Captain Charter

Captains, Cooks & Mates, Oh My!

Unless you are on a sailing course, when you interview potential captains to hire for your charter, they will ask you about prior boating experience and your ability in assisting with things like, picking up moorings balls, anchoring, dock lines and ability to manage the vessel in an emergency situation . If no one aboard would qualify to fulfill the role of 1st mate they will require you also hire a mate. Some mates can act as cook for an additional rate while others are only able to act as a mate. Adding a cook means they take care of all the meal planning, provisioning, cooking and clean up, a splendid addition to your experience. If you are unfamiliar with provisioning and cooking aboard a vessel this is a highly recommended choice.

Captains generally charge $450-500 a day, first mates $250 & Cooks $275.00, plus their food & beverages. For Cooks, they charge a full day for planning & provisioning time before your charter start. A 15 – 20% gratuity is industry standard for services well rendered.

Life Aboard a Captain Charter in the Florida Keys

Life aboard a yacht in the Florida Keys can take you to some beautiful anchorages, snorkel sights and secluded beaches. Your yacht will have all the comforts of a boutique hotel. The galley has just about everything your kitchen at home has so cooking aboard will be seamless. Refrigeration aboard vessels is much smaller than at home, and monohulls have very tiny freezer space. While all our vessels are equipped with Generators and ACs for comfort at anchor, while underway you will not be able to run the Generator, therefore you will not have AC until you reach a mooring ball
or anchorage for the night. Most guests open the hatches while underway for a nice tropical breeze. As a result of Covid, we have taken the decision to not supply masks & snorkels for safety reasons over sanitation. We do sell good qualify snorkel/masks set and rent fins. We have local companies that can rent paddleboards & kayaks.

Families & Kids Aboard your Captain Charter

Key West & the Florida Keys is a great family friendly boating destination. The captains in this area know all the best places for spotting dolphins, snorkeling and a relaxing night at anchor. For safety reasons there are few things to note about having kids aboard when considering a captain charter with children:

• Bring along or plan to buy children’s life jackets. They are weight specific up to a certain age and we don’t offer them. Children are required to wear a life vest at all times while on deck, if your children have never worn a life jacket we recommend purchasing ahead of time and practice wearing, otherwise they will be stuck below deck with an adult.
• Our captains are professional and great with kids but it is important that a parent, guardian or designated adult keep an eye on them at all times. Your captain and mate will be very busy attending to navigation, sailing, and everyone’s overall safety and should not be relied upon to be watching children should you be absent. There are many things for kids to bump their heads on, interesting buttons to push and lines to grab. An interesting tip we recently read to ensure authority has been passed from one parent/guardian to the next is to use the phrase “Your Jane and John” and make sure the other adult responds “My Jane and John;” inserting your kids names into this phrase of course. This way you know that they know you are no longer watching the kids. If you are a pilot you may be familiar with this tip, as it was modified by parents who were former pilots for around the water safety at home.
• It may also be a good idea to talk with your kids (depending on the age) about power, water and toilet management. You will potentially be away from the dock for several days at a time. All our vessels are equipped with Generators and AC’s but these items are additional amenities and should there be a mechanical failure you may not have access to additional power and AC until it can be repaired. Depending on your itinerary you may also be without WiFi or cell phone access from time to time.