storage near the water, and guaranteed access to the water. I felt mast up storage and guaranteed access were necessary to be able to fully enjoy cat sailing. It also didn't hurt that the folks I first met at the yacht club were very friendly. They only got uppity when I tried to park my cat on their property & use their docks without paying dues.

I had an option that was cheaper, but a much longer drive to the launch site. And I had a much more expensive option - buying lakefront property.

For me, the yacht club was an affordable compromise. I didn't need the yacht club to race my catamaran and in fact, at first I couldn't even race my catamaran at my own club, except in an annual distance race, but the mast up storage and lake access gave me the "time on the water" to improve. Once I joined the yacht club, though, I did get involved in various programs, including race management, and for a while we did have a catamaran fleet racing regularly.