Hello-

Thank you so much for supporting Charleston Sailboat Charters--we are looking forward to getting you out on the water!

Below is a lot of helpful information and I would recommend having it available on the day of your outing and sharing it with your group.

Vessel
Sailboat: Mental Heeling
1988 30ft Catalina MKII

Boat Location:
The Harborage at Ashley River Marina
33 Lockwood Drive
Charleston SC, 29401

How To Get To The Marina:
The Harborage at Ashley River Marina does not allow charter guests to park in their parking lot, doing so may result in a ticket or towing. Below are a few options to consider:

OPTION 1: Uber/Lyft/Taxi directly to The Harborage at Ashley River Marina: (33 Lockwood Drive, Charleston, SC 29401)
You can Uber/Lyft/Taxi directly to The Harborage at Ashley River Marina (33 Lockwood Drive, Charleston, SC 29401). Be sure to tell your Uber/Lyft/Taxi driver to "drop you at The Harborage at Ashley River Marina and not Safe Harbor Charleston City Marina" (They often take guests to the wrong marina so it's worth mentioning this). If they bring you to the marina that has a gas station as you pull in, they brought you to the wrong marina. Feel free to call or text me before letting your Uber/Lyft/Taxi leave to confirm you are at the correct marina.

The captain will meet you in-front of the building in the parking lot 10-15 minutes before your Experience start time. Please do not enter the marina without your captain.

OPTION 2: Drive Yourself in Your Car or Rental Car
The Harborage at Ashley River Marina does not have visitor parking, so do not drive to The Harborage at Ashley River Marina. If you drive, you must park at The Courtyard by Marriott Charleston Waterfront (35 Lockwood Dr, Charleston, SC 29401). The Marriott Courtyard is the yellow hotel and they charge $10 for parking. Go up the stairs to the front desk to purchase your parking pass.
After you park and pay, walk up to the sidewalk along Lockwood Drive. With the Marriott Courtyard behind you, take a right on the sidewalk. You should see a green “Calhoun Street” sign about 20 yards from the Marriott. Walk towards the green Calhoun Street sign and you’ll see the blue “Harborage at Ashley River Marina” sign which is my marina.

The captain will meet you in-front of the building in the parking lot 10-15 minutes before your Experience start time. Please do not enter the marina without your captain.

Regardless of where you park, I would recommend using the bathroom in the building at the Marina parking lot, second floor. I do have a head on-board but most people prefer the one on land.

Bathroom Door Code:
Please ask your Captain for the Bathroom Code before shoving off. Please use this time to apply sunscreen as well rather than on the boat.

What To Bring:
Feel free to bring any snacks or drinks that you would like. While our team will not be drinking or providing alcohol, adults 21 years or older often bring alcohol and we encourage our guests to relax and enjoy the outing with a beverage. Please avoid bringing any glass aboard (think cans and boxed wine, not bottles) and always be responsible and respectful to other guests. If you plan to bring Champagne, we will happily open it for you but we ask that you bring plastic cups. We have plenty of room below to keep your beverages cool in our refrigerator. If you specifically want ice, please let us know prior to your charter.
Bringing a small cooler is totally fine but no need to bring large rollable coolers to the boat.
As we move to become better stewards of our waterways, we are moving away from offering one time plastic water bottles so we ask that you bring a thermos or water bottle for us to fill up for you to help us reduce our environmental impact.
We do have a BlueTooth speaker onboard so no need to bring one.

What to Wear:
Generally it is a few degrees cooler on the water. Spray from the water may get you wet, but you will not get soaked. We have blankets onboard as well. A light jacket, hat and sunglasses are a good idea. I recommend closed shoes over flip flops. You can go barefoot but there are a million things to jam your toes on.

What to Expect:
When we arrive at the boat, we will take all of your bags down below deck prior to you getting onbaord. It's just easier to get onboard and settled without your bags but we can grab your bags for you at anytime.
All charters will start with a 15 minute safety speech once all passengers are on-board. While the boat is setup to be sailed single-handed, if you and your group would like to get involved (raise a sail, hold the helm, etc) I’m happy to oblige. If you prefer to sit back and relax that is fine too.

Weather
Please assume that the charter is on unless you hear otherwise. There's no need to constantly watch the forecast, if there is a chance of thunderstorms/lightning/excessive wind, the captain will reach out to you at least 3 hours prior to the scheduled charter time. The forecast changes quickly here and will not be reliable until the day of your charter.
A lack of wind may result in leaving the motor on.

Tipping
Tipping is always appreciated. Oftentimes the crew only works for tips, so if you enjoyed the outing tips and positive reviews are much appreciated! No cash?? No Problem---both crew and captain have Venmo.

Cancellations or Rescheduling:
Cancellations or Rescheduling will only take place due to weather.
Customers will receive a full refund or credit in case of operator cancellation due to weather. No-shows will be charged the full price.

Checkout the fun you're about to have:
Instagram - @SailMentalHeeling, #WhyTheSailKnot

Please do not hesitate to call or email if you still have any questions not covered above!

Sail on!

Captain Jay Keeney
Charleston Sailboat Charters, LLC
captain@charlestonsailboat.net
(843) SEA-MAN6 (732-6266)
www.CharlestonSailboat.com