Find Articles/Resources

Yacht Events - April 2008

Now that warm weather is on its way, planners are starting to rethink their venue options. One enticing way to go is to hold a meeting or special event on the water. Yachts certainly are fun venues for leisurely cocktail soirées, networking gatherings, and dinner/dance cruises, but consider them for other functions too. After all, once you have guests on board, they become a captive audience.

 

Event Ideas

Use the space and the time on board creatively for a variety of events, such as product introductions or media presentations promoting anything from a tourist destination to a new spirit or line of resort wear. The prospect of a sail or cruise on a gorgeous spring or summer’s evening can help promote the event and entice guests to show up.

Or, depending on your location, use a yacht or ferry boat to transport guests to and from a baseball game, tennis event, or shore-accessible picnic area. You could even organize a progressive tasting or dinner stopping at various docking points along the way.

Treat co-workers or an executive team to a cruise or a sail for an out-of-office strategy session or business meeting, followed by a luncheon or cocktail party on board the ship.

Make the event a two-part affair with one part taking place dockside, and another part on a yacht. Sometimes the dock area can be tented for the event, and yachts hired to ferry guests to nearby landmarks for sightseeing excursions or harbor cruises. Another option is to hold an event on a ship that stays docked—it doesn’t actually have to sail. That way, guests have the flexibility of boarding and leaving at their leisure.

If you are introducing an out-of-town group to the area, those classic, narrated sightseeing cruises with refreshments provide great scenery, information and entertainment all in one easy-to-book package.

                                                                                                            

Theme Sails and Cruises

Often, yacht owners and companies specializing in group cruises have regular themed events already mapped out. Sometimes, your group can take advantage of these planned events or initiate some ideas of your own on a private charter. For instance, a Great Gatsby theme can be played to the hilt on a classy vintage yacht. Wine tasting cruises, sunset sails, casino nights, Caribbean-style cruises, Latin nights, barbecues, salsa soirées—are all on the roster. Practically any theme you can do on land you can also do at sea.

Very popular these days are wine tasting and chocolate tasting cruises, according to Laurie Kutscera of Eastern Star Cruises. During a wine tasting cruise, guests meet with a sommelier and can opt for a structured sit-down dinner or casual cocktail party, both with customized menus to complement and highlight each wine pairing. Organizers can choose a theme, like Red Wines of California or A Night of Whites. For groups with a collective sweet tooth, the company offers their “Bon Bon Voyages” Chocolate Tasting Cruise. Complete with chocolate sommelier, this cruise features pure chocolates, from milk chocolates to high cocoa-content dark chocolates from 20 different countries. Other chocolate themed options include Champagne and Bon Bons, Eight Chocolates with Eight Fine Spirits, The Chocolate Bar, or a Tasting Tour, which traces the evolution of chocolate products from the unroasted cacao beans to the superlative final chocolate creations. (www.easternstarcruises.com)

                                                                                                            

Team Building on Board

Yachts can also be venues for a host of team-building activities from murder mystery events to group sails and races. For example, a group of six can opt for a two-hour sailing experience on the Moët & Chandon 12-Meter America II, which actually competed in the 1987 America’s Cup competition on behalf of the New York Yacht Club. The interactive program is great for experienced sailors and includes a Moët & Chandon toast at the end of sailing.

With the Dennis Conner’s America’s Cup Experience, guests get to enjoy two hours of sailing on Dennis Conner’s authentic America’s Cup training sailboats. These high-performance sailing machines appeal to novice and experienced sailors alike, and they also provide a great platform for corporate entertaining. By chartering a fleet of J/24s (3-15 boats), planners can even create their own regatta in New York Harbor. Participants learn to work as a team as they sail with a sailing instructor to the Statue of Liberty and back—perfect for client entertainment and team building. (www.bigapplesailing.com)

Other companies, such as Classic Harbor Line, offer other kinds of team-building experiences. Classic Harbor Line’s schooner Adirondack, for example, offers a fun, competitive and educational program involving a set of contests that require communication, teamwork and planning skills. With these hands-on activities, teams learn the basics of sailing and line-handling while enjoying a morning or afternoon on the water. The program can last two to four hours, depending on how intensive the client would like the exercises to be and how many people are involved. Team-building sessions often end with a picnic luncheon and an optional open bar. (www.sail-nyc.com)

 

Chartering a Vessel

When chartering a yacht for an event, planners have many options. In choosing a vessel from companies that run regular dinner/cruise or charter fleets, approach the sales office directly. In some areas, planners have the option of approaching boat owners directly (in which case, make sure the boat is officially certified to carry the number of passengers in your party, and that it is both safe and legally available for event charter.) Often, however, planners book yachts through yacht brokers, who may also offer event-planning assistance and make arrangements for food and beverage, décor, and whatever else is needed for the event. (If you are choosing the caterer directly yourself, be sure he or she has “sea legs” and is comfortable preparing food in a small, undulating yacht galley.)

 

Safety Factors

Since you will be out on the water, safety is an important consideration. Making sure the ship is safe for your guests is in large part your responsibility. One place to start on your safety check is to look for proof of Coast Guard certification. Regulations for certification require that certain materials be fire-resistant, that there are adequate life jackets on board, radio equipment functions properly, the crew is properly licensed and the vessel is safe and sound for a designated number of passengers.
The certificate should be placed in full view on the wheelhouse of the vessel. It looks like an official certificate and is often framed. (Don't confuse the certificate and the ship's registration documents.)

Making sure the vessel you choose bears the official Coast Guard certificate is one way of short-circuiting some potential problems. Some states, such as California, have enacted laws outlawing bare-boating arrangements and requiring all vessels that take money for charters to be Coast Guard certified, which makes the process of chartering a safe vessel somewhat simpler for event planners.

 

Insurance Considerations

Another important consideration in choosing a yacht as an event venue is adequate insurance. Although the Coast Guard requires charter yachts to carry insurance, make sure that the amount is adequate for your needs. In addition, many corporations ask to be included on an insurance policy as an additional insured for the duration of the chartered period of time. As in any rental arrangement, know exactly what you are getting and what legal liabilities you are incurring before signing a contract.

 

Arrivals and Departures

When inviting guests to join a cruise be sure to specify the vessel's exact point of departure, including the address of the pier, dock or marina, and directions on how to get there, if necessary. Also note exactly when the vessel will depart and return. Sometimes events begin with cocktails for a period of time at the dock, before the vessel gets underway. This gives guests a little leeway on time, so that they can arrive a few minutes late without missing the boat.

Most piers and marinas have parking facilities close by. Double check, though, to make sure they are adequate, easily accessible, and well-lighted. And, since piers tend to be in places that may be out of the loop for convenient public transportation, it’s also a good idea to have a limo service on call for anyone who may need transportation, even if most of the guests will be using their own cars.